Biber was born in a small Bohemian town near Reichenberg. Nothing is known about his music education. We know that in the mid-1660s he went to work for Prince-Bishop Karl, Count Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn of Olomouc. The prince loved music and kept many musicians at his court. During the winter of 1670-1671 Biber became a member of the Kapelle at Salzburg court. He was married there in 1672. There he played the violin and trained the choirboys and composed a lot of music. He probably had a lot of contact with other well-known musicians such as Georg Muffat. Although he was the greatest virtuoso of his time he hardly seems to have travelled about to play.