During the years 1744-45 a young man named Johann Ludwig Anton Rust went to Leipzig to study jurisprudence and philosophy. But he was also musical, and played the violin at performances given under the direction of J.S. Bach. On returning to his home at Woerlitz, Rust tried to inspire those around him with enthusiasm for the music of Bach. With his younger brother, Friedrich Wilhelm, he was, at any rate, successful; for the latter, already at the age of thirteen, was able to play by heart the whole of the "Well-tempered Clavier." Later on, young Friedrich went to Halle to study law, and there not only made the acquaintance of Friedemann Bach, but, in return for attending to the correspondence of that gifted musician, he received from him instruction in composition, organ and clavier playing. Afterwards, at Potsdam, he continued his clavier studies under Emanuel Bach. Surely a finer training never fell to the lot of any pupil. Schumann recommends young musicians to make Bach their daily bread; and of that, Rust must have had full weight. But the list of his teachers is not yet exhausted; he went to Italy in 1765, and studied the violin under Tartini. Rust composed operas, cantatas, concertos, and sonatas for violin,[90] and for pianoforte; the last-named, of which he wrote eight, now concern us. The earliest, entitled "Sonata Erotica," was composed in 1775; this work, however, was not published until the year 1888 (edited by his grandson, Dr. Wilhelm Rust,[91] late cantor of St. Thomas'). It is the first of a series of works extraordinary in many ways--in form, subject-matter, developments, and technique. With regard to the last-named, there is something to say, and it had better be said at once. Dr. E. Prieger, in his interesting pamphlet, _F.W. Rust: Ein Vorgaenger Beethovens_, remarks as follows:--"While the grandson, full of enthusiasm, threw his whole soul into the creations of his ancestor, he gave a reflection, in his edition, of the pictures which had been vividly formed in his mind." To accomplish this he has strengthened the writing, and, in some cases, _modernised_ it. Dr. Prieger, who has seen some, if not all of the autographs, has assured us that "these additions only concern the exterior, and do not affect the fundamental, character of the work." This statement is, to a certain extent, satisfactory, and we receive it thankfully. But a great deal of the writing is far ahead of the age in which it was written; it reminds one now of Weber, now of Schumann. Why, one may ask, did not the editor indicate the additions in smaller notes? Then it would have been possible to see exactly what the elder Rust had written, and what the younger Rust had added. At present one can only marvel at some of the writing, and long to know how much of it really belongs to the composer. It appears that Rust, as editor of his grandfather's work, had some intention of describing his editions,