Friedrich Wilhelm Riedt

Born in Berlin in 1710 to English parents, Riedt was a keeper of the silver in the service of Friedrich the Great, just like his father. In 1741 he was appointed flutist of the Royal Chapel and in 1749 he was one of the six founding members of the Musikübende Gesellschaft, of which he was also director from 1749 to 1770. We don’t know from whom he learned the art of playing the flute, which he mastered with great virtuosity from a young age, but we know that he studied composition with J.G. Graun and C. Schaffrath and was responsible for the distribution of C.P.E. Bach’s works for Berlin.