Johann Georg Graeff

Johann Georg Graeff (* 1762 in Mainz ; † February 7, 1829 in London ) was a German flautist and composer .

Life

Johann Georg Graeff was born the son of a senior court official in Mainz . Although the parents had wanted their son to have a church career, they allowed him to become a musician. In 1777 Graeff left Mainz and traveled to Switzerland, where he lived in Basel, Bern and Lausanne until 1782, before he had notable successes in Paris in 1783 and made friends with Abbé Vogler . In Paris he could have received composition lessons from Karl Friedrich Abel . He may have received the lessons from Joseph Haydn , mentioned in Sainsbury's Dictionary of Musicians in 1827, during his visit to London in 1791, and he corresponded with Haydn over a longer period of time. Graeff dedicated his 1797 quartets for flute, violin, viola and violoncello to his teacher Haydn.

Graeff's first well-known appearance as a flute soloist took place in 1784 in Salomon's concerts for the Gentry & Nobility , where he played a flute concert by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Haydn and performed one of his own symphonies. According to press reports, he performed powerfully, with quick fingers, on a new, improved flute construction. In the following years Graeff worked as a violin, flute, piano and composition teacher. He also worked for the publishing house of the composer and pianist Muzio Clementi , where several of Graeff's compositions were published. In 1813 he was one of the 30 founding members of the Philharmonic Society . Graeff offered his new works for sale in the London press at regular intervals.

Graeff's friends included the organist and composer Samuel Wesley , who held regular concerts in his house with works by Mozart, Haydn and Johann Christian Bach .

In 1802 Graeff married the farmer's daughter Mary Jordan and became an English citizen through naturalization on April 18, 1803.

Works (selection)

• 6 Flute Duets, Op. 2
• 3 Sonatas, Op. 4th
• 6 Flute Sonatas, Op. 5
• 3 String quartets, Op. 8th
• Grand March in E flat major
• Quick March in G major
• Overture en Symphony Op. 11
• 3 duos for piano four hands Op. 12

Web links

• Sheet music and audio files by Johann Georg Graeff in the International Music Score Library Project

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Graeff's curriculum vitae on the website of the Trübcher publishing house ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Entry in the Dictionary of musicians (1825)