Johann Sebastian Bach
Awards & Honours
0
Awards Won
3
Honours
3
Rankings
5
Covers
3
Records
Bach’s achievements are measured not by trophies but by his monumental output: over 1,000 known compositions, including 200 surviving cantatas, the Mass in B minor, and the St. Matthew Passion. He is the supreme master of counterpoint, and his works are a cornerstone of music theory education. He was the first to systematically use all 24 major and minor keys in The Well-Tempered Clavier, a groundbreaking pedagogical achievement. His music continues to be performed, recorded, and studied more than any other classical composer’s, with billions of streams annually.
Honours & Distinctions
Bach Medal
Awarded posthumously by the city of Leipzig to honor outstanding contributions to Bach scholarship and performance.
TIME 100 Most Influential People of All Time
Included as one of the 100 most influential people in history.
Google Doodle
A Google Doodle celebrated Bach's 331st birthday with an AI-powered harmonization tool.
Rankings & Lists
Greatest Classical Composer
Top 10 Composers of All Time
100 Most Influential People of All Time
Magazine Covers
TIME
December 27, 1954
The Great Composers
The New Yorker
February 23, 1987
Bach illustration
Gramophone
March 2000
Bach: The Man and His Music
BBC Music Magazine
March 2015
Bach: Genius of the Baroque
The Economist
December 2020
Bach's Enduring Influence
Records & Feats
First composer to systematically use all 24 major and minor keys
The Well-Tempered Clavier (Book I, 1722) contains preludes and fugues in every major and minor key, demonstrating the possibilities of equal temperament.
Most surviving cantatas by a single Baroque composer
Bach composed over 300 cantatas, of which about 200 survive, more than any other Baroque composer.
Longest single movement in Baroque music
The Crucifixus from the Mass in B minor, a four-minute passacaglia, is one of the longest continuous movements in Baroque choral music.