A large number of musicians have had their parents, good amateurs or even talented professionals, as mentors in the profession. But none to the extent experienced by Johann Christian Bach and three of his brothers. All four were sons of the illustrious father of harmony, Johann Sebastian Bach, and it was from him, no more and no less, that they received their first lessons, to continue as adults a musical career on the basis of their own merits. Maria Barbara and Anna Magdalena contributed to continuing the lineage in equal parts, in a span of twenty-five years. The former, mother of Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel; the latter, mother of Johann Christoph Friedrich and Johann Christian.
Johann Christian
When Bach senior died in 1750, the youngest of the musician brothers, Johann Christian, fifteen years old, was sent to Berlin to live and continue his studies with his half-brother Carl Philip Emanuel, who at the age of 36 was already firmly established there. Determined to specialize in opera, Johann Christian later traveled to Italy where his first three works were such a success that his talent reached the ears of the kings of England, who called upon him as a composer of operas for the new King's Theater.
Johann Christian Bach (1735 - 1782)
The "Bach of London"
Queen Sophie Charlotte, a twenty-year-old german, was delighted with the engagement of this young fellow countryman, with whom she could speak in her own language and long for her homeland. It was also a happy time for Johann Christian (before a new impresario took over the theater and terminated the contract). He was the music tutor of the queen and her children, but he also had to accompany the king whenever he felt like playing the flute. And as a grand finale, in 1764 he had the privilege of meeting an eight-year-old musician, Wolfgang Amadeus, when the Mozart family visited London on one of their tours, and on whom he would later exert a powerful influence.
Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra in E-flat major Author of an extensive oeuvre that combines opera, sacred music, symphonies, and chamber music, Johann Christian Bach was one of the first harpsichord masters who knew a pianoforte and wrote music for the instrument. Of a total of 26 keyboard concertos, the concerto in E flat, opus 7 No. 5, is one of those that received the title of "piano concerto".
Movements
Written around 1770, it is structured in the traditional "classical" style, in three movements: fast - slow - fast:
00:00 Allegro di molto
06:09 Andante
11:48 Allegro
The performance is by the British orchestra The Hanover Band, with period instruments.
