Brandenburg Concertos Encode Social Hierarchy

Citing Bach specialist Michael Marissen, Suzuki argues the Brandenburg Concertos symbolize social hierarchy: No. 1's two horns symbolize the court's dignity, No. 2's trumpet/oboe/recorder/violin represent instruments any stadtpfeifer must master, and No. 3, dominated by threes (three violins, violas, cellos), deliberately leaves the second movement as a single bar so Bach himself could improvise it—essentially a job-application offer to the Berlin Graf.