Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739 - 1799) was
an Austrian composer and violinist who was an important composer in the
classical era. He was a court composer, and as such was quite prolific. He
wrote 120 symphonies, 18 violin concertos, as well as many other works. He was
an opera composer as well, and wrote 45 of them. His most popular work in his
lifetime was the opera Doktor und Apotheker (Doctor and Apothecary) that
premiered in Vienna in 1786 and was a tremendous success. He knew Haydn and Mozart, and played string
quartets along with them and his student Vanhal. Dittersdorf played
1st violin, Haydn 2nd violin, Mozart viola and Vanhal cello.
Dittersdorf held various music positions with his longest
tenure being 24 years at the court of Johannesberg (which is currently in the
Czech Republic.) To entice him to stay at court, he was given a noble
title. His original surname was Ditters; his noble name became Ditters von
Dittersdorf.
There was a small (and brief) school of double bass virtuoso
playing in Vienna in the late 18th century, with the Italian bass virtuoso
Domineco Dragonetti being the most famous of them. Dittersdorf no doubt wrote
his two double bass concertos with this school of playing in mind. The
double bass is not usually thought of as a solo instrument because of the
problems of balancing solo double bass and orchestra.
The double bass of von Dittersdorf's time was not
the instrument known today. It had three strings and was gradually replaced by
the 4-string and five-string double bass. The 3-string bass had bottom E as the
lowest note, while the modern bass could reach the C below that, thus
increasing the bass range in the orchestra. But there were instances of the 3-stringed double bass persisting because
some thought the tone was better.
The concerto is sometimes
transposed to D major, and is scored for 2 flutes, 2 horns, strings, and double
bass solo. It is in the traditional three movements:
I. Allegro moderato- The
orchestra plays the first theme and plays a section that connects to the
entrance of the soloist playing the theme. A section theme not heard initially enters and is played in flageolet
tones, the old term for harmonics, high in the register of the bass. Both
themes are developed in a short section of development before the
recapitulation begins. Both themes are repeated and lead up to a cadenza where
the soloist plays double stops and shows how the double bass can be an agile
and expressive instrument in its own right. The movement then comes to an end
in the syncopated rhythm in the strings that was heard at the beginning.
II. Adagio - The
voice of the bass can seem tubby and thick even in the hands of a good player.
It is the nature of the bass’s tone, and it gives a certain kind of charm to
the gentle song the bass sings in this slow movement. The soloist plays quite high in the register
without using harmonics in the movement and cadenza, and it comes to a close.
III. Allegro - The
rondo theme is first heard in the orchestra, and the soloist then plays a short
bridge to the repeat of the theme. The first episode has again shows the
agility of the bass as it plays rapid arpeggios. Short parts of the theme are heard and followed by the bass
playing short episodes in harmonics, arpeggios, even combining the two with
arpeggios in harmonics. The final bars
quicken the tempo and a final allegro statement of the theme ends the concerto.