Johann Christian Bach was born to
Johann Sebastian and
Anna Magdalena Bach in 1735 in
Leipzig, Germany. His father,
Johann Sebastian Bach, instructed him in his early musical training. After his father's death, he moved to Berlin to pursue his studies with his half-brother
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, who was twenty-one years his senior and, at the time, was considered to be the most musically gifted of Bach's sons. , London In 1754 he moved to Italy and Latin Mass settings. His first major work was a Mass, which received an excellent performance and acclaim in 1757. That established his reputation in England, and he became music master to
Queen Charlotte. In 1766, Bach met soprano Cecilia Grassi (1746-1791), who was eleven years his junior, and married her shortly thereafter. They had no offspring. J. C. Bach performed symphonies and concertos at the
Hanover Square Rooms. This was London's premier concert venue in the heart of fashionable
Mayfair. The surrounding
Georgian homes offered a well-to-do clientele for his performances. One of London's primary literary circles, which included
Jane Timbury, Robert Gunnell Esq., Lord Beauchamp, and the
Duchess of Buccleuch, was acquainted with Bach, and members were regular attendees at his events. In 1777, he won a landmark case,
Bach v Longman, which established that (in
English law) copyright law applied to musical scores. Even before then, Bach demanded a proper credibility for his compositions almost at the same time upon his arrival to London in 1762. He was granted an exclusive right to publish his music for 14 years. By the late 1770s, both his popularity and finances were in decline. By the time of Bach's death on New Year's Day 1782, he had become so indebted (in part due to his
steward embezzling his money), that Queen Charlotte stepped in to cover the expenses of the estate and provided a life pension for Bach's widow. He was buried in the graveyard of
St. Pancras Old Church, London. ==Works==