Johann Joachim Quantz (German: [kvants]; 30 January
1697 – 12 July 1773) was a German flutist, flute
maker and Baroque music composer. He composed hundreds
of flute sonatas and concertos, and wrote On Playing
the Flute, a treatise on flute performance. His works
were known and liked by Bach and Mozart.
Quantz was born as Hanß Jochim Quantz in Oberscheden,
near Göttingen, in the Electorate of Hanover. His
father, Andreas Quantz, was a blacksmith who died when
Hans was not yet 11; on...(+)
Johann Joachim Quantz (German: [kvants]; 30 January
1697 – 12 July 1773) was a German flutist, flute
maker and Baroque music composer. He composed hundreds
of flute sonatas and concertos, and wrote On Playing
the Flute, a treatise on flute performance. His works
were known and liked by Bach and Mozart.
Quantz was born as Hanß Jochim Quantz in Oberscheden,
near Göttingen, in the Electorate of Hanover. His
father, Andreas Quantz, was a blacksmith 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; 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.
In 1716 he joined the town band in Dresden, where in
1717 he studied counterpoint with Jan Dismas Zelenka.
In March 1718 he was appointed oboist 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, principal flute in
the Royal Orchestra. He became good friends with Johann
Georg Pisendel, concertmaster of the Royal Orchestra,
who greatly influenced his style.
Between 1724 and 1727 Quantz completed his education by
doing a "Grand Tour" of Europe as a flutist. He studied
counterpoint with Francesco Gasparini in Rome, met
Alessandro Scarlatti in Naples, befriended the flutist
Michel Blavet in Paris, and in London was encouraged by
Handel to remain there. In 1728 Quantz accompanied
August II on a state visit to Berlin. The Queen of
Prussia was impressed and wanted to hire him. Though
August II refused, he allowed Quantz to travel to
Berlin as often as he was asked to. That year the Crown
Prince, Frederick II of Prussia (Frederick the Great),
decided to study the flute and Quantz became his
teacher for several visits a year. Quantz later told
writer Friedrich Nicolai that he once had to hide in a
closet during an outburst of Frederick's domineering
father, who disapproved of his son's musical studies.
Until 1741 Quantz remained at the Saxon Court in
Dresden. He married Anna Rosina Carolina Schindler in
1737; the marriage was not happy, and it was generally
known in Berlin that Quantz's wife tyrannized him.
When Frederick II became King of Prussia in 1740,
Quantz finally accepted a position as flute teacher,
flute maker and composer at the court in Berlin. He
joined that court 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 (D#, in addition to the standard Eb) to help
with intonation, for example.
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 and flute technique in the 18th century.
Quantz remained at Frederick's court at Potsdam 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.
Few of Quantz's works were published during his
lifetime. Most of them are for transverse flute,
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.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Joachim_Quantz).<
br>
Although originally composed for Flute, Oboe &
Continuo, I created this Arrangement of the Trio Sonata
in C Minor (QV 2:Anh.5) for Flute, Violin & Cello.
PARTITION