Johann Melchior Molter

Born: 10 February 1696, Tiefenort (Germany)
Died: 12 January 1765, Durlach (Germany)

→ FREE Classical MP3! Download 25 tracks from eMusic
— Vast collection — No Restrictions — Own Your Music!

Reactions

[Be the first to write a reaction.]

Add your reaction

Title:
Comments:

Note: HTML code will be filtered out. Comments will appear on the website immediately after submission, but will be moderated. Reactions should be between 50 and 2000 characters long.

[Phonetic spelling (mp3)]
Please copy the above security text:

Music

John Bicketts <sfeikemamach3ww.com> writes: According to what I’ve heard, Johann Melchior Molter was the most prolific symphony writer of all time: 170 symphonies or something absurd like that. They appear to be his only claim to fame. I doubt they were too impressive- that’s pretty early for symphonies.

Biography

Composer Johann Melchior Molter was born in the Thuringian-Saxon region where his father, Valentin Molter, was a teacher and Kantor in the town of Tiefenort. After early training with his father, he enrolled at the Gymnasium in Eisenach, where J.S. Bach had studied. In Eisenach, Molter heard music by Telemann, who founded the court orchestra there only a few years earlier.

In 1717, he found employment in Karlsruhe as a violinist at the court of Margrave Carl Wilhelm of Baden-Durlach. The following year, he married Maria Salome Rollwagen, with whom he had eight children. In 1719, Molter was allowed to travel to Italy to absorb the compositional styles that had spread throughout Europe, spending three years in Venice and Rome. After his return to Karlsruhe, he was appointed court concertmaster. In addition to directing the sacred music at the chapel, Molter directed the operatic productions in the margrave’s theater.

Molter’s compositions range from chamber music to orchestral works and oratorios. It is likely that he composed operas during this period, but no operatic or other vocal compositions by Molter survive.

In 1733, when the war of the Polish Succession began, the margrave dissolved his court and fled to Basle in exile, leaving Molter without employment. In 1734 Molter accepted the post of concertmaster at the court of Duke Wilhelm Heinrich of Saxe-Eisenach. Three years later, after the death of his wife, Molter returned to Italy, where he explored the work of a new generation of composers such as Pergolesi, Leo, and Sammartini.

When he returned to Eisenach, he married Maria Christina Wagner. In 1741, Duke of Saxe-Weimar dissolved the Eisenach court orchestra after the death of Duke Wilhelm Heinrich. Molter then returned to Karlsruhe, where he composed and taught at the Gymnasium. In 1747, the new margrave of Baden-Durlach, Carl Friedrich, asked Molter to reorganize his court’s musical establishment. Molter entered an extraordinarily prolific period in his career, composing a large body of instrumental music in the new galant style. Molter continued in this post for another 18 years until his death.

Like his contemporaries Hasse, Quantz, and Graun, Molter contributed much to the development of instrumental music in eighteenth century Germany. His extant works include 172 symphonies, 73 concerti, 22 concertini (for three instruments), 12 concerti for orchestra, 14 overtures, 66 sonatas, 28 flute duets, 14 solo cantatas, and six violin sonatas. These works reveal influences from the French and Italian composers he heard on his travels, as well as Telemann, Bach, and the composers of the Mannheim School. He was particularly fond of experimenting with new sound colors. He wrote for the flauto d’amore, the flauto cornetto, and the harp, and he was among the first composers to use the recently invented clarinet and chalumeau. His clarinet concertos are some of his only works to have been performed and recorded in modern times.

(Contribution by <skylandsoptonline.net>.)

• CDs
• MP3
• DVDs
• Books

In association with Amazon.com

BooksClassical MusicDVDMP3 Downloads

Alphabetical: A to ZAlphabetical: Z to AFeatured ItemsPrice: High to LowPrice: Low to HighRel Date: New to OldRel Date: New to Old

Classical Music : Search

Wynton Marsalis - Baroque Music for Trumpet
from: Sony

List Price: $11.98

Amazon.com's Price: $7.97

You Save: $4.01 (33%)
Prices subject to change.

A Bride’s Guide to Wedding Music
from: Naxos

List Price: $19.99

Amazon.com's Price: $11.99

You Save: $8.00 (40%)
Prices subject to change.

Famous Classical Trumpet Concertos
from: Philips

Amazon.com's Price: $17.98

Prices subject to change.

Instruments of the Orchestra
by: Various Artists

List Price: $39.99

Amazon.com's Price: $21.97

You Save: $18.02 (45%)
Prices subject to change.

Pachelbel Canon, Albinoni Adagio & Other Baroque Melodies
from: RCA

Amazon.com's Price: $16.98

Prices subject to change.

The Art of the Baroque Trumpet, Vol. 1
by: Johann Friedrich Fasch, George Frideric Handel, Johann Melchior Molter, Leopold Mozart, Henry Purcell, Georg Philipp Telemann, Giuseppe Torelli, Nils-Erik Sparf, Drottningholm Court Baroque Ensemble, Niklas Eklund

List Price: $8.99

Amazon.com's Price: $6.97

You Save: $2.02 (22%)
Prices subject to change.

page 1 of  8
 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8 

 

Concerts

[You can submit announcements for concerts with music from Johann Melchior Molter.]

Events

[If you know of an event (date and year) for Johann Melchior Molter, then let me know, and I will add it.]