The glorious polyphony of Johann Sebastian Bach sprang to life Friday night when members of the Pittsburgh Symphony played the Brandenburg Concerti. To hear all six concerti in one evening is a delightful demonstration of Bach’s staggering versatility and imagination. Many composers in the baroque era published sets of concerti, usually for the same set of instruments. Bach employs the most varied instrumentation of any set of baroque concerti. Variety helps keep music fresh, but there was much to be heard at Heinz Hall last night. The performances were led by the orchestra’s concertmaster, Andres Cardenes, in all but one of the concerti. He has directed the Brandenburgs Downtown at Heinz Hall before, and single concerti at concerts in Shadyside and Squirrel Hill. Last night’s set of the Brandenburg were more spacious and soulful than previous performances, starting with the First Brandenburg Concerto. Oboist Cynthia DeAlmeida set the tone in the slow movement with sensitive shaping of the melody, and also produced beautiful tone later in the Second Brandenburg. And she was the only one of the soloists to ornament her part, in repeats of the Trio. The ensemble on stage featured principal and non-principal players in solos and demonstrated the exceptional depth of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Neither the principal French horn nor the co-principal played the First Brandenburg, but third horn Ronald Schneider and second horn Robert Lauver were brilliant dancing in high tessitura. Cardenes didn’t lead the Sixth Brandeburg, which is scored for lower strings. The slow movement of this concerto is a string quartet for two violas, cello and bass, and was memorable for its rich layers of feeling. Lead violist Randolph Kelly is always a strong player, and played very well. But the strength of second violist Joen Vasquez’s interplay with Kelly presented the music with exceptional integrity. Another completely different world of sound exists in the Fourth Brandenburg, which closed the first half of the concert. Accompanied by a pair of flutes, Cardenes was even more brilliant in the solo part than he had been at a Nuance concert in Squirrel Hill last season. Flutists Damian Bursill-Hall and Jennifer Conner were both properly assertive and well-balanced. The Presto finale was breathtaking. The virtuoso trumpet part of the Second Brandenburg has made it one of the most popular of the set. But it is actually for four soloists – trumpet, flute, oboe and violin – and here the key ingredient was principal trumpet George Vosburgh’s control of dynamics. He never played too loudly, even soaring in the stratosphere, and let his colleagues create a satisfying texture. Cardenes shrewdly programmed the Third Brandenburg to precede the Fifth. The score of the Third has a mysterious second movement of just two chords, which musicians nowadays always fill out. Harpsichordist Patricia Prattis Jennings played a short solo before the two chords. In the Fifth Concerto, which concluded the concert, her solos were much expanded, including a very long cadenza in the first movement. Mark Kanny can be reached at mkanny@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7877.

---

Copyright ©2026— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---