Johann Gottlieb Goldberg

Johann Gottlieb Goldberg (baptised 14 March 1727 – 13 April 1756) was a German virtuoso harpsichordist, organist, and composer of the late Baroque and early Classical period. He is most famous for lending his name, as the probable original performer, to the renowned Goldberg Variations of J.S. Bach. He was probably of German ancestry, and was born in Gdansk (Danzig) in Poland. Little is known for certain about his childhood, other than that he wa... more

Johann Gottlieb Goldberg (baptised 14 March 1727 – 13 April 1756) was a German virtuoso harpsichordist, organist, and composer of the late Baroque and early Classical period. He is most famous for lending his name, as the probable original performer, to the renowned Goldberg Variations of J.S. Bach. He was probably of German ancestry, and was born in Gdansk (Danzig) in Poland. Little is known for certain about his childhood, other than that he was an exceptionally talented performer, attracting the attention of Hermann Karl von Keyserlingk, the Russian ambassador to Saxony, around 1737. Goldberg was reported to have studied with both J.S. Bach and Wilhelm Friedmann Bach, J.S. Bach's eldest son, though the periods of study are not known; Goldberg may have studied with J.S. Bach as early as 1737, shortly after Keyserlingk recognized his talent in Danzig, and Goldberg may have studied with W.F. Bach at any time before 1745, since W.F. Bach was in Dresden throughout Keyserlingk's tenure... less