Peter Ritter (1763–1846)
The cellist Peter Ritter went on concert tours with his father and siblings as a boy and studied composition with Abbé Vogler. He did not, however, become a member of the Mannheim court orchestra. When the court was relocated in 1778, he therefore stayed in Mannheim, alongside Ignaz Holzbauer and Ignaz Fränzl. In 1784 he was engaged as a cellist at the Mannheim theatre orchestra, rose to concertmaster and music director, and was appointed Kapellmeister after Fränzl's departure in 1803. After Schmittbauer's death in 1809 he could have become court Kapellmeister in Karlsruhe, but he declined. He retired in 1823.
Peter Ritter was a highly versatile composer. All his works show his roots in the Mannheim School, though influences of Haydn and Mozart can also be heard.
Concertante in E major for Horn, Cello and Orchestra
Certainly unique in its instrumentation, this work was written before 1800. In the manuscript score the cello part is notated in E-flat major: Ritter tuned his instrument a semitone higher to give the cello a more brilliant tone. Something similar is reported of Johann Matthias Sperger's double bass concertos; for the cello, however, this scordatura is very rare. Ritter also used it in his cello concertos.
The score retains this original notation, while the solo cello part is notated in E major in keeping with modern performance practice. The original cello part is available on request.
3rd movement: Rondo – Allegretto