Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 | Claudio Abbado & the Orchestra Mozart

Claudio Abbado and the Orchestra Mozart perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 at the Teatro Municipale Valli in Reggio Emilia, Italy (2007). Of the six Brandenburg Concertos, this is likely the most well-known – with its wonderfully ceremonial, blaring trumpet in the first and third movements. In Bach’s day, the trumpet was generally reserved solely for military music. This makes the use of trumpet in this second Brandenburg Concerto an anomaly, shaping the direction of the piece in striking fashion. Unusual in and of itself is the combination of the four solo instruments; alto recorder, violin, oboe, and trumpet – which compete in a virtuosic fugue in the outer movements. The most beautiful moment of this concert recording comes as a surprise, at its close. During the applause – which itself lasts more than two minutes – the stage is being showered with flowers. Euphorically, the musicians strike up an encore, repeating the last movement – the Alleg