Harpsichord Concerto No. 1

The music of J.S. Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1052, has an interesting, hybrid genealogy: it contains repurposed material from two of his cantatas and may have originally been written as a violin concerto. The three-movement concerto begins with a driving, menacing opening theme and virtuosic passages, followed by a slow a mysterious middle movement in G minor. By contrast, the intricate counterpoint and brisk tempo of the third movement are characteristic of Bach’s finales with an extravagant keyboard cadenza that guides the music toward a major key before a final, enthralling return to D minor.