Bach, Johann Christian

Bach, Johann Christian (krĭs`tyän bäkh), 1735–82, German musician and composer; son of J. S. Bach. He went to Italy in 1754, became a Roman Catholic, and composed church music and operas. In 1760 he became organist of the Milan Cathedral. Two years later he went to England, where he became music master to the royal family. A popular and highly prolific composer in the rococo style, he influenced the young Mozart.

---

Bach, Johann Christian

(born Sept. 5, 1735, Leipzig—died Jan. 1, 1782, London, Eng.) German-born British composer. Youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he studied with his brother Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in Berlin before moving to Italy. In 1762 he became composer to the King's Theatre in London, where he would remain the rest of his life, becoming music teacher to the queen, and later the impresario (with Karl Friedrich Abel) of an important series of concerts (1765–81). He wrote some 50 symphonies, some 35 keyboard concertos, and much chamber music. His music, melodious and well formed but far from profound and with no trace of his father's influence, became an important prototype of the Classical style and influenced Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.