Christian Gottlob Neefe
Christian Gottlob Neefe (German: [ˈneːfə]; 5 February 1748 – 28 January 1798) was a German opera composer and conductor.
Neefe was born in Chemnitz, Saxony. He received a musical education and started to compose at the age of 12. He studied law at Leipzig University, but subsequently returned to music to become a pupil of the composer Johann Adam Hiller under whose guidance he wrote his first comic operas.
In 1776 Neefe joined the Seyler theatrical company of Abel Seyler (then) in Dresden, and inherited the position of musical director from his mentor, Hiller. He later became court organist in Bonn and was the principal piano teacher of Ludwig van Beethoven. He helped Beethoven produce some of his first works. His best known work was a Singspiel called Adelheit von Veltheim (1780). In Bonn, Neefe became prefect of the local chapter of the Illuminati, the Minervalkirche Stagira.[1] He died in Dessau.
Works
Operas
| Title | Genre | Subdivisions | Libretto | Première date | Place, theatre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DorfbarbierDer Dorfbarbier (with Johann Adam Hiller) | komische Operette | 1 act | WeisseChristian Felix Weiße, after Michel-Jean Sedaine's Blaise le savetier | 1771-04-1818 April 1771 | Leipzig, Rannstädter Thore |
| ApothekeDie Apotheke | komische Oper | 2 acts | EngelJohann Jacob Engel | 1771-12-1313 December 1771 | Berlin, Theater in der Behrenstrasse |
| Amors Guckkasten | Operette | 1 act | MichaelisJohann Benjamin Michaelis | 1772-05-1010 May 1772 | Leipzig |
| EinsprücheDie Einsprüche | komische Oper | 1 act | MichaelisJohann Benjamin Michaelis | 1772-99-00late 1772 | Leipzig, Rannstädter Thore |
| Zemire und Azor | komische Oper | 4 acts | ThümmelMoritz August von Thümmel, after Jean-François Marmontel | 1776-03-055 March 1776 | Leipzig (Koberwein Company) |
| Heinrich und Lyda | Drama | 1 act | ArienBernhard Christian d'Arien | 1776-03-2626 March 1776 | Berlin, (Döbbelin Company) |
| Sophonisbe | musikaliches Drama | 1 act | MeissnerAugust Gottlieb Meissner | 1776-10-1212 October 1776 | Leipzig |
| ZigeunerDie Zigeuner | Lustspiel mit gesang | 5 acts | MöllerH F Möller, after Cervantes | 1777-11-00November 1777 | Frankfurt |
| Adelheit von Veltheim | Schauspiel mit Gesang | 4 acts | GroßmannGustav Friedrich Wilhelm Großmann | 1780-09-2323 September 1780 | Frankfurt, Junghof |
| neueDer neue Gutsherr | 3 acts | DyckJohann Gottfried Dyck and Johann Friedrich Jünger, after Marivaux's Le paysan parvenu | 9999-99-99unperformed |
Other works
- Oden von Klopstock: Serenade for piano and voice. Flensburg 1776
- Twelve piano sonatas
- Rondeau in C major
References
- ↑ Freimaurer-Akten, Bonn, group 5: "Die Brüder des Bonner Illuminatenordens betreffende Papiere", part 4: "Tabelle Tabelle (...) über die Insinuation des Amtskellers Uxfxbx zu Mainz" (i.e. Adam Umpfenbach), manuscript by Glaukus (i.e. Christian Gottlob Neefe), Stagira, 30 Dimeh 1152 (i.e. 30 October 1782), University of Bonn (German)
External links
- Free scores by Christian Gottlob Neefe at the International Music Score Library Project
- Operone Neefe page, accessed 13 November 2009