March 31, 2026
What Makes Bach’s Music So Great?
Class Description
Johann Sebastian Bach is perhaps the most revered composer in all of Western music. Max Reger simply stated: “Bach is the beginning and end of all music.” But what makes the music of this one composer, who toiled in relative obscurity in 18th-century Germany, so great?
First movement of the first sonata for solo violin.
In this lecture, we will explore some components that may have helped Bach’s enduring appeal: his subtle but powerful expression of sacred texts; his complete mastery of the building blocks of music (harmony, melody, rhythm); his breathtaking skill at writing complex counterpoint; and the meditative space that his music creates—always expressive, but never overbearing, allowing each listener to have a personal experience with his music.
This talk is designed to be accessible to all, regardless of musical background, and it will include musical samples to illustrate key concepts. It promises to offer both an informative overview and a deeper appreciation of Bach’s enduring artistry.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Christina Fuhrmann is Chair, Academic Studies Department and Professor of Music History and Literature at Baldwin Wallace University. She also serves as the Bach Editor of the Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute.
Dr. Fuhrmann previously taught at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and at Ashland University, where she was the 2015 winner of the Taylor Excellence in Teaching Award. She also has experience as managing editor of the Journal of Musicology. Her research has been published in venues such as The Oxford Handbook of the British Musical, Nineteenth-Century Music Review, The Journal of Musicological Research and The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature. In 2012, she published an edition of Henry Bishop’s 1819 adaptation of “Le Nozze di Figaro” with A-R Editions. Her book, “Foreign Opera at the London Playhouses, from Mozart to Bellini” (Cambridge University Press, 2015) received the Diana McVeagh Prize for Best Book on British Music, awarded biennially by the North American British Music Studies Association.
Dr. Fuhrmann holds a B.A. from Marlboro College and a Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis.