Johann Karl Ordonez

Johann Karl Rochus Ordonez (19 April 1734 – 6 September 1786), also known as Carlo d’Ordonez, was one of a number of composers working in Vienna during the second half of the eighteenth century. Ordonez was not a full-time professional musician. Most of his working life was spent in the employment of the Lower Austrian Regional Court and his musical activities were pursued in his spare time. Nothing has come to light concerning his general education. Of his musical training we also know nothing although from his contemporary reputation as a violinist it can be inferred that he received lessons from an early age. Ordonez’s professional activities included membership of two prestigious performing bodies: the k.k. Hof- und Kammermusik (where he was employed as a Kammermusikus) and the Tonkünstler-Societät in which he was active both as a violinist and as a composer. Ordonez was an early member of the Tonkuenstler-Societaet, an organization devoted to raising money through public concerts for the widows and orphans of musicians, and maintained a close association from 1771, the year of its foundation, until 1784. Ordonez also performed regularly in the houses of the nobility. Dr Charle