Robert Schumann (1810-1856) :: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 1 has a very modern distinction: it was one of the pieces included on the so-called Voyager Golden Record that was included on board the Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977 as a testament to any entity that may find it of the intelligence and culture of our earthly civilization. The Margrave never even had them performed.Įach of the six concertos stands out for its own reasons, with different instrument combinations used in the “concerto grosso,” (“big concert”) structure made popular by the Italians, where a smaller group (“concertino”) functions as soloist in conversation with the whole (“ripieno”). Whatever his motivation, they were sent and the met with silence. Perhaps he remembered meeting the Margrave and saw him as a ticket out of town. Not only was he heartbroken, he was left to care for their several children alone. During those three years devastating change swept through Bach’s household: out of town on duty with musicians and the Prince, Bach returned to find his wife had died several days before and was already buried. Three years later, however, Bach sent the concertos to Margrave, leading to the hypothesis they were sent as a kind of résumé. As an employee of Prince Leopold, it would have been inappropriate for Bach to accept a commission for new music from the Margrave. It’s also assumed that Margrave took the opportunity to commission Bach for some music. Presumably, Bach met the Margrave in Berlin while he was in town checking on a new harpsichord for Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen, for whom he was serving as Kapellmeister. The six Concerts avec plusieurs instruments (Concerts with several instruments) derive their nickname, the “Brandenburg Concertos,” from the Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) :: Brandenburg Concerto No. Program notes for our Casals concert - written by the fabulous Kathryn Bacasmot.
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