Johann Mattheson (September 28, 1681 – April 17, 1764) was a German composer, writer, lexicographer, and music theorist.

He was born and died in Hamburg. He was a close friend of George Frideric Handel, although he nearly killed him in a sudden quarrel, during a performance of Mattheson's opera Cleopatra in 1704—Handel was saved only by a large button which turned aside Mattheson's sword. The two were afterwards reconciled.

Mattheson is mainly famous as a music theorist. He was the most thorough writer on performance practice, theatrical style, and harmony of the German Baroque. In addition to some original work—particularly on the relationship of the disciplines of rhetoric and music—he was a compiler of most of the ideas current at the time.

The bulk of his compositional output was vocal, including eight operas, and numerous oratorios and cantatas. He also wrote a few sonatas and some keyboard music, including pieces meant for keyboard instruction. Unfortunately, all of his music except for one opera, one oratorio, and a few collections of instrumental music were missing after World War II, but were given back from Erivan in Armenia in 1998. This includes four Operas and most of the oratorios. The manuscripts are located at the Staats and Univeritätsbibliothe Hamburg, former Hamburg Stadtbibliothek .

References and further reading

• "Johann Mattheson", "Rhetoric and music" from The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1561591742
• Manfred Bukofzer, Music in the Baroque Era. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1947. ISBN 0393097455