Johann Friedrich Agricola

Johann Friedrich Agricola (4 January 1720, Dobitschen, Thuringia — 2 December 1774, Berlin) was a German composer, organist, singer, pedagogue, and writer on music (sometimes under his "Flavio Anicio Olibrio" pseudonym). Agricola was a close disciple of Johann Sebastian Bach and co-authored the composer's well-known obituary in 1754 with C.P.E. Bach. His annotations and diaries became a crucial historiographical source for a deeper understanding of Bach's views on early fortepianos and other instruments, including his feedback to Gottfried Silbermann. Agricola first met J.S. Bach while studying law in Leipzig in the late 1730s. Johann Friedrich relocated to Berlin in 1741 to pursue further studies in composition under Johann Joachim Quantz. He established a prolific career as a concert organist and had several of his works premiered. In 1750, following the success of Agricola's comic opera, Il Filosofo Convinto In Amore in Potsdam, King Frederick the "Great" appointed him as a court composer. In 1759, after Carl Heinrich Graun's death, J.F. Agricola also took over as the Royal Orchestra conductor.