JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (21 March 1685, O.S.31 March 1685, N.S. -- 28 July 1750, N.S.) was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity.Although he did not introduce new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France.
Revered for their intellectual depth, technical command and artistic beauty, Bach's works include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B minor, the St Matthew Passion, the St John Passion, the Magnificat, the Musical Offering, The Art of Fugue, the English and French Suites, the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, the Cello Suites, more than 200 surviving cantatas, and a similar number of organ works, including the famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, and the Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes and Organ Mass.
Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the main composers of the Baroque style, and as one of the greatest composers of all time.
DAVID GARRETT
Birth name David Bongartz
Born 4 September 1980 (age 31), Aachen, Germany
Genres Classical/Crossover
Instruments Violin
Website david-garrett.com
David Garrett (born as David Bongartz on 4 September 1980 is a record breaking German/American classical violinist and recording artist.
Garrett was born in Aachen, Germany to an American prima ballerina and the German lawyer and jurist, Georg Peter Bongartz. He adopted his mother's maiden name as a pseudonym.
When Garrett was four years old, his father bought a violin for his older brother. The young Garrett took an interest and soon learned to play. A year later, he took part in a competition and won first prize. By the age of seven, he was playing once a week in public. He studied violin at the Lübeck Conservatoire. At the age of 12, Garrett began working with the distinguished Polish violinist Ida Haendel, often traveling to London and other European cities to meet her.
He continued his studies at the Royal College of Music in London. In 2004, he graduated from the Juilliard School in New York City and was one of the first students to study there with Itzhak Perlman.