Together on the stage
Music for two harpsichords
Krebs – L. Couperin – F. Couperin – J. S. Bach
Marianna Henriksson, harpsichord
Petteri Pitko, harpsichord
The keyboard instrumentalists of the 17th and 18th century were masters of the organ and the harpsichord – the same goes for the composer-musicians of this concert. Johann Ludvig Krebs studied for Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig and worked as an organist in the areas of Thüringen and Sachsen. According to Gerber, another of Bach’s pupils, in 1753 Krebs performed ”a whole new and skillfully composed duo for two harpsichords” for the court in Dresden. It has most likely been the concerto in A minor for two harpsichords, performed here today.
Louis Couperin worked as St. Gervais's organist in Paris. His nephew François, with the additional name ”Le Grand” (The Great), inherited the same position and later became the court harpsichordist of the Sun King. During this concert a series of two pieces by Couperin is performed, a selection of classical French dances.
Several of Johann Sebastian Bach’s pieces for keys were played by his many students. Bach’s concertos 2–4 for harpsichord were perhaps born in the early 1730s when Bach’s two sons Wilhelm Friedmann and Carl Philipp Emanuel still lived at home and played with their father. Every week the pieces were performed at concerts arranged at Café Zimmermann in Leipzig, and most likely the festive concerto in C major for two harpsichords was performed there.
Duration: 1 h (no intermission)
The concert is part of the joint AUF series av Avanti, UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO). The top orchestras, all representing different genres, invite the listeners to get acquainted with various different musical treats during the day concerts.
Other concerts in the AUF series:
Thu Jun 10 2021 at 1 pm Musiikkitalo (Hall Paavo), Helsinki: Accordion Expanded
Thu Aug 5 2021 at 1 pm Musiikkitalo (Hall Paavo), Helsinki: The Blues and the Abstract Truth