The Northern Classical Review

It's Bach's birthday... There is no shortage of people on the internet saying Bach is great, but as any other admirer of his work will know, the urge to share his message is irresistible. For me, the most endearing thing about Bach is the fact he was not an intellectual. Unlike his contemporaries he was not interested in new political movements, ancient Greece or literature. He was an ordinary man who played the organ. This adds to the intrinsic truth of his art. No pretension only honest humanity. This fact, an anomaly in the history of art and artists, removes the sense of the individual from his output. Mozart and Beethoven are enshrined in myth and exaggerated tales about abusive fathers and extreme ADHD temperaments to a point where their music is obscured. How many times have you heard the ridiculous story of Beethoven writing his 'Moonlight Sonata' (a name ascribed to it by a teary eyed romantic after Beethoven's death) for a student he helplessly fell in l