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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment

Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment

Gaines, James

Paperback

General MusicGerman HistoryMusic Theory

ISBN10: 0007153937
ISBN13: 9780007153930
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published: Oct 17 2005
Pages: 368
Weight: 0.73
Height: 0.92 Width: 5.00 Depth: 8.00
Language: English

In one corner, a godless young warrior, Voltaire's heralded 'philosopher-king', the It Boy of the Enlightenment. In the other, a devout if bad-tempered old composer of 'outdated' music, a scorned genius in his last years. The sparks from their brief conflict illuminate a turbulent age.

Behind the pomp and flash, Prussia's Frederick the Great was a tormented man, son of an abusive king who forced him to watch as his best friend (probably his lover) was beheaded. In what may have been one of history's crueler practical jokes, Frederick challenged 'old Bach' to a musical duel, asking him to improvise a six-part fugue based on an impossibly intricate theme (possibly devised for him by Bach's own son).

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