A genius begs for scraps at 60 — royalty, meet your match.
The last journey of Thomaskantor Johann Sebastian Bach leads from Leipzig to Potsdam. Already 60 years old, he hopes that an audition with the Prussian King Frederick II will not only bring him artistic recognition and renewed appreciation, but also an end to his grueling financial worries.
Acting
Alexander May's Bach: pride, weariness, and desperation in every bow.
Production
GDR-era sets capture Frederick's glittering court versus Bach's threadbare reality.
Director
Victor Vicas
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
GDR-produced Bach films often framed genius as underappreciated by capitalist structures — subtle political subtext here.
The actual 1747 meeting was more cordial; this film dramatizes Bach's documented financial desperation in his final years.
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