Johann Gottlieb Goldberg

Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, Johann Theophilus Goldberg ( baptized March 14, 1727 in Gdansk, † April 15, 1756 in Dresden ) was a German harpsichordist and organist of the Baroque. According to him the Goldberg Variations bear her name.

Life

Little is known about his early life. He was discovered by Hermann Carl von Keyserling, who was the Russian ambassador in Saxony, as about 10 -year-old and brought to Johann Sebastian Bach, who took him to 1746 as a student. Bach trained him along with his son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and considered him as his most able students - probably rightly, as to its accuracy and expressiveness was a great improvisational ability and Goldberg could play even the most difficult scores from the leaf.

According to Johann Nikolaus Forkel, Bach's famous thirty Goldberg Variations were written in 1741 for Goldberg at the request of Keyserling, so that he in his sleepless nights a little could be cheered: Goldberg they usually had to play at night in an anteroom. There is no mention of sleep, as is often rumored. The veracity of this anecdote is, however, questioned repeatedly.

1751 Goldberg " chamber musician " in the private chapel of Count Brühl. He died in 1756 at the age of only 29 years in Dresden from tuberculosis.

Works

His compositions, however, are less well known. They are characterized by a certain melancholy and strong individual traits. Reported are:

• 24 Polonaises ( one in each major and minor key ) with variations
• Concertos for Harpsichord
• Five trio sonatas and a quartet Sonata
• Cantatas

Lost Gone are:

• Some chorale preludes