5. Classical Music on Sunday

In 1741, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was appointed to a permanent post as harpsichordist with Frederick II’s court orchestra in Berlin. The most famous of Bach’s sons, even to this day, had previously studied law in Frankfurt (Oder) and was already musically active there as part of the Collegium musicum. The famous painting Frederick the Great Playing the Flute at Sanssouci by Adolph Menzel depicts musical gatherings at court, with Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach at the harpsichord and the King himself on the flute. In addition to Bach’s works, other composers were also employed and performed at court. Thus, the brothers Johann Gottlieb and Carl Heinrich Graun came to the Prussian court together and served as Kapellmeisters, concertmasters and composers. Trained as a member of the Thomanerchor under Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, Christoph Nichelmann’s musical career began in a similar way to that of C.P.E. Bach. C.H. Graun also became his teacher, and their paths crossed again at the Prussian court. However, due to competition and hostility, Nichelmann’s time in Berlin did not end on a successful note. Johann Philipp Kirnberger, working within the circle of Frederick II, composed primarily works for the flute, which the king is likely to have greatly enjoyed. As with the other composers of the Berlin court orchestra, Johann Gottlieb Janitsch’s compositional style also reflects the galant style. During the era of Empfindsamkeit (Sentimentalism), composers broke away from the rational Baroque style and expressed their own emotive, subjective musical language. In this concert programme, Reinhard Goebel and the BSOF bring Berlin court music from the mid-18th century to life. This specialist and pioneer of early music has devoted himself intensively to the composers associated with the great Bach dynasty and is keen to bring even the lesser-known works to the fore. Immerse yourself in the Berlin Court Orchestra and experience a concert that, with this very programme sequence, might well have delighted King Frederick II himself.