# Brandenburg Concerti Recommendation



## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

Am looking to add to my Bach collection and wonder what the great minds here may recommend. TIA.


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2017)

It is all a matter o taste,some people prefer to listen to these concertos with big orchestras,others as myself prefer a smaller setting and preferably played on instrument of that period.

Trevor Pinnock will still do very nicely or the Gustav leonhardt recording.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

My two favourites are I Musici and the other Britten conducting them on DECCA .


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Traverso said:


> Trevor Pinnock will still do very nicely or the Gustav leonhardt recording.


Which Pinnock? I like the second one, on the Avie label.

Others that I've liked enough to keep are conducted by Casals, Fasolis, Savall, Alessandrini, Leppard, and Stryncl:


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

My have many favorites, a couple not mentioned (and probably won't be):









Karl Richter/Munich Bach Orchestra

(Pretty much the Gold Standard for me. Quick and lively with more personality than I hear in most recordings)















Herbert Von Karajan/Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

(I happen to like Karajan's 60's Bach Recordings, most don't. I find them very warm and inviting.)

Klemperer has amazing clarity and texture. Savall and I Musici probably round out my top 5.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Pugg said:


> My two favourites are I Musici and the other Britten conducting them on DECCA .


I like the Britten version very much too. Another which I like a lot, though it doesn't get much attention, is the one conducted by Yehudi Menuhin with the Bath Festival orchestra, including (among other delights) a quite amazingly good rendering of the harpsichord solo in the first movt.of Brandenburg 5 by George Malcolm.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

My favorites are Pinnock and Goebel, both on period instruments.


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2017)

I like to add a quote of Frans Brüggen,

"Even Herbert von Karajan, the maestro who once stood for a super-romantic music company, could rely on understanding with the mature Brüggen. About Karajan's Muffin Version of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos: "It's completely wrong, totally wrong, but also good at the same time. That's kind of music: it can be all the way. "


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

Thanks to all! Time to go explore!


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

I second the Britten. Basically there are three recordings I consider essential:

- Busch Chamber Players (very old recordings but the best artistry)
- Pinnock (the most recommendable for period instruments)
- Britten (best combination of performance and good sound)


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I've not listened to a period instrument performance I did not enjoy. In addition to the Pinnock and Goebel sets, these other sets are also exceptional: Alessandrini, Hogwood, Gardiner, Leonhardt, Savall, Suzuki, Parrott, and Pearlman.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

With modern instruments I most enjoyed Karl Ristenpart & Chamber Orchestra of the Saar originally recorded on Nonesuch LP. They have been reintroduced on CD by Kassik Restorations, among others. I don't know of a downloadable version.

Among period instruments I preferred Collegium Aureum whose digital recordings I found at Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00429DI5Y/ref=sr_1_8_rd?_encoding=UTF8&child=B00429BPQ8&qid=1505165487&sr=1-8</a>


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

JJF said:


> Am looking to add to my Bach collection and wonder what the great minds here may recommend. TIA.


Either of the two Trevor Pinnock performances. Both are at the top of the heap. Terrific!!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

JJF said:


> Thanks to all! Time to go explore!


Please let us know how you got on.


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

I listened to many. I find the recording with Paillard conducting to be exceptional with beautiful sound. Leppard and the ECO also somehow were a cut above most others and almost equal to the Paillard, plus I found it in a bargain bin. There are many others out there also good. This is almost a can't miss work . I was impressed by the amount of great recordings.


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## sbmonty (Jan 11, 2014)

Both are excellent!


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

Pugg said:


> Please let us know how you got on.


Will do. Am starting with this one. The previews sound wonderful!


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## Taplow (Aug 13, 2017)

Do also check out the following two which, among the other great renditions already mentioned, I find quite impressive - especially the one from the Freiburger Barockorkester:


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## Dirge (Apr 10, 2012)

Leppard/ECO [Philips '74] is the album of the _Brandenburg Concertos_ that I eventually/inevitably return to even if I might flirt with others from time to time. Although the performances are a step or two ahead of their time in terms of modern stylishness and pace, at least in the fast movements, a few vestiges of pre-modern warmth and charm in the slow movements might betray the performance era to savvy listeners. For the most part, however, they could pass for recent performances to the casual listener-and even if they seem stylistically dated to some ears, they're in no way musically dated.

Listeners familiar with Leppard will know what to expect here, but the uninitiated might think of him as Neville Marriner's more virile and dashing if less polite and meticulous counterpart over at the "competing" English Chamber Orchestra-the Tristan Farnon to Marriner's James Herriot, if you will. Instrumentation is "authentic"/"period" only insofar as violino piccolo, recorder, viola da gamba, and harpsichord are used where appropriate rather than modern "substitutes"; otherwise, instrumentation is of the modern/modern-setup variety. Leppard has an impressive array of soloists at his disposal, some being ECO members/regulars and some being guests-you know that you have a pretty good lineup of soloists when the likes of Simon Standage is your 2nd violin soloist. Leppard himself plays harpsichord, and does so with great style and panache, and is the driving force and spirit behind these performances, both as continuo player and as director-and as soloist in #5. He plays a relatively good sounding harpsichord (if any harpsichord can, in fact, be described as "good sounding") by 1974 standards, though it's only so-so by today's standards.

