Johann C. Bach, Sonata for two pianos

Johann Christian Bach was the youngest son of Johann Sebastian. After spending some time in Italy, he settled in London in 1764 having obtained the post of music master to Sophie Charlotte, the German duchess who had come to England to become queen consort to George III. They made a good match. At least they could chat in German when they felt like it. Johann Christian became so successfully integrated there that he was called "the Bach of London".

The new instrument

When he had the good fortune to meet Mozart (the opposite is not untrue), the piano had only recently been invented to replace the harpsichord for good. The story goes that it was the then 30-year-old Bach in London who introduced the little eight-year-old musician from Salzburg to the new instrument. After all, it was Johann Christian who had introduced the new instrument to London.

Johann Christian Bach
(1735 - 1782)

The society of his time

Johann Christian excelled in opera, the genre in which he achieved his greatest successes. And if he did not reach the heights of his father at the keyboard, it was not due to a lack of talent, but to the way in which his life as a musician took shape. Cuthbert Girdlestone, a modern British musicologist, puts it aptly:

"His public asks him for the music that amuses them..... His music is a succession of graceful and refined melodies. His allegros are pleasant, carefree. His andantes, tender and sometimes languid and idyllic, reflect the bucolic dream that enchanted the society of the eighties of the 18th century; his prestos are not lacking in vigor, but the whole is covered by a mask of smiling impersonality that expresses the superficial side of the society for which he wrote..."

Sonata for two pianos Opus 15 No 5

As was becoming customary, the writing for piano for four hands or two pianos responded to the demand for music for the family, intended to be performed at home, in the homes of an incipient middle class increasingly enthusiastic about art, particularly music.

Published in 1778, the sonata for two pianos in G major consists of only two Movements:

00:00  Allegro

06:20  Tempo di minuetto

The performance (audio only) is by the acclaimed duo of Bulgarian pianists Aglika Genova and Liuben Dimitrov. The imprint that JC Bach is going to leave on Mozart is obvious. So in all fairness it can also be said that in 1764 it was Mozart who was the lucky one.