Johann Sebastian Bach

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Born: 1685   Died: 1750   Country: Germany   Period: Baroque
Johann Sebastian Bach was better known as a virtuoso organist than as a composer in his day. His sacred music, organ and choral works, and other instrumental music had an enthusiasm and seeming freedom that concealed immense rigor. Bach's use of counterpoint was brilliant and innovative, and the immense complexities of his compositional style -- which often included religious and numerological symbols that seem to fit perfectly together in a Read more profound puzzle of special codes -- still amaze musicians today. Many consider him the greatest composer of all time.

Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685. He was taught to play the violin and harpsichord by his father, Johann Ambrosius, a court trumpeter in the service of the Duke of Eisenach. Young Johann was not yet ten when his father died, leaving him orphaned. He was taken in by his recently married oldest brother, Johann Christoph, who lived in Ohrdruf. Because of his excellent singing voice, Bach attained a position at the Michaelis monastery at Lüneberg in 1700. His voice changed a short while later, but he stayed on as an instrumentalist. After taking a short-lived post in Weimar in 1703 as a violinist, Bach became organist at the Neue Kirche in Arnstadt (1703-1707). His relationship with the church council was tenuous as the young musician often shirked his responsibilities, preferring to practice the organ. One account describes a four-month leave granted Bach, to travel to Lubeck where he would familiarize himself with the music of Dietrich Buxtehude. He returned to Arnstadt long after was expected and much to the dismay of the council. He then briefly served at St. Blasius in Mühlhausen as organist, beginning in June 1707, and married his cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, that fall. Bach composed his famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565) and his first cantatas while in Mühlhausen, but quickly outgrew the musical resources of the town. He next took a post for the Duke of Sachsen-Weimar in 1708, serving as court organist and playing in the orchestra, eventually becoming its leader in 1714. He wrote many organ compositions during this period, including his Orgel-Büchlein. Owing to politics between the Duke and his officials, Bach left Weimar and secured a post in December 1717 as Kapellmeister at Cöthen. In 1720, Bach's wife suddenly died, leaving him with four children (three others had died in infancy). A short while later, he met his second wife, soprano Anna Magdalena Wilcke, whom he married in December 1721. She would bear 13 children, though only five would survive childhood. The six Brandenburg Concertos (BWV 1046-51), among many other secular works, date from his Cöthen years. Bach became Kantor of the Thomas School in Leipzig in May 1723 and held the post until his death. It was in Leipzig that he composed the bulk of his religious and secular cantatas. Bach eventually became dissatisfied with this post, not only because of its meager financial rewards, but also because of onerous duties and inadequate facilities. Thus, he took on other projects, chief among which was the directorship of the city's Collegium Musicum, an ensemble of professional and amateur musicians who gave weekly concerts, in 1729. He also became music director at the Dresden Court in 1736, in the service of Frederick Augustus II; though his duties were vague and apparently few, they allowed him freedom to compose what he wanted. Bach began making trips to Berlin in the 1740s, not least because his son Carl Philipp Emanuel served as a court musician there. In May 1747, the composer was warmly received by King Frederick II of Prussia, for whom he wrote the gloriously abstruse Musical Offering (BWV 1079). Among Bach's last works was his 1749 Mass in B minor. Besieged by diabetes, he died on July 28, 1750. Read less

Featured Johann Sebastian Bach CDs & DVDs:

Bach: Complete Orchestral Works / Helmuth Rilling
Bach: Complete Orchestral Works / Helmuth Rilling
Release Date: 04/30/2013   Label: Hänssler Classic  
Catalog: 98009   Number of Discs: 11
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Bach: Violin Concertos, Concerto For 3 Violins / Mullejans, Von Der Goltz, Schreiber
Bach: Violin Concertos, Concerto For 3 Violins / Mullejans, Von Der Goltz, Schreiber
Release Date: 04/09/2013   Label: Harmonia Mundi  
Catalog: 902145   Number of Discs: 1
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Bach: Suites No 4, 5 & 6 / Hopkinson Smith
Bach: Suites No 4, 5 & 6 / Hopkinson Smith
Release Date: 02/26/2013   Label: Naive  
Catalog: 8938   Number of Discs: 1
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Bach & Beyond, Part 1 / Koh
Bach & Beyond, Part 1 / Koh
Release Date: 10/30/2012   Label: Cedille Records  
Catalog: 134   Number of Discs: 1
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Bach: The English Suites / Richard Egarr
Bach: The English Suites / Richard Egarr
Release Date: 02/12/2013   Label: Harmonia Mundi  
Catalog: 907591   Number of Discs: 2
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Work: Concerto for 2 Violins in D minor, BWV 1043

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  • 1.
