Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf, even more so than Antonio Salieri, was the ultimate court insider among musicians, for all the good it did him -- when he died in 1799, his music was already out of fashion and Dittersdorf was hard up for money. But making nice-nice with the court was something Ditters did as a matter of second nature, and a great quality of his vast corpus of surviving music was devoted to plying that trade. Nonetheless, certain works of Ditters do stand out as having qualities that are worth reviving in ...
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Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf, even more so than Antonio Salieri, was the ultimate court insider among musicians, for all the good it did him -- when he died in 1799, his music was already out of fashion and Dittersdorf was hard up for money. But making nice-nice with the court was something Ditters did as a matter of second nature, and a great quality of his vast corpus of surviving music was devoted to plying that trade. Nonetheless, certain works of Ditters do stand out as having qualities that are worth reviving in posterity, and Naxos' Dittersdorf: Sinfonias, featuring the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra under the direction of Álvaro Cassuto, contains three symphonies that are better than the average. This is the fifth disc of Ditters' symphonies that Naxos has thus far issued, but they are certainly in no immediate danger of running out, as he composed more than 100 of them.The performance by Cassuto and the Lisbon group, prepared from newly minted Artaria Editions, is not extraordinary but better...
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Add this copy of Dittersdorf: Sinfonia in D major; Sinfonia in E flat to cart. $20.39, new condition, Sold by Importcds rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Sunrise, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Naxos.
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Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf. New. New in new packaging. USA Orders only! Brand New product! please allow delivery times of 3-7 business days within the USA. US orders only please.
Add this copy of Dittersdorff: Sinfonias to cart. $28.97, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Naxos.
Add this copy of Dittersdorf-Sinfonias to cart. $36.74, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2007 by NAXOS.
Released in December 2006, this is NAXOS 5th Dittersdorf disc in their 18th Century Classics series. Focused on symphony and concerto of the time, the aim of the series is the rediscovery of music by Haydn's less known and sometimes forgotten contemporaries: Beck, Dussek, Kraus, Hofmann and Vanhal. Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf is far from forgotten, but perhaps still under-appreciated. In 1772 Carl Ditters was granted a certificate of nobility by the Empress Maria Therese and adopted the surname von Dittersdorf. (a.k.a. Baron von Dittersdorf).
Dittersdorf was widely regarded as the finest violinist in Vienna in the 1760?s, and during the decade that Mozart worked in Vienna (1781-1791), played chamber music with Mozart (who much admired Dittersdorf). Mozart was just over 16 years Ditters junior, and Mozart much preferred playing the viola with friends you may recall. Haydn and Dittersdorf were good friends, and would go off together and critique other music for fun.
Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf was prolific throughout his life (1739 ?1799) in all genre?s: opera, oratorio, chamber music, cantata, sacred music, including some 40 concertos and 120 symphonies!
This excerpt from the liner notes by Allan Badley, most aptly describes the Sinfonia on this CD, musically:
?The three works featured on this recording present an interesting cross-section of Dittersdorf's symphonies. The two late works, the Symphonies in D (1788) and E flat (ca 1782), are written for the expanded orchestral forces which become increasingly common in Dittersdorf's mature symphonies. The earlier of the two works is roughly contemporaneous with the 'Ovid' Symphonies and displays a similar degree of subtlety in its compositional detail. Dittersdorf's marvelous sense of orchestral color is evident throughout the work not just in terms of his cleverly varied textures but also in the way in which he combines his instruments: in the trio, for example, a solo violin is doubled an octave lower by the flute, creating a distinctive and highly original sound. The finale also reveals Dittersdorf's ingenuity as a composer with its striking combination of strict counterpoint (the movement opens in double counterpoint) and modern orchestral textures. His capacity to compose attractive, quirky themes is heard to great effect in the D major Symphony whose rondo finale is based around a theme which Haydn himself might have written. The movement abounds with unexpected turns of phrase and the varied restatements of the rondo theme are full of amusing effects which must have delighted his audiences. The subversive element in Dittersdorf's music ? the quality that makes him such an interesting and attractive composer ? is also heard to great effect in the early A major symphony with its lively, 'wrong-key' minuet and ravishing trio.
These symphonies are charming and a great pleasure to have surrounding you. Start exploring Dittersdorf today, you?ll enjoy his music immensely.
Cheers,
Thomas Ramey