Stich, Johann Wenzel (actually, Jan Václav)

Stich, Johann Wenzel (actually, Jan Václav), Bohemian horn player, violinist, and composer who assumed the name Giovanni Punto; b. Žehušice, near Čáslav, Sept. 28, 1746; d. Prague, Feb. 16, 1803. He was sent by Count Thun to study horn with Josef Matiegka in Prague, Schinderlarž in Munich, and Hampel and Haudek in Dresden. He was in the service of Count Thun in Žehušice (1763–66), and then ran away, eventually making his way to the Holy Roman Empire, where he took the name Giovanni Punto. He toured in Europe from 1768; also was in the service of the Prince of Hechingen and then of the Mainz court (1769–74). In 1778 in Paris he met Mozart, who was impressed with his virtuosity. In 1781 he played in the band of the Prince- Archbishop of Würzburg. He then went to Paris to serve the Comte d’Artois (later Charles X) in 1782; during the Reign of Terror, he was active as a violinist and conductor at the Théâtre des Variétés Amusantes. In 1799 he went to Munich and in 1800 to Vienna, where he made the acquaintance of Beethoven, who, enchanted by his playing, wrote for him a Sonata for Horn and Piano (op.17), and played it with him at a concert (April 18, 1800). After touring with J.L. Dussek in 1802, he settled in Prague. His extant works comprise 11 horn concertos (Prague, c. 1787–1806), 3 quintets for Horn, Flute or Oboe, Violin, Viola, and Bassoon (Prague, c. 1799), 21 quartets for either Horn, Violin, Viola, and Bassoon, or Horn, Violin, Bassoon, and Cello (Prague, c. 1785–96), 20 trios for 3 Horns (Prague, c. 1800), 56 duos for 2 Horns (Prague, c. 1793–1803), and 6 trios for Flute, Violin and Bassoon (London, c. 1773). He publ, a horn method that was a revision of Hampel’s (Paris, c. 1798; third ed., 1798) and a book of horn exercises (Paris, 1795; second ed., 1800).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire