Music by four composers with the famous family name Bach made this Sunday afternoon in the Isarphilharmonie a highly enjoyable event of stylistic diversity, diverse imaginative power and baroque variability: Two symphonies by Carl Philipp Emanuel, one each by Wilhelm Friedemann and Johann Christoph Friedrich and three violin concertos by his father of the three named, by Johann Sebastian Bach. The twelve Berlin baroque soloists played elegantly, flexibly, precisely and responsively on modern instruments in full orientation to historical performance practice.
It became very clear that the Bach sons were not dutiful imitators of an oversized role model, but went their own way, which led in different directions in the musical development that followed.
In his time, Carl Philipp Emanuel was considered the great Bach, his symphonies are striking in their sudden breaks, their surprising harmonic shifts and rhythmic accentuations. This already has a theatrical effect, as later with Haydn, Mozart and the early Beethoven. Wilhelm Friedemann, Bach’s eldest son, on the other hand, cultivated an expressive, more supple parlando style in his D major symphony, while the “Bückeburg” Bach son Johann Christoph Friedrich was clearly Italian-oriented with a melodious, singing orchestral sound.
Frank Peter Zimmermann was ready for the three violin concertos by Johann Sebastian and, as primus inter pares, played these richly figured pieces with their expressively unfolding cantilenas in the slow movements so light-footedly, almost casually virtuoso and sonotically beautiful without any forcing that one could hardly stop being amazed came out. The pieces are reconstructions of harpsichord concertos that were originally based on violin concertos. As an encore to the loud applause, the Adagio from the D minor concerto, which was also reconstructed: Simplicity as high art.