Bach, Shakespeare & the Sins of the Past

with Steven Zohn‍  ‍general editor, American Bach Society  musicologist, Temple UniversityIs it possible to separate great art from the flawed men who made it? In this episode of BACH 52, I sit down with Steven Zohn, General Editor of the American Bach Society and Professor of Musicology at Temple University, to talk about Bach, Shakespeare, and what we owe the canon.Steven and I get into why Bach's music resists becoming a museum piece, the surprising parallels between Bach and Shakespeare as two men who remain fundamentally unknowable to us, and how to teach centuries-old work by canonical white men in a moment that is, rightly, reckoning with the sins of the past. It all lands on the old idiom that gives this episode its name: are we in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater?Stick around after the conversation for the aria, "Ich eile, die Lehren des Lebens zu hören" from Cantata 148, recorded with violinist Katie Hyun and Ruckus Early Music.This episode was filmed in partnership with Noe Music.This project is a fiscally sponsored project of FRACTURED ATLAS.To find our more information and to make a TAX-DEDUCTIBLE donation to support the continuation of this project please visit:https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/nicholas-phan-recording-projects