Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos turn 300 years and are celebrated via online concerts

The Salzburg Bach Society to stream online concerts as a tribute to Bach

The Salzburg Bach Society, which is committed to reviving the classical music of Bach and Mozart, recently launched its most recent campaign of streaming special online music concerts in six parts. Johann Sebastian Bach's "Brandenburg Concertos" will be performed by world-class musicians and according to the organisers, this opportunity is only possible thanks to the Covid crisis.

Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos turn 300 years

The six “Brandenburg Concertos” are among Johann Sebastian Bach's most popular works, and they will turn 300 years old this year. They will be pre-recorded in the Mozarteum Orchestra house and then streamed online.

The conductor, Alfredo Bernardini, was very enthusiastic about working with so many talented colleagues: “I had great expectations because they are all top people. But I have to say: the result exceeded my expectations. Everyone is so excited to make music together again; everyone wants to give their best. They give 120 percent. I am very happy that the project has finally become a reality."

The planning for these productions began two years ago. The fact that the coronavirus pandemic has now thrown cultural life into disarray was both bad luck and good luck for the Bach Society: bad because the originally planned public concert could not take place, and good because musicians with whom the Bach Society director Virgil Hartinger could only dream of working had become more available.

World-class artists will play at the concerts, which will also include alumni and students from the Mozarteum University Salzburg. “The special thing is that all professors, all those who have a fixed salary, have waived their fee - in favor of the freelance musicians. That is very generous and for many students and freelance musicians at this time it is a dire need,” said Hartinger.

Since Sunday, 28 March, the first two of the six Brandenburg concertos have been available for free on the Salzburg Bach Society's YouTube channel. The remaining four concerts will follow on Easter Sunday and the Sunday a week after.