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Bach: Composers
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Some of the greatest composers since Bach have written works which explicitly pay homage to him. Examples include Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues, Brahms's Cello Sonata in E, whose finale is based on themes from the Art of Fugue. A 20th century work very strongly influenced by Bach is Villa-Lobos's Bachianas brasileiras. Stephen Sondheim once claimed he listened to no one else except Bach.
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At the same time, Bach wrote a complete Mass in B Minor, which incorporated newly composed movements with portions from earlier works. Although the mass was never performed during the composer's lifetime, it is considered to be among the greatest of his choral works.
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Bach's fame in his lifetime came mostly as an organist, more than a composer. It wasn't until 1829 when the composer Felix Mendelssohn discovered Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" and conducted this work, that Bach's reputation grew to became known as one of the GREATEST COMPOSERS IN HISTORY.
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Some composers have paid tribute to Bach by setting his name in musical notes (B-flat, A, C, B-natural; B-natural is notated as "H" in German musical texts, whilst B-flat is just "B") or using contrapuntal derivatives. Liszt, for example, wrote a praeludium and fugue on this BACH motif (existing in versions both for organ and piano). Bach himself set the precedent for this musical acronym, most notably in Contrapunctus XIV from the Art of Fugue. Whereas Bach ... conceived this cruciform melody (among other similar ones) as a sign of devotion to Christ and his cross, later composers have employed the BACH motif in homage to the composer himself.
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