Ouverture Burlesque

Eugen Jochum (1 November 1902 – 26 March 1987) was an eminent German conductor. He became famous primarily as an interpreter of Anton Bruckner's works. He became the first conductor to perform a complete recording of the nine symphonies of this composer.

The three orchestral suites on this disc afford splendid examples of Telemann's seemingly inexhaustible invention in this sphere. The best-known of the suites is that in C major for three oboes, bassoon and strings. It's one of countless pieces that demonstrate Telemann's sympathy for and knowledge of the oboe. The movements are effectively contrasted with the composer juxtaposing for example a vigorous Bourree en trompette with a drowsy ''Sommeille'' whose somnolent quavers have almost hypnotic powers. Pinnock revels in scene-painting of this kind, just as he invariably hits upon effective tempos for the dances.

World premiere recordings as well as relaxing favourites (including the famous Gymnopedie No. 1) from France's chicest, quirkiest composer. Alexandre Tharaud is renowned as an expert in French chamber music. Features acclaimed violinist Isabelle Faust. Beautifully packaged 2-CD set with access to downloads of extra bonus tracks. 'My aim in these two discs has been to offer the richest possible panorama of Satie's piano and chamber music, spanning his whole lifetime. Immersed in the world of Satie, we were touched, and often deeply moved by the trust he shows in his interpreters."

Le Jugement de Midas (The Judgement of Midas) is a French comédie mêlée d'ariettes (a kind of opéra comique), in three acts by André Grétry dedicated to . It was first performed, with amateur singers, on 28 March 1778 in the private little theatre set up by Madame de Montesson in the apartments of her secret husband Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans at the Palais-Royal in Paris. Libretto is by the Irish playwright Thomas Hales (also known by the French name Thomas d'Hèle) with additional contributions by Louis Anseaume. It was based on the burlesque opera Midas (1760) by Kane O'Hara. The public premiere at the Comédie-Italienne took place on 27 June 1778.

Written at the request of Louis XIV in honor of his sister-in-law, Henrietta of England, Lully's Le Ballet royal de la naissance de Vénus was performed in 1665 with Henrietta herself as the goddess of love and youth. This grandiose spectacle combining dancing, music and poetry, served the power of the king, while attesting to the magnificence of his court. Musically very inventive, it shows the culmination of the ballet genre. The recording, from Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques is completed by excerpts from Les Amours déguisés, Psyché, Le Bourgeois gentilhomme and Le Carnaval.

In the early 1950s Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau began what would become a long and distinguished career as one of his generation’s foremost Bach interpreters. By 1981, when he and his wife Julia Varady made this recording for Philips, his declining vocal abilities apparently didn’t prevent him from continuing to deliver the kind of infectious, exuberant performances that established that reputation and endeared him to so many listeners.