Elizabeth Wallfisch Complete Violin Concertos, Vol. 5

With the release of this second disc in violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch's survey of the complete violin concertos of Telemann, one thing is readily apparent: the Hamburg composer wrote a lot of really fine violin concertos. Taken altogether, the seven concertos on the first volume and now these eight concertos on the second volume form a wonderful body of work as remarkable for its consistency and its diversity. That is to say, all the works are not only superbly written to show off the virtuosity of the soloist and the composer, but they are all markedly different from each other.

The fourth volume of CPO’s set of Telemann’s “complete violin concertos” contains three overture-concertos, two works of which kind appeared in a previous volume (in D, TWV 55:D14; in A, TWV 55: colla parte , but woodwind highlights don’t distract from the sometimes brilliant solos that emerge not only in the fast sections of the first movements (ouvertures), but in the jaunty movements like the G-Major Concerto’s Bourée (these concertos usually consist of an ouverture followed by sets of dances, including entrées, bourées, loures, menuets, siciliennes, gigues, and rondeaus, mixed in various orders).

…this is the third instalment of a very fine series. The best work is the Concerto in D, which has movement titles like Badinage and is wonderfully inventive…Wallfisch is joined by Susan Carpenter-Jacobs for some very elegant duetting.

In this, the first disc in a series covering the violin concertos of Telemann (of which there are twenty), we have cause for rejoicing. These performances are so fine, and this music so appealing and elegant, that I immediately listened to the entire disc through a second time…. rare praise indeed.