Johann Sebastian Bach's Violin Concertos, BWV 1041–1043, and his six Brandenburg Concertos survive in their original instrumentation. His harpsichord concertos are mostly adaptations of concertos originally written for other solo instruments.^[1]

In his early career Bach transcribed concertos by other composers for solo organ (BWV 592–596) and for solo harpsichord (BWV 972–987). Bach's Italian Concerto, composed in 1735, was one of his few works that he published during his life-time: it is an example of an unaccompanied concerto for two-manual harpsichord.

The earliest documentary traces of Bach's involvement with the concerto genre include:

• In 1709 Bach helped copy out the performance parts of a concerto by Georg Philipp Telemann^[2]
• Around 1710 or earlier Bach copied the continuo part, BWV Anh. 23, of a concerto included in Tomaso Albinoni's Op. 2, which had been published in 1700.^[3][4]

Bach wrote most, if not all, of his concerto transcriptions for organ (BWV 592–596) and for harpsichord (BWV 972–987) from July 1713 to July 1714. Most of these transcriptions were based on concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. Other models for the transcriptions included concertos by Alessandro Marcello, Benedetto Marcello, Georg Philipp Telemann and Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

Bach rarely used the name "Cantata" to indicate a vocal composition. Instead, "Concerto", closer to names of cantata precursors such as geistliches Konzert (spiritual concerto) and Choralkonzert (chorale concerto), is the name he used most often to indicate those compositions which later became known as his cantatas.

For organ:

• BWV 571 – Fantasia (Concerto) in G major
• BWV 597 – Concerto in E-flat major

For harpsichord:

• BWV 909 – Concerto and Fugue in C minor
• BWV Anh. 151 – Concerto in C major
• BWV Anh. 152 – Concerto in G major
• BWV Anh. 188 – Sonata (Concerto) in F major for two harpsichords by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (BR A12; F 10)

For chamber ensemble:

• BWV 525a (or: BWV deest) – Concerto (or: Trio Sonata) in C major for violin, cello and continuo (variant of BWV 525/1, 1032/2 and 525/3)

Orchestral concertos:

• BWV Anh. 22 – Concerto for Oboe and Violin in B-flat major [scores]
• BWV Anh. 155 – Concerto in A major for keyboard, strings and continuo by Wenzel Raimund Birck^[16]
• BWV Anh. 189 – Concerto in A minor for keyboard, strings and continuo by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

BWV 156/1, used for reconstructing the middle movement of concertos after BWV 1056 and 1059

BWV 156/1 arranged for violin and piano

Carrie Rehkopf (violin), 1729

---

Problems playing this file? See media help.

Detailed accounts of possible or conjectural reconstructions of Bach's harpsichord concertos for other solo instruments have been described systematically in the hand-book of Siegbert Rampe.^[17] No discussion for reconstructions is needed concerning the well-known two violin concertos BWV 1041, BWV 1042 and the double violin concerto BWV 1043, since these predate the harpsichord versions, BWV 1058, BWV 1054 and BWV 1062 respectively. The concerto BWV 1057 for harpsichord and two flutes or recorders also has an extant original: the 4th Brandenburg Concerto, BWV 1049. The concerto for two unaccompanied harpsichords BWV 1061a was modified slightly by adding strings in the first and last movements to produce BWV 1061. Vivaldi's concerto for four violins Op. 3 No. 10 was reworked by Bach as his concerto for four harpsichords BWV 1065.

The 5th Brandenburg Concerto, BWV 1050, always was a concerto for flute, violin and harpsichord, also in its earlier version BWV 1050a. Earlier versions for unaccompanied keyboard instruments of all three movements of the Triple Concerto, BWV 1044, are extant. Other harpsichord concertos, and related cantata movements if available, have been the basis for several reconstructions. The letter "R", abbreviation of "Reconstruction", can be added to the BWV number of an extant Bach concerto to indicate a conjectured original of such concerto.^[18]