Jean-Baptiste Krumpholtz | en

Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz (lang-cz: Jan Křtitel Krumpholtz) (8 May 1742 – 19 February 1790) was a Czech composer and harpist.

Krumpholz was born in Budenice, near Zlonice. He learned music from his father while growing up in Paris; in 1773 he played a successful harp concerto in the Burgtheater in Vienna. After serving three years in Count Esterházy's court orchestra (1773–1776) during which he is said to have taken counterpoint lessons with Joseph Haydn, he embarked on a successful concert tour of Europe. In Paris and Metz he worked with manufacturers F. Nadermann and S. Erard towards improving the construction of the harp. He composed concertos and sonatas for harp and chamber music. He drowned himself in the Seine after his pupil and later wife, Anne-Marie Krumpholtz (1755–1824), also a virtuoso harpist, eloped to London, although the story that this was with pianist Jan Ladislav Dussek is apocryphal.[citation needed]

Krumpholtz composed 52 sonatas, 6 concertos and many preludes and variations for harp.[1] He wrote also harp duets, quartets and 4 sonatas for harp, 2 violins, 2 French horns and cello.
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