Johann Schobert

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Johann Schobert (died August 28, 1767) was a composer and harpsichordist. His date and place of birth are disputed. Some sources say he was born in 1735 in Schlesien, Austria;^[1] others have him from Silesia, as suggested by Friedrich Melchior von Grimm, or from Nuremberg, as claimed by Christian Schubart in his autobiography. The date of Schobert's birth is given variously as about 1720, about 1735, or about 1740.

In 1760, Schobert moved to Paris where he served the Prince of Conti. He composed many books of sonatas for his instrument, most of them with an accompanying part for one or more other instruments. Schobert also wrote harpsichord concertos, symphonies and the opéra comique le Garde-Chasse et le Braconnier.

In Paris, Schobert came in contact with Leopold Mozart. Reportedly, Schobert was offended by Mozart's comments that his children played Schobert's works with ease.

Schobert was a significant influence on the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who arranged a number of movements from Schobert's sonatas for use in his own piano concertos.

Schobert died in Paris, along with his wife and one of his children, after mistakenly eating poisonous mushrooms.

[edit] Sources

• Article on Johann Schobert in the German Wikipedia
• Article on Johann Schobert in the French Wikipedia
• The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, 1994, Oxford University Press.

[edit] References