Friedrich Witt was born in Niederstetten on 8 November 1770. At about the age of 17 he came to the court of Oettingen-Wallerstein to complete his musical education. He was probably a pupil of Antonio Rosetti (1750–1792).
The Wallerstein archive contains an appointment decree for Friedrich Witt dated 21 January 1790. It states that Witt, from Mergentheim (!), had been employed in the court orchestra since 1 October with an annual salary of 300 gulden. In this orchestra he played the cello.
The prince repeatedly granted Witt leave for concert tours. He undertook some of these with the clarinettist Joseph Beer (1770–1819), who was also engaged at Wallerstein, travelling to Potsdam, Ludwigslust and Vienna, among other places. Witt probably stayed in Vienna for an extended period from 1796. In 1802 the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg appointed him court Kapellmeister, a post he held until the court music was dissolved in 1814. From 1804 he was also music director at the newly founded Würzburg Stadttheater. Highly honoured, he died in Würzburg on 3 January 1836.
Concertino in E-flat major for 2 Horns
This Concertino for 2 horns belongs to a number of works for solo horn composed by Witt. For the Wallerstein horn players Zwierzina and Nagel he wrote three concertos for 2 horns; in 1795 a concerto for horn followed, whose extremely demanding solo part was written for Joseph Nagel.
The collection of the Wallerstein horn player Franz Zwierzina, purchased by the princely house in 1858, contains many other priceless compositions for horn as well as the present Concertino, which is now preserved in the University Library of Augsburg. The title bears the inscription “… Componirt von Herrn Kapellmeister Friedrich Witt zu Würzburg”, the 2nd violin part the inscription “Concertino de F. Witt 1818”, and the title of the basso part the inscription “Concertino / pour / Deux Cors de Chasse”.
Witt may have composed this work for the sons of the distinguished Wallerstein horn players, Joseph Anton Alois Zwierzina and Johannes Nagel. A performance by the two of them in Wallerstein in 1805 of a concerto for 2 horns by Franz Anton Hoffmeister is documented. The note of the year 1818 should therefore be regarded as only an approximate dating.
In the tutti scoring of the orchestra, the 2nd flute appears to have been added later to suit local circumstances. It should therefore be regarded as ad libitum.
