Friedrich Witt

Witt was born in 1770, the same year as Beethoven, and was a German composer of considerable stature in his time. He was born in the Württemberg village of Niederstetten, the son of a cantor and court clerk. Witt became a cellist (some accounts say a violinist) in the court orchestra of Oettingen-Wallerstein when he was nineteen, taking composition lessons there with Antonio Rosetti, that is, the Bohemian-born Anton Rösler. Witt was most famous in his lifetime for his oratorio Der leidende Heiland (The Suffering Saviour), securing an appointment as Kapellmeister for the Prince of Würzburg, and later for the theater, where he stayed until his death. He also wrote two operas: Palma (1804) and Das Fischerweib (1806). His other compositions include concertos, church music, chamber music and symphonies. His best-known work, a symphony in C major known as the Jena, is modeled after the Symphony No. 97 by Joseph Haydn. The Haydn connection contributed to the mis-attribution to Beethoven (who mentioned himself trying to write a symphony that fits the description of Jena).

Stephen Fisher compiled a thematic index of Witt's symphonies. The following list of works is based on the 2008 overview compiled by Günther Grünsteudel, which encompasses all of Witt's compositions known to survive in manuscript or print. Grünsteudel reattributed several works formerly assigned to Witt, such as the three Quatuor/Quintetto concertantos (actually by Prince Carl Friedrich zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg) and three piano sonatas (composed by Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel and others).

Witt wrote a total of 23 symphonies: • Symphony in C major (1790) • Symphony in C major (c. 1790) • Symphony in C major Jena Symphony (composed between 1792 and 1796; formerly attributed to Ludwig van Beethoven) • Symphony in C major Grand Symphony No. 7 (by 1810/11, published by Johann André) • Symphony in C minor (1790) • Symphony in D major (1790) • Symphony in D major (c. 1790) • Symphony in D major (c. 1790) • Symphony in D major (c. 1790) • Symphony in D major Symphony No. 2 (by 1803/04, published by André) • Symphony in D major Symphony No. 5 (by 1806/07, published by André) • Symphony in D minor Grand Symphony No. 9 (by 1817/18, published by André) • Symphony in E major Grand Symphony No. 8 (by 1810/11, published by André) • Symphony in Eflat major (c. 1790) • Symphony in Eflat major (1793) • Symphony in Eflat major Symphony No. 4 (1799, published by André) • Symphony in F major (c. 1790) • Symphony in F major Symphony No. 3 (by 1806, published by André) • Symphony in G major (c. 1790) • Symphony in A major (c. 1790). In the finale, Witt cites the French Revolutionary "Ça ira" motif. • Symphony in A minor Symphonie turque No. 6 (by 1806, published by André) • Symphony in Bflat major (1790) • Symphony in Bflat major Symphony No. 1 (by 1802/03, published by André)

• Concertino in Eflat major (after 1800) • Cello Concerto in C major • Flute Concerto in G major, Op. 8 (by 1806, published by Breitkopf & Härtel) • Horn Concerto in E major (1795) • Horn Concerto in Eflat major • Three concertos in F major for two horns (c. 1797) • Concertino for two horns in Eflat major (after 1800) • Various lost concertos for cello, bassoon, flute, oboe, clarinet, and horn

• Adagio and Allegro in Eflat major (1821) • Allegretto (c. 1825) • Concertante in Eflat major (c. 1825) • Three Concertantes in F major (after 1800 / c. 1825) • Concertanto in F major (c. 1825) • Concertino in C major (c. 1825; long attributed to Carl Maria von Weber) • Concertino in C major (c. 1825) • Concertino in Eflat major (c. 1825) • Duetto in F major (c. 1825) • Minuet in F major (after 1800; variations on Mozart's minuet from Don Giovanni) • Parthia for winds in Eflat major (1790) • Parthia for winds in Eflat major (1792) • Parthia for winds in F major (1790) • Parthia for winds in F major (1791) • Parthia Grande d'armonia in Eflat major (c. 1825) • Sept Pièces d'harmonie (c. 1825) • Quintet No. 1 in F major (c. 1825) • Quintet No. 2 in F major (c. 1825) • Quintet No. 3 in Bflat major Armonia dolorosa (c. 1825) • Scena in F major (1828) • Trauermarsch in C minor (c. 1825) • Variazioni concertanti in F major (c. 1825) • Six waltzes (c. 1825) • Waltz for keyed bugle (c. 1825) • Over twenty Harmoniemusik arrangements of operas and works by Auber, Boieldieu, Cherubini, Mayseder, Meyerbeer, Mozart, Paisiello, Righini, Romberg, Spohr, and Weber.

• Three Allemandes for piano • Piano Trio in Eflat major (after 1800) • Piano Trio in F major (after 1800) • Piano Trio in Bflat major (after 1800) • Bassoon Quartet in F major (1803 or later) • Horn Quartet in Eflat major (1806–1814) • String Quartet in C major (after 1800) • Piano Quintet in Eflat major, Op. 6 (by 1806, published by Breitkopf & Härtel) • Piano Quintet in F major (after 1808; arrangement of the Piano Trio in F major) • Septet in F major (by 1816/17, published by Schott in 1817)

• Libera me in F major (after 1800) • Mass in C major (c. 1810) • Mass in D major (c. 1800–1810) • Mass in Eflat major (after 1800) • Mass in Eflat major Missa solenne • Mass in C minor/Eflat major Missa solenne (1829) • Mass in Bflat major Missa solenne (c. 1810) • Mass in Bflat major Missa solenne • Pange Lingua in D major (1793) • Requiem in Eflat major (after 1800)

• Die Auferstehung Jesu, cantata (by 1793/94) • Deutscher Gruß an Deutsche for male choir • Kantate zum Beschluss des 18. Jahrhunderts (1800/01; only libretto survives) • Der leidende Heiland, oratorio (1801/02; lost) • Lobsinget Jehova, unserem Gott, cantata (1800) • Marche en parade • Der Mensch, cantata (c. 1810; only libretto survives) • Was ist es, das so verworren, recitative and aria (1811)

• Berissa, heroic-comic opera in three acts • Das Fischerweib, rustic-comic opera in two acts (premiered on 29 March 1807 in Würzburg; lost) • Jolantha, Königin von Jerusalem, incidental music (premiered on 11 January 1807 in Würzburg; lost) • Lenardo und Blandine, incidental music (premiered on 6 August 1813 in Würzburg; lost) • Palma, singspiel in two acts (premiered in 1804 in Frankfurt; lost)