Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz (; Czech: ''Jan Křtitel Krumpholtz'') (8 May 1742 – 19 February 1790) - however, the Czech source mentions, that the written record about his birth in the registers of Budenice or Zlonice from 1739 to 1756 does not exist. was a Czech

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

ist.

Biography

Krumpholz was born in, near Zlonice. He was the brother of Wenzel Krumpholz, violinist and mandolin player. He learned music from his father while growing up in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

; in 1773 he played a successful harp concerto in the

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in Vi ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. After serving three years in Count

Esterházy The House of Esterházy, also spelled Eszterházy (), is a Hungarian noble family with origins in the Middle Ages. From the 17th century, the Esterházys were the greatest landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, during the time that it ...

's court orchestra (1773–1776), during which he is said to have taken counterpoint lessons with

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

, he embarked on a successful concert tour of Europe. In Paris and

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

, he worked along with manufacturers

Jean Henri Naderman Jean-Henri Naderman (baptised 20 July 1734 – 4 February 1799) was one of the leading harp-makers in Paris in the 18th century, and also a music publisher. He supplied the Royal Household with his instruments and wrote his music in classical sty ...

, his son

François Joseph Naderman François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

, and Sébastien Érard towards improving the construction of the harp. He composed concertos and sonatas for harp and chamber music. Krumpholz drowned himself in the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

after his wife—former pupil

Anne-Marie Krumpholtz Anne-Marie Krumpholtz (''née'' Steckler) was a French harpist and composer. Life Anne-Marie Steckler was the daughter of Christian Steckler, an instrument maker frequented by harpist and composer Johann Baptist Krumpholtz in Metz, France. She st ...

(1755–1824), also a virtuoso harpist—eloped to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, although the story that this was with

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Jan Ladislav Dussek Jan Ladislav Dussek (baptized Jan Václav Dusík, Černušák, p. 271 with surname also written as Duschek or Düssek; 12 February 176020 March 1812) was a Czech classical composer and pianist. He was an important representative of Czech music ...

is apocryphal.

Style

Krumpholz composed 52 sonatas, 6 concertos and many preludes and variations for the harp. He wrote also harp duets, quartets and 4 sonatas for harp, 2 violins, 2 French horns and cello. Selected works *''Sonate für Flöte oder Violine und Harfe oder Klavier'' (published by H. J. Zingel in 1933) *''Sonata B dur pro harfu'' (Sonata in B-flat major for Harp) (published in 1935 by M. Zunová) *''Concertus in SI b mai ab arpa cum choro musico''

References

Articles

Floraleda Sacchi Floraleda Sacchi (June 14, 1978) is an Italian harpist, composer and musicologist born in Como. Biography She studied music in Italy, the United States and Canada, with Lisetta Rossi, Alice Giles, Judy Loman, Alice Chalifoux. She has won priz ...

, ''Krumpholtz'', Aulia, 2005
download

CD

, ''J.K. Krumpholtz: Sei Sonate op. 8 per flauto e arpa'' (Aulia, 2005).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krumpholtz, Jean-Baptiste 1742 births 1790 deaths Czech classical composers Czech male classical composers French male classical composers French classical harpists Composers for harp Pupils of Joseph Haydn Suicides by drowning in France 18th-century classical composers 18th-century French composers 18th-century male musicians 18th-century suicides