It was during Johann Sebastian Bach’s six years as Court Kapellmeister in Köthen (1717–1723) that he produced a significant amount of secular music. Köthen’s Prince Leopold was a connoisseur of music and he asked for instrumental repertoire for solo performance as well as for his 13-member orchestra, and since he was a Calvinist, the Prince did not require very much music for church services.

It was during Johann Sebastian Bach’s six years as Court Kapellmeister in Köthen (1717–1723) that he produced a significant amount of secular music. Köthen’s Prince Leopold was a connoisseur of music and he asked for instrumental repertoire for solo performance as well as for his 13-member orchestra, and since he was a Calvinist, the Prince did not require very much music for church services.

The original score for the concerto BWV 1060 was lost after Bach’s death and the version we perform these days is a reconstruction from a transcription that Bach made for two harpsichords.

Differences between the extant harpsichord scores for this concerto indicate that the composer was writing for contrasting solo instruments. The solo parts strongly suggested his initial choice of violin and oboe.

BWV 1060 follows the standard Italian baroque concerto structure: three movements: fast-slow-fast. The first movement (Allegro) alternates between soloists (concertino) and orchestra (ripieno) clearly defining the separation of forces. Similar to Vivaldi’s concerto design, the second movement (Adagio) resembles an operatic aria and the flashy last movement pops up with a crisp main theme which will also reappear within the central and closing sections of the movement (a ritornello).

The original score for the concerto BWV 1060 was lost after Bach’s death and the version we perform these days is a reconstruction from a transcription that Bach made for two harpsichords.

Differences between the extant harpsichord scores for this concerto indicate that the composer was writing for contrasting solo instruments. The solo parts strongly suggested his initial choice of violin and oboe.

BWV 1060 follows the standard Italian baroque concerto structure: three movements: fast-slow-fast. The first movement (Allegro) alternates between soloists (concertino) and orchestra (ripieno) clearly defining the separation of forces. Similar to Vivaldi’s concerto design, the second movement (Adagio) resembles an operatic aria and the flashy last movement pops up with a crisp main theme which will also reappear within the central and closing sections of the movement (a ritornello).