Georg Philipp Telemann

Georg Philipp Telemann was one of the most prolific composers of the Baroque period, admired in his time as the equal of Bach and Handel. Born in Magdeburg in 1681, he taught himself various instruments as a child, but his family confiscated all his instruments when he wanted to compose his first opera at the age of twelve, forbidding him of any further involvement with music. Telemann continued to compose in secret, however, while at boarding school. He later gained practical experience in the Godehardi Church at Hildesheim, while visits to Hanover and Brunswick brought him into contact with French instrumental music and Italian opera. In 1701, he enrolled at the University of Leipzig with the aim of studying law, but music soon gained the upper hand. Upon leaving Magdeburg, he also left his instruments and previous compositions behind, so that his fellow students at the university had no idea of his musical talents. It wasn't until a roommate came across one of Telemann's compositions and performed it in the Thomaskirche that the mayor of Leipzig heard the piece and offered Telemann a major composition commission, which was to become the starting signal for a brilliant career. After serving as a Director of the Leipzig Opera, where some of his earliest works were staged, he spent three years as Kapellmeister to Count Erdmann II of Promnitz at Sorau. In 1704, Telemann took over the position of organist at the Neue Kirche, and in 1708 he was appointed Kapellmeister in Eisenach. By the time he was appointed Director of Music in Frankfurt in 1712, his name was known throughout Germany. An almost exact contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, he found himself in competition with the latter on more than one occasion when it came to filling new posts in his country's musical life. In 1721, he became Music Director in Hamburg, where he assumed responsibility for the city's church music and later also for the opera. Rejecting the post of Thomaskantor in Leipzig in 1722, Telemann stayed in Hamburg, which remained his centre of activity until his death. (The Leipzig post was subsequently given to Bach.) Whereas the earlier part of his career had been devoted to operas and instrumental music, he spent his final twelve years concentrating on sacred music. Overall, his oeuvre includes some 1,000 orchestral suites, 600 overtures in the Italian style, 40 operas, 1,000 cantatas, the instrumental collection Tafelmusik, and numerous pieces for harpsichord and organ.