In 1721, J.S. Bach devoted six Brandenburg Concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg, supposedly in response to a commission, but more likely as a sugarcoated job application. 

The pieces incorporate a variety of styles and influences, and together share in Bach's great talent for absorbing new styles. Alas, the Margrave never thanked Bach, paid him a fee, or offered him a job. Today, however, the Brandenburgs are enormously popular, and for more than a decade the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center has greeted each holiday season with performances of Bach's six Concertos in a single sitting. This broadcast features three of them, numbers 1, 4, and 6.

All pieces were composed by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F Major, BWV 1046 (1720)
Performers: Daniel Phillips, Cho-Liang Lin, Arnaud Sussmann, violins; David Kim, viola; Sophie Shao, cello; Kurt Muroki, double bass; Stephen Taylor, Randall Ellis, Mark Hill, oboes; Milan Turkovic, bassoon; Jennifer Montone, Stewart Rose, horns; John Gibbons, harpsichord.

Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, BWV 1049 (1720)
Piece: Carol Wincenc, Tara Helen O'Connor, flutes; Cho-Liang Lin, Arnaud Sussmann, Ida Kavafian, violins; Paul Neubauer, viola; Priscilla Lee, cello; Kurt Muroki, double bass; John Gibbons, harpsichord.

Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat Major, BWV 1051 (1720)
Performers: Paul Neubauer, Beth Guterman, violas; Fred Sherry, Sophie Shao, Priscilla Lee, cellos; Kurt Muroki, double bass; John Gibbons, harpsichord.