Bach & Bach

Concert by the "Kyiv Soloists" National Chamber Ensemble (in the atmospheric acoustic hall of the historic St. Catherine's Lutheran Church in the heart of Kyiv)

This concert presents the chamber orchestral music of the Bach family—from the Baroque of Johann Sebastian to the early classicism of his son, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.

• C. P. E. BACH — Symphony in B minor opens the evening with restless, passionate music anticipating the "Storm and Drang" (Sturm und Drang) aesthetic—a style through which Bach's son moved away from his father's strict polyphony toward a more emotional and dramatic sound.

• J. S. BACH — Violin Concerto in A minor is one of the most performed violin concertos of the Baroque era, featuring a soloist (Antoni Kedrovsky, who also conducts) engaging in a dialogue with the string orchestra in a classic fast-slow-fast three-movement form.

• J. S. BACH — Concerto for Two Harpsichords in C minor offers the chance to hear a rare duet of two harpsichords (Olha Shadrina-Lychak, Paola Prokopenko)—a genre that Bach effectively created as an independent concert form.

• J. S. BACH — Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major concludes the program with a sequence of festive French-style dance movements—the overture, the famous "Air on the G String," gavottes, bourrées, and gigue—standing as one of the composer's most popular orchestral works.

Overall, the program demonstrates the evolution of the Baroque instrumental concerto and suite at the crossroads of the Baroque and Classical eras, combining solo, duet, and ensemble forms within a single musical family.

ATTENTION! Access and entry to St. Catherine's Church (22 Liuteranska St.) is strictly from Khreshchatyk Street.