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Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) · sheet music

  • Key D minor
  • Time 4/4
  • Levels 7–9
  • Passages 3

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Johann Sebastian Bach, German baroque (1685–1750). The reading release has 3 passages from this piece at levels 7–9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 73–76 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 41–48 at level 9.

Your practice path

Learn it the way teachers do: each hand on its own, then together, then the hard bars. Each step is a real graded passage of Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043.

  1. Hands together · bars 73–76 level 7
  2. The hardest bars · bars 41–48 level 9

How to play Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043

  1. Tempo:Vivace means lively, but choose a speed at which both hands can keep the lines clear. A slower, steady tempo beats a fast, messy one.
  2. Right hand:The right hand often carries a violin line. Play it with a singing legato and think of each phrase as one bow stroke.
  3. Left hand:The left hand supports with bass and sometimes joins the imitation. Practice it alone until its line makes sense as music, not just as accompaniment.
  4. Hands together:When a theme moves from one hand to the other, give the new entry a little emphasis and let the old line step back.
  5. Dynamics:Baroque music shapes itself with small, natural changes. Lean a little on the entry of a theme and ease off at the end of a phrase.
  6. Pedal:Use very little pedal in the fast movements. The independence of the voices is the point, and the pedal will blur it.
  7. Reading:Mark each entry of the main theme with a colored pencil. Seeing the theme appear in different places makes the texture easier to read.
  8. Practice:Practice each voice alone, then in pairs, then all together. This is the best way to hear how the lines interlock.

Common mistakes

  • Playing every line at the same volume. Fix: Decide which voice has the theme at each moment and let that line lead.
  • Rushing the fugal entries. Fix: Count the rests before each entry and place the first note on the beat.
  • Over-pedaling the fast sections. Fix: Play without pedal, then add a very light touch only where you want warmth.
  • Treating the slow movement as plain background. Fix: Sing each line out loud and match the shape on the piano.

Structure: three-movement Baroque concerto

A fast, a slow, and a fast movement frame the concerto. The first movement is built on fugal imitation and dense counterpoint, while the slow movement is a long song in the related major key. In a piano arrangement, imitation between voices becomes the main reading skill.

I · Vivace (D minor)
A driving D minor movement that opens with a fugal entry and keeps passing the same ideas between parts. Look for the same shape starting in different voices.
II · Largo ma non tanto (F major)
A calm, singing movement in a flowing twelve-eight rhythm, where the two solo lines weave around each other.
III · Allegro (D minor)
A lively finale in three beats to the bar that returns to D minor and keeps both soloists busy.

About Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043

Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043, was long thought to date from his years at Köthen. Research by Andreas Glöckner in 1982 rejected that idea, since Bach's surviving autograph parts point to Leipzig around 1730, where the concerto was likely written for concerts Bach directed.

The concerto has three movements in the fast-slow-fast pattern of Italian concertos: a lively Vivace in D minor, a tender Largo ma non tanto in F major, and an Allegro in three-four time that returns to D minor. The first movement is full of fugal imitation, so ideas pass back and forth between the soloists and the orchestra.

Around 1736 to 1737 Bach reworked the concerto as a piece for two harpsichords in C minor, listed as BWV 1062. The original version was first published in 1852 by Peters, and the Bach Gesellschaft edition followed in 1874. It is counted among Bach's most successful works.

  • Bach arranged the concerto for two harpsichords in C minor, catalogued as BWV 1062, around 1736 to 1737.
  • Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach performed the concerto in Frankfurt an der Oder between 1734 and 1738.
  • The choreographer George Balanchine used it for his ballet Concerto Barocco.
  • Albert Schweitzer praised the Largo for its wonderful peace.

Why the first passage is level 7

That passage is level 7 rather than 6 because a hand covers more than one position, it reaches 3 ledger lines, it has syncopated rhythms, it runs fast figuration.

Expect two or more voices of equal importance. The same melodic idea turns up in different hands, so scan for repeated shapes and read the lines as separate melodies.

Questions about Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043

How hard is Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043 to play?
Its passages grade from level 7 to level 9 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 41–48 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043 for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 7, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 73–76 for both hands together, the level-7 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 7 because a hand covers more than one position and it reaches 3 ledger lines.
What key and time signature is Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043 in?
Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043 is in D minor, 1 flat. The engraving on this page is in 4/4 time.
Who composed Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043?
Johann Sebastian Bach, German baroque (1685–1750). Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043, was long thought to date from his years at Köthen.
Can I practice Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043 online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 3 graded passages from Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
When did Bach write the Double Violin Concerto?
It was long placed in his Köthen years, but research since 1982 points to about 1730 in Leipzig, based on Bach's surviving autograph parts.
How long is Bach's Concerto for Two Violins?
A performance runs from under 13 minutes to over 18 minutes, depending on tempo.
Is there a keyboard version of Bach's Double Violin Concerto?
Yes. Bach himself arranged it for two harpsichords in C minor, listed as BWV 1062, around 1736 to 1737.
Is Bach's Double Violin Concerto in the public domain?
Yes. Bach died in 1750, so the music is in the public domain, though modern editions and arrangements can carry their own copyright.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 3 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 7
bars 73–76 both hands
Level 9
bars 41–48 both hands · bars 81–84 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (pdmx), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261023-identity-audit reading release.

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