Johann Stamitz facts for kids
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Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz (Czech: Jan Václav Antonín Stamic) was a famous composer and violin player from Bohemia. He was born on June 18, 1717, and passed away on March 27, 1757. Johann Stamitz is known as the founder of the Mannheim school of music. His two sons, Carl and Anton Stamitz, also became composers in this style. His music is special because it connects the older Baroque style with the newer Classical style.
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Life of Johann Stamitz
Johann Stamitz was born in a town called Deutschbrod in Bohemia. Today, this town is known as Havlíčkův Brod. His family originally came from Marburg, which is now Maribor in Slovenia.
Early Years and Career Start
Stamitz studied at the University of Prague during the school year 1734–1735. However, he left after just one year. He wanted to become a professional violin player, a "virtuoso." We don't know much about what he did between 1735 and 1741.
Around 1741 or 1742, he got a job at the Mannheim court. This was a royal court where music was very important. He likely got this job because of people he met during a big event in 1742. This event was the wedding of Karl Theodor, who later became an important ruler.
Family Life and Paris Visit
Johann Stamitz married Maria Antonia Luneborn on July 1, 1744. They had five children together. Three of their children grew up: Carl Philipp, Maria Franziska, and Anton Thadäus Nepomuk. Sadly, two other children died when they were very young.
Around 1754, Stamitz traveled to Paris for about a year. He might have been invited by a music supporter named Alexandre Le Riche de La Poupelinière. Stamitz performed in public for the first time in Paris on September 8, 1754, at a famous concert series called Concert Spirituel. His success in Paris led him to publish some of his music there. This included his Orchestral Trios, Op. 1, which were actually like symphonies for string instruments.
He probably returned to Mannheim around the autumn of 1755. Johann Stamitz died in Mannheim in the spring of 1757, when he was only 39 years old. The record of his death says he was a "director of court music" and "so expert in his art that his equal will hardly be found."
Stamitz's Musical Works
Johann Stamitz wrote many important pieces of music. His most famous works include 58 symphonies and 10 orchestral trios. These orchestral trios were like symphonies for string instruments. They could be played by a full orchestra or by just one player for each part, like chamber music.
Concertos and Other Pieces
He also composed many concertos. A concerto is a piece for a solo instrument and an orchestra. Stamitz wrote concertos for:
- Many for violin
- Two for viola
- Two for harpsichord
- 12 for flute, including a famous one in C Major
- One for oboe
- One for clarinet, which was one of the very first concertos ever written for this instrument.
Besides these, he created a lot of chamber music for different groups of instruments. He also wrote eight vocal works, including a well-known concert Mass in D.
Identifying His Music
It can sometimes be tricky to figure out which pieces were written by Johann Stamitz. This is because at least five other musicians in the 1700s had the last name Stamitz. Four of them were from Johann's own family! Also, the names 'Steinmetz' and 'Stamitz' sometimes caused confusion. However, it's usually not too hard to tell the difference between Johann's music and the music written by his sons, Carl and Anton.
New Ideas in Classical Symphonies
Johann Stamitz brought many new ideas to the Classical symphony.
Orchestra and Instruments
He made the orchestration bigger by adding important parts for wind instruments. His symphonies from the 1750s were usually written for eight parts:
- Four string parts
- Two horn parts
- Two oboe parts (sometimes flutes or clarinets were used instead of oboes)
The horns didn't just play background harmony; they also had their own solo parts. Stamitz was one of the first composers to write separate, important lines for the oboes.
Symphony Structure
A major new idea in Stamitz's symphonies was their four-movement structure. A movement is a section of a larger musical piece. His symphonies usually followed this pattern:
- A fast movement
- A slow movement
- A minuet and trio (a dance-like movement)
- A very fast and exciting finale (often called a presto or prestissimo)
While a few four-movement symphonies existed before, Stamitz was the first composer to use this structure consistently. More than half of his symphonies and nine out of his ten orchestral trios have four movements. He also helped develop sonata form, which is a way of organizing music. This form was often used in the first movements of symphonies.
Musical Expression
Stamitz also used ideas from Italian opera in his instrumental music. He added exciting dynamic changes, like long, gradual increases in loudness called crescendos. He also used simple, full chords played by the whole orchestra (called tutti) and slow changes in harmony. Like Italian operas, Stamitz's music has a strong feeling of rhythm and memorable melodies.
See also
In Spanish: Johann Stamitz para niños
