Johann Joachim Quantz (; 30 January 1697 – 12 July 1773) was a German composer,
flutist
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with Reed (instrument), reeds, a fl ...
and flute maker of the late
Baroque period
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
. Much of his professional career was spent in the court 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 ...
. Quantz composed hundreds of flute
sonata
Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...
s and
concerto
A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...
s, and wrote ''On Playing the Flute'', an influential treatise on flute performance. His works were known and appreciated by
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
,
Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
and
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
.
Biography
1697–1723: Early life
Quantz was born as Hanß Jochim Quantz in
Oberscheden, near
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
, in the
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...
. His father, Andreas Quantz, was a
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
who died when Hans was not yet 11; on his deathbed, he begged his son to follow in his footsteps. Nevertheless, from 1708 to 1713 he began his musical studies as a child with his uncle Justus Quantz, a town musician in
Merseburg
Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...
; he also studied for a time with a cousin's husband, the organist Johann Friedrich Kiesewetter. From 1714 on, Quantz studied composition extensively and pored over scores of the masters to adopt their style.
[Biography]
with translated excerpts of Quantz's autobiography at a Elysium ensemble's website.
In 1716 he joined the town band in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
, where in 1717 he studied
counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
with
Jan Dismas Zelenka
Jan Dismas Zelenka (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745), baptised Jan Lukáš Zelenka was a Czech composer and musician of the Baroque period. His music is admired for its harmonic inventiveness and mastery of counterpoint.
Zelenka was raise ...
. In March 1718 he was appointed
oboist
An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette.
The following is a list of notable past and pres ...
in the newly formed Dresden Polish Chapel of
August II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. As it became clear that he couldn't advance as an oboist in the Polish Chapel, Quantz decided to pursue the flute, studying briefly in 1719 with
Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin
Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin (Toulon, 24 March 1693 - Paris, 13 January 1768) was a French flutist and composer of the late Baroque period. He was a son of Jean-Joseph Buffardin (Vaison-la-Romaine, 22 July 1664 - Avignon, 28 August 1726), an instru ...
, principal flute in the
Royal Orchestra. He became good friends with
Johann Georg Pisendel
Johann Georg Pisendel ( – 25 November 1755) was a German Baroque violinist and composer who, for many years, led the Court Orchestra in Dresden as concertmaster, then the finest instrumental ensemble in Europe. He was the leading violinist of ...
, concertmaster of the Royal Orchestra, who greatly influenced his style.
[
]
1724–1727: Grand tour
Between 1724 and 1727 Quantz completed his education by doing a "Grand Tour" of Europe as a flutist. He studied counterpoint with Francesco Gasparini
Francesco Gasparini (19 March 1661 – 22 March 1727) was an Italian Baroque composer and teacher whose works were performed throughout Italy, and also on occasion in Germany and England.
Biography
Born in Camaiore, near Lucca, he studied in ...
in Rome, met Alessandro Scarlatti
Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan school of opera.
...
in Naples, befriended the flutist Michel Blavet
Michel Blavet (March 13, 1700 – October 28, 1768) was a French composer and flute virtuoso. Although Blavet taught himself to play almost every instrument, he specialized in the bassoon and the flute which he held to the left, the opposite of ho ...
in Paris, and in London was encouraged by Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
to remain there. During Carnival 1728 the Crown Prince, 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 ...
, visited Dresden and met or rehearsed with Pisendel
Johann Georg Pisendel ( – 25 November 1755) was a German Baroque violinist and composer who, for many years, led the Court Orchestra in Dresden as concertmaster, then the finest instrumental ensemble in Europe. He was the leading violinist of ...
and Quantz. In April Frederick suffered from depressions and hardly ate anything; his father feared for his life. In May 1728 Quantz accompanied August II on a state visit to Berlin. The Queen of Prussia
The Queen of Prussia (german: Königin von Preußen) was the queen consort of the ruler of the Kingdom of Prussia, from its establishment in 1701 to its abolition in 1918. As all rulers of Prussia had to be male, there was never a Queen regnant ...
was impressed and wanted to hire him for her son. Though August II refused, he allowed Quantz to travel to Berlin and Bayreuth twice a year. In June 1730 he took part in Zeithainer Lustlager and travelled to Berlin. Quantz later told writer Friedrich Nicolai
Christoph Friedrich Nicolai (18 March 1733 – 11 January 1811) was a German writer and bookseller.
Life
Nicolai was born in Berlin, where his father, Christoph Gottlieb Nicolai (d. 1752), was the founder of the bookseller ''Nicolaisch ...
that he and Hans Hermann von Katte
Hans Hermann von Katte (28 February 1704 – 6 November 1730) was a Lieutenant of the Prussian Army, and a friend, tutor and possible lover of the future King Frederick II of Prussia, who was at the time the Crown Prince. Katte was executed by Fr ...
one day had to hide in a closet during an outburst of Frederick's domineering father, who disapproved of his son's hairstyle, musical studies, questionable books and fancy dressing gowns. Quantz married Anna Rosina Carolina Schindler in 1737; the marriage was not happy, and it was generally known in Berlin that his wife tyrannized him. Until 1741 Quantz remained at the Saxon Court in Dresden.
