Description

Composed in 1747 during C P E Bach's time in Berlin, likely for his employer Frederick the Great or for Frederick's mentor, J J Quantz, this piece remained unprinted until 1763. Similar to his father J S Bach, C P E Bach selected the key of A minor for his solitary composition for solo flute; however, its structure differs significantly from that of his father.

Similar to J. S. Bach's Partita in A minor (BWV 1013), the sonata presented here is regarded as one of the key compositions for solo flute from the eighteenth century. Unlike J. S. Bach's music that continues to embody the conventional, polyphonic, and figurative style, the compositions of the young Bach reveal significant sensitivity and, at times, a nearly romantic expressiveness.

This updated version of C. P. E. Bach's Sonata in A minor is derived from a reproduction in the collection 'Musikalisches Mancherley'; the editor expresses gratitude to the Zurich Central Library.