Who was Johann Sebastian Bach?
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) was one of the greatest and most influential composers of classical music in the Western world. He was born in Germany into a musical family that included at least fourteen musicians over several centuries. Bach originated a form of music known as “polyphonic baroque,” which is two or more independent melodic parts sounded together. As a child he had an insatiable appetite for musical knowledge and often walked long distances to seek out concerts given by great composers of his time. In 1703 he played the violin in the prince of Germany’s private orchestra at Weimar, Germany. A year later, at the age of nine, he became an organist at Arnstadt. In 1707 Bach moved to Mulhausen to continue his career as an organist and married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach. They had seven children before she died; he remarried in 1721 to Anna Magdalena Wulken, with…
