Background
He was born in Erlangen, Bavaria, the son of a Bavarian margrave and part of the Franconian aristocratic family Seckendorff.
He was born in Erlangen, Bavaria, the son of a Bavarian margrave and part of the Franconian aristocratic family Seckendorff.
He served in the military from 1763 in Austria, and later in Prussia. In 1775 he became the chamberlain of Weimar where he joined the circle of Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. In Weimar, he supervised the Hofkapelle, and there began to pursue his literary and artistic ideas.
He was especially inspired by Goethe, though Goethe thought little of his music
He published three collections called Volksund andere Lieder (1779-1782). He wrote a music monodrama entitled Proserpina (produced in Weimar, 1778), whose success was due to Goethe.
Disappointed with his lack of success, in 1784, he moved to Ansbach to became the Prussian ambassador to the Franconian Circle.