Rondo in B-flat for keyboard

When J. S. Bach died in 1750, he was neither the most famous nor the most successful member of the clan. Those honors fell to his son, Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach (1714-88). Emanuel had been chosen by crown Prince Frederick to join his retinue, which put the young composer alongside some of the most respected men in European culture. Of course, considering who was his father and first teacher, it is not surprising to find Emanuel Bach in such a prestigious post. He prospered quickly in his musical activities, though he entered university ostensibly to study law. The summons from Prince Frederick came in 1738 when Emanuel was just 24 years old. Two years later Frederick became King and moved to Berlin, and Emanuel continued in his service as principal harpsichordist. He began composing influential pieces for solo keyboard, pieces like the Rondo in B-flat that were often highly experimental in both form and content. Emanuel Bach developed a lasting reputation for the bravery and idiosyncratic nature of his use of dissonance, chromaticism, and quicksilver changes of key.

(c) Jason Stell