Brandenburg Concertos composed by Johann Sebastian Bach are without exaggeration the most notable orchestral works of the Baroque period. There are six of them all in all, each composed at a different stage of Bach’s life, but all joined in a set to be presented to the Malgrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt – Christian Ludwig – in 1721.
Brandenburg Concertos embrace a wide range of music instruments and were unprecedented in many ways, in scoring particularly. Bach himself being an outstanding organ and harpsichord played, gave special spotlight to the harpsichord. In fact, his Brandenburg Concerto No.5 is the first concerto where a solo keyboard instrument has such an important part.
Too bad that these unique concertos were not given to the rights hands: Christian Ludwig was not a big connoisseur of music, so the Brandenburg Concertos were left without the proper attention until they got re-discovered in 1849 by Siegfried Wilhelm Dehn who found them in Brandenburg archives.
Many notable orchestras have performed the six famous works. The concertos were also played as chamber works. The two most famous batons under which these pieces sounded were those of Herbert von Karajan and Karl Richter. The latter also did a stunning harpsichord solo of the 5th concerto that definitely deserves to be listened to (start at 6:30):
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| Bach playing organ |
Too bad that these unique concertos were not given to the rights hands: Christian Ludwig was not a big connoisseur of music, so the Brandenburg Concertos were left without the proper attention until they got re-discovered in 1849 by Siegfried Wilhelm Dehn who found them in Brandenburg archives.
Many notable orchestras have performed the six famous works. The concertos were also played as chamber works. The two most famous batons under which these pieces sounded were those of Herbert von Karajan and Karl Richter. The latter also did a stunning harpsichord solo of the 5th concerto that definitely deserves to be listened to (start at 6:30):