    Bach: Violin Concertos, Double Concertos / Mikhail Gantvarg
    Label: Audiophile Classics   Catalog: 7701834 Release Date: 05/03/2013   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Olga Martinova,  Michail Gantvarg,  Chanjafi Tchinakajev
    Conductor:  Michail Gantvarg
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  St. Petersburg Soloists
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  • 2.
    Bach: Complete Orchestral Works / Helmuth Rilling
    Bach: Complete Orchestral Works / Helmuth Rilling
    Label: Hänssler Classic   Catalog: 98009 Release Date: 04/30/2013   Number of Discs: 11
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Carol Wincenc,  Christoph Poppen,  Isabelle Faust,  Robert Levin  ... 
    Conductor:  Helmuth Rilling
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra,  Oregon Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra,  Stuttgart Bach Collegium
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  • 3.
    The Complete J.S. Bach Edition - 32gb Usb Stick
    The Complete J.S. Bach Edition - 32gb Usb Stick
    Label: Teldec   Catalog: 4661127 Release Date: 04/30/2013   Number of Discs: Fla
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Max van Egmond,  Kurt Equiluz,  Paul Esswood,  Walter Gampert  ... 
    Conductor:  Nikolaus Harnoncourt,  Gustav Leonhardt,  Ton Koopman,  Jaap Schröder  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Vienna Concentus Musicus,  Chorus Viennensis,  Vienna Boys' Choir  ... 
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  • 4.
    Bach: Violin Concertos, Concerto For 3 Violins / Mullejans, Von Der Goltz, Schreiber
    Bach: Violin Concertos, Concerto For 3 Violins / Mullejans, Von Der Goltz, Schreiber
    Label: Harmonia Mundi   Catalog: 902145 Release Date: 04/09/2013   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Gottfried Von der Goltz,  Petra Müllejans,  Anne Katharina Schreiber
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Freiburg Baroque Orchestra
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  • 5.
    Bach: Violin Concertos / Ingolfsdottir, Reykjavik Chamber Orchestra
    Bach: Violin Concertos / Ingolfsdottir, Reykjavik Chamber Orchestra
    Label: Smekkleysa   Catalog: 15 Release Date: 02/12/2013   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Rut Ingólfsdóttir,  Daoi Kolbeinsson,  Unnur Maria Ingolfsdottir
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra
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  • 6.
    Bach: Violin Concertos; Vivaldi / Laredo, Scottish Co
    Bach: Violin Concertos; Vivaldi / Laredo, Scottish Co
    Label: Regis   Catalog: 1170 Release Date: 01/29/2013   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Antonio Vivaldi
    Performer:  Jaime Laredo,  John Tunnell,  Haflidi Hallgrimsson,  Paul Manley
    Conductor:  Jaime Laredo
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Scottish Chamber Orchestra
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  • 7.
    Bach: Violin Concertos / Eschkenazy, Ogrintchouk, Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra
    Bach: Violin Concertos / Eschkenazy, Ogrintchouk, Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra
    Label: Pentatone   Catalog: 5186460 Release Date: 10/30/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Vesko Eschkenazy,  Alexei Ogrintchouk
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Royal Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra
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  • 8.
    The Baroque Collection
    The Baroque Collection
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 73420 Release Date: 10/22/2012   Number of Discs: 10
    Composer:  Tomaso Albinoni,  Johann Sebastian Bach,  George Frideric Handel,  Giovanni Palestrina  ... 
    Performer:  Xavier Darasse,  Maurice André,  Guy Touvron,  Pierre Pierlot  ... 
    Conductor:  Louis Auriacombe,  Jörg Faerber,  Jacques Roussel,  Raymond Leppard  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Toulouse Chamber Orchestra,  Württemberg Chamber Orchestra,  Antiqua Musica  ... 
