J.S. Bach's music is appreciated by all keyboardists, and not always because of its
beauty or
genius. His work is very
cerebral, and obviously engineered to require intense concentration. The intertwining
themes,
voices, and
melodies wreak havoc on your stream of thought; two, three, and sometimes four voices may be trading off between both hands, usually for multiple page-lengths. It is some of the best training any
pianist,
organist, or any other
keyboardist can have, and all of the best composers (see:
Beethoven,
Mozart,
Chopin,
Rachmaninov) have been influenced by him.
It should be noted that
all (not just
some, not the
majority, but
all) the greatest
virtuoso pianists have absorbed as much
Bach as they possibly could. Any experienced musician will recommend that students and aspiring keyboardists have a daily
Bach session whether they particularly like his music or not. The resulting improvements in
technique and
interpretation are more than worth it. Not to mention the show-off rights:
nothing shows superior
intellect like being able to play a three- or four-part
Fugue.