In 1751, one year after J. S. Bach had died, his friends, pupils and family published one of his last works, Die Kunst der Fuge, or The Art of Fugue. While it was written in open score, with four individual parts, scholars have long argued that it was intended for the keyboard. However, there is no indication from the composer as to what he intended it to be performed on, or indeed whether it should be performed at all.

The now-famous starkly simple theme in D minor is present throughout the 14 'Contrapuncti', as Bach calls them, transformed, developed, hidden and eventually rediscovered. It is a work of surpassing contrapuntal genius, but also an emotional and intellectual journey like no other.