Johann Christoph Todt

Johann Christoph Todt, also known as Giovanni Christoforo, was a German composer of the late eighteenth century. Few biographical details survive about him; his activity is documented almost exclusively through scores and the references of a few contemporary authors.

Between 1783 and 1784 he was in the service of Count Vollrath of Löwenstein-Wertheim as valet and chamber musician, a fact deduced from the headings of his manuscripts preserved in the Regional Library in Schwerin. Among these pieces are six harpsichord concertos, a Concertino for two horns and string orchestra, and six harpsichord sonatas with obbligato violin. In the harpsichord concertos, particularly in the solo parts, an appealing touch and a notable melodic writing stand out, although they coexist with more conventional passages. His interest would be greater still if it were shown that Todt was unfamiliar with Mozart's concertos, a question that remains open.

Other works by him, cited by Forkel, Gerber and Breitkopf, are lost: concertos for cello, flute and horn, as well as sonatas for keyboard, violin and cello. Three of these sonatas were published in Mannheim as Op. 1, and he is also credited with a duo for keyboard and pieces supposedly issued in Leipzig collections, an attribution that cannot be verified.