Bach's first harpsichord in D minor, BWV 1052 is in three movements, marked Allegro, Adagio and Allegro. It is scored for harpsichord and Baroque string orchestra (2 violins, viola, cello and continuo). BWV 1052 has similarities with Vivaldi's highly virtuosic Grosso mogul violin concerto, RV 208, which Bach had previously transcribed for solo organ in BWV 594. It is considered one of Bach's greatest concertos: in the words of Jones (2013) it "conveys a sense of huge elemental power". This mood is created in the opening sections of the two outer movements. Both start in the manner of Vivaldi with unison writing in the ritornello sections.[10][11]
The performance history in the nineteenth century can be traced back to the circle of Felix Mendelssohn. In the first decade of the 19th century the harpsichord virtuoso and great aunt of Mendelssohn, Sara Levy, gave public performances of the concerto in Berlin at the Sing-Akademie, established in 1791 by the harpsichordist Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch and subsequently run by Mendelssohn's teacher Carl Friedrich Zelter.[25] In 1824 Mendelssohn's sister Fanny performed the concerto at the same venue.[26] In 1835 Mendelssohn played the concerto in his first year as director of the Gewandhaus in Leipzig.[25] There were further performances at the Gewandhaus in 1837, 1843 and 1863.[27] Ignaz Moscheles, a friend and teacher of Mendelssohn as well as a fellow devotee of Bach, gave the first performance of the concerto in London in 1836 at a benefit concert, adding one flute and two clarinets, bassoons and horns to the orchestra. In a letter to Mendelssohn, he disclosed that he intended the woodwind section to have the "same position in the Concerto as the organ in the performance of a Mass". Robert Schumann subsequently described Moscheles' reorchestration as "very beautiful". The following year Moscheles performed the concerto at the Academy of Ancient Music with Bach's original string orchestration. The Musical World reported that Moscheles "elicited such unequivocal testimonies of delight, as the quiet circle of the Ancient Concert subscribers rarely indulge in".[28]
CPE Bach's A major Cello Concerto has enjoyed longstanding popularity. Bach himself has a version of this work for solo cello, solo flute, or solo keyboard. In the last 100 years, it has been rearranged for cello and orchestra by Ferdinand Pollain, transposing much of the concerto up an octave, as well as Gaspar Cassado in F major, with an addition
CPE Bach's A major Cello Concerto has enjoyed longstanding popularity. Bach himself has a version of this work for solo cello, solo flute, or solo keyboard. In the last 100 years, it has been rearranged for cello and orchestra by Ferdinand Pollain, transposing much of the concerto up an octave, as well as Gaspar Cassado in F major, with an addition of a solo flute in the slow movement.
Currently, there are 2 "critical editions" editions of this concerto: Eulenburg/Schott and cebach.org. Both of these claim to be based on the manuscript that is located at the Brussels Conservatory, however, the cpebach.org edition is almost exclusively based on the 1960s Eulenburg. Both editions have inadequate page turns. They call the slow movement "Largo con sordini, mesto," which is not what the manuscript says. The MS reads, "Largo mesto," and "con sordini" is only for some instruments, not all.
The famous A-minor Violin Concerto by Bach is now available in a transcription for cello and strings, transposed to G minor (the key of the keyboard version of the concerto, BWV 1058). This piece is a welcomed addition to the baroque cello concerto repertoire and may be performed with a string quartet accompaniment.
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