The distinguished Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) is known above all for his sacred works, but he also composed secular music. An autodidact in composition, he influenced the established music theory of his day, and as a multi-instrumentalist he also dedicated himself intensively to playing technique and instrument making. After Bach’s death, his work was largely ignored. Not until interest in him was awakened during the Viennese Classical period and later in the Viennese School were his compositions passed down on a broader scale, thus finding their permanent place in today’s canon.