The Treasure Room

»Can you see anything?« »Yes, wonderful things!«

Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter at the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, 1922

Decorated in dark green, the treasure room is the heart of our museum. Here you will find valuable Bach autographs, sets of parts written under his supervision, rare first prints, and other precious items from our collection. 

Also presented here are exhibits on Bach's private and professional life, duplicates of books from his library, printed libretti of his cantatas, and documents on members of his extended family.

The upcoming exhibition in the Treasury is dedicated to the collection of Elias N. Kulukundis.

»BACH AND HIS SONS«
THE KULUKUNDIS COLLECTION’ SPECIAL EXHIBITION IN THE TREASURY 30 JANUARY TO 3 NOVEMBER 2025

One of the most valuable private collections on the sons of Johann Sebastian Bach can be found in the Leipzig Bach Archive — a legacy from New York music researcher Elias N. Kulukundis. As early as the 1960s, the shipping company owner devoted himself to Bach's musical sons: Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Christoph Friedrich and Johann Christian. It was not easy for them to step out of the shadow of their outstanding father. Nevertheless, they each succeeded in developing their own distinctive musical language.

The collection includes numerous valuable documents: Letters, music manuscripts and original first and early prints by the four Bach sons. Particularly noteworthy is the autograph score of Johann Christian Bach's opera Zanaida, which was long thought to be lost. . This stage work, which premiered on 7 May 1763, was Johann Christian Bach's second opera for London's King's Theatre after ‘Orione’. These works, which were celebrated by the public, marked his breakthrough as an internationally recognized opera composer. The autograph score was long considered lost.