In 1738 Bach took service with crown prince Frederick II of Prussia, and became harpsichordist at the court orchestra. When Frederick was crowned King of Prussia in 1740, Bach retained

this office. His most important tasks consisted in accompanying the King, who played the flute, practicing chamber music and writing music. German. Nevertheless Bach was constantly watching out for a new job. In 1767, he was given the opportunity to succeed his deceased godfather Georg Philipp Telemann as Cantor and Musical Director in Hamburg.

The fifth sinfonia in E minor Wq 177 was written in Berlin in 1756 and published in Nuremberg in 1759.

The concertos for oboe and strings Wq 164 and 165 are transcriptions of harpsichord concertos which Bach made in Berlin in 1765: they were very probably performed at a private concert at the court of Frederick the great, which counted a number of excellent oboist among its musicians, like Joachim Wilhelm Dobbert and Johann Christina Jacobi.

Booklet: EN, FR, DE