Contemporaries like Charles Burney found Richter's musical language, with its sequential passages and chromaticism, to be somewhat old-fashioned compared to other Mannheim composers.
Composition History
Richter's Six Simphonies Op. 4, dedicated to Prince Elector Charles Theodore, were published in 1757 by Johann Julius Hummel in Amsterdam.
Composer Biography
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met Richter in Strasbourg in 1778 and, despite a cynical remark about Richter's drinking habits, praised a new mass by him as 'charmingly written'.
Composer Biography
Despite being an excellent composer, Richter remained an outsider in Mannheim and never achieved a leading position in the court orchestra.
Composer Biography
Franz Xaver Richter, along with Johann Stamitz, is considered a founder of the Mannheim School and the renowned Court Orchestra of Prince Elector Charles Theodore.
Compositional Technique
The wind parts (two oboes and two horns) in these symphonies are marked 'ad libitum', meaning their participation was not strictly necessary, possibly to increase sales.
Compositional Technique
All six symphonies in this collection are three-movement works, following the Allegro - Andantino (Andante) - Presto (Vivace) scheme, similar to an opera sinfonia.
