Karl Philip Stamitz may be the most famous composer of those known as the second-generation 'Mannheim School'. His father, Johann Stamitz, gave him his first musical education; a fine start, for Johann Stamitz was the royal Director of Instrumental Music, and led the Mannheim Orchestra, largely considered the best in the world at the time. In records of the Mannheim orchestra from 1762-1770, Stamitz is registered as a second violinist. While in the Mannheim orchestra, he worked on perfecting his musical technique, both in performance and in composition.

In 1770, Stamitz traveled to Paris, and, in 1771, Duke Louis of Noailles appointed him the court composer. Together with his brother Anton, Karl performed repeatedly at the Concert Spirituel, and in 1772 actually lived at Versailles. He then undertook some performance travels, ending up in Vienna late in 1772. 1773 found Stamitz in Frankfurt, in 1774 he went to Augsburg, Vienna again, and Strassburg. It was in Strassburg that his six Opus 14 string quartets were published.

Stamitz was once more in Paris, but he left in a cloud of historical mystery. Some believe that he lived in London for a time, perhaps from 1777 through 1779. What is certain, however, is that after leaving Paris, Stamitz would never again regain his position of fame and popularity. Stamitz`s final years were marked by much travel, distributions of his compositions, and requests for stable employment, including petitions sent to Wales and Russia. Stamitz`s performing abilities, compositional genius, fame, nor his somewhat interesting excursions into alchemy were able to save him financially, and so upon his death, his debt was so great that everything he owned was auctioned.