Carl Stamitz

Carl Stamitz

Karl Philipp Stamitz (Czech: Karel Stamic; baptized 8 May 1745 – 9 November 1801), who later changed his given name to Carl, was a German composer of partial Czech ancestry (his mother was German), and a violin, viola and viola d'amore virtuoso. He was the most prominent representative of the second generation of the Mannheim School.

He was the first composer to specify a left-hand pizzicato (an important virtuoso device) in a composition. This occurs in his Viola Concerto in D major where the passage in question is designated by an "0" above the notes.

He is particularly remembered for his clarinet and viola concertos. He never succeeded in attaining an adequate position with one of the major princes or orchestras of his time. He died in poverty. When nine years after his death in 1801 his estate was put up for auction to cover his debts, nothing was sold, and all of it consequently lost.