Why read Evening in the Palace of Reason?

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

Book description

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 In the other, a devout if bad-tempered old composer of 'outdated' music, a scorned genius in his last years.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.

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Why read it?

1 author picked Evening in the Palace of Reason as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Dan Moller

Author

Most people think of Bach as a church composer, but the broader political context was that of Frederick the Great and the Enlightenment.

Bach was rationalizing music as much as he was putting it to liturgical use. The great cycles of the Well-Tempered Clavier and the Art of the Fugue are science as well as art. This book explores that idea by focusing on a bizarre encounter between Frederick and Bach, when he was invited to play for the king, in what may have been an early attempt at trolling.

From Dan's list on The best books on Bach, music, and the piano.