Biography
Serving both the Prince-Abbot in Kempten, where he held the post of vice-Kapellmeister, and Strasbourg Cathedral as Kapellmeister, Richter earned recognition as a bass singer, composer, and leading figure of the Mannheim school. Roughly seventy symphonies, six string quartets, six keyboard concertos, assorted chamber pieces, oratorios, and additional sacred works came from his pen. Commissioned for Good Friday, one of those oratorios bears the title “La deposizione dalla croce.” Richter voiced clear dissatisfaction with excessive displays of virtuosity, yet he could still craft inventive lines rooted in Baroque practice while writing quartets whose equilibrated voices already pointed toward the Classical period. Within the Mannheim circle he stood out, alongside Franzl alone, for drawing on minor modes as either the tonic or a passing key during the development sections of his symphonies.