Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach, also known as ''William Bach'' (24 May 1759 – 25 December 1845) was the eldest son of

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (21 June 1732 – 26 January 1795) was a German composer and harpsichordist, the fifth son of Johann Sebastian Bach, sometimes referred to as the "Bückeburg Bach". Born in Leipzig in the Electorate of Saxony, he w ...

and the only grandson of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

to gain fame as a composer. He was music director to King

Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was also the prince-elector of Brandenburg and (through the Orange-Nassau inheritance of his grandfather) sovereign princ ...

. He said, "Heredity can tend to run out of ideas." Ernst Bach received training in music from his uncle

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German composer and musician of the Baroque and Classical period. He was the fifth ch ...

, and from another uncle in England,

Johann Christian Bach Johann Christian Bach (5 September 1735 – 1 January 1782) was a German composer of the Classical era, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He received his early musical training from his father, and later from his half-brother, Carl ...

. He was in London when Johann Christian died there on 1 January 1782. Ernst Bach remained in England until 1784, when he returned to Germany via Holland. He was ''

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

'' of

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

in 1786, and ''Kapellmeister'' in Berlin from 1788 to 1811, with Friedrich Wilhelm's blessing. He retired after Prince Heinrich, the brother of King

Friedrich Wilhelm III Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

, granted him a pension. At the unveiling of the

Bach Monument Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the orc ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

on 23 April 1843, Ernst Bach met

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

. Schumann later described Ernst Bach as "a very agile old gentleman of 84 years with snow-white hair and expressive features". One of Ernst Bach's most remarkable compositions was ''Dreyblatt,'' a concerto for piano involving six hands. It is to be performed by a man with a petite woman on either side of him. Ernst Bach indicated that the man is to stretch his arms around the women to play the outer parts while the women play the middle parts. Ernst Bach is buried at the

Friedhof II der Sophiengemeinde Berlin The Friedhof II der Sophiengemeinde Berlin is a Protestant cemetery of the Sophienkirche (Berlin), Sophienkirche in Berlin-Mitte, Germany. Notable interments (*) = An Ehrengrab awarded by the "Landes Berlin" * Adam Weishaupt German philosopher ...

. He married twice. His only son (by his second wife) died in infancy. The eldest of his three daughters, Caroline Augusta Wilhelmine, lived the longest. She died in 1871—the very last of the Bachs.Grace, Harvey. ''Bach'', Novello Short Biography (1938), p. 1

Selected recordings

*Kantaten & Sinfonien "Columbus"; Ingrid Schmithüsen, Howard Crook, Gotthold Schwarz, Klaus Mertens,

Hermann Max Hermann Max (born 1941 in Goslar) is a German choral conductor. In 1977, he founded the Jugendkantorei Dormagen, which in 1985 became the basis of the Rheinische Kantorei and Das Kleine Konzert. In 1992, he founded the Knechtsteden Early Music ...

; cpo 999 672-2, 2000

References

External links

* * * 1759 births 1845 deaths Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst German male composers German Classical-period composers 19th-century German male musicians {{Germany-composer-stub