Evening in the Palace of Reason
Evening in the Palace of Reason
Evening in the Palace of Reason
By James R. Gaines
In their one and only meeting, Prussian Monarch Frederick the Great suggests that the great Composer Johann Sebastian Bach improvise a 6-part fugue based on a nearly impossible theme. Bach can't do it, and leaves the court angry and humiliated. But he finishes the assignment back home and sends the king one of his, and music's greatest achievements: "A Musical Offering". Gaines' book is the story of this meeting, and much more, delving into the lives and psychology of both Bach and Frederick, and other seminal Enlightenment figures, musical thought, history, and more. KBAQ's Randy Kinkel reviews the book.
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