Johann Karl Ordonez facts for kids

Johann Karl Rochus Ordonez (born April 19, 1734, died September 6, 1786) was a talented composer who lived in Vienna, Austria. He was also known as Carlo d'Ordonez. Unlike many musicians today, Ordonez was not a full-time professional musician. He spent most of his working life at the Lower Austrian Regional Court. His amazing music was created in his free time!

Life and Music Journey

We don't know much about Ordonez's early education or how he learned music. But people at the time knew him as a great violinist. This suggests he probably started taking lessons when he was quite young.

Ordonez was part of two important music groups in Vienna. He worked as a Kammermusikus (chamber musician) for the k.k. Hof- und Kammermusik, which was a royal music group. He was also an active member of the Tonkünstler-Societät. This group was founded in 1771. It raised money by holding public concerts to help musicians' widows and orphans. Ordonez was a member from almost the very beginning until 1784.

He also performed often for noble families. A famous music historian, Dr Charles Burney, heard Ordonez play in 1772. This was at a dinner party hosted by Lord Stormont, the British Ambassador in Vienna. Burney wrote about how wonderful the music was:

Between the vocal parts of this delightful concert, we had some exquisite quartets, by Haydn, executed in the utmost perfection; the first violin by M. Startzler (J. Starzer), who played the Adagios with uncommon feeling and expression; the second violin by M. Ordonetz; Count Bruehl played the tenor, and M. Weigel (F.J. Weigl), an excellent performer on the violoncello, the base. All who had any share in this concert, finding the company attentive, and in a disposition to be pleased, were animated to that true pitch of enthusiasm, which, from the ardour of the fire within them, is communicated to others, and sets all around in a blaze; so that the contention between the performers and hearers, was only who should please, and who should applaud the most!

Sadly, Ordonez became very ill in 1783. Because of his health, he had to stop playing music professionally. He also had to retire from his job at the Lower Austrian Land Court with only half his usual pay. This caused him a lot of financial trouble. Ordonez spent his last three years struggling with sickness and poverty. When he died from a lung illness called pulmonary tuberculosis, he was living in shared rooms and had very few belongings. His son-in-law, Joseph Niedlinger, helped pay for his funeral.

Ordonez's Music

Even though Ordonez was a part-time composer, he wrote a surprising amount of music!

Operas and Church Music

He composed two opera-like works:

• A puppet opera called Musica della Parodie d'Alceste.
• A Singspiel (a German opera with spoken dialogue) called Diesmal hat der Mann den Willen.

He also wrote a lot of church music, but sadly, most of it is now lost. He also composed a secular cantata, which is a piece for singers and instruments, but not for church.

Symphonies and Chamber Music

Ordonez wrote 73 symphonies, which are large musical pieces for an orchestra. He also composed a violin concerto, a piece for a solo violin and orchestra.

A big part of his work was chamber music, which is music for a small group of instruments. His 27 string quartets are especially important. A string quartet is a group of four string instruments, usually two violins, a viola, and a cello.

Ordonez was very creative in his music. He experimented with "cyclic unity," which means using musical ideas that repeat or connect different parts of a piece. He also liked "contrapuntal textures," where different musical lines weave together at the same time. These techniques gave his music a unique and original sound.

His symphonies were very popular and were copied by hand and shared widely. Abbé Stadler, a musician from that time, said that Ordonez's symphonies "received great applause." His first set of string quartets are known for using some of the most advanced musical techniques before the 1800s.

See also

In Spanish: Karl von Ordonez para niños

Works

• List of works by Johann Karl Ordonez