Johann Ludwig Krebs

Johann Ludwig Krebs (baptized 12 October 1713 – 1 January 1780) was a German Baroque musician and composer for the pipe organ, harpsichord, other instruments and orchestras. His output also included chamber music, choral works and concertos. Life Krebs was born in 1713 in Buttelstedt to Johann Tobias Krebs, an organist. At least three of his brothers were musically talented. Krebs was sent to Leipzig to study organ, lute, and the violin. Krebs studied with Johann Sebastian Bach on the organ. Bach (who had also instructed Krebs’s father) held Krebs in high standing. From a technical standpoint, Krebs was unrivaled next to Bach in his organ proficiency. However, Krebs found it difficult to obtain a patron or a cathedral post. His Baroque style was being supplanted by the newer galant music style and the classical music era. Krebs took a small post in Zwickau, Krebs’s Fantasia in F minor for oboe and organ is one of his best-known works, as is the Eight Short Preludes and Fugues that are sometimes attributed to him as well as to his father and J. S. Bach. He is also remembered for two large-scale concertos for lute and orchestra. Krebs’s three sons became well-known performers in thei