The life course of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was somewhat like that of his father Johann Sebastian: both started out as court musicians and then served the bourgeoisie of a large city. In the feature film Meine name ist Bach (Dominique de Rivaz, 2003), Carl Philipp is portrayed as a huge scaredy-cat, intimidated as he is by the stronger personalities of Johann Sebastian Bach and King Frederik of
… Prussia (at least that's what the story of the film is) . Regardless, Carl Philipp probably did not receive the recognition at court in Potsdam that was due to his talent. King Frederik - who was an enthusiastic amateur flutist - probably never played Bach's Flute Concerto in D major. This is therefore a personal and layered work for 'experts', just listen to how the soloist (in this case Jacques Son) wanders from one stage to the next. The Oboe Concerto in B flat was created in 1765, two years before C.Ph.E. Bach succeeded his godfather Telemann as cantor in Hamburg. We will also hear two of Bach's magnificent Hamburg symphonies for strings (WQ.182). And those performances also make this CD a wonderful prelude to the C.Ph.E. Bach year 2014. (HJ)more
