Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 | Claudio Abbado & the Orchestra Mozart

Claudio Abbado and the Orchestra Mozart perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049, at the Teatro Municipale Valli in Reggio Emilia, Italy (2007).

This Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 has a very special line-up: principal violin (Giuliano Carmignola), two recorders (Michala Petri and Nikolaj Tarasov) and a string orchestra. Bach described the recorders as "Fiauti d'echo", or "echo flutes", although it’s not quite clear what he meant by that. The fourth of the Brandenburg concerts is the only work that uses "echo flutes" as far as we know today. The Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 was probably written in 1720 as one of the last or even the last of the six Brandenburg Concertos.

00:00 I. Allegro
07:11 II. Andante
10:54 III. Presto

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.

Watch the other 5 Brandenburg Concertos with Abbado and the Orchestra Mozart:
   • Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 | Cl...  
   • Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 | Cl...  
   • Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 | Cl...  
   • Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 | Cl...  
   • Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 | Cl...  

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.

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