Remodeling Frederick’s Music

Several years ago a group, called the New Friends of Music, produced the first performance of Musical Masterpiece by Bach, in Town Hall, New York. There is an interesting story behind this composition.

Frederick the Great of Prussia was intensely interested in music. In different rooms of his palace he had various musical instruments. It was his ambition to compose something in the style of the master. He tried and tried, but his efforts fell far short of being worthwhile. Nevertheless, he showed one of his compositions to a friend, Johann Sebastian Bach.

Tactfully the famous composer examined the faulty composition, and then set to work remodeling it. As a result, Bach produced, with his Monarch’s efforts as a basis, what has come down to us as Musical Masterpieces. Touched by the skill of the master, the work of Frederick the amateur became worthwhile music.