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Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685–1750) German composer and keyboard player, the greatest member of a large musical family. He became a chorister in Lüneburg and in 1703 a violinist at the Weimar court, later becoming organist there. In 1707 he married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach (1684–1720); after her death he married Anna Magdalena Wilcken (1701–60). Among his greatest works are the St John Passion (1723), the St Matthew Passion (1729), and the Mass in B minor (1733–38), as well as over 200 cantatas. His pieces for orchestra include violin and harpsichord concertos and the Brandenburg Concertos (1721). For the harpsichord and clavichord he composed a collection of 48 preludes and fugues entitled the Well-Tempered Clavier (Part I, 1722; Part II, 1744) and the Goldberg Variations (1742). Bach’s music did not become widely known until Mendelssohn revived it.
Of Bach’s 20 children, 3 sons became famous musicians. His eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710–84) studied in Leipzig and became church organist in Dresden (1733–46) and subsequently in Halle (1746–64). He ended his life in poverty, leaving cantatas, concertos, and symphonies.
His third son Karl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–88) became musician to Frederick the Great in Berlin and subsequently director of the main church in Hamburg. He developed a new style of composition in his symphonies, concertos, and keyboard music that became the basis of the classical style.
J. S. Bach’s 11th son Johann Christian Bach (1735–82), called the English (or London) Bach, studied in Berlin and after holding posts in Italy became music master to the British royal family. He composed 13 operas, as well as concertos, church music, and piano pieces. |