Johann Gottfried Eckard

Who was Johann Gottfried Eckard?

Johann Gottfried Eckard was a German pianist and composer.

Eckard was born in Augsburg. In his youth he became a professional copper engraver and acquired his musical training in his leisure time, mainly from C.P.E. Bach's Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen and its six ‘Probesonaten’. In 1758 the piano and organ manufacturer Johann Andreas Stein took him to Paris, where he lived for the rest of his life. At first he supported himself by painting miniatures, a craft in which he apparently possessed considerable skill. He practised the piano in his free time and quickly developed a great facility. Many successful concerts soon gained him fame and numerous students.

Leopold Mozart became acquainted with Eckard during his visit to Paris in the winter of 1763–4, and expressed high regard for him. Grimm, in his Correspondence littéraire, called Eckard ‘the strongest’ of all Parisian composers, stating that ‘he has genius, the most beautiful ideas, with a manner of playing full of feeling and an extraordinary lightness’. That this was not merely a momentary captivation of the Parisian musical circles is attested by J.-B. de La Borde, who declared in 1780 that Eckard's execution at the keyboard was ‘the most brilliant and pleasing’ and that ‘he excels particularly at preluding for entire hours making the time pass as moments for those who listen to him’. Burney gave further testimony to the high regard felt for him by his contemporaries: