AN ASTONISHING BREADTH AND DEPTH OF TONAL FLAVORS AND TEXTURES
The Complete Brandenburg Concertos
Sandra Levine Theatre, Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement
Queens University of Charlotte
ON THE PROGRAM
Brandenburg Concertos 1–6 (BWV 1046–1051)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Bach Akademie Charlotte Orchestra
DATE
Saturday, May 31, 2025, 7:30 pm
Doors open at 7:00 pm
TICKETS
Premium Reserved Seating: $60
General Admission: $35
30&Under General Admission: $15
Under 18: Free
VENUE
Sandra Levine Theatre
Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement
Queens University of Charlotte
2319 Wellesley Avenue, Charlotte NC 28207
The Gambrell Center is handicapped accessible. Patrons requiring the elevator are advised to arrive early. For guests with disabilities, please call the Gambrell Center Box Office 704-337-2466, option 1 during regular business hours for accessible or special needs seating.
Bach’s groundbreaking concertos
Groundbreaking in their diversity of invention, Johann Sebastian Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos (BWV 1046–1051) stand among the greatest creative achievements of the 18th century. Bach’s exploration of innovative combinations of orchestral instruments reveal an astonishing breadth and depth of tonal flavors and textures. Each of the 14 different instruments deployed (with the exception of the double-bass) features as a soloist in at least one of the concertos.
From hunting horns and death-defying trumpet solos to plaintive recorders and wild harpsichord cadenzas, the Brandenburg Concertos reveal Bach’s unparalleled creative powers. They are some of the liveliest and most colorful music of their day.
Presented as Six Concerts Avec plusieurs instruments (Six Concertos for several instruments) and dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave (Military Commander) of Brandenburg-Schwedt, Bach’s six concertos were quite likely an attempt to gain employment. Bach presented the concertos in 1721 (though he likely composed them earlier), but it’s conceivable they were performed in Christian Ludwig’s lifetime. The six concertos were sold upon Christian’s death and placed in an attic, and were only re-discovered by a servant who was cleaning the attic—in 1849. Today, the Brandenburg Concertos remain among the most popular orchestral works of the Baroque era—or of any era, for that matter.
Aisslinn Nosky, violin
Fiona Hughes, violin
Evan Few, violin
Renée Hemsing, viola
Maureen Murchie, viola
Natalie Kress, viola
Guy Fishman, cello
Sarah Stone, cello/gamba
Brent Wissick, cello/gamba
Heather Miller Lardin, bass
Sung Lee, oboe
Kristin Olson, oboe/recorder
Meg Owens, oboe/recorder
Héloïse Degrugillier, recorder/traverso
Ian Watson, harpsichord
Perry Sutton, trumpet
Rachel Niketopoulos, horn
Chris Caudill, horn
Keith Collins, bassoon
FESTIVAL EVENTS