Flute Concerto in E minor

Dittersdorf (1739-1799) was one of the most prolific and versatile of Haydn’s and Mozart’s Viennese contemporaries. He was a formidable violinist – certainly the foremost virtuoso in Vienna during the early 1760s – and composed a substantial number of concertos for his own use particularly early in his career when he was seeking to establish his reputation as a composer. His contribution to the wind concerto repertory is, however, rather meagre. It is particularly interesting given the enormous popularity of the flute during the middle decades of the 18th century that only two concertos by Dittersdorf are known. The present work is one of Dittersdorf’s earliest compositions. The MS copy upon which this edition is based is dated 1760 which implies that the work was composed in Vienna possibly for one of the flautists in the theatre orchestras. Dittersdorf worked with a number of players including Mayer (Mäyer), Schmidt and Sartori père. Any one of these players – or none of them – might have been the recipient of the concerto. The solo part is reasonably taxing which increases the likelihood that it was written for a professional player.