Wendling

Wendling, family of German musicians of Alsatian descent:

(1) Johann Baptist Wendling, flutist and composer; b. Rappoltsweiler, Alsace, June 17, 1723; d. Munich, Nov. 27, 1797. He was a flutist in Zweibrücken (1747-50), where he gave lessons to Duke Christian IV, then was active in Mannheim as an instructor to the elector, Carl Theodor, and as a member of the Court Orch. In 1752 he married Dorothea Wendling, who often traveled with him on concert tours; among the cities he visited were Paris (played at the Concert Spirituel with Christian IV, 1762, and with Mozart, 1778), London (1771), and Vienna (1776). In 1778 he went with the Mannheim court to Munich, although he spent most of his later years in Mannheim. He composed 9 flute concertos, 9 quartets, 36 trios, and various other works. Mozart orchestrated one of his flute concertos (K. 284e).

(2) Dorothea Wendling (née Spumi ), singer; b. Stuttgart, March 21, 1736; d. Munich, Aug. 20, 1811. In 1752 she joined the Mannheim court as a singer, and by 1760 was its principal member. When the court moved to Munich in 1778, she elected to remain in Mannheim, where she was active mainly as a teacher from 1790. She was held in great repute by her contemporaries. Mozart composed the role of Ilia in Idomeneo and the concert aria K. 486a/295a for her. She was married to Johann Baptist Wendling.

(3) Elisabeth Augusta Wendling, singer, daughter of Johann Baptist Wendling and Dorothea Wendling (née Spumi), b. Mannheim, Oct. 4, 1752; d. Munich, Feb. 18, 1794. She first sang at the Mannheim Court Opera on Nov. 4, 1769, with her mother and her aunt. She appeared in Zweibrücken in 1772, and was a guest artist in Munich (from 1784). Mozart wrote the 2 French ariettas K. 307 and K. 308 for her.

(4) Franz (Anton) Wendling, violinist, brother of Johann Baptist Wendling; b. Rappoltsweiler, Oct. 21, 1729; d. Munich, May 16, 1786. In 1755 he became a violinist and in 1774 first violinist in the Mannheim Court Orch. He went with it to Munich in 1778, where he also appeared as a ballet conductor. In 1764 he married Elisabeth Augusta Wendling (née Sarselli).

(5) Elisabeth Augusta (née Sarselli ) Wendling, singer, wife of Franz (Anton) Wendling; b. Mannheim, Feb. 20, 1746; d. Munich, Jan. 10, 1786. In 1762 she became a court musician in Mannheim, and in 1776 she was named third soprano; in 1778 she went with the court to Munich. She was greatly admired by her contemporaries. Mozart wrote the role of Electra in Idomeneo for her.

(6) Dorothea Wendling, singer, daughter of Franz (Anton) Wendling and Elisabeth Augusta Wendling (née Sarselli) and niece of Dorothea Wendling (née Spumi); b. Mannheim, Jan. 27,1767; d. Munich, May 19, 1839. She was a pupil of her in Mannheim. In 1778 she made her debut in Munich. She sang mainly in Mannheim before devoting herself to teaching.

(7) (Johann) Karl Wendling, violinist and conductor, nephew of Johann Baptist Wendling; b. Zweibrücken, March 30, 1750; d. Mannheim, Nov. 10, 1834. He was a violinist in the Mannheim Court Orch. (from 1765). After the Court Orch. moved to Munich in 1778, he remained in Mannheim and was a violinist in the new National Theater there. He was active as a conductor there from about 1782.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire