Georg Philipp Telemann was born in Magdeburg in 1681. He belonged to a family that had long been connected with the Lutheran Church. His father was a clergyman, his mother was the daughter of a clergyman, and his older brother also became a clergyman. If it had not been for his musical abilities Georg also would have followed in his father’s footsteps. As a child he mastered the violin, flute, zither, and keyboard by the age of ten. At the age of twelve he composed and opera called Sigismundus. His family disapproved highly of his success in music. This resistance though reinforced his determination to persevere in his studies through transcription and modeling his works on composers such as Agostino Steffani, Johann Rosenmuller, Corelli and Antonio Caldara. At Leipzig University he majored in law at his mother’s insistence in 1701.

While he was a student at Leipzig University a career in music became inevitable. Within a year of being in t

His works include both sacred and secular. He produced 1043 church cantatas, and 46 total settings of the Passion for each year he was in Hamburg. He also wrote operas and public performances. . His salary at Hamburg was about three times what Johann Sebastian Bach earned at Leipzig.

Georg remained in Hamburg until he died in 1767. His position was taken over by his godson Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Although many think Georg was always in Hamburg he wasn’t. He traveled to Berlin where he was exposed to Polish music and Paris.

Georg gained the coveted post of Kantor of the Hamburg Johanneum when it became vacant. This post carried with it teaching responsibilities and the dictatorship of Hamburg’s five principal churches. As Kantor he was required to compose two cantatas a week, annually produce a new Passion, and to provide occasional works for church and civil ceremonies.

he university he founded the student Collegium Musicum with which he gave public concerts. In 1703 he wrote operatic works for the Leipzig Theater and became musical director of the Leipzig Opera. He was also appointed organist at the Neue Kirche in 1704.

Some topics in this essay:
French Italian, Lutheran Church, Hamburg Johanneum, Gorner Georg, Georg Hamburg, Hamburg Opera, Leipzig University, Prince Bayreuth, Leipzig Georg, City Council, post kantor, church cantatas, hamburg opera, leipzig university, georg accepted, public concerts,