Johann Nikolaus Hanff
Johann Nikolaus Hanff (25 September 1663 – 25 December 1711) was a North German organist and composer. Hanff was born in Wechmar in Thuringia and worked in Eutin, Hamburg and Schleswig. In 1696 he became organist and conductor to the Bishop of Lübeck. Hanff’s style, with the melody moving slowly but with rich ornamentation above a slow-moving and not very clearly individualized accompaniment, was favored by Buxtehude. While in Hamburg, Hanff taught harpsichord and composition to the young Johann Mattheson for four years. Mattheson was to become a composer, music theorist and close friend of George Frideric Handel (who almost killed Handel in a duel). After the death of Bishop August Friedrich and the dissolution of the court in 1705, Hanff probably returned to Hamburg, where in 1706 and 1711 two children were born to him. On 26 August 1711 he took over the organist position at Schleswig Cathedral but died a few months later. In 1997, the asteroid (7902) Hanff was named after him. External links
Short biography at bach-cantatas.com

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1663 births
1711 deaths
German classical organists
German Baroque composers
Organists and composers in the North German tradition
German male organists
People from Saxe-Gotha
18th-century keyboardists
18th-century classical composers
German classical composers
German male classical composers
18th-century German composers
18th-century German male musicians
Male classical organists