Photo: After Joachim Martin Falbe · Public domain · credits
Tier 2 · legacy legend
Franz Benda
Person · male · Kingdom of Bohemia · Benátky nad Jizerou · born 1709 · died 1786 · recording since 1986
Bohemian violinist and composer
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Also known as Frantisek Benda · Franz Benda · 弗朗茨·本达
Timeline
11 events▣ Album 8◦ Birth 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1
1700s
1780s
1980s
· Debut release
Debut release: Stamitz: Flute Concerto in G major / Benda: Flute Concerto in E minor
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1990s
2000s
· Album
Album: Violin Concerto in G major / Violin Concertos in D major and D minor
Album
source: musicbrainz
2010s
Biography
English biography468 words · 4 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1333900187
Biography
Franz Benda (Czech: František Benda; c. 22 November 1709 – 7 March 1786) was a Czech violinist and composer. He was active in the Kingdom of Prussia and worked for much of his life at the court of Frederick the Great.
Life
Benda was baptised on 22 November 1709. He was born in Benátky nad Jizerou in Bohemia, the son of Jan Jiří Benda. His brother was the composer Georg Benda. Many of Benda's offspring (Maria Carolina Wolf (1742–1820), Friedrich Benda (1745–1814), Karl Hermann Heinrich Benda (1748–1836), Juliane Reichardt (1752–1783)) and his granddaughter (Louise Reichardt (1779–1826)) were also composers. Benda wrote his autobiography in 1763: it not only gives a detailed account of his own life, but also a valuable record of the lives of other musicians whom he encountered during his career.
In his youth Benda was a chorister in Prague and afterward in the Chapel Royal at Dresden. At the same time he began to study the violin, and soon joined a company of strolling musicians who attended fetes, fairs, etc. At eighteen years of age Benda abandoned this wandering life and returned to Prague, going to Vienna, where he pursued his study of the violin under Johann Gottlieb Graun, a pupil of Tartini. After two years he was appointed chapel master at Warsaw. In 1732, he entered the service of Frederick the Great, then crown prince of Prussia, with whom he remained the rest of his life. He was a member of the crown prince's orchestra, and later became concertmaster to the king. He played about 50,000 concertos over a period of forty years. At Benda's request, Frederick allowed his parents and siblings to move to Potsdam when, as Protestants, they suffered religious persecution in Bohemia.
Benda was a master of all the difficulties of violin playing, and the rapidity of his execution and the mellow sweetness of his highest notes were unequalled. He had many pupils and wrote a number of works, chiefly exercises and studies for the violin.
Benda died in the Nowawes, a small colony near Potsdam set up by Frederick the Great to house Protestant refugees fleeing religious persecution in Bohemia.
Legacy
Descendants of Benda also continue in the same musical line. In the 20th century, František Benda was a composer of film scores and other works. The Benda Chamber Orchestra, which carries and honours the name of the Benda musical family, was founded in 1956 in Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic).
One of his descendants, Jean Sebastian Benda, acclaimed Swiss pianist, lived in Brazil, having married the pianist Luzia Benda. After his return to Europe, in 1981, along with his wife and children born in Brazil, his family follows the musical tradition of their ancestors.
