![]() ![]() Bach transcended existing concerto models by Vivaldi and other Italians by exploring innovative combinations of orchestral instruments. Near-supernatural in inspiration, and groundbreaking in their diversity of invention, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos stand among the greatest creative achievements of the 18th century. It took another hundred years and more before musicians explored the works on period instruments. The Brandenburgs were rediscovered in 1849 and first published the following year, a century after Bach’s death. Bach’s exquisitely drafted manuscript of the Brandenburgs, most likely intended as a job application, is now in the care of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. Two years later the composer, who knew Christian Ludwig loved the latest Italian instrumental concertos, dedicated his set of concertos with several instruments to him. Bach travelled from Cöthen to Berlin in 1719 to collect a large harpsichord for his boss and he probably met the Margrave then. But the works’ popular title comes from its association with Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg and uncle of Prussia’s Friedrich Wilhelm I, the Soldier King. Some might think of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, symbol of German disintegration and reunification, when listening to Johann Sebastian Bach’s matchless collection of concertos. ![]() ‘Eat It’: Rock Fans Devour A Slice Of Humble Pie.Watch ‘Tie Your Mother Down’: Episode 10 In Queen’s ‘The Greatest Live’ Series. ![]() Queen + Adam Lambert Return With ‘Rhapsody’ Tour Of North America.Listen to our recommended recording of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, performed by Claudio Abbado and Orchestra Mozart, on Apple Music and Spotify. Explore our guide to Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos uncovering the history behind these groundbreaking works. Orchestral music would never be the same again once the world had heard Bach's colourful and texture-filled Brandenburg Concertos. In them Bach brought together the widest possible combination of instruments (different for each concerto), combining them in daring partnerships. The Brandenburg Concertos (so called because they were dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt) are not only some of the liveliest and most colourful orchestral works of their day, they were also groundbreaking, generating new sounds and new possibilities that Bach's contemporaries could not ignore. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos each feature a different line-up of soloists with a wide range of moods and even structures (shocking in an era when concertos were supposed to have three movements: fast, slow, fast). Many Baroque composers wrote dozens or even hundreds of concertos, but Bach managed to sum up the entire genre with only six. ![]()
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