Book Club: Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment by James Gaines

Before Pierre-Laurent Aimard's performance of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Vol. 2

General Admission - Jordan Hall Classroom

Fri. April 17, 6:00 PM

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Before pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard begins his journey through Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Volume 2, take a trip back in time to the 1747 meeting between Johann Sebastian Bach, late in his life, and the energetic reformer Frederick the Great, King of Prussia.

You're invited to a discussion of Evening in the Palace of Reason by James Gaines, which sketches biographies of the two men and paints their conversation as a dialogue between the belief of the old world and the reason of the Enlightenment.

Please join us for light refreshments and a facilitated one-hour discussion about the book and related topics. Read part or all of the book selection: it's a jumping-off point for a lively and thought-provoking conversation!

Exact location to be determined: classroom number will be provided as soon as it's available. Tickets for the performance are not required, and Mr. Aimard will not be involved.

“Gaines writes very accessibly…A marvelous story that will captivate the classical music audience.”
Booklist

“Highly entertaining… Lovers of music, European history, and Western philosophy will find this book an enormous pleasure.”
Library Journal (starred review)