The Brandenburg Project juxtaposes the well-known Brandenburg Concertos by JS Bach with six contemporary works especially commissioned by the Swedish Chamber Orchestra over a decade or so, and premiered in a series of two concerts during the 2018 Proms in London. The Brandenburg Concertos themselves have a long recorded history commencing with the fabled Busch set on EMI (featuring pianist Rudolf Serkin in the Fifth) which dates from the late 1930s. It is still much loved, as are other historical recordings by the likes of Casals and Munch. In more recent decades, the concertos have more often become the fare of the original instrument brigade with fine recordings by the likes of Pinnock and Il Giardino Armonico. Here is a set played on modern instruments informed by wisdom gained from recent practice and academia.

The Brandenburg Project

The six concertos are given fine performances with superb soloists including the Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto, trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger and harpsichord player Mahan Esfahani. There are, of course, many other alternative sets of note and this is an expensive way to go...