Johann Christian Jacobi (1719 – 1784) was a German oboist and composer of the Baroque period.
Jacobi was born in Tilsit, Prussian Lithuania (now Sovetsk, Russia). He had his first lessons on the oboe from his father, a skilled player of the violin and oboe. [1] After the premature death of his father, he spent a period of self-tuition before moving to Berlin where he immediately sought lessons with the royal Kammermusicus and famous oboe virtuoso Peter Glösch. [2] [3] In 1746, he was accepted into the Hofkapelle of Frederick the Great and, at this time, began studying composition with his colleague, the flautist Friedrich Wilhelm Riedt. [4] [5]
By 1754, Jacobi was employed as the principal oboist in the Hofkapelle of Frederick the Great's cousin, Charles Frederick Albert, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt in Berlin. [6] [7] On the recommendation of Johann Joachim Quantz, in 1768 King Frederick appointed Jacobi as the director of the Hautboistenschule [8] in Potsdam, responsible for training the nearly 2,000 oboists in the Prussian army. [9]
Jacobi was a member of the "Freitagsakademien" (Friday academies), a musical society which met each Friday at the house of Johann Gottlieb Janitsch. [10] [11] For Jacobi, Janitsch was said to have composed all manner of trios, quartets and concertos in "all the usual and unusual keys". [12] Such pieces allowed Jacobi to improve his skills as an oboist, and earned him a great reputation amongst Berlin's musical societies. Two works [13] by Janitsch bear a dedication to Jacobi, and several other works in extremely uncharacteristic keys for the oboe [14] by Janitsch can be presumed to have been composed for him. They are a testament to his great skill on the instrument. Bruce Haynes lists him among the great oboists of the baroque period. [15]
Unfortunately, no compositions by Jacobi have survived.