Compositions
Benda composed 17 symphonies, numerous concerti and sonatas for violin, and other chamber works.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 34 | 92.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 10 | 82.3th |
| Studio albums | 9 | 90th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 11 | 87.9th |
| Recording span (years) | -200 | 3.3th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (10 release groups · 9 studio albums)
Albums · 9
1995 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 1:06:35
1Violin Concerto in D major: I. Allegro ma non molto9:062Violin Concerto in D major: II. Largo7:183Violin Concerto in D major: III. Allegro6:214Violin Concerto no. 1 in D major, op. 3: I. Allegro sostenuto8:245Violin Concerto no. 1 in D major, op. 3: II. Adagio maestoso4:146Violin Concerto no. 1 in D major, op. 3: III. Rondo. Tempo di menuetto5:237Violin Concerto in C major, op. 11: I. Allegro giusto11:438Violin Concerto in C major, op. 11: II. Adagio. Romanza. Andante cantabile6:399Violin Concerto in C major, op. 11: III. Finale7:27Violin Concerto in G major / Violin Concertos in D major and D minor
2001 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 54:41
1Violin Concerto in G major: Allegro4:102Violin Concerto in G major: Grave3:213Violin Concerto in G major: Allegro2:494Violin Concerto in D major: Allegro ma non molto8:225Violin Concerto in D major: Largo8:136Violin Concerto in D major: Allegro5:407Violin Concerto in D minor: Allegro e con brio9:168Violin Concerto in D minor: Adagio un poco Andante7:389Violin Concerto in D minor: Presto5:122002 · studio album
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Tracklist · 7 tracks · 53:27
1Viola Concerto in F major: I. Allegro7:252Viola Concerto in F major: II. Largo9:013Viola Concerto in F major: III. Rondeau4:414Violin Concerto in E flat major: I. Allegretto7:465Violin Concerto in E flat major: II. Affettuoso ma non troppo. Lento7:526Violin Concerto in E flat major: III. Presto assai5:287Benda's Klagen11:142002 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:07:54
1Flute Concerto in E minor, Lee II:4: I. Allegro con brio9:182Flute Concerto in E minor, Lee II:4: II. Adagio un poco andante7:593Flute Concerto in E minor, Lee II:4: III. Presto5:364Flute Sonata in F major: I. Adagio3:385Flute Sonata in F major: II. Allegro2:216Flute Sonata in F major: III. Vivace2:497Flute Concerto in G major, op. 29: I. Allegro8:348Flute Concerto in G major, op. 29: II. Andante non troppo moderato5:039Flute Concerto in G major, op. 29: III. Rondo. Allegro5:05106 Flute concerti: No. 2 in D major, C 18: I. Allegro maestoso7:50116 Flute concerti: No. 2 in D major, C 18: II. Adagio6:46126 Flute concerti: No. 2 in D major, C 18: III. Rondo. Allegro2:552009 · studio album
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Tracklist · 5 tracks · 1:16:38
1Concerto In E Minor For Flute: Allegro Con Brio / Adagio, Un Poco Andante / Presto18:562Concerto In B Minor For Cembalo: Allegro / Arioso / Allegro17:383Concerto In E Flat Major For Violin: Allegretto / Affetuoso Ma Non Troppo - Lento / Presto Assai20:074Concerto In F Minor For Cembalo: Allegro / Larghetto / Allegro di Molto17:595Allegro Scherzando (from: Concerto In G Major For Cembalo)1:58Violin Sonatas (with original ornamentation)
2011 · studio album
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Tracklist · 15 tracks · 1:12:30
1Sonata No. 10 in F minor: I. Andante4:582Sonata No. 10 in F minor: II. Allegro5:473Sonata No. 10 in F minor: III. Presto3:194Sonata No. 14 in E flat major: I. Cantabile un poco andante3:505Sonata No. 14 in E flat major: II. Allegro6:596Sonata No. 14 in E flat major: III. Presto4:307Sonata No. 23 in C minor: I. Adagio3:248Sonata No. 23 in C minor: II. Allegro moderato3:419Sonata No. 23 in C minor: III. Allegro non molto5:2910Sonata No. 32 in E major: I. Allegro6:0111Sonata No. 32 in E major: II. Adagio ò Arioso5:1912Sonata No. 32 in E major: III. Allegro moderato e cantabile4:4013Sonata No. 28 in F major: I. Un poco allegro5:5714Sonata No. 28 in F major: II. Adagio3:3415Sonata No. 28 in F major: III. Allegretto5:022012 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks · 1:07:15
