Bach harpsichord concertos – fervour and fantasy

Aapo Häkkinen, harpsichord (soloist)
Zefira Valova, violin
Dora Asterstad, violin
Hanna Pakkala, viola
Heidi Peltoniemi, cello
Tickets: €30
Concession tickets: €15
Aapo Häkkinen and the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra have recorded the Bach harpsichord concertos on the Aeolus label to great international acclaim. Häkkinen now leads a Helsinki Baroque Orchestra ensemble through three of the concertos, combining music by Bach’s North German predecessors with the two stern concertos in G minor and D minor and the D major concerto familiar from its violin version. As a young man Bach went to visit Johann Adam Reincken in Hamburg and impressed the ageing composer with his skills at improvisation. Like Bach, Andreas Kirchoff came from a musical family and at the end of the 17th century was employed as a city musician in Copenhagen. Baroque fervour and fantasy, and a tradition that lapped the Baltic shores, all in the same concert.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): Harpsichord concerto in D major, BWV 1054
Andreas Kirchoff (c.1635–1691): Suite à 4 in G minor (1664)
Georg Friedrich Händel (1685–1759): Sonat in G major, HWV 399
Allegro – A tempo ordinario – Passacaille – Gigue. Presto – Menuet. Allegro moderato
Interval
Johann Adam Reincken (?1643–1722): Suite à 4 in D minor (1687)
Johann Sebastian Bach: Harpsichord concerto in D minor BWV 1052