Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, BWV 1048 | Claudio Abbado & the Orchestra Mozart

Claudio Abbado and the Orchestra Mozart perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048, at the Teatro Municipale Valli in Reggio Emilia, Italy (2007).
Bach wrote the third of his Brandenburg Concertos for nine stringed instruments, and basso continuo, with the strings divided into three groups – three violins, three violas, and three cellos. This Brandenburg Concerto in fact consists of only two movements, with a transitional section. We have divided it into three parts solely for the purposes of orientation.

With its swooping, driven theme, the first movement forms a lively interplay between the three groups of strings. It could be described as a prime example of what during Bach's lifetime was known as ‘concertizing’ – namely forming conversations between the various instruments. Rather than the otherwise customary adagio, the second movement has been condensed to a mere transitional section, in which the harpsichord plays two chords of a Phrygian cadence, ending on the dominant, almost as a question. This stylistically rhetorical device of the Baroque makes the beginning of the third movement, which follows immediately, all the more effective. Brimming with vitality, the allegro bursts forth from sustained transition as a boisterous rondo.
The stirring character of Bach's music is presented by Claudio Abbado and the Orchestra Mozart with such conviction that the musicians appear almost as if they are completely outside of time and space. An unparalleled concert, in which the musicians’ faces veritably glow with the joy of performing.

The Brandenburg Concertos (BWV 1046–1051) by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) are a collection of six instrumental works, which Bach dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg, in 1721. They are regarded as some of the best orchestral compositions of the Baroque era. The concerts were, however, likely composed between 1718 and 1721, for Bach’s Köthener Hofkappelle. Bach’s original title, Six Concerts with Various Instruments, describes exactly what is special about these concerts; the varied use of several instruments – with different strings, wind instruments, or solo harpsichord for the concertini.

The Orchestra Mozart was founded in 2004 to afford talented, young musicians the opportunity to play in a world-class orchestra, with world-class conductors. Claudio Abbado (1933-2014) is considered one of the greatest conductors of all time. In 2011, Classic Voice music magazine named Abbado the most important of the top 100 living conductors. He was born into a family of musicians in Milan, Italy, on June 26, 1933. Following his study of conducting, piano, and composition at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan, he furthered his education at the Vienna Music Academy. In 1968, Abbado became head conductor of the Milan Scala. In the subsequent years, he could be seen on the world’s great concert stages; in Milan, London, and Chicago. Following his 1984 debut at the Vienna State Opera, he became the city’s general music director. In October of 1989, the members of the Berlin Philharmonic elected him artistic director, succeeding Herbert von Karajan. He remained in Berlin until 2002. Abbado died in Bologna on January 20, 2014, aged 80, following a long battle with cancer.
00:06 I. Allegro
05:19 II. Adagio ma non tanto
05:44 III. Allegro
© EuroArts Music International GmbH

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