1741–1773: Court of Frederick
When Frederick II became King of Prussia in 1740, Quantz finally accepted a position as flute teacher, flute maker and composer. He joined at the court in Berlin in December 1741 and stayed there for the rest of his career.[ He made flutes from at least 1739 and was an innovator in flute design, adding a second key (Eb, in addition to the standard D#) to help with intonation, for example. Frederick owned 11 flutes made by Quantz.
As well as writing hundreds of sonatas and concertos, mainly for the flute, he is known today as the author of ''Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversiere zu spielen'' (1752) (titled ''On Playing the Flute'' in English), a treatise on traverso flute playing. It is a valuable source of reference regarding ]performance practice
Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of the musical era in whic ...
and flute technique in the 18th century.
Quantz never joined his orchestra, lived in Berlin-Mitte
Mitte () (German for "middle" or "center") is a central locality () of Berlin in the eponymous district () of Mitte. Until 2001, it was itself an autonomous district.
Mitte proper comprises the historic center of Alt-Berlin centered on the chu ...
(Kronenstrasse), but played at Frederick's court until his death in 1773. A biography appeared in 1755 in Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg's ''Historisch-kritischen Beyträgen zur Aufnahme der Musik''; another, in Italian, followed in 1762. His grandnephew, Albert Quantz, published a full-length biography in 1877.
Works
Few of Quantz's works were published during his lifetime. Most of them are for transverse flute
A transverse flute or side-blown flute is a flute which is held horizontally when played. The player blows across the embouchure hole, in a direction perpendicular to the flute's body length.
Transverse flutes include the Western concert flut ...
, including more than 200 sonatas, around 300 concertos, including several for two flutes; around 45 trio sonatas (mostly for 2 flutes or flute and violin, with continuo); 6 quartets for flute, violin, viola and continuo; various flute duets and flute trios; and unaccompanied caprices and fantasias for flute.
The thematic catalog for Quantz's works was published by Horst Augsbach.[H. Augsbach, ''Johann Joachim Quantz: Thematisch-systematisch Werkverzeichnis'', (Stuttgart, ]Carus-Verlag
Carus-Verlag is a German music publisher founded in 1972 and based in Stuttgart.
Carus was founded by choral conductor Günter Graulich and his wife Waltraud with an emphasis on choral repertoire. The catalogue currently includes more than 26,00 ...
, 1997) 'QV' stands for 'Quantz Verzeichnis', and 'Anh.' for 'Anhang' ("supplement") when the authenticity of the works is in doubt. A number of additional works have been discovered or come to light since its publication.
References
Further reading
*Oleskiewicz, Mary. “Quantz’s Flute Quartets Lost and Found,” Flute Talk 24 (April 2005): 13–20.
*Oleskiewicz, Mary. “Quantz’s Quatuors and Other Works Newly Discovered,” Early Music 31 (2003): 484–505.
*Oleskiewicz, Mary. ''Johann Joachim Quantz: Six Quartets for Flute, Violin, Viola, and Basso Continuo'' (Ann Arbor: Steglein Publishing, 2004).
*Oleskiewicz, Mary. ''Johann Joachim Quantz: Seven Trio Sonatas, Recent Researches in Music of the Baroque Era,'' vol. 111 (Middleton, Wis.: A-R Editions, 2001).
*Oleskiewicz, Mary. “The Flutes of Quantz: Their Construction and Performing Practice,” Galpin Society Journal 52 (2000): 201–220.
*Oleskiewicz, Mary. ''Quantz and the flute at Dresden: his instruments, his repertory, and their significance for the "Versuch" and the Bach circle.'' PhD diss., Duke University, 1999.
*Oleskiewicz, Mary. “The Trio in Bach’s Musical Offering: A Salute to Frederick’s Tastes and Quantz’s Flutes?,” in Bach Perspectives, Volume 4: The Music of J.S. Bach: Analysis and Interpretation, ed. David Schulenberg (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999), 79–110.
*Oleskiewicz, Mary. “Eine Quantz-Flöte in Halle? Zuordnungen und Überlegungen zu Quantz als Flötenbauer,” in Festschrift für Rainer Weber, Scripta Artium, vol. 1 (Leipzig: Universität Leipzig, 1999), pp. 79–84.
*Oleskiewicz, Mary. “A Museum, a World War, and a Rediscovery: Flutes by Quantz and Others from the Hohenzollern Museum,” Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society 24 (1998): 107–45.
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External links
A biography of Quantz taken largely from his autobiography published in 1754–5
Information about the Quantz association
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The Quantz Project
- The complete works recorded by Benedek Csalog & Alexis Kossenko
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quantz, Johann Joachim
1697 births
1773 deaths
German Baroque composers
18th-century classical composers
German male classical composers
German classical flautists
Flute makers
German recorder players
German multi-instrumentalists
Pupils of Johann Joseph Fux
People from Göttingen (district)
18th-century German composers
18th-century German male musicians