Alayrac Overtures

The art of Shakespeare was a recurring fascination for Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. In addition to two operas and numerous settings of songs and sonnets, he wrote 11 Shakespeare Overtures which here receive their first ever complete recording. Deploying all the resources of the symphony orchestra, these are some of the twentieth century’s most dramatic and tuneful orchestral works, spectacular evocations of Shakespeare’s greatest plays.

A generous selection of 33 Overtures (or Orchestral Suites) by Georg Philipp Telemann, formerly issued separately, now collected in one 8-CD set. Telemann’s Suites are written for strings and several solo instruments such as flute, oboe, bassoon or horn (each overture has a different instrumentation), beginning with a grand Overture in French style, followed by a suite of shorter dance movements.

In the 19th century, the first violin section in Dutch orchestras often contained amateur players. In fact, even the “orchestra associations” in Utrecht, Rotterdam and Amsterdam were not composed entirely of professional musicians, with a significant number of members being amateurs. This mixed line-up of musicians and a strong leaning towards German and French composers had a profound effect on the choice of repertoire, and a marked preference developed for programmes containing a large number of short and contrasting pieces. This explains the success of the overture, a genre that included both the compressed piece of orchestral foreplay to an opera as well as independent pieces.

In the 19th century, the first violin section in Dutch orchestras often contained amateur players. In fact, even the “orchestra associations” in Utrecht, Rotterdam and Amsterdam were not composed entirely of professional musicians, with a significant number of members being amateurs. This mixed line-up of musicians and a strong leaning towards German and French composers had a profound effect on the choice of repertoire, and a marked preference developed for programmes containing a large number of short and contrasting pieces. This explains the success of the overture, a genre that included both the compressed piece of orchestral foreplay to an opera as well as independent pieces.