(b. Magdeburg, March 14, 1681; d. Hamburg, June 25, 1767)

German composer. Regarded in his day  Germany's most important composer, he was one of the most productive musicians in history, writing works in virtually every form of significance to the 18th century, including opera. He successfully united the elements of different national styles in a fluent, cosmopolitan idiom that influenced many of his colleagues and represented an important link between the late Baroque and the emerging aesthetic of Classicism.

Unlike J. S. Bach, his slightly  younger contemporary, he did not come from a distinguished musical family. His father was a schoolmaster and member of the clergy, his mother the daughter of a Protestant minister. He was interested in music from childhood, received a thorough general education, and in 1701 enrolled in the University of Leipzig to study law. His talent—he was an accomplished performer on many instruments, particularly the violin, and a fine singer—quickly drew him into Leipzig's musical life. In 1702 he founded an association of student musicians (a collegium musicum) and became director of the city's opera. His successful ventures quickly brought him into conflict with the Kantor of the Thomaskirche, Johann Kuhnau, who clearly did not enjoy having someone of Telemann's talent encroaching on his territory. In 1705, following several complaints from Kuhnau to the Leipzig town council, Telemann found it expedient to leave for Poland, where he served as Kapellmeister to the Count of Promnitz at Sorau. Between 1708 and 1712 he worked in Eisenach at the court of Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach, serving first as director of instrumental music and subsequently as Kapellmeister. While in Eisenach he got to know Bach, who in 1714 asked him to stand as godfather to his son Carl Philipp Emanuel. From 1712 to 1721 Telemann served as music director for the city of Frankfurt, taking a cut in pay in order to have a job that offered greater artistic freedom than a court appointment. Hamburg, with its great opera tradition, beckoned in 1721. Here Telemann remained for the rest of his life, enjoying many productive years, building a thriving music publishing business, and keeping up with the latest musical developments via personal contacts and an active correspondence with many other musicians.