In 1721 Bach dedicated a cycle of six concertos to the Margrave of Brandenburg, uncle of the King of Prussia. A true "art of the concerto" in the manner of Bach, these "six concerts for several instruments" are highly virtuoso, obviously involving strings but also various soloists such as the harpsichord or the trumpet, in a mixture of styles where the Italian concerto dominates, but with an extraordinary science of contrapuntal intertwining in the German style, and magnificent French influences.

But the masterpiece is there – Bach invented a new type of concerto, not really Italian and not really in the French style, but an original form structuring melodies of obvious beauty with richly written music. The concertos follow one another without resembling each other, for different numbers of musicians and solo instruments, united by Bach's creative power. The result is an exceptional corpus, ranging from a concert of viols in the ancient style (but what irresistible volubility with seven musicians!) to an orchestral format wiht nineteen musicians including two horns and three oboes.

The future of this work is on par with the gems it contains: today it is the groundwork of chamber and orchestral music, especially in Germany where it is the Bible for instrumentalists. The virtuosos of the Akademie Für Alte Musik Berlin have been chiselling baroque interpretations on early music instruments for thirty years, and the Brandenburg Concertos are their iconic programme: they are ready to share their choreographic energy and intoxicating counterpoint.