Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann, known as the Halle Bach 1710-84
German composer

Born in Weimar, he was the eldest and most gifted son of J S Bach. Educated in Leipzig at the Thomasschule and the university, he became organist at Dresden (1733) and Halle (1747). However, his way of life became increasingly dissolute and from 1764 he lived without fixed occupation at Brunswick, G�ttingen and Berlin. He was a very distinguished organist, but few of his compositions, which include church cantatas and several instrumental pieces, were published, since he rarely wrote them down.