Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was the most original composer of the period between the baroque and classical periods and his fertile mind originated some of the main elements of classicism. He managed to make a harmonious synthesis of sometimes opposing concepts such as the Aufklärung (Enlightenment), and the Empfindsamkeit (striving for intimate, sensitive and subjective expression) and the Sturm und Drang (the expression of unbridled passion). He also brought together Italian, French and German styles in his music, following the ideal of Quantz’s Gemischter Geschmack (mixed taste), and he knew how to take advantage of specific elements of instrumental music as well as opera. He was also very much a man of culture in general who frequented writes such as Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock.