Categories
Baroque German

QUANTZ, Johann Joachim

Johann Joachim Quantz

Born in Oberscheden, Hanover, Jan 30, 1697
Died in Potsdam, July 12, 1773

  • In addition to being a respected composer and flutist, Johann Joachim Quantz (pronounded “kvants”) remains an influential figure in Western music due to his treatise, Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversiere zu spielen (Treatise on playing the transverse flute), published in 1752. The comprehensive text offers invaluable information on performance practices of the 18th century.
    • Interestingly, only five of its 18 chapters exclusively concern the flute specifically; the majority addresses general issues of interest to instrumentalists.1
  • Quantz’s musical foundation came from an apprenticeship starting at age 11 with his uncle, Justus Quantz, a town musician in Merseburg. Quantz learned violin, oboe, trumpet, and clavier, the latter of which inspired his interest in composition and harmony.
    • In his late teens (1716), Quantz continued his musical education and began fostering his professional career in Dresden. Not long after, Quantz was appointed as oboist for the Dresden Polish Chapel of Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Around this time, he became adamant about learning the flute (the instrument he would eventually become most famous for playing).
  • In 1728, Quantz accompanied Augustus II to visit the Prussian court of (then Crown Prince) Frederick the Great. Quantz made a big impression on Frederick and soon became the monarch’s flute teacher.
    • When Frederick became King of Prussia in 1740, Quantz joined his court officially as royal flute tutor, composer, and flute maker, where he remained for the rest of his life.
  • As a composer, Quantz wrote several hundred works, including over 300 flute concertos and over 200 flute sonatas.2
Concert for flute with Frederick the Great in Sanssouci by Adolph von Menzel
Concert for flute with Frederick the Great in Sanssouci by Adolph von Menzel

Learn More

Biography from Elysium Ensemble primarily based on the composer’s autobiography

Sources

  1. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Johann Joachim Quantz,” Encyclopedia Britannica (2023), accessed March 20, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Joachim-Quantz.
  2. Greg Dikmans, “Johann Joachim Quantz,” Elysium Ensemble, accessed March 21, 2023, http://elysiumensemble.com/notes/johann-joachim-quantz.html.

Pieces