Harnoncourt conducts Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1-6

Nikolaus Harnoncourt founded his Concentus Musicus Wien in 1953 in order to find a new way to perform music of the Baroque era, informed by research into the practices of the time and using instruments of the period. Three decades later, he and his group made this classic film of one of the most important sets of concertos from the era, Bach's Six Brandenburg Concertos of 1721 – each composed for a different configuration of virtuoso soloists. Filmed in the Baroque monastery library in Wiblingen, Germany, these performances offer not only thrilling music-making, but also a snapshot of Harnoncourt's revolutionary period instrument performance practice as it was at the time.

Soloists: 

Hermann Baumann (Horn), Friedemann Immer (Trumpet), Markus Schleich (Horn), Jürg Schaeftlein (Oboe), Alice Harnoncourt (Violin), Elisabeth von Magnus (Recorder), Herbert Tachezi (Harpsichord), Leopold Stastny (Flute), Erich Höbarth (Violin), Christophe Coin (Cello), Heidi Litschauer (Cello)

Ensemble: 

Concentus Musicus Wien

Conductor: 

Nikolaus Harnoncourt