Judishes Wien

Filmed in the architectural splendour of Graz's Gothic-Baroque cathedral, leading Bach authority Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts the famed Tölz Boys Choir and his Vienna Concentus Musicus, playing on period instruments, in the most dramatic of all Passion settings. "In this performance we have attempted to realize Bach's wishes in the most authentic manner possible" (Nikolaus Harnoncourt). "A unique occasion" (Kurier).

The importance of Georg Christoph Wagenseil (1715-1777) in the development of the classical symphony cannot be underestimated, and his concertos were also significant in the formation of the style of early Viennese classicism. As its chief representative, Wagenseil unites Italian, French and German stylistic elements in his works, as was typical of the 'mixed style' of the early 18th century. Moreover, he is considered one of the perfectors of the gallant-sentimental stylistic epoch which became so essential for the formation of classicism in 18th-century music history.

Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, named after their dedicatee the Margrave Christian Ludwig von Brandenburg, have been part of Nikolaus Harnoncourt's permanent repertoire ever since he founded his Concentus musicus ensemble. The ensemble has recorded them and played them on their tours throughout the world.

The fairy Melinde has for ten years been estranged from her husband, Count Arnulf of Montabaur, as a result of his ambitions for their son: he wished to place the boy on the throne of neighbouring Brabant by usurping his niece, Princess Ida. Melinde has hidden their son from his father to protect him from his bad influence. Although Arnulf believes
she has killed him, the young man is living disguised as a minstrel, Palmerin, who owns a remarkable magic harp.

Filmed and directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle in the unique interiors of Vicenza's Teatro Olimpico in 1986, this DVD offers an intimate glimpse of Mozart's first major opera, written when the precocious composer was just fourteen. Nikolaus Harnoncourt leads a stellar cast in portraying the inner circle of the Roman Empire's fiercest enemy: Mithridates, king of Pontus.

This cd contains a rendition of a live concert given november of last year (2012) to commemorate the 200 year anniversary of the "Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde" in Vienna. Mr. Harnoncourt conducts, according to the textbook and some online research that I did, a massively expanded Concentus Musicus Wien, the Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna and soloists Roberta Invernizzi, Werner Gura and Gerald Finley.

This CD is a wonderful selection of shorter works by the composer, including two of his radical programmatic pieces, played with skillful zest or, where appropriate, contained emotion by the Concentius Musicus Wien directed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Originally written for the virtuoso orchestra of the Bishop of Olomouc, the performances here are based on the original, unrevised manuscripts. The collection opens with the "Sonata II a 5 Violae", one of the two included five-part string sonatas, accompanied by a continuo with bass and harpsichord in a lively Allegro, which alternates with brief Adagio interludes, and seques eventually into a skipping triple meter Presto tempo and an Adagio coda.

Haydn composed more than twenty operas, mainly for the sumptuous theatre at Eszterháza, the palace of his long-time employers, the princes of Esterházy. Even so, his work in the operatic field remains largely neglected. This disc focuses on an even more closely guarded secret: the so-called 'insertion arias' that Haydn wrote for inclusion in operas by other composers. The rarely, if at all, recorded music includes Haydn's three contributions to La Circe, an opera pasticcio which combined music by several composers, and six of the surviving insertion arias. Among these is Infelice sventurata, written for an opera by Cimarosa, and one of Haydn's finest arias, here movingly performed by Miah Persson. The Swedish soprano shares the greater part of the programme with the Swiss tenor Bernard Richter.

This well-documented and handsomely presented set is well worth considering. Harnoncourt led the way in ‘authentic’ Bach performances, and in some respects – the slow minuets and the somewhat portentous introductions, for instance – these Sixties recordings differ from more recent practice. But no matter, since the approach is full of life, and the balance allows details to be heard clearly and naturally. The fugal sections are particularly successful.