The Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721. The original French title is Six Concerts Avec plusieurs instruments, meaning "Six Concertos for several instruments". Some of the pieces feature several solo instruments in combination. They are widely regarded as some of the greatest orchestral compositions of the Baroque era.
Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg, for whom Bach copied the concertos, portrayed by Antoine Pesne in 1710
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific authorship of music across a variety of instruments and forms, including; orchestral music such as the Brandenburg Concertos; solo instrumental works such as the cello suites and sonatas and partitas for solo violin; keyboard works such as the Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier; organ works such as the Schubler Chorales and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor; and choral works such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival, he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music.
1748 portrait of Bach, showing him holding a copy of the six-part canon BWV 1076.
Johann Ambrosius Bach, 1685, Bach's father. Painting attributed to Johann David Herlicius [de]
The Wender organ Bach played in Arnstadt
Organ of the St. Paul's Church in Leipzig, tested by Bach in 1717