Balthasar Schmid

Balthasar Schmid (1705-1749) was an engraver and composer. After his death, the firm was run by his widow, and later by their son Johann Michael Schmidt. Schmid engraved works by many of the most important north German figures of his day: Telemann, C.P.E. Bach, Marpurg, Krebs, Sorge, Nichelmann, and Bon. His best-known works are his engravings of J.S. Bach: the first editions of Clavier-Übung IV and the Canonic Variations on Von Himmel Hoch. He was an innovator in numbering his catalogue, making chronology possible for several of these compositions, however, most editions do not carry a date (one exception being Anna Bon's Op. 2 collection)