Johann Michael Böhm

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Johann Michael Böhm (1685-1753) was a woodwind virtuoso; a player of oboe, flute and recorder and Brother-in-law of Telemann. He was educated in Dresden and later worked in Leipzig. He was a musician at the court of Darmstadt from 1711 to 1729, where he eventually became concertmaster. "Although Böhm had been a valued member of the Hofkapelle, directing some of the instrumental music and receiving a high salary (in 1718 he was the fourth-highest-paid member), he claimed following his departure that the Landgrave had repeatedly ignored his requests for temporary leaves, and that he could no longer support his family because his salary was so desperately in arrears. To the charges that he had stolen music and instruments belonging to the court, Böhm responded that he had taken only his "own Telemann things", of which there were "nearly as many" as the violinist Johann Samuel Endler owned." - citation of Stephen Zohn Music for a Mixed Taste : Style, Genre, and Meaning in Telemann's Instrumental Work (2008). During his time under the employment of the Darmstadt court, Böhm traveled widely as a performer; in 1712 he was invited by Telemann to perform in Frankfurt, in 1715 he played at the Opera in Hamburg and in several trips to Leipzig, which he claimed were to "further his studies", it has been suggested that he took part in the performances of several of J.S.Bach's Cantatas which required an extremely capable recorder player. In 1716, he was one of the dedicatees of Telemann’s

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