A Brief History of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos
So Very Nearly Lost to the Ages in the Scourge of War
In 1721 one could not make a living as a composer without a wealthy, royal patron. In that year JS Bach sent six concertos to a minor prince, essentially doing what all musicians have always done. He was trying to hustle up a paying gig in the court of the Margrave of Brandenburg. He failed. Bach’s cold-call job application, the Brandenburg Concerti, we…