Ernst Gottlieb Baron (1696–1760) was a German lutenist, composer, and music theorist born in Breslau. He studied lute from around 1710 and later philosophy and law at the University of Leipzig, spent much of the 1720s travelling among minor German courts, and published the influential treatise “Historisch-theoretische und practische Untersuchung des Instruments der Lauten” (1727) on the history and practice of the lute.

Alongside his compositions for lute, Baron’s treatise remains a key primary source for understanding Baroque lute technique and history; his surviving pieces, such as the Aria in B-flat Major, are occasionally performed today on multi-string guitars and lutes.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Gottlieb_Baron