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  • 9.
    J.s. Bach: Violin Concertos Bwv 1041-1043; Psalm 51 Bwv 1083
    Label: New Pan   Catalog: 10277 Release Date: 10/02/2012   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Conductor:  Gunar Letzbor
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Ars Antiqua Austria
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  • 10.
    All-Baroque Box (From Monteverdi To Bach) [50-CD Limited Edition]
    All-Baroque Box (From Monteverdi To Bach) [50-CD Limited Edition]
    Label: Archiv Produktion (Dg)   Catalog: 001719702 Release Date: 09/25/2012   Number of Discs: 50
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  George Frideric Handel,  Domenico Scarlatti,  Giovanni Battista Pergolesi  ... 
    Performer:  Peter Harvey,  Stephen Varcoe,  Anthony Rolfe Johnson,  Michael Chance  ... 
    Conductor:  John Eliot Gardiner,  Paul McCreesh,  Marc Minkowski,  Trevor Pinnock  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  English Baroque Soloists,  Monteverdi Choir,  Gabrieli Consort  ... 
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  • 11.
    Daniel Hope - Complete Warner Recordings
    Daniel Hope - Complete Warner Recordings
    Label: Warner Classics   Catalog: 2564660542 Release Date: 09/25/2012   Number of Discs: 5
    Composer:  Alban Berg,  Benjamin Britten,  Maurice Ravel,  Manuel de Falla  ... 
    Performer:  Daniel Hope,  Sebastian Knauer,  Gaurav Mazumdar,  Asok Chakraborty  ... 
    Conductor:  Paul Watkins,  Maxim Shostakovich,  Roger Norrington
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  BBC Symphony Orchestra,  Chamber Orchestra of Europe,  Camerata Salzburg
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  • 12.
    Bach: Violin Concertos / Perlman, Zukerman, Barenboim, English Chamber Orchestra
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 636464 Release Date: 08/28/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Itzhak Perlman,  Pinchas Zukerman
    Conductor:  Daniel Barenboim
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  • 13.
    Bach: Violin Concertos
    Bach: Violin Concertos
    Label: Decca   Catalog: 001706002 Release Date: 07/24/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Gidon Kremer,  Heinz Holliger
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  • 14.
    Karajan - 1960s [82 CD-Set]
    Karajan - 1960s [82 CD-Set]
    Label: Deutsche Grammophon   Catalog: 001684302 Release Date: 06/26/2012   Number of Discs: 82
    Composer:  Richard Strauss,  Johannes Brahms,  Antonín Dvorák,  Bedrich Smetana  ... 
    Performer:  Shura Cherkassky,  Hilde Rössl-Majdan,  Wilma Lipp,  Anton Dermota  ... 
    Conductor:  Herbert von Karajan,  Hans Priem-Bergrath
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,  Vienna Singverein,  Vienna Symphony Orchestra  ... 
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  • 15.
    Jascha Heifetz Plays Great Violin Concertos
    Jascha Heifetz Plays Great Violin Concertos
    Label: Rca   Catalog: 7761382 Release Date: 06/12/2012   Number of Discs: 6
    Composer:  Ludwig van Beethoven,  Johannes Brahms,  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,  Felix Mendelssohn  ... 
    Performer:  Jascha Heifetz,  Osian Ellis,  William Primrose,  Thornton Lofthouse  ... 
    Conductor:  Charles Munch,  Fritz Reiner,  Walter Hendl,  Sir Malcolm Sargent  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Boston Symphony Orchestra,  Chicago Symphony Orchestra,  Orchestra  ... 
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  • 16.
    Jascha Heifetz Plays Bach & Vieuxtemps
    Jascha Heifetz Plays Bach & Vieuxtemps
    Label: Dutton Laboratories/Vocalion   Catalog: 1919 Release Date: 04/10/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Henri Vieuxtemps,  Louis Gruenberg
    Performer:  Jascha Heifetz
    Conductor:  Franz Waxman,  Sir John Barbirolli,  Pierre Monteux
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  • 17.
    The Complete Bach Edition
    The Complete Bach Edition
    Label: Teldec   Catalog: 664202 Release Date: 03/27/2012   Number of Discs: 154
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Max van Egmond,  Kurt Equiluz,  Paul Esswood,  Walter Gampert  ... 
