Background
Johann Andreas Amon was born in 1763, Bamberg, Bayern, Germany.
composer conductor violist Horn player German virtuoso guitarist
Johann Andreas Amon was born in 1763, Bamberg, Bayern, Germany.
He was first instructed in singing by the court singer Madame Fracassini. During this period he was also studying the guitar and the violin under Bauerle, a musician of local repute. Young Amon had the misfortune to lose his voice at a very early age and his parents then desired him to study the horn. He was placed under Giovanni Punto, one of the most celebrated masters of this instrument, and he obtained extraordinary skill upon it. Previous to 1781 he had visited England as a horn player and in that year, when eighteen years of age, he went with his teacher Giovanni Punto in Paris. After studying with Punto, Amon continued his studies in composition under Antonio Sacchini in 1781. Amon remained in Paris, as a pupil of Sacchini, for the space of two years and then toured with his former teacher, Punto. They travelled throughout France and appeared as a horn duo with great success, and in 1784 arrived in Strasburg. He accepted an engagement in Strasburg and remained in that city for some time and then undertook another extended tour, which included all the important cities of eastern Europe.
Johann Andreas Amon was a German virtuoso guitarist, horn player, violist, conductor and composer. He was a virtuoso on the Waldhoru, and pupil of Punto, with whom he made long professional tours to the chief cities of France and Germany.
Amon composed around eighty works, including symphonies, concerti, sonatas, and songs. He also wrote two masses, various liturgical works, and two operettas. Amon was a very prolific composer and his published works embrace all classes of music. He was the writer of two operas, one of which, The Sultan Wampou, performed in 1791, obtained marked success, and also numerous symphonies, quartets, concertos and solos for the guitar and piano, and songs with guitar accompaniment. Upon his early compositions he styles himself "a pupil of Punto." His vocal works with guitar accompaniment were very popular in his native land, and he published many volumes, each containing six songs. Bone states that Amon's instrumental works are immeasurably superior to his vocal compositions, and are compactly and clearly designed.
