After studying mathematics and humanities at the University of Leipzig, Bach accepted positions as organist, first in Dresden and then in Halle. In his fifties he relocated to Berlin, where he spent the final two decades of his life.

Bach composed for small groups and the orchestra of his day, in addition to organ and piano. He is closest in temperament and style to J. S. Bach of all the latter's sons. His music lies in the Baroque tradition of harmonic elegance. More an able musician than an unusually gifted one, Wilhelm Freidemann is overshadowed by his brothers, Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Cristoph Friedrich, and Johann Christian. ~ Douglas Purl