Freiburger Barockorchester And Gottfried Von Der Goltz

Of the 29 million recordings of Vivaldi's perennial masterpiece the Four Seasons, this astoundingly beautiful, astonishingly virtuosic recording by Gottfried von der Goltz and the Freiburger Barockorchester with Andrew Lawrence-King directing the Harp Consort on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi runs a little bit back from the head of the pack. Because, with 29 million recordings, it's hard to take the lead. So while von der Goltz plays with a piquant tone and a pungent technique, plus enough panache to put across even the most hoary old phrases; and the Barockorchester plays with superb poise and supreme skill, plus enough tone color to shade every subtlety of the Four Seasons; and Deutsche Harmonia Mundi's sound has enough polish and punch, plus enough presence, to make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end, there are still a good two-dozen recordings as fine as this one…

Gottfried von der Goltz, first violin and conductor of the first-rate Freiburger Barockorchester comes back with a new album dedicated to the violin sonatas of a young - and already brilliant - Telemann. Rarely recorded, these works show a very surprising form as they allow the musician total freedom of expression and ornamentation. These features demonstrate also the unique creative inventiveness already in germ in Telemann’s music.

The Konzertmeister of the Freiburger Barockorchester, Gottfried von der Goltz, finally records the masterpiece of the repertoire for solo violin: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas. Nicolas Bartholomée’s sound recording conveys the authentic and powerfull interpretation of violinist Gottfried von der Goltz, specialist of baroque repertoire. Each intention of his play, which was long matured and constantly serves the message of Bach, is faithfully highlighted. A new unheard version of this musical monument, full of humanity and life.

"Vivaldi’s music enjoyed a cult following in Dresden after its introduction by the composer’s pupil Johann Pisendel, and listening to these works it is not hard to hear why. The two G minor concertos are scored for violin, two recorders, two oboes and strings (with an extra solo oboe in RV576), while the F majors both deploy a line-up of violin, two oboes, two horns and strings – rich stuff, reflecting the sumptuous sound-world of the Electoral orchestra…" - GRAMOPHONE

The eighteenth century is probably the most extraordinary period of transformation Europe has known since antiquity. Political upheavals kept pace with the innumerable inventions and discoveries of the age; every sector of the arts and of intellectual and material life was turned upside down. Between the end of the reign of Louis XIV and the revolution of 1789, music in its turn underwent a radical mutation that struck at the very heart of a well-established musical language. In this domain too, we are all children of the Age of Enlightenment: our conception of music and the way we ‘consume’ it still follows in many respects the agenda set by the eighteenth century. And it is not entirely by chance that harmonia mundi has chosen to offer you in 2011 a survey of this musical revolution which, without claiming to be exhaustive, will enable you to grasp the principal outlines of musical creation between the twilight of the Baroque and the dawn of Romanticism.

This is an excellent and varied selection of composers from the very well known like Palestrina, Monteverdi, Bach and Vivaldi, through the less famous but familiar like Frescobaldi, Sainte-Colombe and Zelenka, to the downright obscure. It is all delightful: the musicians are uniformly excellent, and include such great names as Gustav Leonhardt, Cantus Colln, Christopher Hogwood and so on. They give fine performances both of the familiar works and of the less familiar ones. Obviously there will be discs you like more than others and you may already have favourite versions of some works, but these discs are never less than very good and are often outstanding.

Anyone who enjoys Mozart opera should hear this disc. Yet quite a few people who'd probably love it to death if they listened are going to pass it by. Why? Well, look at the selections - it's not exactly a 'greatest hits' selection in the truly popular sense. Lucio Silla, Il re pastore, Mitridate, Zaïde - hardly front rank Mozart operas in the public consciousness; with Die Entführung we're getting closer - and suddenly you spot track 2, Pamina's gorgeous lament to lost love from The Magic Flute: 'Ach, ich fühl's' - anyone who hears Sandrine Piau singing this famous number will want to experience the rest of the recording no matter what.