C.P.E. Bach: Mercurial Diversions For Uncertain Times

In these days of uncertainty, music can provide a safe haven, an escape, or even a boost of energy. I’ve found all of that and more in a new recording of the music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the second oldest of Johann Sebastian’s musical sons, and a composer who continually fascinates me. A new album of C.P.E. Bach’s keyboard concertos is keeping my spirits buoyant these home-bound days. Michael Rische, leading the Berliner Barock Solisten, performs the music on a modern piano with equal parts elegance and exuberance. If you’re new to C.P.E. Bach, this is a satisfying starter kit. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was born in 1714, educated by his dad, then spent nearly 30 years in Berlin as the harpsichordist to Frederick the Great before decamping to Hamburg to become the city’s director of church music. As a composer, Bach charted his own startling, original path and was a principal proponent of a trend called Empfindsamer Stil , or loosely translated, “sensitive style.” In Versuch über