1Violin Sonata no. 11 in D major, Lee III:25: I. Allegro6:552Violin Sonata no. 11 in D major, Lee III:25: II. Adagio5:343Violin Sonata no. 11 in D major, Lee III:25: III. Presto5:024Violin Sonata no. 23 in C minor, Lee III:9: I. Adagio3:185Violin Sonata no. 23 in C minor, Lee III:9: II. Allegro moderato4:456Violin Sonata no. 23 in C minor, Lee III:9: III. Allegro non molto4:387Violin Sonata no. 7 in A major, Lee III:103: Adagio poco andante4:298Violin Sonata no. 13 in G minor, Lee III:89: I. Adagio poco andante3:289Violin Sonata no. 13 in G minor, Lee III:89: II. Allegro6:0110Violin Sonata no. 13 in G minor, Lee III:89: III. Allegro6:1111Violin Sonata no. 32 in E major, Lee III:50: I. Allegro5:1312Violin Sonata no. 32 in E major, Lee III:50: II. Adagio o arioso5:1913Violin Sonata no. 32 in E major, Lee III:50: III. Allegro moderato e cantabile6:222016 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 1:01:19
1Flute Concerto in E minor, L. II:4: I. Allegro con brio8:592Flute Concerto in E minor, L. II:4: II. Adagio un poco andante6:413Flute Concerto in E minor, L. II:4: III. Presto5:324Flute Concerto in A Major, L. II:15: I. Allegretto6:545Flute Concerto in A Major, L. II:15: II. Adagio6:316Flute Concerto in A Major, L. II:15: III. Vivace ma non troppo - Presto4:587Flute Concerto in A Minor, L. II:16: I. Allegretto, ma non troppo9:328Flute Concerto in A Minor, L. II:16: II. Affetuoso, ma non spirito7:309Flute Concerto in A Minor, L. II:16: III. Vivace: Scherzando4:42— · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 45:32
A1Concerto pour flûte et cordes en mi mineur: Allegro Molto8:40A2Concerto pour flûte et cordes en mi mineur: Andante6:54A3Concerto pour flûte et cordes en mi mineur: Allegro4:56B1Suite pour flûte et cordes en la mineur: Ouverture6:15B2Suite pour flûte et cordes en la mineur: Les Plaisirs2:32B3Suite pour flûte et cordes en la mineur: Air à l'italienne6:30B4Suite pour flûte et cordes en la mineur: Menuet I et II3:20B5Suite pour flûte et cordes en la mineur: Réjouissance1:25B6Suite pour flûte et cordes en la mineur: Polonaise2:20B7Suite pour flûte et cordes en la mineur: Passepied I et II2:40
Album · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Stamitz: Flute Concerto in G major / Benda: Flute Concerto in E minorSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 6 tracks · 35:591Flute Concerto in G major, op. 29: I. Allegro8:04 2Flute Concerto in G major, op. 29: II. Andante non troppo moderato4:13 3Flute Concerto in G major, op. 29: III. Rondo: Allegro5:36 4Flute Concerto in E minor, L. II-4: I. Allegro con brio6:55 5Flute Concerto in E minor, L. II-4: II. Adagio un poco andante5:30 6Flute Concerto in E minor, L. II-4: III. Presto5:41 | Compilation | January 1986 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Franz Benda head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 34 | 92.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 10 | 82.3th |
| Studio albums | 9 | 90th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 11 | 87.9th |
| Recording span (years) | -200 | 3.3th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frantisek_Benda_2.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/15e1ac75-fe9e-4269-ad9f-e1a1ad3a1e3adiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/15e1ac75-fe9e-4269-ad9f-e1a1ad3a1e3acore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q161328genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q161328seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Bendabiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Benda
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: historic figure (34 language versions, career ended)
Image: After Joachim Martin Falbe · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q161328 · MusicBrainz: 15e1ac75-fe9e-4269-ad9f-e1a1ad3a1e3a
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