Post by erik on Dec 2, 2023 19:28:42 GMT -5
J.S. Bach is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight with one of his many concertos that were originally for his chosen instrument the harpsichord, and which found renewed popularity in the 20th century when transcribed for modern piano.
J.S. Bach: KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 4 IN A MAJOR, BWV 1055
Arguably, Johann Sebastian Bach had a style that set the stage for so much of Western classical music that emerged during the 18th century and continued on to the new millennium. But following his passing in 1750, until well into the 20th century, his style had become enormously antiquated, given the myriad developments in music from the First Viennese School of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert to the radical 12-tone style of Arnold Schoenberg. Over time, things changed, as there was a movement to take a deep dive into those works of Bach’s that had been ignored for so long. One particular area of study was in the instrumental concertos he had written for the keyboard instrument of Bach’s time, the harpsichord. Used otherwise as a basso continuo instrument in his orchestral and choral works, the harpsichord nevertheless had its own place in Bach’s thinking as a solo instrument. Ironically, as the 20th century opened up people’s ears to Bach, on the one hand through the movement of historically-informed performance practices and on the other through the expanded orchestral transcriptions that Leopold Stokowski made), many saw it possible to convert these harpsichord concertos into concertos for the modern piano. The Keyboard Concerto No. 4 of 1738 is such an example. Long thought to be originally for the oboe d’amore, this work was in fact found to originate as a solo harpsichord piece. Like its neighbors in this past of Bach’s vast repertoire, it remained a harpsichord concerto in the main, even with the small orchestral forces it requires; but the way Bach wrote it, it works just as well for the modern piano too.
Piano: ANDRAS SCHIFF
Chamber Orchestra of Europe/ANDRAS SCHIFF (London/Decca)
Included (Complete Bach Keyboard Concertos) (2-CD) (all featuring Andras Schiff, piano/conductor):
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 1 IN D MINOR, BWV 1052
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 2 IN E MAJOR, BWV 1053
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 3 IN D MAJOR, BWV 1054
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 5 IN F MINOR, BWV 1056
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 6 IN F MAJOR, BWV 1057
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 7 IN G MINOR. BWV 1058 (Chamber Orchestra of Europe)
ITALIAN CONCERTO FOR SOLO PIANO, BWV 971 (Solo Piano: ANDRAS SCHIFF)
CONCERTO NO. 1 FOR TWO KEYBOARDS IN C MAJOR, BWV 1061
CONCERTO NO. 2 FOR TWO KEYBOARDS IN C MAJOR, BWV 1062
CONCERTO NO. 3 FOR TWO KEYBOARDS IN C MINOR, BWV 1063 (Second Piano: PETER SERKIN) (Camerata Bern)
TRIPLE CONCERTO FOR KEYBOARD, FLUTE, AND VIOLIN IN D MINOR, BWV 1044 (Flute: AUREL NICOLET) (Violin: YUUKO SHIOKAWA) (Camerata Bern)
CONCERTO NO. 1 FOR THREE KEYBOARDS IN D MINOR, BWV 1063
CONCERTO NO. 2 FOR THREE KEYBOARDS IN C MAJOR, BWV 1064 (Pianos: PETER SERKIN, BRUNO CAMINO) (Camerata Bern)
J.S. Bach: KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 4 IN A MAJOR, BWV 1055
Arguably, Johann Sebastian Bach had a style that set the stage for so much of Western classical music that emerged during the 18th century and continued on to the new millennium. But following his passing in 1750, until well into the 20th century, his style had become enormously antiquated, given the myriad developments in music from the First Viennese School of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert to the radical 12-tone style of Arnold Schoenberg. Over time, things changed, as there was a movement to take a deep dive into those works of Bach’s that had been ignored for so long. One particular area of study was in the instrumental concertos he had written for the keyboard instrument of Bach’s time, the harpsichord. Used otherwise as a basso continuo instrument in his orchestral and choral works, the harpsichord nevertheless had its own place in Bach’s thinking as a solo instrument. Ironically, as the 20th century opened up people’s ears to Bach, on the one hand through the movement of historically-informed performance practices and on the other through the expanded orchestral transcriptions that Leopold Stokowski made), many saw it possible to convert these harpsichord concertos into concertos for the modern piano. The Keyboard Concerto No. 4 of 1738 is such an example. Long thought to be originally for the oboe d’amore, this work was in fact found to originate as a solo harpsichord piece. Like its neighbors in this past of Bach’s vast repertoire, it remained a harpsichord concerto in the main, even with the small orchestral forces it requires; but the way Bach wrote it, it works just as well for the modern piano too.
Piano: ANDRAS SCHIFF
Chamber Orchestra of Europe/ANDRAS SCHIFF (London/Decca)
Included (Complete Bach Keyboard Concertos) (2-CD) (all featuring Andras Schiff, piano/conductor):
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 1 IN D MINOR, BWV 1052
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 2 IN E MAJOR, BWV 1053
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 3 IN D MAJOR, BWV 1054
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 5 IN F MINOR, BWV 1056
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 6 IN F MAJOR, BWV 1057
KEYBOARD CONCERTO NO. 7 IN G MINOR. BWV 1058 (Chamber Orchestra of Europe)
ITALIAN CONCERTO FOR SOLO PIANO, BWV 971 (Solo Piano: ANDRAS SCHIFF)
CONCERTO NO. 1 FOR TWO KEYBOARDS IN C MAJOR, BWV 1061
CONCERTO NO. 2 FOR TWO KEYBOARDS IN C MAJOR, BWV 1062
CONCERTO NO. 3 FOR TWO KEYBOARDS IN C MINOR, BWV 1063 (Second Piano: PETER SERKIN) (Camerata Bern)
TRIPLE CONCERTO FOR KEYBOARD, FLUTE, AND VIOLIN IN D MINOR, BWV 1044 (Flute: AUREL NICOLET) (Violin: YUUKO SHIOKAWA) (Camerata Bern)
CONCERTO NO. 1 FOR THREE KEYBOARDS IN D MINOR, BWV 1063
CONCERTO NO. 2 FOR THREE KEYBOARDS IN C MAJOR, BWV 1064 (Pianos: PETER SERKIN, BRUNO CAMINO) (Camerata Bern)