Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz (1717-1757)
He's credited as being the founder of the Mannheim
School. He made a number of important contributions to
both orchestral playing and writing for orchestra. The most important
of these were:
1) the first use of extensive dynamic shading
in orchestral performance
2) the introduction of the clarinet into
the orchestra
3) the introduction of the
minuet into the symphony
as the third movement
4) the creation of what was known as the
finest orchestra in all of Europe
He wrote 74 symphonies, but these are seldom performed today.