OBOE CONCERTO in C major, Rtt 32

Carl (or Karl) Ditters von Dittersdorf was born Karl Ditters in Vienna in 1739. He was a violinist and composer, who was educated in the household of Prince Hildburghausen and studied composition under Bonno. Between 1761 and 1763, he played in the orchestra of the Imperial Opera in Vienna, and travelled to Italy with Gluck, where he made a name for himself as a violinist. He became Kapellmeister, first to the Bishop of Grosswardein (1765-1769) then to the Prince Bishop of Breslau (1769-1795). He still managed to spend much of his time in Vienna where many of his 40 operas were produced, the most popular being Doctor und Apotheker, staged in 1786. After 1773, he was allowed a title and called himself von Dittersdorf. He was active at the same time as Haydn, Mozart and Vanhal, with whom he is reputed to have played string quartets. He died in 1799 and his autobiography was published in 1801.

In addition to over 40 operas, von Dittersdorf wrote oratorios, masses and other church music, over 100 symphonies, divertimenti, chamber music and concerti. A number of Dittersdorf’s manuscripts are held in the Fürst Thurn und Taxis collection in Regensburg, among them two versions of a concerto for oboe d’amore, catalogued in Regensburg as Rtt Dittersdorf 34 and 35. The Regensburg collection also includes five oboe concertos, listed as Rtt Dittersdorf 29-33, three in C, one in G and one in D, and these are now published by Clifton Edition. An oboe concerto in G is available from Breitkopf and Härtel (5963) but is not the same as the concerto in G from Regensburg. According to Bruce Haynes (Music for Oboe 1650-1800, a bibliography, 2nd edition, 1992), the Breitkopf catalogue lists oboe concertos by Dittersdorf in C and in Bb published in 1775, but they are not currently available, nor is the oboe concerto in C published by Simrock. It is therefore difficult to ascertain whether either of these concerti in C matches any of those from Regensburg (Rtt Dittersdorf 29, 31 and 32). The current editions, together with the piano reductions, have been prepared for publication with the permission of the Fürst Thurn und Taxis Zentralarchiv und Hofbibliothek in Regensburg and edited by C.M.M. Nex and F.H. Nex.

In general, this edition attempts to reproduce accurately what was on the microfilm, adding accidentals and dynamics that would have been assumed by contemporary players, but leaving most phrasing to the taste of modern performers. The cover page of the Oboe Concerto in C (Rtt29) gives the following information:

Concerto per il Oboe con 2 Violino, 2 Corno di Caccia, Violetta e Basso, Del Sig Carlo Ditters.

In the manuscript, cadenzas are appended and are reproduced in this edition. Where sections have been partially obliterated and a new version given, the original readings are printed in larger typeface and the later additions in a smaller typeface as an ‘ossia’. Bars 118-121 and 125-126 appear to be later additions and are enclosed in brackets labelled as “A” and “B” respectively, allowing the performer to choose whether or not to include them.

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