Encounter III: The Art of Late Bach, led by Michael Parloff

As Bach entered his final years, he found himself increasingly at odds with the emerging musical fashions of the Enlightenment. His unrivaled mastery of fugal technique counted for little at a time when simple, homophonic textures were all the rage. In The Art of Fugue and Musical Offering, he set out to explore and demonstrate every conceivable possibility of fugal and canonic technique. Taken together, they represent the apotheosis of polyphony and the crowning glory of Bach’s art. Michael Parloff will explore the history and musical specifics of these two unparalleled masterworks.