Anthony Halstead is wonderfully polished and steady on horn in #1, as is John Wilbraham on trumpet in #2; indeed, it's hard to imagine a better "brass section" for the _Brandenburg Concertos_. Early music pioneer David Munrow is his usual excellent self on recorder in #2 & #4 (w/John Turner), though he's a bit less characterful than my man Frans Brüggen in those parts. Longtime ECO leader José Luis García makes for a fine violin/violino piccolo soloist, as his style and characterization seems to be at one with Leppard's interpretations-not surprising given Leppard's long and close affiliation with the ECO. The oboe, bassoon, and various other string soloists are all excellent as well, but flautist Richard Adeney's vibrato is a degree or so too prominent in the slow movement of #5 and distracts by dint of being conspicuous; his playing is quite satisfying in the outer movements, however, where his vibrato blends more naturally into the more vigorous musical texture. Several of the slow movements in the set flirt with being taken too slowly and/or romantically, but #5's is the only one that I think crosses the line.

Leppard addresses the problem of the "middle movement" of #3 not by inserting a little improvised cadential bridge based on the chords that Bach left behind, but by borrowing and adapting the Adagio from the last of the sonatas for violin & clavier, BWV 1019a. I'm not sure that I wouldn't have preferred a bridge, but the Adagio is one of the more satisfying extended solutions that I've heard even if it's not ideal. Unexpectedly, the final movement of #3 is taken a bit more slowly and deliberately than usual, but to great effect.

Instrumental balances are uncommonly well-judged throughout, with the woodwinds and brass not standing out like a sore thumb for once, and the recorded sound is vintage Philips of the period: clean, clear, and lightly blended, with a slightly lightweight bottom end.

Thirty years ago I would have cited Britten/ECO [Decca '68] as my favorite _Brandenburg_ set, which is the closest thing to a bridge between Old World and modern performance practice as can be found on record. It was considered modestly pioneering in its day but now sounds modestly dated from a stylistic standpoint, though it's not musically dated and remains many listeners' favorite set. I still enjoy the charismatic playing of one and all-Britten affords his soloists much expressive freedom-but I now find the pace and manner a bit too slow and relaxed on the whole, and the harpsichord used is a rather lame-sounding instrument that doesn't properly underpin/fortify the proceedings despite the best efforts of the excellent Philip Ledger. The set does have the sound advantage of recording engineer Kenneth Wilkinson and recording venue The Maltings, Snape.

I have nothing against period-instrument/HIP performances per se, but I don't happen to like any of them as much as I like Leppard/ECO on the whole.

Koopman/Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra [Erato '83] is the most genial and soft-edged set of HIP _Brandenburgs_ that I know … too genial and soft-edged for my taste. It would be a set to be reckoned with if the playing were a degree or two more incisive and driven, as the performances feature top-notch soloists and are as colorful, characterful, stylish, and beautifully phrased as any available, but I can't listen to them without being all too conscious of how gentle and agreeable everything is. The inherently playful and soloistic Concerto No. 4 comes off best here, while No. 6 comes off worst, needing a more challenging and aggressive approach. The recording is quite easy on the ear by early digital standards, with excellent balances to boot.

Lamon/Tafelmusik [Sony '93/'94] is similar to the popular Pinnock/English Consort set [Archiv '82] in that it's a well-rounded middle-of-the-road HIP affair that's tastefully and stylishly and convincingly done. Perhaps its biggest strength is its lack of weaknesses; indeed, I'm hard put to complain about anything in particular … it's sort of like a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord in that regard. On the other hand, I can't say that it ignites the passions and set one's soul afire … again, it's sort of like a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord in that regard. It does, however, boast the most airily transparent recorded sound that I've heard in any set of the _Brandenburg Concertos_, with well-judged instrumental balances and the most believable/tangible soundstage to boot.

Unlike Lamon/Tafelmusik, the feisty little set from Alessandrini/Concerto Italiano [Naïve '05] is capable of igniting the passions and setting one's soul afire; unfortunately, it's as likely to be out of disappointment and frustration as it is out of satisfaction and delight … it's sort of like an Italian car in that regard. So while the one-instrument-per-part approach allows for uncommonly delicate and nimble playing and yields some wonderfully transparent textures, the faster playing often sounds hectic, the phrasing of string solos tends to be very "squeezed," and the period instruments sound uncommonly small-toned and toy-like, even by period instrument standards (the period trumpet emits some of the squeakiest and most ignominious brass noises heard this side of the Rubicon).

