Italian Concerto BWV 971

The popular work known today as the Italian Concerto was published as Part 2 of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Clavier- Übung in 1735, together with the Overture in B minor (BWV 831). Publications of music were a rarity in those days, and it stands to reason that Bach would select only pieces he found superior and representative. Originally written for a two-manual harpsichord, this music with its terrace dynamics alternating between piano and forte also reveals its full beauty when played on a modern piano where the lively interchange between the soloist and an imaginary orchestral tutti is successfully imitated.

This edition presents the Urtext of the “New Bach Edition” at the cutting edge of Bach scholarship. The fingerings have been added by Renate Kretschmar -Fischer, an internationally renowned pianist and teacher, offering valuable suggestions for study and lessons. Rounding off this volume is an informative introduction discussing the work’s genesis, source tradition as well as fingering on the modern piano.