Sunday Baroque is devoting this Sunday’s program to celebrating the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach was a prolific composer, teacher, and keyboard and violin player- generations of musicians have been inspired by his genius.
This is the second installment of Sunday Baroque’s two-part Bach Birthday Bash; all four hours of this weekend’s program will be centered on Bach’s compositions and works.
A series of variations composed by Bach for King Frederick the Great of Prussia will be featured in the fourth hour of the program.
Johann Sebastian Bach’s 5th child, Carl Philipp Emanuel, worked as a court musician for King Frederick the Great. Bach once visited and got a tour from the music-loving king, who gave the composer a musical theme to improvise on. He then completed a series of canons and fugues based on the melody and sent it to the king, calling it the "Musical Offering."
Johann Sebastian Bach (Mar. 31, 1685 - July 28, 1750) was a Baroque composer and musician. He worked as a musician for churches across Germany; much of his work involved reworks of hymns, cantatas, or sacred songs for chorales. He also wrote music for violin, harpsichord, chamber, and orchestra. Bach is considered by many to be one of the best composers in history.