(b Danzig, bap. 14 March 1727; d Dresden, bur. 15 April 1756). German keyboard virtuoso and composer. Perhaps a pupil of Bach, he was harpsichordist (at Dresden) to Count Keyserlingk, who reportedly commissioned Bach's Goldberg Variations (c 1741) for him to play to cure or alleviate his insomnia. From 1751 he was in the service of Count von Brühl. Among his works are church cantatas and trio sonatas in a Bachian style, and keyboard music (including concertos) in a more modern idiom.

The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.