Search results
Dec 22, 2021 · This year celebrates the 300th anniversary of Bach having presented the concertos as a gift to the Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg on March 24, 1721. The composer’s stated intention...
- Mark Swed
- Classical Music Critic
- mark.swed@latimes.com
- They redefined the concerto and took it to new heights. These concertos are in concerto grosso, literally ‘big concerto’, form, which is when a large number of instruments takes on solo roles.
- They were subversive and spoke truth to power. Johann Sebastian Bach composed these pieces during his years spent as a court composer to the music-loving aristocrat, Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen.
- They have a deeply beautiful two-chord movement. These concertos, with inventive harmony, complex counterpoint, multi-layered fugues and interweaving textures, showcase Baroque music at its most intricate, detailed and mind-bogglingly intellectual, extreme.
- They fought fascism. Adolf Busch was a very famous violinist in 1920s Germany, In 1927, with the rise of Adolf Hitler, Busch denounced Nazism and emigrated to Switzerland and then to America.
Jun 16, 2012 · Bach wrote his six Brandenburg Concertos for the Margrave of Brandenburg, Christian Ludwig, possibly hoping to secure employment in the margrave's court. Lacking the necessary virtuosic players, the margrave never heard the concertos, and the manuscripts weren't published until 1850, one-hundred years after Bach's death.
People also ask
How many 'Brandenburg' concertos did Bach have?
Why are the Brandenburg Concertos important?
Where can I listen to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos?
Did Bach hear back from the Margrave?
- Why The Name?
- Need to Know
- Where Have I Heard It before?
- Recommended Recording
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. 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. Bach trave...
Near-supernatural in inspiration, and groundbreaking in their diversity of invention, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertosstand among the greatest creative achievements of the 18th century. Bach transcended existing concerto models by Vivaldi and other Italians by exploring innovative combinations of orchestral instruments. Each of the set’s 14 different i...
If you’re old enough to remember Arthur Negus then you’ll recognise the opening of Brandenburg No.3 as the theme music to the original Antiques Roadshow. The same movement also appears on the soundtrack scores to Die Hard, Moll Flanders and Ridley Scott’s Hannibal. It’s also used as a sonic cliché for anything old in daytime TV programmes. The most...
Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos 1 – 6 performed by Claudio Abbado and Orchestra Mozart “Does the world need another set of Brandenburgs? Yes when they are as freshly minted and as adventurously sonorous as this marvellous set from Abbado’s young period-style Orchestra Mozart … these are peerless highlights of baroque music.” – The Guardian Bach’s Bran...
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, one of the country’s leading period instrument ensembles, brings JS Bach’s sparkling box set to the Bridgewater Hall for one night only. The concerti dedicated by Johann Sebastian Bach to the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1721 are truly six of the best.
In March 1721, Bach sent the ‘six concertos for various instruments’, which we know by their epithet ‘Brandenburg’, to Christian Ludwig, the Margrave of Brandenburg, by way of an open job application. What an amazing calling card! Bach’s achievement here borders on the incredible.
Acclaimed conductor and harpsichordist Richard Egarr showcases Philharmonia’s orchestra of virtuosi. The Brandenburg Concertos are Bach’s most popular examples of instrumental music. But did you know that the Royal Margrave to whom they were dedicated never heard them performed in his own lifetime?
