Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician | 
 enlarge | Author: Christoph Wolff
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
Buy New: $13.09
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Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 95311
Media: Paperback
Pages: 624
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0393322564
Dewey Decimal Number: 780.92
EAN: 9780393322569
ASIN: 0393322564
Publication Date: September 2001
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Amazon.com Review
The Learned Musician is an apt subtitle for this intellectual biography, which assesses the career of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) with the scholarly rigor one would expect from a Harvard professor. Opening with a 1737 attack by a critic who labeled Bach a pedant who spoiled the natural beauty of his creations with "an excess of art," Christoph Wolff cogently compares the German composer to English scientist Isaac Newton. Both men "brought about fundamental changes and established new principles" in their chosen fields, he argues; both sought to reveal God's harmonious ordering of their world. While Wolff conscientiously covers the basics of Bach's life, including his two marriages and the musical achievements of his gifted family, the author's primary focus is on his performing (Bach was an unrivaled organist) and composing. From the Goldberg Variations through the Brandenburg Concertos to Art of the Fugue, Wolff carefully analyzes Bach's innovations in harmony and counterpoint, placing them in the context of European musical and social history rendered in nicely atmospheric detail. Casual readers may find this dense tome a bit daunting, but serious music lovers will relish the deeper understanding it conveys of a genius who transformed Western music. --Wendy Smith
Product Description
Finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize in Biography. A landmark biography of Bach on the 250th anniversary of the composer's death, written by the leading Bach scholar of our age. 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. 42 b/w illustrations.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 A Belly-Button's Radius from Winning the Prize Pulizer January 14, 2008
David Avender (Los Palomitas, British Columbia, CANADA)
Brilliant book written on the life and works of JS Bach, a Pulitzer Prize finalist owning a close reading of his compositions and a sensitive examination of the man himself, and his progenic plethora of talents tiny Bachs - CPE, JC, and the rest of the bunch. A work wished for by any student of Baroque or Classical music wishing to move beyond the "mere" listening. Twice the size, and indeed, there IS, twice the material, would have nudge a fifth star from this Chestertonian curmudgeon.
"Johann Sebastian Bach, The Learned Musician" by Christoph Wolff . . . a grand and sound work upon God's greatest gift to composition and the aural sense.
Detailed, historical, factual but lacking insight October 12, 2007
Marcolorenzo (Italy)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Very complete factual account of Bach's life and musical production. So many facts and such little insight into the man behind the facts. What good are all the facts if we come away from this book without a enlightening vision of the man. The books provides a complete catalogue of Bach's works, which is very handy.
 fascinating biography of Bach June 30, 2006
Phyllis Hirshleifer (Los Angeles, CA USA)
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
I have read other biographies of Bach, but none more detailed or insightful than this. He really comes alive as a person.
well written, interesting...not "textbook-ish" February 24, 2006
Gretchen Schneider
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
This book is really well written. It doesn't feel like a textbook when I read it, instead, it's as if you're reading a story. I don't feel as bored when reading for my class assignments. I'm able to read and remember what was said in the book.
A True Scholar February 24, 2006
Caleb Weeks
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Hours of research on the part of the author pass by you in a few simple sentences. My recommendation comes from the value reflected in the nomination for the Pulitzer Prize. I agree and am grateful to hold in my hands ONE book so complete in information.
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