(fl c1750). Oboist, probably of German extraction. He appears in the Dresden court calendars from 1747 to 1751 as a wind player in the court hunting-band. Several subsequent references identify him as a composer, probably owing to the erroneous use of the name Steinmetz on many works actually by Johann Stamitz. Breitkopf’s Verzeichniss musicalischer Werke (i, 1761, p.51) lists without incipits ‘VI. partite à 6 voci’ by ‘Steinmetz, musico in Dresda’; these are probably substantially identical with the ‘V. partite del Sigr. Steinmetz, a 6 e 4 voci’ given with incipits in the Breitkopf catalogue of 1765 (p.11). None of these works has survived. In addition, the catalogue of 1762 lists ‘VI. sinfonie del Steinmetz, musico in Dresda’ (p.26); however, this attribution is incorrect or doubtful for at least five of these symphonies, a fact that calls Breitkopf’s reliability on the entire matter into question: two (nos.5–6) are definitely by Johann Stamitz, and three others (nos.1–2, 4) exist in one or more manuscripts with attributions to other composers. A further reference to Steinmetz as a composer occurs in Hiller’s Wöchentliche Nachrichten, though this information could well have been taken directly from Breitkopf’s listings, which Hiller would surely have known. Gerber’s article on Steinmetz (1792), which maintains that about 1758 he was ‘known and loved for his various instrumental works in manuscript such as symphonies, partitas, and works for harp’, is apparently indebted to both Hiller and Breitkopf, and if so has little value as independent evidence. In sum, the evidence that the Dresden Steinmetz was a composer is rather unconvincing. On the other hand, study of both the sources and style of the works attributed to ‘Steinmetz’ in 18th-century manuscripts supports the conclusion that most if not all of them – insofar as they are correctly attributed at all – are by Johann Stamitz (Wolf).
A Steinmetz who did compose is the otherwise unidentified author of six manuscript ‘Solos a Violoncello e Fondamento da me Steinmez’ (D-SWl). Yet another musician referred to as Steinmetz was a horn player in various orchestras in Paris in the years 1754–7. A horn player whose name is given as both Stamitz and Stamich in Parisian listings for 1757 and 1759 is probably identical with him.
See also Stamitz family, (1).
BrookB
GerberL
MGG1 (J. LaRue and J.B. Holland)
J.A. Hiller, ed.: Wöchentliche Nachrichten und Anmerkungen die Musik betreffend (Leipzig, 1766–70/R), 92n
F. Noack: ‘Die Steinmetz-Manuskripte der Landes- und Hochschulbibliothek Darmstadt’, Mf, xiii (1960), 314–17
P. Gradenwitz: ‘Die Steinmetz-Manuskripte der Landes- und Hochschulbibliothek Darmstadt’, Mf, xiv (1961), 214 only
E.K. Wolf: The Symphonies of Johann Stamitz: a Study in the Formation of the Classic Style (Utrecht, 1981)
EUGENE K. WOLF