At the time of Rosetti's hiring, his new employer Kraft Ernst Judas Thaddäus Notger Count of Oettingen-Wallerstein was twenty-five years old—just two years older than Rosetti himself. The young count had only two months earlier assumed control of his hereditary lands, which passed to him officially on his birthday, August 3, 1773. Less than a year later, on March 5, 1774, Emperor Joseph II elevated the countship of Oettingen-Wallerstein to a princedom. Rosetti's productivity during his years at Wallerstein was shaped to a great extent by the daily activity of the Hofkapelle and the high level of expectation set by his patron. These expectations grew out of a long and rich tradition of musical excellence that distinguished the Oettingen-Wallerstein court even before Rosetti's arrival. This chapter explores the court and its earlier musical traditions. Although the musical events described here predate Rosetti's appearance at Wallerstein, a familiarity with them is essential to a full appreciation of his association with the Hofkapelle in the 1770s and 1780s.

Emergence of the Wallerstein Princedom

Oettingen-Wallerstein stems from the ancient House of Oettingen whose illustrious lineage dates back to the middle of the twelfth century. In the fifteenth century, the first of several partitionings occurred which eventually divided the Oettingen countship into Protestant and Catholic segments. The Protestant line, Oettingen-Oettingen, was elevated to a princedom in 1674.