Johann Gottlieb Goldberg

Johann Gottlieb Goldberg , also Johann Theophilus Goldberg (baptized March 14, 1727 in Danzig ; † April 15, 1756 in Dresden ) was a German harpsichordist and organist of the Baroque era . The Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach are named after him.

Life

Little is known about Johann Gottlieb Goldberg's early life. His father was the lute and string instrument maker Johann Goldberg from Ohra, a suburb of Danzig. In his childhood he received music lessons from the music director of the Marienkirche, Johann Balthasar Christian Freislich , and from the organist Johann Jeremias Du Grain (around 1700–1759). When he was about 10 years old, he was discovered by Count Hermann Carl von Keyserlingk , who was the Russian ambassador in Saxony, and brought to Johann Sebastian Bach , who accepted him as a student and taught until 1746. Bach trained him together with his son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and considered him his most capable student. In addition to his playful precision and expressiveness, he had a high level of improvisational skills and the ability to play the most difficult scores from sight.

According to Johann Nikolaus Forkel , Bach's famous thirty Goldberg Variations were written for Goldberg in 1741 at Keyserlingk's request, so that he "could be cheered up a little on his sleepless nights": Goldberg usually had to play them at night in an anteroom. There is no question of “falling asleep”, as often rumored and doubted.

In 1751 Goldberg became “Hochgräflicher Kammermusikus” in Count Brühl's private band, which consisted of 15 musicians . He died of tuberculosis in Dresden in 1756 at the age of 29 .

Works

Goldberg's compositions are characterized by a certain melancholy and strongly individual traits. The following are handed down:

• 24 polonaises (one each in each major and minor key) with variations
• Concerts for harpsichord
• five trio sonatas and one quartet sonata
• Cantatas

Have been lost:

• some chorale preludes

literature

• Moritz Fürstenau:  Goldberg, Johann Gottlieb . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 9, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1879, p. 331 f.
• Horst Heussner:  Goldberg, Johann Gottlieb. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 6, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1964, ISBN 3-428-00187-7 , p. 603 ( digitized version ).

Web links

• Sheet music and audio files by Johann Gottlieb Goldberg in the International Music Score Library Project
• Works by and about Johann Gottlieb Goldberg in the catalog of the German National Library