Johann Nepomuk Stadler was an Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n clarinet

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

 and basset horn player and younger brother of the clarinet player Anton Stadler

Anton Stadler

Anton Stadler was an Austrian clarinet and basset horn player for whom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote both his Quintet for Clarinet and Strings and Clarinet Concerto....

.

Like his more famous brother Anton

Anton Stadler

Anton Stadler was an Austrian clarinet and basset horn player for whom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote both his Quintet for Clarinet and Strings and Clarinet Concerto....

, Johann Nepomuk Stadler started out as an employee of the Russian ambassador in Vienna, Dmitry Mikhaylovich Galitzine

Galitzine

For Orthodox clergyman and theologian, see Alexander Golitzin.The Galitzines are one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. Since the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, the Golitsyns have claimed dynastic seniority in the House of Gediminas...

 (1721–1793). In February 1782 Emperor Joseph II

Joseph II

Joseph II may refer to:*Joseph II *Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Austria*Patriarch Joseph II of Constantinople *Pope Joseph II of Alexandria...

, who did not want the Stadler brothers to leave Vienna, issued a special decree to have them hired as members of the Vienna Court Orchestra

Vienna State Opera

The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...

, where Johann Nepumuk Stadler played first clarinet to his brother's second. In 1801 Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...

 wrote the basset horn part in his ballet The Creatures of Prometheus op. 43 especially for Johann Stadler.