Duo Eclettico – The Bachs and Princess Anna Amalia

Reimagined masterpieces from J.S. Bach, J.C. Bach, C.P.E. Bach and Princess Anna Amalia.

Award-winning Duo Eclettico explore the wealth of repertoire available for their unique combination of instruments – saxophone and piano. The pair are passionate about unearthing complex and vibrant repertoire, as well as commissioning new work, particularly that of local artists.

About the concert

Their performance in Primrose Potter Salon takes major works from J.S. Bach, J.C. Bach, C.P.E. Bach and Princess Anna Amalia. Reinventing their virtuosity and lyricism, Duo Eclettico present the world premiere of these arrangements for saxophone and piano.

The daughter of Frederick William I, Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia was a superb composer and writer and was Carl Philipp Emanuel (CPE) Bach’s first royal patron. She was also the patron of the ‘German Sappho’, poet Anna Luisa Karsch, who provided the libretti for several of CPE’s vocal works. Anna Amalia secretly married one of her brother’s soldiers, and was banished to a convent, where she continued to write. She preserved a major collection of JS and CPE Bach’s music, including the Brandenburg Concertos and the B Minor Mass.

These works are highly virtuosic and frequently full of beautiful, vocal inspired aria lines, making them ideal for saxophone and piano.