Anton Wilhelm Solnitz

Anton Wilhelm Solnitz, also cited as Solniz or Sollnitz, was a composer born in Bohemia around 1708 whose career developed chiefly in the Netherlands. His life falls within the first half of the eighteenth century, at the transition between the Baroque and galant styles, and his importance lies in having introduced to that region a type of symphony that had previously been little cultivated there.

He is thought to have arrived in Holland around the mid-1730s. In 1738, one of his symphonies was performed to mark the centenary of the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam, and several of his works were published in the city around that time. He later moved to Leiden, where his enrolment at the university is recorded in 1743. Around 1750–1751, the London publisher Walsh issued two volumes of trio sonatas, numbered as opp. 1 and 2. Although they carry no dedication, they may be first editions, since no Dutch editions of them are known. In 1751 he frequently appeared in concerts at the Nieuw Vaux-Hall in The Hague, performing his own works.

He apparently died in Leiden, probably shortly before 1753 or in that same year, the date from which works from his estate began to be advertised in the press. It should be noted that the exact date of his death is not established with certainty.

His legacy rests on his symphonies, whose structure recalls that of G. B. Sammartini, and which were probably the first of their kind to be written and published in the Netherlands. The rapid changes of texture in them anticipate, according to some accounts, features of the later Sturm und Drang. His trio sonatas combine melodies developing predominantly in triadic terms with simple basses.