Friedrich Witt: Symphonies 1-3 Kölner Akademie & Michael Alexander Willens

• Friedrich Witt (1770 - 1836): Symphony No. 1 in B flat major:
• 1 Witt: Symphony No. 1 in B flat major: Adagio – Allegro vivace 09:10
• 2 Witt: Symphony No. 1 in B flat major: Adagio 04:46
• 3 Witt: Symphony No. 1 in B flat major: Menuetto 03:45
• 4 Witt: Symphony No. 1 in B flat major: Finale. Allegro vivace 07:15
• Symphony No. 2 in D major:
• 5 Witt: Symphony No. 2 in D major: Grave – Allegro non tanto 08:28
• 6 Witt: Symphony No. 2 in D major: Adagio 05:20
• 7 Witt: Symphony No. 2 in D major: Menuetto 03:34
• 8 Witt: Symphony No. 2 in D major: Finale. Allegro non tanto 05:21
• Symphony No. 3 in F major:
• 9 Witt: Symphony No. 3 in F major: Adagio – Allegro assai 10:07
• 10 Witt: Symphony No. 3 in F major: Andante 04:34
• 11 Witt: Symphony No. 3 in F major: Menuetto 03:55
• 12 Witt: Symphony No. 3 in F major: Finale 06:55
• Total Runtime 01:13:10

Info for Friedrich Witt: Symphonies 1-3

The protagonist of this production owes his posthumous fame to a misconception: The "Jena Symphony," discovered in the city's university library in 1909, was thoroughly studied, discussed, and even recorded as a supposed early work by Beethoven. Since 1968, however, it has been known that the composition is by no means the titan's "Zeroth," but rather the 14th of a total of 23 symphonies written and, to a significant extent, published by Friedrich Witt from Niederstetten in Baden-Württemberg. A full five weeks older than his Bonn colleague, whom he outlived by nine years, he had been court Kapellmeister in Würzburg since 1802, where his symphonic output experienced an astonishing upswing and was apparently reorganized: The three Symphonies Nos. 1 to 3 recorded here are several years younger than their much-praised sister, whose promising quality they consistently continue.

No, Kölner Akademie is not dedicating itself to contemporary music in one of its next major projects – Friedrich Witt was a ‘classic’ in the truest sense of the word, only unfortunately you no longer know him. He is one of the many composers whom the Kölner Akademie is helping to rediscover musically with recordings and concerts that have not infrequently won awards.

Jeremias Friedrich Witt was born in Niederstetten, Franconia, in 1770 – only a few weeks before Ludwig van Beethoven in Bonn – on 8 November. The fact that Witt and Beethoven were peers is interesting because one of Witt’s best-known symphonies was attributed to the young Beethoven for a long time and celebrated great success under his supposed authorship. But to the beginnings: Witt received his first instrumental lessons from his father, a school servant, cantor and court clerk, and after his death also from his stepfather. As a cellist, Witt joined the court orchestra of Prince von Oettingen-Wallerstein in 1789, where he probably also received lessons from Antonio Rosetti. As a member of the court orchestra, he undertook concert tours together with the clarinettist Joseph Beer: First in 1793/4 to Coburg, Weimar, Potsdam and Ludwigslust, in 1796 they left Wallerstein together and set out on a journey lasting several years to Vienna and Frankfurt, among other places. In Vienna, where leading musical personalities heard concerts of Witt’s compositions, the two musicians were highly acclaimed. E.T. A. Hoffmann, for example, wrote of Witt’s 5th Symphony: “In the whole symphony […] Mr. W. has shown himself to be a thorough, intelligent composer, and the visible effort to give the whole not so much depth, but only the highest possible degree of complaisance, shows that it is written for a large audience, which it will certainly find, in that it is only well performed, very effective, and therefore rightly to be recommended to every orchestra.“ Requests for further compositions and performances quickly followed. In 1802 Witt moved to Würzburg, where he became court Kapellmeister and later Kapellmeister at the theatre, remaining there until his death in 1836. In 2015, the Kölner Akademie already published a recording which combines Symphonies by E.T.A. Hoffmann and the 5th Symphony by Witt.

Witt’s musical oeuvre is extensive: at the centre are his 23 symphonies, of which the aforementioned Jena Symphony has long been attributed to Beethoven and is therefore probably best known. In addition to the symphonies, he also wrote solo concertos, chamber music, masses and other sacred works. His musical models were Antonio Rosetti and Joseph Haydn, which can be heard again and again. His slow movements, in which Witt’s romanticism is already apparent, are particularly atmospheric. Apart from that, his works stand out for their very beautiful and successful use of woodwinds and horns. The fact that his works fell into oblivion far too quickly after his death probably had to do with the fact that his style was anchored primarily in the classical period and thus soon became ‘outdated’, but probably also with the fact that not all of his works were published by publishers. In 2007, for example, a music teacher from Künzelsau found three lost masses by Witt in an archive, which were only available in handwritten form. With the recording of Friedrich Witt’s symphonies in the coming days, the Kölner Akademie with its conductor Michael Alexander Willens will once again live up to its claim of helping the unknown to be rediscovered and appreciated alongside the well-known repertoire.

Die Kölner Akademie
Michael Alexander Willens, conductor

Michael Alexander Willens
music director of Die Kölner Akademie, studied conducting with John Nelson at the Juilliard School in New York, where he received B.M. and M.M. degrees. He has also studied with Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood, as well as choral conducting with Paul Vorwerk. Willens’ broad experience has given him an unusual depth of background and familiarity with performance practice styles ranging from baroque, classical and romantic through to contemporary as well as jazz and pop music.

Mr. Willens has conducted concerts at major concert halls and festivals in Europe, South America, Asia, Iceland, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Israel and the United States, receiving the highest critical praise:

“The success of the whole owed in large measure to the uncommonly precise, yet never affected gestures of Michael Alexander Willens”.

In addition to the standard repertoire, Michael Alexander Willens is dedicated to performing works by lesser-known contemporary American composers and has conducted several world premières, many of which have been broadcast live or filmed for television. He is also keenly interested in re-discovering music from the past and has released over 40 CDs featuring this repertoire. Several of these recordings have been nominated and received awards. They have all received outstanding international reviews, : “Willens achieves an impeccably stylish and enjoyable performance.” (Gramophone ) ,,…conductor Michael Alexander Willens exploits every bar of the score to fullest expressive effect. (Fanfare)

He has guest conducted orchestras in Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Brazil and Israel in addition to his commitment to Die Kölner Akademie.

The Kölner Akademie
takes you on a journey through classical music: expressive, virtuosic, and exact in every detail. From the baroque to the present, the broad repertoire of this unique ensemble, under the artistic direction of its internationally renowned conductor Michael Alexander Willens, has been awarded numerous prizes.

Known and lesser known composers are impressively represented by this period instrumental ensemble.Performances at international festivals, live television and radio broadcasts in connection with their highly acclaimed CD recordings have made the Kölner Akademie well-known far beyond their national borders.

Apart from works by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, the ensemble shows their broad musical scope in full detail, especially with their series of world premiere recordings by lesser known composers.

Booklet for Friedrich Witt: Symphonies 1-3