In the fourth Brandenburg Concerto, Bach continues his exploration of different combinations of instruments. In this case, the formation is a solo trio (“concertino”) made up of a violin and two recorders, accompanied by the usual string orchestra with two violins, viola, violoncello, violone and basso continuo.

The violin has solo passages of high virtuosity, which leads some scholars to consider this work as closer to a violin concerto. This view is reinforced by the fact that the first Allegro opens with the main theme on the flutes, something that would formally allow them to be considered as part of the «ripieno».

The second movement, which could be thought of as a Sarabande due to its triple rhythm and the consistent accent on the second beat of the measure, has the notable feature that it retains the full ensemble rather than using a reduced group.

The concerto closes with an agile fugue in which all the instrumental groups take part, interrupted by a central passage with virtuosic material for solo violin, which leads to the return of the original theme.

Bach adapted this concerto for solo harpsichord and two recorders, cataloged as BWV 1057.