Bach became acquainted with a great many Italian solo concertos by a variety of composers during his time as Konzertmeister of the small court orchestra in Weimar. He investigated thoroughly the new concerto form which was being adopted everywhere with enthusiasm. He transcribed for organ and clavier 22 concertos by composers from both home and abroad, and in this way familiarized himself with this new style of composition. He did not write his own violin concertos, however, until 1720 in Cothen.
As usual Bach did not simply copy the available patterns, but transformed them so that something of his own making emerged. Italian composers emphasized the contrast between solo and tutti passages, often using different thematic and motivic ideas. Bach, on the other hand, internalized this contrast through closely interwoven motifs in both solo and tutti parts, reducing the degree of virtuosity. For him the concept of the concerto took on a new meaning by stressing accord rather than opposition. In this way he achieved an absolute unity of composition.
For Bach the focal point of this type of work was in the first movement, whose spacious layout, as in the E major concerto, sometimes takes up half the work. The slow movement is built over an ostinato bass line and is full of great pathos and contrasting material from the first and last movement. Finale is a graceful conclusion to one of his great concertos.
-- Kendall Durelle Briggs
