Celebrating JS Bach and three other musical birthdays!

On March 21st, 1685, Johann Ambrosius Bach, the director of the musicians of Eisenach in Germany, and his wife, Maria Elisabeth, welcomed their eighth child, Johann Sebastian Bach. 

Less than a month earlier, Georg Frederic Handel had been born less than 100 miles away.  The two boys grew up to be the guiding musical lights of the Baroque period.   We'll celebrate Bach's birthday in fine style this week on Vivace.

There are also three other remarkable anniversaries:  the debut of the Great Symphony No.9 in C-Major, by Schubert, a performance of which will fill our first hour;  the first performance of the String Quartet No. 13 in B Flat Major, by Beethoven, which we'll hear after 8 o'clock, and the 75th anniversary of one of the most famous songs of the modern era.  We'll also have a piano concerto by Puccini, but not the Puccini you know.

As ever, I hope you'll join me for a show full of entertainment and surprises.  That's Vivace, this Friday, March 21, 6-9 am right here on WTJU-Charlottesville.