Hebenstreit, Hebestreitt, Pantaleon, *1667 Eisleben, †l5 November 1750 Dresden, German pantaleon virtuoso, teacher, violinist and composer. He was the son of a town musician. In his youth, he moved in Leipzig’s student circles as a dance and music teacher. Whilst working as a tutor in the home of a village pastor near Merseburg, in the 1690s he constructed – based on a modification of folk dulcimer – a new musical instrument, later named (probably by Louis XIV) after him as the pantaleon (pantalon). After 1692, Hebenstreit stayed in Berlin, perfecting his skill on the instrument he had invented. Around 1697, he gave a concert on the pantaleon in Leipzig; J. Kuhnau spoke very highly of his skills at the time. From 1698, Hebenstreit was a dance teacher at the court in Weissenfels, where in 1703 he performed before Augustus II the Strong; in 1705, he performed in Paris. From 1706, he worked at the ducal court in Eisenach as a dance teacher and subsequently as court Kapellmeister; at that time, he frequently played violin duets with G.Ph. Telemann, who spoke highly of his violin playing, as well as his excellent command of the French compositional style. It is likely that in 1709 Hebenstreit resigned from his post in Eisenach and embarked on a concert tour. It was not until the spring of 1714 that he settled in Dresden as a Kammermusikus at the court of the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, Augustus II. From 1729, Hebenstreit also led the musical ensemble at the Protestant church and oversaw the education of the boys in the choir. In 1733, due to his deteriorating eyesight, he gave up playing the pantaleon. In 1734, he was appointed music director of the court Protestant church, and in 1740 he was awarded the honorary title of Geheimkämmerier.
Although Hebenstreit was a composer of orchestral works (only a few overtures and suites attributed to him have survived), he went down in music history as the inventor of the pantaleon and a master of the instrument. According to J.B. Volumier, J. Kuhnau and J. Mattheson, mastering the pantaleon was extremely difficult. The instrument allowed for the shaping of sound dynamics, and thus became an inspiration for the builders of the first pianos (including G. Schröter’s piano, constructed in 1717). During his concerts, Hebenstreit probably performed improvisations on his own themes and those of other composers. At one point in the past, Pantaleon enjoyed a certain degree of popularity; it was primarily performed by Hebenstreit’s pupils: J. C. Richter and G. Noëlli, among others. By the end of the century, the instrument had fallen out of use, and its name was adopted for a certain type of piano.
Literature: J. Kuhnau – letter to J. Mattheson dated 8 December 1717, in: J. Mattheson Critica musica, vol. 2, Hamburg 1725; G.Ph. Telemann – autobiography, in: J. Mattheson Grundlage einer Ehren-Pforte, Hamburg 1740; C.G. Schröter Umständliche Beschreibung eines neuerfundenen Klavier-Instrumente..., in: F.W. Marpurg Kritische Briefe über die Tonkunst, vol. 2, Berlin 1763; M. Fürstenau Zur Geschichte der Musik und des Theaters am Hofe zu Dresden, vol. 2, Dresden 1861, reprint 1971; F. Rollberg Aus einer Thüringer Hofkapelle der Barockzeit. Pantaleon Hebenstreit, fürstliche Tanzmeister und Musikus, G.Ph. Telemanns Eisenacher Jahre, “Thüringer Fähnlein” VT, 1937; A. Egerland Das Pantaleon, “Die Musikforschung” XXIII, 1970.
