Jacques offenbach father john

German/French composer Jacques Offenbach was born Jacob Offenbach in Cologne on 20 June 1819 into a Jewish musical family. His father, Isaac Juda Offenbach, played violin in cafés, worked as a cantor in synagogoes, taught flute, guitar, singing and violin, and also composed music.

Jacob learnt to play violin from the age of six, from his father, began composing within a couple of years, and began playing the cello at the age of nine, with lessons from Bernhard Breuer.

With one of his brothers and one of his sisters, he formed a trio which played operatic arrangements and dance music in cafés, inns and dance halls.

Along with his elder brother Julius, he was taken to Paris to study at the Paris Conservatoire, and at this time he adopted the name Jacques.

He became bored with academic study, left the Conservatoire after a year, and began working as a cellist, regularly losing pay for playing pranks during performances.

He studied composition and orc