Although we have heard the music of J. S. Bach in countless performances and recordings, the composer himself still comes across only as an enigmatic figure in a single familiar portrait. As we mark the 250th anniversary of Bach's death, author Christoph Wolff presents a new picture that brings to life this towering figure of the Baroque era. This engaging new biography portrays Bach as the living, breathing, and sometimes imperfect human being that he was, while bringing to bear all the advances of the last half-century of Bach scholarship. Wolff demonstrates the intimate connection between the composer's life and his music, showing how Bach's superb inventiveness pervaded his career as musician, composer, performer, scholar, and teacher. And throughout, we see Bach in the broader context of his time: its institutions, traditions, and influences. With this highly readable book, Wolff sets a new standard for Bach biography.
Biografie
Christoph Wolff, geboren 1940, ist Direktor des Leipziger BachArchivs, Ordinarius für Musikwissenschaft an der Harvard University und Honorarprofessor der Universität Freiburg. Er veröffentlichte zahlreiche Beiträge zur Musikgeschichte des 15. bis 20. Jahrhunderts, vor allem zu Bach und Mozart. Für seine wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten erhielt er 1978 die DentMedaille der Royal Musical Association in London, 1992 den Staatspreis des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen und 1996 den Forschungspreis der Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung. 1999 entdeckte er in Kiew den verlorengeglaubten Nachlaß des Bach Sohnes Carl Philipp Emanuel mit einer großen Zahl bisher unbekannter Kompositionen sowie Handschriften seiner Brüder und seines Vaters.
