Telemann, Georg Philipp (gā`ôrk fē`lĭp tĕl`əmän), 1681–1767, German composer. From 1721 until his death he was director of music for the five major churches in Hamburg. Extremely prolific, he composed scores of overtures, 40 operas, 12 complete services for the year, and other works in practically every form. Although he was highly regarded in his day, his reputation later declined because he was not an innovator; by the mid-20th cent., however, his critical reputation was again on the rise. Telemann is a major representative of the Hamburg school of the early 18th cent. A mixture of counterpoint and Italian operatic air forms his style. One of his best-known works is the oratorio entitled Der Tag des Gerichts [the day of judgment] (1762).

Telemann, Georg Philipp

(born March 14, 1681, Magdeburg, Brandenburg—died June 25, 1767, Hamburg) German composer. By age 10 he had learned several instruments, and he composed an opera at age 12, but his family discouraged his pursuit of a musical profession. While studying law at Leipzig University, he organized student music groups and became music director of the Leipzig Opera (1702), organist at the New Church (1704), and kapellmeister to a count (1705). Moving to Eisenach (c. 1708), where he met Johann Sebastian Bach, he composed French-style instrumental music and German-style sacred music. He moved to Gotha (1717) and then Hamburg (1721), where he served as musical director of the Opera (1722–38), for which he wrote several dozen Italian-influenced works. He wrote some 600 cantatas and a total of some 2,000 pieces, many of high quality.