Joseph Leutgeb

Joseph Leutgeb (or Leitgeb) (October 6, 1732, Neulerchenfeld – February 27, 1811, Vienna) was an outstanding horn player of the classical era, a friend and musical inspiration for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Little is known of his early years. The composer Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf stated that Leutgeb performed in Vienna in the early 1750s for Prince Hildburghausen. During the early 1760s, Leutgeb's career flourished; according to Daniel Heartz, he "was the most prominent horn soloist in Vienna, and evidently one of the best received players on any solo instrument.". It is recorded that during the period 21 November 1761 to 28 January 1763 he performed horn concertos by Leopold Hofmann, Michael Haydn and Dittersdorf at the Burgtheater.

Heartz suggests that at this time (1762) Joseph Haydn wrote his Concerto in D, Hob. VIId/3D, for Leutgeb. The two were likely friends, as on 3 July 1763 Haydn's wife served as godmother for Leutgeb's child Maria Anna Apollonia.Michael Lorenz has recently shown that Leutgeb's signature can be found on the autograph score of Haydn's Horn concerto. In February 1763 Leutgeb was briefly a part of the musical establishment of the Esterházy family, directed at the time by Haydn. He was paid a "high yearly salary" but departed, for reasons unknown, after only one month.

In the same year Leutgeb moved to Salzburg and joined the musical establishment of the ruling Prince-Archbishop; and thus became a colleague of Leopold Mozart and (later the same year), the Konzertmeister Michael Haydn. He also made friends with a seven-year-old child prodigy, Leopold's son Wolfgang. A letter to friends from Leopold, traveling with his family on tour (20 August 1763), includes a list of people that Wolfgang told Leopold he missed; Leutgeb was one of them. Wolfgang was ultimately employed by the court music establishment and thus became Leutgeb's colleague.

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