Johann Christian Hoffmann
Johann Christian Hoffmann (baptized May 2, 1683 in Leipzig ; † February 1, 1750 there ) was a German violin and lute maker .
Life
He was the eldest son and student of the violin maker Martin Hoffmann (1654–1719). His brother was Christian Gottlieb Hoffmann (1691–1735). Since 1712 at the latest, he has been a royal Polish and Electoral Saxon court instrument maker and supplied musical instruments for the Dresden band . He lived in Leipzig, where he received citizenship in 1722 . He was one of the best German master instrument makers of his time. In addition to excellent sounds, he left numerous first-class string instruments. In the inventory of the Köthener Hofkapelle four violins, two cellos and a double bass from the creative period between 1715 and 1732 are listed.
Around 1724 he built the first viola pomposa at the suggestion and according to the ideas of his friend Johann Sebastian Bach . Bach commissioned him in 1734 with the maintenance of the instruments for the Thomas and Nikolaikirche in Leipzig . In his will of 1748 Hoffmann Bach bequeathed a viola pomposa.
About 40 of his instruments have been preserved, some are shown in the exhibitions of the Museum for Musical Instruments at the University of Leipzig and the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg.
literature
- Walther Killy (Ed.): Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie , Volume 5, 1997, p. 235
- Eszter Fontana, Veit Heller, Klaus Martius (eds.): Martin and Johann Christian Hoffmann. Baroque violin and lute maker. Environment - Life - Work, Leipzig 2015, 456 pp.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hoffmann, Johann Christian |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German violin and lute maker |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around May 2, 1683 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Leipzig |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 1, 1750 |
| Place of death | Leipzig |