Friedrich Witt was born on 8 November 1770 in Niederstetten. At about the age of 17 he came to the court of Oettingen-Wallerstein to complete his musical training, probably as a pupil of Antonio Rosetti (1750–1792). The Wallerstein archive holds an appointment decree dated 21 January 1790, stating that Witt, there described as being from Mergentheim (sic), had been employed in the court orchestra since 1 October 1789 at an annual salary of 300 gulden. In this orchestra he played the cello.
The prince repeatedly granted Witt leave for concert tours. On several of these he accompanied the clarinettist Joseph Beer (1770–1819), who was engaged at Wallerstein, to places such as Potsdam, Ludwigslust and Vienna. Witt probably spent an extended period in Vienna from 1796. In 1802 the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg appointed him Kapellmeister to the court, a post he held until the court music was dissolved in 1814. From 1804 he was also music director of the newly founded Würzburg Stadttheater.
Friedrich Witt died, highly honoured, on 3 January 1836 in Würzburg.
Concerto in E Major for Horn and Orchestra
According to the autograph title page, the Horn Concerto in E major was written in July 1795. The inscription “fait pour Msr. Nagel” names Joseph Nagel as its dedicatee. Nagel was principal horn at the court of Oettingen-Wallerstein and had already proven his abilities in works by Rosetti and others. It is certain that he asked his orchestral colleague Witt for this concerto.
In its formal design the work resembles Rosetti’s concertos, with a Romance as its middle movement. The finale, however, departs from the usual 6/8 rhythm and is set in 2/4 time. Another characteristic of this court orchestra is the use of two violas. Because of its high tessitura, the piece is a real challenge for the horn player, which was typical of the period: similarly demanding works were written by Sperger, Fiala, Reicha, Teyber and other composers. The concerto shows motivic similarities to Witt’s two concertos for two horns, which are set in a considerably lower register.