It's easy to understand the popularity of Pinnock/European Brandenburg Ensemble [Avie '06/'07]: it's a well-sprung, alert, energetic, polished affair that's smoothly phrased-all without resorting to extremes of tempo or dynamics. Pinnock deftly varies his forces, the number of players per part, to better fit the music at hand to the acoustic space-a very practical approach that I suspect the very practical Bach would appreciate. If the playing is a bit too smooth and comfortable and at ease for my roughhewn and miserable and uptight taste, it's likely to fall well within the temperamental sweet spot of many a _Brandenburg_ listener. The set does have an Achille's heel, however: the lengthy (minute and a half) slow violin solo improvisation that serves as a middle movement for #3 sounds like an awkward homage to the Sonatas & Partitas for solo violin (it even seems to quote the Chaconne at one point) and doesn't match or complement the outer movements. It also comes after a momentum-killing six-second silence that makes you think that your player has inadvertently paused between tracks; when it does begin, it sounds like the next work on the program rather than a bridge between the outer movements of the same work. Avie's recorded sound is close-up and "present" without being oppressive, and instrumental balances are reasonably good for such a cozy context.

The recent set by Freiburger Barockorchester [HM '13] is an interesting one on several counts: the fastish pace of the fast movements, the A=392 Hz tuning, and the unprettified (but all the more complex and interesting for it) timbre of the instruments. Unlike the fast playing found in the famous/infamous Goebel/Musica Antiqua Köln set [Archiv '86], the fast playing found here is fast without sounding like a sewing machine. Although I'm able to adjust to it and even enjoy it, these tempos often test my temporal tolerance. Curiously, the slow movements are taken at a decidedly moderate pace and sound almost too slow in context. The uncommonly low tuning works for me, however, as it not only brings some welcome darkness to these overly bright works, but it tends to defocus, broaden, and increase the complexity of instrumental timbres-and unlike, say, Pinnock's European Brandenburg Ensemble players, the Freiburger players don't go far out of their way to polish or smooth over or otherwise prettify their tone. On the contrary, they seem to favor, even cultivate, a certain earthiness/roughness of timbre-nothing gratuitous or excessive, mind you, but enough to place their timbre/tone color in the "rugged good looks" category. The strings certainly benefit from the approach, but I'm not sure that the horns and trumpet don't benefit most, as their tones have a pleasant sort of broad-spectrum bray/rasp that's not as glaring and overly bright as usual; more so than usual, you can hear the complexity of their timbres rather than sharp, narrowly focused piercing screeches. The flute & recorders produce a clean, plain sound that doesn't quite fit in, and the playing/phrasing of these instruments is a bit prosaic as well. Flute & recorder playing aside, execution is excellent throughout, quite taut and together at all times, and coordination and internal rapport are admirably tight and close. The recorded sound is very good, with nicely judged balances except in the final trio of the final movement of #1, where the horns are suddenly and jarringly too prominent: whether they're more forwardly placed or more closely mic'd or are simply played a lot louder, I don't know.


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## Ras (Oct 6, 2017)

30 years after his first speed freaking recording of *Bach's Brandenburgs concertos* with Musica Antiqua Koln *Reinhard Goebel *is releasing a new recording on *Sony with Berliner Barock Solisten*:
https://www.amazon.com/J-S-Bach-BER...sr=8-4&keywords=bach+berliner+barock+solisten


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

Alessandrini and Savall are my go-tos.


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## Ras (Oct 6, 2017)

My favorites:

*- Jordi Savall
- Suzuki on Bis
- Freiburger Barockorchester - a recording from the year 2000 on DVD from EuroArts *shot at "the scene of the crime" - at the Cothen Palace where Bach (probably??) wrote these concertos.
*- Trevor Pinnock's second recording on Avie 
- John Butt
- Richard Egarr
- Florilegium*


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## Steve1087 (Sep 17, 2017)

Wendy Carlos, Switched on Brandenburg's just for something different. Love them.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Another vote for Pinnock. The first recording has been around so long, it can be found pretty cheaply. My used CD store sold it for 50 cents! 

Pickett has already been mentioned also. His liner notes have an interesting take on how they were written. 

I'm not a fan of Leonhardt, though it was my first.


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## Dumbo (Sep 3, 2017)

Pablo Casals conducting the Marlboro Festival Orchestra, live, 1964. It might ruin all other recordings for you.

https://www.discogs.com/Bach-Pablo-Casals-Conducts-The-Six-Brandenburg-Concertos/release/4257632

I think the Casals BC #5 is on youtube, but it won't play for me right now, so I didn't embed.


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## Tero (Jun 2, 2012)

Goebel, you get an extra concerto on Disc 2, the Triple concerto. The Bach box has the extra Orchestral Suite, BWV 1070. Written by some offspring of Bach.


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

There are a an infinite number of recordings, for every taste, but I'm currently smitten by a set on SACD conducted by Diego Fasoli. Spirited HIPP playing in exceptionally good sound


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