Jacques Christian-Michel Widerkehr was born in Strasbourg on 18 April 1759 and died in Paris in April 1823. A pupil of Franz Xaver Richter and of Dumonchau (cello), he came to Paris in 1783, where he worked as a teacher, composer and freelance musician. Regular publications of his compositions are documented from 1790 onwards. Widerkehr gained his reputation chiefly as a composer of instrumental music; his symphonies concertantes for wind instruments in particular were highly praised.
Symphonie concertante in C major for Horn and Bassoon
This Symphonie concertante in C major was written around 1800 and is dedicated to Frédéric Duvernoy (1765–1835) and Étienne Ozi (1754–1813). Both were musicians at the Paris Opéra and teachers at the Conservatoire. Duvernoy was an extremely successful solo hornist who cultivated the middle register of the horn (cor mixte) and used it with particular success in his own compositions. Ozi likewise composed for his instrument and, like Duvernoy, published very successful method books.
Another Symphonie concertante, in F major, has been published as ROM 221.
