pupil of Haydn, and in the Esterhazy orchestra in 1778-90 and in that of Lobkowitz from 1796; Nikolaus Kraft (d.1853), his son and also in the Lobkowitz band, at Stuttgart from 1814 (important works); and Jakob Christian Michael Widerkehr (d. 1823), at Paris from 1783, playing several instruments and teaching singing. Here may be added the extraordinary double-bassist Domenico Dragonetti (d. 1846), a Venetian, famous at 13 (1776) for his unexampled skill, from 1794 at London, preserving for a full half-century his singular eminence.
A distinguished flutist was Johann Georg Wunderlich (d. 1819), prominent at Paris from 1779 as player, composer and teacher.
Among the oboists may be named Christian Samuel Barth (d. 1809), when a boy a pupil of J.S. Bach; Johann Christian Fischer (d. 1800), from 1760 at Dresden, from 1780 at London; and especially Ludwig August Le Brun (d. 1790), from 1764 in the Mannheim and Munich orchestra, but widely known through tours.
François Devienne (d. 1803), a noted Parisian player on both the flute and the bassoon, was an abundant composer for ensembles that called for great advances in the technique of the wind instruments, and also issued a good flute Method (1795).
From the noted early clarinettists we select Franz Tausch (d. 1817), one of a large family of players, in the Mannheim and Munich orchestra from 1770, and from 1789 at the Berlin court; Joseph Beer (d. 1811), from 1771 in service in France, later also at the Berlin court—the inventor of the fifth key on his instrument; Michel Yost (d. 1786, 32 years old), pupil of Beer at Paris, from 1777 a favorite concert-player (many works); Jean Xavier Lefèvre (d. 1829), pupil of Yost, public player from 1787, at the Opéra in 1791-1817, teacher in the Conservatoire from 1795, for which he prepared a Method (1802)—inventor of the sixth key; and Johann Heinrich Backofen (d. 1830), first appearing about 1789, a specialist on several instruments and from 1815 head of a factory of wind instruments at Darmstadt.
Famous among players on the horn, and composers for it and kindred instruments, were Johann Wenzel Stich [Italianized Punto] (d. 1803), a Bohemian who appeared as a virtuoso about 1775, was in Paris in 1782-99, then returned to Vienna and Prague (numerous facile works and a Method, 1798); Johann Andreas Amon (d. 1825), pupil of Stich and long his companion on tours, from 1789 at Heilbronn, from 1817 at Wallenstein; and Georg Abraham Schneider (d. 1839), in Prince Henry's orchestra at Rheinsberg from 1790, from 1802 in court service at Berlin, an expert on wind instruments and a prolific composer of varied works, including operettas and sacred music.
Here may be mentioned the fact that about 1750 Johann Anton Mareš (d. 1794), a Bohemian, introduced in Russia the peculiar form of horn-music in which each player in the band plays but a single tone (just as in old English change-ringing there was a ringer for each bell).
Reference should also be made to the noted harpist Johann Baptist Krumpholtz (d. 1790), who appeared at Vienna in 1772, worked for a time with Haydn, from 1776 settled in Paris, where he influenced Érard in the improvement of his instrument (important works).
