Regiment From 2012 02

The Collector's Edition - Celebrating a groundbreaking label - The true legacy of a legendary label. Long hailed as an audiophile's label, Mercury represents an important milestone in the history of classical recordings. A s The New York Times described, 'One feels oneself in the living presence of the orchestra'. 60 years after the landmark first recording, Mercury Living Presence: The Collector's Edition celebrates this special anniversary.

As a drummer for a Dutch infantry regiment, German born Friedrich Hartmann Graf (1727-1795) was captured during the War of the Austrian Succession. Upon his release, he took up the flute and became a traveling virtuoso. After a stint in The Hague with his older brother Christian Ernst (1723-1805), he accepted a position in Augsburg where he composed most of his 46 flute concertos. All four on this disc follow the standard format of ‘fast-slow-fast’, and were probably composed in the 1770’s, the first 2 likely near the end of the decade. Written in C Major, the opening ‘Allegro’ of the first concerto is thoroughly engaging.

Since founding Bach Collegium Japan in 1990, Masaaki Suzuki has established himself as a leading authority on the works of Bach. He has remained their Music Director ever since, taking them regularly to major venues and festivals in Europe and the USA and building up an outstanding reputation for the expressive refinement and truth of his performances.

The Korngold revival is gathering fabulous momentum as the composer’s centenary (29 May 1997) approaches. Now Matthias Bamert and the BBC Philharmonic give us the first ever recording of the charming military march written by Korngold for his regiment in the First World War, the best-yet recording of the bizarre Left Hand Piano Concerto and full-blooded accounts of the Cello Concerto and Symphonic Serenade, all delivered with the sensitivity and sensuality that their earlier recording of the Sinfonietta also boasted.