If you are new to classical music and classical music cd collecting, J.S. Bach: The Brandenburg Concertos is one of the first must have disc to add to your new collection. One of the main reasons I recommend this is that Concertos are easier to understand to those new to the classical style than entire symphonies. If you are lost and not sure of what a Concerto is, check out this link for details. In simple terms it is a composition written for a soloist and they are accompanied by an orchestra (or soloists in the case of Concertos)
Most everyone can relate to a soloist playing in front as the group. We are familar with this concept in most popular music. Our pick of The Brandenburg Concertos is one of our favorite examples of this type of composition. in fact, take a listen to the 2cd, it was chosen as the piece of music on the Voyager probe to assist introducing potential aliens to our music (source).
Choosing a Disc
If you are here you are probably already aware that finding a good recording is often hard to find or expensive. In the case of the Brandenburg Concertos you are in luck as there is a 2 disc offering that Philips produced that is easy to find and relatively inexpensive. The exact disk is Philips – 468 549-2 and it features all 6 Brandenburgs. Congratualtions you are off to a great start buuilding your classical music collection.
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Below is the full track listing and other information regarding the release.
Tracklist
| Concerto No.1 in F major, BWV 1046 | |||
| 1-1 | 1. Allegro | 3:58 | |
| 1-2 | 2. Adagio | 4:05 | |
| 1-3 | 3. Allegro | 4:15 | |
| 1-4 | 4. Menuetto – Trio – Polacca | 7:27 | |
| Concerto No.2 in F major, BWV 1047 | |||
| 1-5 | 1. Allegro | 5:07 | |
| 1-6 | 2. Andante | 3:36 | |
| 1-7 | 3. Allegro assai | 2:53 | |
| Concerto No.3 in G major, BWV 1048 | |||
| 1-8 | 1. Allegro | 6:09 | |
| 1-9 | 2. Adagio (BWV 1019a) | 1:42 | |
| 1-10 | 3. Allegro | 5:36 | |
| Concerto No.4 in G major, BWV 1049 | |||
| 1-11 | 1. Allegro | 7:28 | |
| 1-12 | 2. Andante – 3. Presto | 8:43 | |
| Concerto No.5 in D major, BWV 1050 | |||
| 2-1 | 1. Allegro | 10:18 | |
| 2-2 | 2. Affettuoso | 5:41 | |
| 2-3 | 3. Allegro | 5:17 | |
| Concerto No.6 in B flat major, BWV 1051 | |||
| 2-4 | 1. Allegro | 6:30 | |
| 2-5 | 5. Adagio ma non tanto | 4:09 | |
| 2-6 | 3. Allegro | 6:05 | |
| Concerto for two violins in D minor, BWV 1043 | |||
| 2-7 | 1. Vivace | 3:20 | |
| 2-8 | 2. Largo ma non tanto | 7:18 | |
| 2-9 | 3. Allegro | 4:40 | |
| Concerto for violin & oboe in C minor, after BWV 1060 | |||
| 2-10 | 1. Allegro | 4:50 | |
| 2-11 | 2. Adagio | 5:20 | |
| 2-12 | 3. Allegro | 3:41 |