Christian Petzold (composer)

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For the filmmaker, see Christian Petzold (director).
Christian Petzold
Born1677
Died1733 (aged 55–56)
Occupations
  • Composer
  • Organist

Christian Petzold (1677 – 1733) was a German

Minuet in G major, previously attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, was in fact the work of Petzold. The sprightly melody was used in the 1965 pop music hit "A Lover's Concerto" by the American group The Toys.[1][2][3]

Life

He was born in Weißig near Königstein in 1677; the exact date of birth is unknown.

From 1703 Petzold worked as an organist at St. Sophia (Sophienkirche) in Dresden, and in 1709 he became court chamber composer and organist. He led an active musical life, giving concert tours that took him as far as Paris (1714) and Venice (1716). In 1720 he wrote a piece for the consecration of the new Silbermann organ at St. Sophia, and he performed a similar task at Rötha, near Leipzig, where another Silbermann organ was built. Petzold was also active as a teacher. His pupils included Carl Heinrich Graun.

Petzold died on 25 May 1733 and was buried three days later. His cause of death was recorded in the Dresden Kirchenwochenzettel as "Steckfluß" (choking rheum). The exact date of Petzold's death was given by the Dresden court musician Johann Samuel Kaÿser, who on 27 May 1733 petitioned for Petzold's position as organist in the St. Sophia. As is well known, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was appointed in Petzold's place, while the Italian composer Giovanni Alberto Ristori became the court organist.

Legacy

Contemporaries held Petzold in high regard.

Minuet in G major, achieved wide recognition, but for centuries was attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. Petzold's authorship was only established in the 1970s.[4]

Petzold always signed his name as Pezold.[citation needed]

Selected works

Vocal

  • Cantata Meine Seufzer, meine Klagen

Ensemble

Solo instrumental

Notes

  1. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5
    .‎
  2. ^ Williams, Peter F.. 2007. J.S. Bach: A Life in Music, p. 158. Cambridge University Press.
  3. ^ Schulenberg, David. 2006. The Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach, p. 448 and elsewhere.
  4. ^ Schulze, Hans-Joachim. "Ein 'Dresdner Menuett' im zweiten Klavierbüchlien der Anna Magdalena Bach. Nebst Hinweisen zur Überlieferung einiger Kammermusikwerke Bachs." Bach-Jahrbuch (1979 pp. 45–64), pp. 54–58, 64.

References

External links

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