Friedrich Ruthardt (; 9 December 1802 – 23 May 1862) was a German

oboist An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette. The following is a list of notable past and pres ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. He was born in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

as the son of an oboist in the

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

of the king of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

. He became

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

of the main church of this city. He played in the Stuttgart court

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

(probably the

Hofkapelle Stuttgart Hofkapelle Stuttgart, historically the Württemberg Hofkapelle is a German orchestra based in Stuttgart which has existed since the 16th century. It was the band of the House of Württemberg. Since 2002, it is an orchestra founded by Frieder Bernius ...

), and composed

chorale A chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of " Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one o ...

s as well as pieces for the

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

and the

zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...

. Fétis claimed that Ruthardt was one of the most skillful players of the latter instrument in Germany. One of the best-known 19th-century

oboe concerto A number of concertos (as well as non-concerto works) have been written for the oboe, both as a solo instrument as well as in conjunction with other solo instrument(s), and accompanied by string orchestra, chamber orchestra, full orchestra, concert ...

s, by Bernhard Molique, was likely written for Ruthardt, and first performed at Stuttgart in 1829. Two of his sons were also musicians: Julius Ruthardt (1841–1909), a

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist; and Adolf Ruthardt (1849–1934), a

music teacher Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

and composer.

Publications

Chorales

* ''Choralmelodien des Würtembergischen Gesangbuchs'' in zwei Heften; Stuttgart, G.A. Zumsteeg, 1841 ** Heft No. 1: 12 Mélodies chorales du livre de chant du royaume de Wurtemberg, avec accompagnement de guitare ** Heft No. 2: 13 Mélodies chorales etc.

For zither

* ''Gründliche Anleitung die Zither spielen zu lernen.'' ''Nebst 50'' ''Uebungestücken in fortschreitender Ordnung und mit angemerktem Fingersatze''; Stuttgart, Wagner, 1844. * ''Sammlung ausgewählter Opern-Melodien, Gebirgs- und Volkslieder für Zither, als Anhang zu dessen Zitherschule.'' Lief. 1, 2; Stuttgart, Ebner, February 1850 * ''Sammlung ausgewählter Opern-Melodien, Gebirgs- und Volkslieder sowohl für die 18saitige, als auch für die 28saitige Zither einger.'' Lief. 3;

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

, Osiander, March 1855 * ''Schule für Hand-Harmonika. Leichtfassliche Anleitung, dieses Instrument durch Selbstunterricht nach musikal. Regeln, in kurzer Zeit rein und gründlich spielen zu lernen.'' qu.-8; Stuttgart, Ebner, November 1862

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruthardt, Friedrich German classical oboists German male oboists 1802 births 1862 deaths 19th-century German composers 19th-century German male musicians