- Born:
- March 8, 1714, Weimar, Saxe-Weimar [Germany]
- Died:
- Dec. 14, 1788, Hamburg (aged 74)
- Movement / Style:
- Baroque music
- empfindsamer Stil
- Notable Family Members:
- father Johann Sebastian Bach
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
-
Who was Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach?
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788) was a leading composer of the early Classical period, the second surviving son of J.S. and Maria Barbara Bach. He was a precocious musician and his father's true successor.
Bach served as harpsichordist to Frederick II of Prussia from 1740 until 1767, when he became music director at Hamburg. His compositions include religious music, symphonies, concerti, organ sonatas, chamber music, and songs. C.P.E. Bach was particularly influential in the evolution of classical sonata-allegro form, and his influence on Joseph Haydn, W.A. Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven was freely acknowledged. His Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments was highly influential for two generations; Haydn called it "the school of schools".
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To which famous musical family did C.P.E. Bach belong?
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, born in 1714, was the second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. C.P.E. Bach belonged to a remarkable family of north German musicians. Several of Johann Sebastian's sons, including Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel, and Johann Christian, also became composers. C.P.E. Bach credited his father as his only teacher for composition and keyboard-playing. He became a leading composer of the early Classical period and was an influential figure in his own right.
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What time period did C.P.E. Bach compose music in?
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (C.P.E. Bach) composed music primarily in the early Classical period. Born in 1714, he was a leading composer who made a successful transition from the late Baroque style. C.P.E. Bach's compositions include religious music, symphonies and concertos. His music from the Berlin period was old-fashioned due to his employer's preferences. In Hamburg, he developed a more adventurous style, influencing the evolution of classical sonata-allegro form. His influence was acknowledged by Joseph Haydn, W.A. Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven.
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What style or styles of music is C.P.E. Bach known for?
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, a leading composer of the early Classical period, was known for the Empfindsamer Stil (or "sentimental style") and the Sturm und Drang ("storm and stress") movement. The Empfindsamer Stil flourished in the 1750s and 1760s and was a German reaction against Baroque music that focused on communicating emotional feeling. Bach became a leader of that movement but retained the advantage of solid craftsmanship that he credited to his father's teaching. A late and less reserved manifestation of Empfindsamkeit was the Sturm und Drang movement in the arts during the 1770s and 1780s.
His compositions include religious music, symphonies, concerti, organ sonatas, chamber music, and songs. Particularly influential were his symphonies, concerti, and keyboard sonatas in the evolution of classical sonata-allegro form.
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How did C.P.E. Bach influence other composers or musical styles?
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, a leading composer of the early Classical period, significantly influenced musical styles through his leadership in the Empfindsamkeit movement, which emphasized emotional feeling and sensitivity in music. His compositions, especially his symphonies, concerti, and keyboard sonatas, were highly influential in the evolution of the classical sonata-allegro form.
Figures like Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven acknowledged Bach's influence, and his Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments was essential for understanding 18th-century music performance and style.
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Can you name some famous works by C.P.E. Bach and describe their characteristics?
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, a leading composer of the early Classical period, was known for compositions including religious music, symphonies and concertos.
His Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments (1753) significantly influenced musical style and interpretation of the 18th century and was considered by Haydn to be the “school of schools”.
His symphonies, concertos, and keyboard sonatas were particularly influential in the evolution of classical sonata-allegro form. In Hamburg, Bach developed a more adventurous style, which opened up future musical styles.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (born March 8, 1714, Weimar, Saxe-Weimar [Germany]—died Dec. 14, 1788, Hamburg) was the second surviving son of J.S. and Maria Barbara Bach, and the leading composer of the early Classical period.
A precocious musician who remained successful, C.P.E. Bach was his father’s true successor and an important figure in his own right. In his autobiography he writes: “For composition and keyboard-playing, I have never had any teacher other than my father.” He studied law, taking his degree at Frankfurt in 1735, although he probably never had any intention of a career other than music.
In 1740 he was appointed harpsichordist to Frederick II of Prussia. Frederick was a good flutist and so fond of music that he had his court orchestra accompany him in concerti every night except Mondays and Fridays, which were opera nights. The subservience that he required from his distinguished harpsichordist grew irksome, but it was not until 1767 that Bach was able to resign his Berlin post to take up an appointment as music director at Hamburg. Meanwhile, he had married (1744), published his Versuch über die wahre Art das Klavier zu spielen (1753, rev. ed. 1787; Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments), and acquired an enviable reputation, as a composer, performer, and teacher.
Unlike his elder brother Wilhelm Friedemann, C.P.E. Bach was successful in assimilating the powerful influence of their father and in making the transition into the new style then evolving. This represented a break with the past such as has occurred in very few other periods of musical development. The monumental character of Baroque music gave way to a mercurial Romanticism, for which the favourite contemporary description was “sensitivity” (Empfindsamkeit). Bach became a leader of that movement but retained the advantage of a solid craftsmanship and assurance for which he always gave full credit to his father’s teaching and example.
C.P.E. Bach’s many compositions include religious music (e.g., a Magnificat, 22 Passions), symphonies, concerti (for flute, harpsichord, piano, harpsichord and piano, organ, oboe), organ sonatas, chamber music, and songs. The music of his Berlin period is comparatively old-fashioned, because of the preferences of his royal employer. In Hamburg he developed a more adventurous vein and did as much as anyone to open up future musical styles. Particularly influential were his symphonies, concerti, and keyboard sonatas in the evolution of classical sonata-allegro form. His influence on Joseph Haydn, W.A. Mozart, and even Ludwig van Beethoven was freely acknowledged, and it is interesting that, having influenced Haydn, Bach later allowed himself to be influenced by the younger composer, just as Haydn later influenced and was influenced by Mozart.
As a performer, Bach was famous for the precision of his playing, for the beauty of his touch, and for the intensity of his emotion. “He grew so animated and possessed,” wrote Charles Burney (Present State of Music in Germany…, 1773), “that he looked like one inspired. His eyes were fixed, his underlip fell, and drops of effervescence distilled from his countenance.”
The influence of C.P.E. Bach’s Essay on Keyboard Instruments was unsurpassed for two generations. Haydn called it “the school of schools.” Mozart said, “He is the father, we are the children.” Beethoven, when teaching the young Karl Czerny, wrote, “be sure of procuring Emanuel Bach’s treatise.” It is, indeed, one of the essential sourcebooks for understanding the style and interpretation of 18th-century music. It is comprehensive on thorough bass, on ornaments and fingering, and is an authentic guide to many other refinements of 18th-century performance.
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