Johann Anton Count Losy von Losinthal, also known as Jan Antonín Losy, Logi von Losymthal or Losynthal, and Jan Antonín Logy z Lozimtálu (born around 1645, presumably at Štěkeň Castle near Strakonice, Bohemia; died September 3, 1721 in Prague), was an imperial official, composer, and one of the most famous lutenists and guitarists of his generation.
Count Losy’s family came from Switzerland (Poschiavo in the canton of Graubünden). His father, Johann Anton Losy senior (c. 1600-1682), was probably born in Purz in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. By 1627, he had moved to Bohemia and purchased a house in Prague. Losy senior had a number of business interests and was appointed financial advisor and deputy to the Salt, Beer, and Wine Council by the Bohemian Court Chamber. For his help in defending Prague against the attack by Swedish troops in 1648, Losy senior was ennobled and appointed Baron of Losinthal in 1648 and Count of Losinthal in 1655. He also acquired the estate and castle in Steken (Strakonitz district, southern Bohemia) in 1638.
Johann Anton Losy was born in Steken around 1650. He had a younger twin brother (Johann Baptist) and four sisters. Losy’s interest in music was encouraged by his lute teacher and valet Achazius Kazimir Huelse, with whom he apparently remained friends throughout his life.
Losy attended Charles Ferdinand University in Prague, where he graduated in 1667 and received his doctorate in philosophy on August 15, 1668. He then appears to have traveled through a number of European countries, including Italy. His intimate knowledge of the French lute style suggests that he was in Paris and met lutenists such as Mouton and Dufault.
After his father’s death on July 22, 1682, he inherited his title and became the second Count Losy. He also inherited part of the family estate and an imperial appointment to the Council of the Kingdom of Bohemia. His official position meant that, although he lived in Prague, he had to travel frequently to the imperial court in Vienna. The following year, his twin brother died.
As an aristocrat, one would have expected Count Losy’s musical activities to remain amateurish. Nevertheless, he seems to have won the admiration of a number of professional musicians for his lute playing and compositions. In 1697, he took part in a musical competition with the Leipzig cantor Johann Kuhnau. In 1715, Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel met Count Losy in Prague, who “played the lute as well as someone who does it professionally” and also played the violin. [3] There is no evidence that he played other instruments, although there is a fairly rich source of transcriptions of his lute compositions for other instruments (baroque guitar, keyboard, angélique, mandora, and violin).
Despite Losy’s outstanding reputation as a lute player and improviser, only one of his works was published during his lifetime. This was the Courante Extra-ordinaire, which was part of the Cabinet der Lauten collection published by Philippe Franz Lasage de Richée in 1695.
After Losy’s death in Prague in 1721, the great German lutenist Sylvius Leopold Weiss paid tribute to his colleague by dedicating the work Tombeau sur la mort de Monseigneur Comte de Logi to him.
He was married to Franziska Claudia Countess von Strassoldo. After his death in 1721, his son Adam Philipp Losy von Losinthal, an Austrian statesman, general director of public works, Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and also a talented musician, inherited all his possessions.