Carl Stamitz

Carl Stamitz Carl Philipp Stamitz (Czech: Karel Stamic; born in Mannheim and baptized 8 May 1745 – 9 November 1801), was a German composer of partial Czech ancestry of the Classical era. He was the most prominent representative of the second generation of the Mannheim School.

He was the eldest son of Johann Stamitz, a violinist and composer of the early classical period. He received lessons from his father and Christian Cannabich, his father's successor as leader of the Mannheim orchestra. As a youth, Stamitz was employed as a violinist in the court orchestra at Mannheim. In 1770, he began travelling as a virtuoso, accepting short-term engagements, but never managing to gain a permanent position. He visited a number of European cities, living for a time in Strasbourg and London. In 1794, he gave up travelling and moved with his family to Jena in central Germany. His circumstances deteriorated and he descended into debt and poverty, dying in 1801. Many tracts on alchemy were found in his library after his death.