Johann Nikolaus Forkel

Johann Nikolaus Forkel
Forkel in a 1813 engraving by Carl Traugott Riedel
Born
Johann Nikolaus Forkel

(1749-02-22)22 February 1749
Died20 March 1818(1818-03-20) (aged 69)

Johann Nikolaus Forkel (22 February 1749 – 20 March 1818) was a German musicologist and music theorist, generally regarded as among the founders of modern musicology. His publications include the two-volume Allgemeine Geschichte der Musik (General History of Music), among the first attempts at a history of Western music and the "ground-breaking music bibliography" Allgemeine Litteratur der Musik. He also authored Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work, the first substantial survey on the life and works of Johann Sebastian Bach.