Sinfonia in F

Dittersdorf (1739-1799) was one of the most prolific and versatile of Haydn’s and Mozart’s Viennese contemporaries. He wrote fluently and attractively in all genres and his symphonies, of which there are over a hundred, reveal a wealth of novel solutions to the problems of form and a subversive wit that bears comparison only with Haydn’s. Although his programmatic symphonies are rightly lauded for their great originality, Dittersdorf’s more orthodox works are also remarkable for their exuberant musical invention and impressive command of the orchestra. On the basis of an entry in the Sigmaringen Catalogue the present work was composed not later than 1766. It was advertised the following year in the Breitkopf’s thematic catalogue and thereafter seems to have circulated as widely as most of the composer’s other symphonies of the period. Like all of Dittersdorf’s symphonies of the period it makes excellent use of its slender orchestral forces and abounds in quirky, infectious melodies.