Ritter, Peter
Ritter, Peter
Ritter, Peter , German cellist, conductor, and composer, nephew of Georg Wenzel Ritter ; b. Mannheim, July 2, 1763; d. there, Aug. 1, 1846. His career was centered on Mannheim, where he studied composition with G.J. Vogler. In 1783 he became a cellist in the orch. of the National Theater, becoming its Konzertmeister in gler. In 1783 he also became acellist in the orch. of the Grand Duchy of Baden, and made tours as a concert artist. He retired in 1823. Ritter wrote several stage works, the most successful being his Singspiel Der Zitherschläger (Stuttgart, 1810). He also wrote the well–known hymn Grosser Gott wir loben dich (1792).
Works
DRAMATIC (all lst perf. in Mannheim unless otherwise given): Der Eremit auf Formen tara (Dec. 14, 1788); Der Sklavenhändler (April 11, 1790); Die Weihe (1792); Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor (Nov. 4, 1794); Dilara, oder Die schwarze Zauberin (1798); Das neue Jahr in Famagusta (1804); Salomons Urteil (1808); Marie von Mantalban (Frankfurt am Main, 1810); Der Zitherschläger (Stuttgart, 1810); Alexander in Indien (1811); Feodore (1811); Das Tal von Barzelonetta, oder Die beiden Ermiten (1811); Das Kind des Herkules (1812); Alfred (1820); Der Mandarin, oder Die gefoppten Chinesen (Karlsrue, 1821); Hoang-Puff, oder Das dreifache Horoskop (1822); Bianca (1824); Der Talisman (1824); Das Grubenlicht (1833). Other : Piano Concerto; Cello Concerto; chamber music; Das verlorne Paradies, oratorio (1819); Die Geburt Jesu, cantata (1832).
Bibliography
W. Schulze, P. R. (Berlin, 1895); G. Schmidt, P. R. (diss., Univ. of Munich, 1924).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire