About this edition
Bach's Harpsichord Concerto No. 2 in E major, BWV 1053, stands among the composer's most radiant and lyrical concerto creations, its sun-drenched outer movements framing a deeply expressive Siciliano in C-sharp minor that ranks among the most beautiful slow movements in the entire keyboard repertoire. Scholars have long recognized that Bach adapted this concerto from earlier material — likely a lost oboe or oboe d'amore concerto — with movements later reworked into the cantatas BWV 169 and BWV 49, giving the work a fascinating dual identity that continues to inspire performers and musicologists alike.
This score reproduces the landmark edition prepared by Wilhelm Rust (1822–1892) for the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe, Band 17, published by Breitkopf und Härtel in Leipzig in 1869 (plate B.W. XVII). The Bach-Gesellschaft edition — the first complete critical edition of Bach's works, undertaken over half a century by leading nineteenth-century scholars — remains a cornerstone of Bach scholarship. Rust, who edited more volumes than any other contributor to the series, brought exceptional philological rigor to his sources, and his editions continue to serve as reference texts for performers and researchers to this day. This volume includes the full concerto (pp. 43–78) along with the editor's critical notes (pp. 314–15).
About this edition:
- Full orchestral score for harpsichord solo, strings, and continuo
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches, printed for clear on-stand readability
- Faithfully reproduced from the 1869 Bach-Gesellschaft edition edited by Wilhelm Rust
- Includes Rust's editorial notes from the original volume
- Published by Purple 4R Publishing
This edition brings a distinguished public domain historical score back into print, making Rust's authoritative nineteenth-century engraving readily available to conductors, harpsichordists, orchestral musicians, students, and scholars. We're delighted to help keep this remarkable music alive on stands and in study rooms where it belongs.
