Jewish life and the Bach family of musicians

SPECIAL EXHIBITION FROM 21 MAY TO 13 DECEMBER 2026

To mark the theme year ‘Tacheles 2026. Year of Jewish Culture in Saxony’, the Bach Museum is exploring its own collection: books from Bach’s library offer insights into the attitudes towards Jews typical of the time.

Music manuscripts bear witness to the enthusiasm for Bach and the passion for collecting among Jewish families in the second half of the 18th century. The Bach Archive owes some of its most valuable Bachiana to the Jewish collectors Max Abraham (1831–1900) and Henri Hinrichsen (1868–1942). The exhibition pays tribute to both collectors and provides an introduction to the history of the Peters Music Library and its holdings.

The exploration continues in other rooms of the museum: temporary displays enrich the permanent exhibition with diverse facets and draw connections: What was everyday life like for Jewish merchants? What was the purpose of a teaching synagogue? What connections did Bach have with Christian Hebraists?

 

At audio stations, you can listen to a synagogue concert featuring works by Jewish and Christian composers or hear the sound of a shofar. Audio recordings recount disputes over the celebration of the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles or the investigation of an unauthorised Jewish wedding.

 

GUIDED TOURS (included in the admission price)

Friday, 3 pm: 26 June / 21 August / 18 September / 13 November / 11 December

Sunday, 11 am: 26 July / 18 October / 15 November / 13 December

 

CONCERTS (Free admission)

Guided concerts bring to life the enthusiasm for Bach felt by Jewish families and offer new ways to engage with the exhibition — featuring piano and chamber music by Johann Sebastian Bach and his sons.

 

Sunday: 28 June, 11 am

FANNY VON ARNSTEIN AND THE VIENNA RECEPTION OF BACH

Works for transverse flute and harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach and his sons.

 

Marie Ludewig (transverse flute), Mechthild Winter (harpsichord), Dr Christine Blanken (presenter)

 

Fanny von Arnstein – the eighth child of the Jewish banking family Itzig – married Nathan Adam von Arnstein in 1776 and moved to Vienna. An accomplished pianist, she ran a literary and musical salon and, together with Prince Franz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz, founded the Society of Music Friends in Vienna. In 1781/82, Mozart lived in her house for nine months. The concert brings the world of this remarkable musician and patron to life.

Contribution to Jewish Week in Leipzig

 

 

Tuesday, 7 July, 3 pm

BERLIN’S ‘BACH CULTURE’ — THE ITZIG FAMILY

Works by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach and Johann Philipp Kirnberger

 

Julia Sophie Wagner (soprano), Julia Chmielewska-Ulbrich (harpsichord, organ), Kerstin Wiese (presenter)

 

Jewish families made a significant contribution to the early dissemination of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his sons. Just a few decades after the death of the Thomaskantor, a veritable ‘Bach cult’ had already taken root in the home of the Itzig family of Berlin bankers. Discover the ancestors of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and find out why the music of the Bach family played such a prominent role in their circle.

 

 

Tuesday, 4 August, 3 pm

SARA LEVY – VIRTUOSO, MUSIC COLLECTOR, PATRON

Talk and concert accompanying the special exhibition »Jewish Life and the Bach Family of Musicians«

 

Sonatas for violin and harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach and trio sonatas for flute, violin and basso continuo by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

 

Eva Salonen (violin), Mathias Kiesling (flute), Cornelia Osterwald (harpsichord), Kerstin Wiese (presenter)

 

Sara Levy – the tenth child of the Itzig family – was one of the most significant music collectors of her time. She was particularly taken with the instrumental music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his sons. The accomplished harpsichordist ran a musical salon and introduced the Bach family’s music to audiences through numerous concerts. Find out more about this virtuoso and her passion for collecting.

 

 

Tuesday, 1 September, 3 pm

THE BACHIANA FROM THE PETERS MUSIC LIBRARY

Works by Johann Sebastian Bach from the Peters Music Library collection

 

Sewon Kim (soprano), Julia Chmielewska-Ulbrich (harpsichord, organ), Kerstin Wiese (presenter)

 

The Bach Archive owes some of its most valuable Bachiana to the Jewish collectors Max Abraham and Henri Hinrichsen: Abraham, owner of the music publishing house C. F. Peters, founded Germany’s first public music library in Leipzig in 1893. It quickly developed into a first-rate institution. Abraham’s nephew, Henri Hinrichsen, continued to run the library and expanded it with valuable holdings. In 1942, he was murdered at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Find out more about the history of the music library, its founders and their collection.

 

 

Saturday: 24 October, 3 pm

LISTEN TO OLD MUSIC!

A concert-talk accompanying the special exhibition “Jewish Life and the Bach Family of Musicians”

Works by Johann Sebastian Bach, arranged by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Ferdinand David

 

Eva Salonen (violin), N.N. (fortepiano), Kerstin Wiese (presenter)

 

With his ‘Historical Concerts’, Felix Mendelssohn established a new form of concert life in Leipzig. He brought works from earlier eras to the stage, thereby opening up unfamiliar musical perspectives for his audience. Until then, concert halls had mainly featured contemporary compositions on their programmes. Johann Sebastian Bach’s solo works for violin, including the Partitas, in particular, presented many listeners with new challenges. Additional piano accompaniments were intended to make this music, which was little known at the time, more accessible.

 

 

Cover image: Sheet music bears witness to Jewish families’ enthusiasm for Bach. Inscription by Zippora Wulff (née Itzig).