Influencers: the Bachs, Mozart, & Haydn

Half peeled pomegranates sit on a grey background. Three white pearls rest on the fruit.

Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre

April 10, 2026 8:00 pm
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Move over Instagram!

For the original influencers, look no further than the Bach family.
Sons of the great J.S. Bach, Johann Christian and Carl Philipp Emanuel wrote music in a style that bridged the baroque and classical periods. Using musical idioms that favoured melody, drama and elegance, they paved the way for classical icons like Mozart and Haydn.

Directed from the violin by Principal Guest Director Rachel Podger, our program traces the synergies among these composers, whose mutual admiration was well known. In fact, J.C. Bach was like a father figure to Mozart, who played keyboard duets with him as a child.

CPE Bach’s mercurial Cello Concerto in A Major features Tafelmusik’s own “ravishing” (Concerto.net) Keiran Campbell as soloist in a showcase that alternates lyricism with virtuosity. Meanwhile, Podger continues her exploration of Mozart’s violin concertos with Tafelmusik, this time turning her attention to the Concerto no. 3 and displaying her “astoundingly mature” affinity (Musicweb International) for the composer’s music.   

Opening with J.C. Bach’s dramatic Sinfonia in G Minor, our matrix of classical influencers concludes with the “razor sharp” and “sensational” combination (Early Music America) of Podger leading Tafelmusik in Haydn’s intense Symphony no. 52. 

Guest Artists
Credits & Program
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Running Time
120 minutes
Style of Music
Classical orchestral

Guest artists

A headshot of Rachel Podger

Rachel Podger

Principal guest director & violin soloist

Rachel Podger, “the unsurpassed British glory of the baroque violin” (The Times), has established herself as a leading interpreter of baroque and classical music. She was the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Royal Academy of Music/Kohn Foundation Bach Prize in October 2015, Gramophone Artist of the Year 2018, and the Ambassador for REMA’s Early Music Day 2020. A creative programmer, she is the founder and Artistic Director of Brecon Baroque Festival and her ensemble Brecon Baroque, is Patron of The Continuo Foundation, and an Ambassador for the Learned Society of Wales. 

Rachel was awarded BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Year and Instrumental Award for her solo albumTutta sola. Recent releases include The Muses Restor’d with Brecon Baroque, The Best of Biber 1681 Sonatas, and Haydn Symphonies 43 & 49 with Tafelmusik, described as “sensational” (Early Music America). A dedicated educator, she holds the Micaela Comberti Chair for Baroque Violin at the Royal Academy of Music, and the Jane Hodge Foundation International Chair in Baroque Violin at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Rachel also has a regular relationship with The Juilliard School in New York.

Rachel Podger took up the position of Principal Guest Director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in September 2024.

Performers

Keiran Campbell cello soloist
Tafelmusik Orchestra, on period instruments
Directed by Rachel Podger, violin soloist

Program

J.C. Bach Sinfonia in G Minor
Mozart Violin concerto no. 3 (Rachel Podger, violin soloist)
C.P.E. Bach Cello concerto in A Major (Keiran Campbell, cello soloist)
Haydn Symphony no. 52 in C Minor

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