Friedrich Witt

Friedrich Jeremias Witt (November 8, 1770 – January 3, 1836) was a German composer and cellist. He is perhaps best known as the likely author of a Symphony in C major known as the Jena Symphony, once attributed to Ludwig van Beethoven.

Biography

Born in the Württemberg village of Niederstetten, Witt became a cellist (some accounts say a violinist) in the court orchestra of Oettingen-Wallerstein when he was nineteen. [Greene, David Mason. "Greene's Biographical Encyclopedia of Composers", Reproducing Piano Roll Fnd., (1985) ISBN 0385142781, p. 442] Witt was most famous in his lifetime for his oratorio "Der leidende Heiland", securing an appointment as Kapellmeister for the Prince of Würzburg, and later for the theater, where he stayed until his death. He also wrote two operas: "Palma" (1804) and "Das Fischerweib" (1806). His other compositions include concertos, church music, chamber music and symphonies.

Jena Symphony

In 1909, Fritz Stein discovered a Symphony in C major, now known as the Jena Symphony, he believed to be composed by Beethoven, and published it saying it was quite likely an early work by Beethoven and pointed out some stylistic similarities in the preface to the score. When H. C. Robbins Landon found another copy of the work at the Göttweig Abbey archives with Witt's name on it, he convinced most other scholars that the work was in fact by Witt. Ralph Leavis, for example, condemned the work as "a piece of plagiarism, put together almost with scissors and paste from reminiscences of Haydn." [Leavis, Ralph. "Witt, Friedrich" in "The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians", Stanley Sadie, ed. Volume 20. London: Macmillan Publishers Limited (1980)] . The Jena Symphony has been recorded.

Notes

ources

* [http://opera.stanford.edu/composers/W.html Opera at Stanford University]

Discography

* Symphonies No.s 6 and 9, Flute Concerto. Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Moesus. MDG 329 1299-2
* Septet in F major. Berlin Philharmonic Octet. Berlin Classics. Disc includes Beethoven's Opus 20 Septet.
* Horn Concertos. Concerto Amsterdam. Arts Music. Disc includes horn concertos by Leopold Mozart, Pokorny and Rosetti.