Christian Gottlob Neefe

Who was Christian Gottlob Neefe?

Christian Gottlob Neefe was a German opera composer and conductor.

Neefe was born in Chemnitz, Saxony. He received a musical education and started to compose at the age of 12. He studied law at Leipzig University, but subsequently returned to music to become a pupil of the composer Johann Adam Hiller under whose guidance he wrote his first comic operas.

In 1776 Neefe joined the Seyler theatrical company of Abel Seyler in Dresden, and inherited the position of musical director from his mentor, Johann Adam Hiller. He later became court organist in Bonn and was a teacher of Ludwig van Beethoven. He helped Beethoven produce some of his first works. His best known work was a Singspiel called Adelheit von Veltheim. In Bonn, Neefe became prefect of the local chapter of the Illuminati, the Minervalkirche Stagira . He died in Dessau.