Neefe was born in
Chemnitz,
Saxony. He received a musical education and started to compose at the age of 12. He studied law at
Leipzig University, but subsequently returned to music to become a pupil of the composer
Johann Adam Hiller under whose guidance he wrote his first comic operas. In 1776, Neefe joined the
Seyler theatrical company of
Abel Seyler (then) in Dresden, and inherited the position of musical director from his mentor, Hiller. He later became court organist in
Bonn and was the principal piano teacher of
Ludwig van Beethoven. He helped Beethoven produce some of his first works. His best known work was a
Singspiel called
Adelheit von Veltheim (1780). In Bonn, Neefe became prefect of the local chapter of the
Illuminati, the . He died in 1798 in
Dessau, 8 days before his 50th birthday. ==Works==