Schmidt, Johann Christoph
Schmidt, Johann Christoph
Schmidt, Johann Christoph, German organist and composer; b. Hohnstein, near Pirna, Aug. 6, 1664; d. Dresden, April 13, 1728. He entered the Dresden court chapel as a chorister in 1676, where he received training from Christoph Bernhard. After serving as an instrumentalist in the Court Orch., he became master of the choristers in 1687 and second organist in 1692. In 1694 he went to Italy to complete his training. Upon his return to Dresden, he was made deputy Kapellmeister and chamber organist (1696). In 1698 he was promoted to principal Kapellmeister, pursuing his duties in Krakow and Warsaw as well as in Dresden, since he was responsible for the music for both the Saxon electoral and Polish courts. He also served as Kapellmeister for the Protestant and Catholic church music at the court, turning over his duties for the Catholic church music to J.D. Heinichen in 1717. Under Schmidt’s leadership, the Dresden Court Orch. became one of the most celebrated in Europe. He wrote an opera seria, Latona in Deh (n.d.), a divertissement, Les Quatre Saisons (Dresden, Sept. 23, 1719), 4 overture-suites, 4 masses, 7 cantatas, and 4 motets.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire