Friedrich Witt was born on November 8, 1770 in Niederstetten. When he was around 17, he came to the court of Oettingen-Wallerstein to perfect his musical education. He was probably a student of Antonio Rosetti (1750 - 1792). An employment decree from Friedrich Witt dated January 21, 1790 in the Wallerstein archive states that Witt comes from Mergentheim and has been employed as a cellist in the court orchestra since October 1, with an annual salary of 300 guilders.
The prince granted Witt several vacations for concert tours, some of which he undertook with the clarinetist Joseph Beer (1770 - 1819), who was also active in Wallerstein, for example to Potsdam, Ludwigslust and Vienna. It is assumed that Witt stayed in Vienna for a long time from 1796. In 1802, Witt was appointed court music director by the Bishop of Würzburg, a position he held until the dissolution of the court music in 1814. In addition, from 1804 he was music director in the newly founded Würzburg City Theater. Friedrich Witt died with great honor on January 3, 1836 in Würzburg.
The present concertos for 2 horns were probably composed during his time in Vienna. A copy of one of the three concertos for 2 horns, now in the music collection of the National Library in Vienna, is dated 1797. One can only guess which horn players these concerts were intended for. They may have been intended for the horn players Nagel and Zwierzina, whom Witt knew from his time at the court of Öttingen-Wallerstein. Both horn players are known to have undertaken several tours to Vienna at this time.
