Johann Sebastian Bach Suite No. 2 in B Minor, BWV 1067
Johann Sebastian Bach The Musical Offering, BWV 1079
In 1747 Johann Sebastian Bach visited King Frederick II of Prussia, who was a composer and flutist in his own right. While staying at the monarch's residence, the king inviting the composer to try out all the court keyboards and then asked him to improvise a fugue based on one of his songs, which Bach did. When the composer returned to Leipzig, he continued to work on it until he came up with The Musical Offering, a collection of pieces that demonstrate his unrivalled mastery of the art of counterpoint.
Ton Koopman will conduct the orchestra that he himself founded in 1979, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. Fascinated by ancient instruments, Koopman is also an organist and harpsichordist and has played on the most famous historical instruments in Europe. He has collaborated as a guest conductor with many of the world's leading orchestras and is an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London.
The members of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra are internationally renowned specialists in Baroque music. Between 1994 and 2004 they carried out one of the most ambitious recording projects of recent decades: the complete recordings of J. S. Bach's Sacred and Profane Cantatas.
