The music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

Published in 2010 by the University of Rochester Press, this scholarly monograph was written by David Schulenberg, a renowned musicologist and performer specializing in the keyboard works of the Bach family. The book emerged from a long-standing academic need for a comprehensive study of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, the eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, whose artistic legacy has often been eclipsed by the towering influence of his father and his younger brother, Carl Philipp Emanuel.

Schulenberg's design for the text emphasizes a rigorous analytical approach, combining historical biography with detailed musicological examination of Wilhelm Friedemann's surviving compositions. By contextualizing the composer's work within the shifting aesthetic currents of the mid-eighteenth century, the volume serves as a critical resource for scholars and musicians seeking to evaluate Friedemann's distinct harmonic language and improvisational style. The work was well-received by the academic community for its nuanced treatment of a complex figure who represents the transitional period between the late Baroque and the Classical eras.