Telemann

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767), if his mother had had her way, would never have become a composer. Despite the fact that he composed large-scale works from a very early age, his mother insisted that he should study law in Leipzig. But it was soon evident that his heart lay in music. Passing through Halle on his way to Leipzig, he took the opportunity to make acquaintance with George Frideric Handel, with whom he established a friendship. Telemann showed perseverance (a trait which was to stand him in good stead), and stuck to his ambitions as a composer. He gained a post in Leipzig, where he founded the Collegium Musicum later directed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Posts in Sorau, Eisenach (where he got to know Bach) and Frankfurt followed, and in 1721 he gained a top position as music director of nearly all the major churches of Hamburg. A year later he succeeded Reinhard Kaiser as artistic director of the Hamburg Opera. Until his death in 1767, Telemann lived and worked in Hamburg, and it would not be exaggerating to say that he was the most famous and popular composer of his day in Germany. This is partly due to the quality and scale of his oeuvre, and partly to the fact that he was a born entrepreneur, conscious of his talent and quite capable of using all modern means to bring his music to the attention of the public. Unlike many of his colleagues, Telemann was actively involved in the publication of his own works. He also founded Der Getreue Musikmeister, a sort of musical magazine in which new pieces by himself and others were published, thus finding their way into circles of domestic music making.