Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach

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Portrait around 1843, probably by Eduard Magnus

Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach , also William Bach (born May 24, 1759 in Bückeburg , † December 25, 1845 in Berlin ) was a German composer from the Bach family .

Life

The eldest son of the "Bückeburger Bach" Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach was taught by his father and since 1778 by his uncle Johann Christian Bach in London , where he made a name for himself as a soloist and piano teacher. After his uncle's death in 1782, he traveled to Paris and the Netherlands and eventually became music director in Minden . In 1789 he was called to Berlin by King Friedrich Wilhelm II , where he became harpsichordist for Queen Friederike Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt . After her death in 1805 he was harpsichordist and court conductor of Queen Luise von Mecklenburg-Strelitz and music teacher of the Prussian princes. In 1811, after Queen Luise's death, he retired from all offices. Prince Heinrich , brother of Friedrich Wilhelm III. von Prussia, suspended a lifelong pension of 300 Reichstalers for JS Bach's grandson.

Autograph title page of Bach's oratorio Our Father

Piano music (three piano concertos, a concerto for two pianos, etc.), two symphonies, two orchestral suites, a divertimento, a sextet, a trio sonata for two flutes and viola as well as songs and cantatas have been handed down by Bach. One of the most notable compositions was Dreyblatt in F major, a piano piece for six hands in which the pianist seated in the middle embraces his two companions and plays the outer voices while the outside pianists play in the middle of the keyboard .

Bach married twice and had three daughters and a son who died as an infant.

  • Children from 1st marriage (⚭ 1798) with Charlotte Philippina Henrietta geb. Elerdt (* 1780 - † November 29, 1801):
    • Caroline Auguste Wilhelmine Ritter b. Bach (December 14, 1799 - May 13, 1871)
    • Juliane Friederike Ernestine (8 September 1801 - 28 October 1807)
  • Children from 2nd marriage (⚭ 1802) with Wilhemine Susanne geb. Albrecht (* 1773/74; † August 21, 1862):
    • Auguste Wilhemine Bach (6 December 1805 - 12 February 1858)
    • Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Bach (born November 10, 1807 - † August 26, 1808)

At the ceremonial unveiling of the Bach monument in Leipzig on April 23, 1843, Wilhelm Bach, the last male descendant of Johann Sebastian Bach, was present and met Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy .

On August 13, 1805, Bach joined the three Seraphim of the Friedrich Lodge in Berlin .

Bach's grave in Berlin-Mitte (2020)

Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach died in Berlin in 1845 at the age of 86. His grave is in Cemetery II of the Sophiengemeinde on Bergstrasse in Berlin-Mitte . A high cast iron grave cross serves as a grave sign. The final resting place of Wilhelm Bach was dedicated as an honorary grave for the State of Berlin from 1994 to 2015 .

Apart from the Dreyblatt , which has been recorded several times, there are only a few other recordings of his works. In 1997/98 the WDR produced first recordings with Hermann Max , the Rheinische Kantorei and the Kleine Konzert: one symphony each in G major and C major, a festive Our Father and two great secular cantatas ( Westphalens Freude and Columbus or the discovery of America ) .

literature

  • Carl von Ledebur: Tonkünstler-Lexicon Berlin's from the oldest times to the present. Rauh, Berlin 1861, p. 25 f. ( Digitized in the Google book search).
  • Rochus von Liliencron:  Bach, Johann Christoph Friedrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 746 f (mentioned in the article on his father).
  • Brigitte Huber: “Honor the worthy head who bears such a consecrated name!” On the rediscovery of the portrait of Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach (1759–1845) . In: Bach-Jahrbuch 101 (2015), ISSN  0084-7682 , pp. 205-231.

Web links

Commons : Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The grave cross names May 27, 1759 as the date of birth. According to the article Christoph Wolff, Ulrich Leisinger:  Bach, Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required). May 24th is the date of birth, May 27th is the date of baptism.
  2. ↑ Trio Sonata : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project
  3. ^ A b Heinrich Miesner: Documented news about the Bach family in Berlin . In: Bach-Jahrbuch XXIX (1932), pp. 157-163 ( digitized version ).
  4. ↑ Robert Schumann reported in his Neue Zeitschrift für Musik about this special event with the following words: “Apart from Bach, the celebrated man of the day was the only one of his grandchildren still alive, a sprightly old man of 81 [ recte: 83] years with snow-white hair and expressive features who had come over from Berlin with his wife and two daughters. Nobody had known about him, not even Mendelssohn, who had lived in Berlin for so long, who was undoubtedly busy after everything that concerns Bach [...]. ”HH: The inauguration ceremony of Bach's monument in Leipzig. In: Neue Zeitschrift für Musik , Vol. 18, No. 36, May 4, 1843, p. 144 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  5. ^ Hans-Jürgen Mende : Lexicon of Berlin burial places . Pharus-Plan, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-86514-206-1 , p. 118.
  6. ↑ 13 pianos live in concert. Telefunken aspects 6.42610 (picture 1974), cf. Fono criticism in Fono Forum September 1980, p. 84
  7. ↑ Baynov Piano Ensemble - 6 Hands on 1 Piano Vol.1 , jpc
  8. ↑ Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach at muziekweb.nl, accessed on March 16, 2019
  9. ^ Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach: Cantatas and Sinfonias , jpc
personal data
SURNAME Bach, Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bach, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer
DATE OF BIRTH May 24, 1759
PLACE OF BIRTH Buckeburg
DATE OF DEATH December 25, 1845
Place of death Berlin