There are plenty of legends about great composers and famous musicians, including examples of musical duels such as the one between the young George Frideric Handel and Domenico Scarlatti in Rome in 1709 or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Muzio Clementi in Vienna in 1781. The participants were to compete in the art of improvisation or to demonstrate their musical skills in an appropriate way.
The present programme refers to a competition between the two keyboard virtuosos and composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Louis Marchand, which is said to have taken place in Dresden in 1717. Several sources mention this planned competition, although they all come from the German-speaking world. A total of 21 texts, dated between 1739 and 1802, mention the planned encounter between Bach and Marchand, but all of these surviving sources should be treated with caution, and many of them undoubtedly serve to glorify Bach and assert his superiority over his French challenger, who recognised this and which is why the contest is said never to have taken place. The starting point and main source for this story is Johann Sebastian Bach personally.
It is well documented that Marchand spent time in Dresden in 1717. Everything beyond this is open to doubt. The many reports of the contest nevertheless offer the opportunity of comparing the keyboard prowess of the two protagonists by means of two instrumental suites, reflecting the supposed competition.
In this very interesting programme, Alexander von Heißen (born 1995 ; first lessons with Diez Eichler at Dr. Hoch's Konservarorium in Frankfurt ; several masterclasses with Pierre Hantaï, Skip Sempé, Christophe Rousset and Jesper Christensen) has chosen two masterworks of these two wirtuosos from the 18th century, a great suites of pieces in D Minor from Louis Marchand's First Book, and the incredible Bach's Fourth Partita BWV 828. Who will be your favorite? © Haenssler Classic