    Conductor:  Nikolaus Harnoncourt,  Gustav Leonhardt,  Ton Koopman,  Jaap Schröder  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Vienna Concentus Musicus,  Chorus Viennensis,  Vienna Boys' Choir  ... 
    On sale! $399.99
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  • 18.
    Air: The Bach Album / Meyers, Mercurio, English Chamber Orchestra
    Air: The Bach Album / Meyers, Mercurio, English Chamber Orchestra
    Label: eOne   Catalog: 7785 Release Date: 02/14/2012   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Charles Gounod
    Performer:  Anne Akiko Meyers
    Conductor:  Steven Mercurio
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  English Chamber Orchestra
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  • 19.
    Brahms, Bach, Chausson: Concertos / David Oistrakh
    Brahms, Bach, Chausson: Concertos / David Oistrakh
    Label: Archipel   Catalog: 0476 Release Date: 11/22/2011  
    Composer:  Johannes Brahms,  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Ernest Chausson
    Performer:  David Oistrakh
    Conductor:  Fritz Rieger,  Franz Konwitschny,  Kiril Kondrashin
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Munich Philharmonic Orchestra,  Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra,  USSR State Symphony Orchestra
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  • 20.
    Bach, Vivaldi: Double Concertos / Zukerman, Midori
    Bach, Vivaldi: Double Concertos / Zukerman, Midori
    Label: Newton Classics   Catalog: 8802078 Release Date: 09/27/2011   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Antonio Vivaldi
    Performer:  Pinchas Zukerman,  Midori
    Conductor:  Pinchas Zukerman
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
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  • 21.
    Bach & Schnittke
    Bach & Schnittke
    Label: Quartz Records   Catalog: 2083 Release Date: 07/12/2011   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Alfred Schnittke
    Performer:  Maria Alikhanova,  Dmitri Bulgakov,  Fyodor Stroganov
    Conductor:  Misha Rachlevsky
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  • 22.
    Violin Concertos - Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Bruch
    Violin Concertos - Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Bruch
    Label: Brilliant Classics   Catalog: 94096 Release Date: 06/28/2011   Number of Discs: 10
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,  Ludwig van Beethoven,  Felix Mendelssohn  ... 
    Performer:  Dmitri Sitkovetsky,  Jose-Luis Garcia,  Neil Black,  Giuliano Carmignola  ... 
    Conductor:  Dmitri Sitkovetsky,  Carlo de Martini,  Gennadi Rozhdestvensky,  Kiril Kondrashin  ... 
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  • 23.
    Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Concertos Bwv 1041 & 1042; Concerto For 2 Violins Bwv 1043
    Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Concertos Bwv 1041 & 1042; Concerto For 2 Violins Bwv 1043
    Label: Cascavelle   Catalog: 3121 Release Date: 06/14/2011   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Pierre Amoyal,  Tedi Papavrami,  Maurice Bourgue
    Conductor:  Pierre Amoyal
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Camerata de Lausanne
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  • 24.
    The Heifetz Collection Vol 6 - 1946-1947
    The Heifetz Collection Vol 6 - 1946-1947
    Label: Rca Victor Gold Seal   Catalog: 61737 Release Date: 04/21/2011   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco,  Maurice Ravel,  Nikolai Medtner  ... 
    Performer:  Jascha Heifetz,  Emanuel Bay,  Stanley Chaloupka
    Conductor:  Franz Waxman,  William Steinberg,  Sir Malcolm Sargent
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  RCA Victor Chamber Orchestra,  RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra,  London Symphony Orchestra
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  • 25.
    Bach: Brandenburg Concertos, Orchestral Suites, Concertos / Pinnock [8-CD Collector's Edition]
    Bach: Brandenburg Concertos, Orchestral Suites, Concertos / Pinnock [8-CD Collector's Edition]
    Label: Archiv Produktion (Dg)   Catalog: 001538502 Release Date: 04/19/2011   Number of Discs: 8
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Trevor Pinnock,  Lisa Beznosiuk,  Simon Standage,  Rachel Beckett  ... 
    Conductor:  Trevor Pinnock
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  English Concert
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