1661 to Present – The Collections of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin

The Stabi Kulturwerk is the museum and exhibition space of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. The permanent exhibition shows over 300 selected objects from the library’s collections, including valuable books, manuscripts and estate documents. Particularly valuable objects are regularly exchanged. Hence there is always something new to discover.

One of the special objects in the current presentation, which can be seen until the beginning of November 2025, is the autograph of the “Well-Tempered Clavier” by Johann Sebastian Bach. More than 300 years ago, in 1722, he compiled the 48 preludes and fugues for the “Well-Tempered Clavier.” The autograph and numerous complete and incomplete copies have long been part of the Music Department’s holdings, including an early copy in which his wife Anna Magdalena Bach copied 32 preludes and fugues.
At the end of 2022, another important early and almost complete copy of the pieces, which have been among Bach’s best-known works for 300 years, was purchased and is now on display in the treasure chamber of the Kulturwerk.

To get a look at the digital copy of the autograph, click this Link.