5 Things to Know About Johann Christian Bach

He was J.S. Bach’s youngest surviving son Born on September 5, 1735, in Leipzig, Germany, Johann Christian Bach carried one of music’s most famous surnames into the next generation.

He was known as the “London Bach” He spent much of his career in England, where he became a prominent figure in the city’s musical scene.

He influenced Mozart’s early style Mozart met him in London as a child and was deeply impressed by his music, which shaped Mozart’s own compositions.

He wrote in the galant style Unlike his father’s complex Baroque works, Johann Christian favored a lighter, more melodic style that appealed to 18th-century audiences.

He helped popularize the piano He was one of the first major composers to write specifically for the fortepiano, the precursor to the modern piano.