Johann Friedrich Ernst Benda, also Ernst Friedrich Johann Benda, Ernst Benda, (1747 in Berlin - 24 February 1785 in Berlin) was a German musician and
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 ...
of
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
n origin.
Life
Johann Friedrich Ernst Benda was the eldest son of the court musician and
Kapellmeister
(, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...
Joseph Benda. From an early age, he received instruction on piano and violin from hs father, and in 1766 at the age of 19, was employed in the royal
Hofkapelle
A court chapel (German: Hofkapelle) is a chapel (building) and/or a chapel as a musical ensemble associated with a royal or noble court. Most of these are royal (court) chapels, but when the ruler of the court is not a king, the more generic "co ...
of
Frederick the Great
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
in Berlin as ''Kammermusikus''. In 1770, together with the violist Carl Ludwig Bachmann, he founded the so-called ''Liebhaberkonzerte'', which he directed until his death. These performances, which continued until 1797,
[Eitner] took place in the ''Corsicaischen Saale'' opposite
Schloss Monbijou
Monbijou Palace was a Rococo palace in central Berlin located in the present-day Monbijou Park on the north bank of the Spree river across from today's Bode Museum and within sight of the Hohenzollern city palace. Heavily damaged in World War I ...
(today
Oranienburger Straße
Oranienburger Straße ( en, Oranienburger Street) is a street in central Berlin. It is located in the borough of Mitte, north of the River Spree, and runs south-east from Friedrichstraße to Hackescher Markt.
The street is popular with tourists ...
) and were mostly subscription events with his own orchestra and choir. One notable guest soloist was
Johann Friedrich Reichardt, who later married
Juliane Benda (d. 1785) and then Minna Brandes (daughter of actor and poet Johann Christian Brandes).
Wilhelm Otto Gottlieb Benda (1775–1832), one of three sons of Johann Friedrich Ernst Benda became ''Kriminalrat'' and mayor of Landsut, Silesia (today
Kamienna Góra, Poland) and made a name for himself as a translator and writer.
Works
* ''Minuetto per il Cembalo con Variazioni ''in F major, 1768 listed in Breitkopf
* Concerto in G major for violin, strings and continuo (listed in MGG)
See also
*
Benda (surname)
The surname Benda may refer to:
;A prominent family of musicians originally from Bohemia, chiefly:
* (1686–1757), weaver, musician; married Dorota Brixi (1686–1762) of the noted musical family
** Franz Benda (Czech: František Benda; 1709–1 ...
References
Bibliography
* Ernst Ludwig Gerber
''Historisch-Biographisches Lexicon der Tonkünstler.''Leipzig 1790, Page 130.
* Robert Eitner
''Biographisch-bibliographisches Quellen-Lexikon der Musiker und Musikgelehrten der christlichen Zeitrechnung bis zur Mitte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts.''Band 1, Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1900, page 432.
''Musikalisches conversations-lexikon.''L. Heimann 1870, page 406.
* Carl Freiherrn von Ledebur
''Tonkünstler-Lexicon Berlin's von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf die Gegenwart.''1861, page 38
* Franz Lorenz: ''Die Musikerfamilie Benda.'' Band 1: ''
Franz Benda''. Wilhelm de Gruyter, Berlin 1967, pages 74–76.
* ''
Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'' (MGG), Zweite, neubearbeitete Ausgabe, edited by
Ludwig Finscher
Ludwig Finscher (14 March 193030 June 2020) was a German musicologist. He was a professor of music history at the University of Heidelberg from 1981 to 1995 and editor of the encyclopedia ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart''. He is respecte ...
Personenteil 2, Bag–Bi, Bärenreiter, Kassel 1999, Spalte 1072.
* Marion Fürst
''Maria Theresia Paradis: Mozarts berühmte Zeitgenossin.''Band 4, Böhlau Verlag, Köln Weimar 2005, , , page 134.
* Hans Erich Bödeker e. a.
''Le concert et son public: mutations de la vie musicale en Europe de 1780 à 1914 (France, Allemagne, Angleterre).''Verlag Les Editions de la MSH, 2002, , page 168.
* (Familienartikel)
*
External links
''Benda, Ernst Friedrich Johann.''In: Josef Focht (Hrsg.): ''Bayerisches Musiker-Lexikon Online.'' 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benda, Johann Friedrich Ernst
German male classical composers
German Classical-period composers
Musicians from Berlin
18th-century classical composers
18th-century German people
1744 births
1785 deaths
18th-century German composers
18th-century German male musicians