Johann Gottlieb Graun (1702/1703[1] – 28 October 1771) was a German Baroque/Classical era composer and violinist, born in Wahrenbrück.
He joined the court of the Prussian crown prince (the future Frederick the Great) in 1732.
Graun's compositions were highly respected, and continued to be performed after his death: "The concert-master, John Gottlib Graun, brother to the opera-composer, his admirers say, 'was one of the greatest performers on the violin of his time, and most assuredly, a composer of the first rank'," wrote Charles Burney.
[4] He also wrote many concertos for viola da gamba, which were very virtuosic, and were played by Ludwig Christian Hesse, considered the leading gambist of the time.
Burney noted that some critics complained that, "In his concertos and church music ... the length of each movement is more immoderate than Christian patience can endure.