Description

This artwork is my impression of a classical music piece now known as “the Air on a G String”, and dedicated to Johann Sebastian Bach’s work. “The Air on a G String” is an arrangement for the violin made in the 19th Century from the Air of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major. Bach originally wrote the suite for his patron Prince Leopold of Anhalt sometime between the years 1717 and 1723. It only attracted this nickname in 1871 when the German violinist August Wilhelmj (1845-1908) made a violin and piano arrangement of the second movement of this orchestral suite. By changing the key into C major and transposing the melody down an octave, Wilhelmj was able to play the piece on only one string of his violin, the G string. Legend says that at the important performance he had all of his strings broken except for one G string, that’s why he had to make this re-arrangement.