There are two different scholarly explanations of the origin of Bach's Concerto for Three Harpsichords in D minor. One holds that the work is a transcription or arrangement of works by other composers in the manner of Bach's adaptation of the violin concertos for organ. Given the originality and the expressivity of the D minor concerto, this explanation seems unlikely to other scholars, who assert instead that the work was composed by Bach for domestic musicmaking between himself and his two eldest sons, Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philip Emmanuel. These scholars point to the dominance of the first harpsichord part, especially to its two cadenzas in the opening movement, and to the Germanic gravitas of the unison theme that permeates the opening movement like the unison theme of the Harpsichord Concerto in D minor (BWV 1052). Whichever explanation is correct (and at this point, it is unlikely that conclusive proof will ever be found), all scholars agree that the Concerto for Three Harpsichords in D minor is one of Bach's finest concerted works. The weight and power of the fast outer movements, the pathos of the central Alla Siciliano, the beauty of the work's melodies, and the contrapuntal skill with which they are developed all place this concerto among Bach's best harpsichord concertos.

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