Albinoni Erato

Although known almost exclusively for his instrumental concertos and the spurious Adagio attributed to him, Tomaso Albinoni was mainly a man of the theater; he composed 81 operas and, late in life, made his living as a singing coach. However, the best efforts of posterity to catch up with Albinoni's operatic creations are significantly stymied by the fact that only three of his stage works are fully extant, the rest preserved only in occasional and fugitive fragments in the form of single arias and other bits and pieces. "Il Nascimento dell'Aurora" is a serenata – or more specifically, a "festa pastorale" – a kind of courtly entertainment not really meant to be specifically dramatic or compelling and, in this case, dealing with the birth of Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora ….

Although known almost exclusively for his instrumental concertos and the spurious Adagio attributed to him, Tomaso Albinoni was mainly a man of the theater; he composed 81 operas and, late in life, made his living as a singing coach. However, the best efforts of posterity to catch up with Albinoni's operatic creations are significantly stymied by the fact that only three of his stage works are fully extant, the rest preserved only in occasional and fugitive fragments in the form of single arias and other bits and pieces. "Il Nascimento dell'Aurora" is a serenata – or more specifically, a "festa pastorale" – a kind of courtly entertainment not really meant to be specifically dramatic or compelling and, in this case, dealing with the birth of Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora ….

During the 1990s, Collegium Musicum 90 and Simon Standage released several volumes of Albinoni concertos, which proved popular with critics and public alike. The concertos were released as discs of single oboe concertos, double oboe concertos, and string concertos. In this re-issue on the Chaconne label, the concertos are presented in opus number order, showing the contrasting colours and tonalities of the concertos as they originally appeared.

This is a fine recording of the complete set of concertos for strings with solo violin and harpsichord by Tomaso Albinoni, performed by I Solisti Veneti directed by Claudio Scimone. Albinoni was a contemporary of the better-known Antonio Vivaldi and wrote concertos in a similar style. String instruments much as we know them today were developed in Cremona in the 17th and 18th centuries by three families in particular - Amati, Guarneri and Stradivari - to replace the viols that had been used in the previous centuries. As a result there were several composers, in Italy especially but also elsewhere in Europe, who composed works for these exciting new-sounding instruments.

This compilation is a perfect work/study/contemplation CD, when you want to reduce the hum and din of modern life. It's wonderfully played, and has 23 tracks for a total of 72:45 minutes of melodic, serene music. The famous Adagio in G minor, so often heard in films, etc., is here given a lovely rendition. Played a little faster than most other versions, with the individual instruments (especially the harpsichord) being heard clearly. It's not as lush and smooth as some recordings, but crisper, and to my ears, absolutely delightful. It's hard to pick favorites among the other selections…each piece is a baroque beauty that flows well from one track to the next. I'm sure this CD will please most people who like 18th century music.

Concertos pour hautbois (Marcello, Haendel, Telemann, Albinoni, Cimarosa)
1954-1965 | Ape+Cue | Cover Scans | 77':04'' | 356 MB | 4 RARs

Considéré comme l'un des hautboïstes français les plus renommés, Pierre Pierlot est né le 26 avril 1921 à Paris et décédé le 9 janvier 2007.
Après des études musicales au Conservatoire de Valenciennes avec Gaston Longatte, Pierre Pierlot entre au conservatoire de Paris dans la classe de Louis Bleuzet et obtient en 1941 un premier prix de hautbois et de musique de chambre, classe de Fernand Oubradous. En 1949, il remporte le premier prix au concours international de Genève dont il a été plusieurs fois membre du jury ainsi que ceux de Munich et Budapest.
En 1946, de son amitié avec le flûtiste Jean-Pierre Rampal naît le Quintette à vent français avec Jacques Lancelot à la clarinette, Gilbert Coursier au cor et Paul Hongne au basson. À partir de 1952, Pierre Pierlot est membre de l’Ensemble baroque de Paris avec Robert Veyron-Lacroix et Robert Gendre.
Après les Concerts Lamoureux où il crée la "Symphonie concertante" de Jacques Ibert, il entre à l’orchestre de l’Opéra-comique en 1947 jusqu'à sa fermeture en 1972, devenant hautbois solo de l'orchestre de l'opéra de Paris. Nommé professeur de musique de chambre en 1969 au conservatoire national supérieur de Paris, il prendra la suite en 1974 de la classe de hautbois d'Étienne Baudo jusqu'en 1986. Durant cette période 47 de ses élèves obtiennent le Premier Prix.
Concertiste et chambriste reconnu du monde entier, dédicataire du concerto de Milhaud (1958) et du concerto de Martelli (1972), ses enregistrements des plus grands concertos pour hautbois d'Albinoni à Vivaldi, de Cimarosa à Mozart, ou de Strauss à Poulenc, avec les orchestres de Kurt Redel, Claudio Scimone et Jean-François Paillard restent et resteront des références en particulier "Le Charme du Hautbois" (I Solisti Veneti, Erato).
Son fils Philippe est flûtiste à l’Orchestre National de France.

Maurice André rightly earned the reputation of being one of the finest trumpet virtuosos from the 20th and 21st centuries. He made numerous concert appearances and recordings and inspired composers like Blacher, Jolivet, and Tomasi to write major works for his instrument. André was born in the Cévennes district of southern France. Young Maurice began taking vocal instruction (solfeggio) at age ten, but two years later, influenced by his father – a miner, but also an excellent amateur trumpeter – began playing the cornet and eventually the trumpet. But he also followed his father's occupation, becoming a miner at age 14. It was not long until his father realized the depth of his son's talent and arranged lessons for him with local teacher Leon Barthélémy. Because his father's wages were meager, André could not consider study at the Paris Conservatory, but through Barthélémy's clever plan, he gained admittance, tuition-free, by first joining a military band.

Maurice André rightly earned the reputation of being one of the finest trumpet virtuosos from the 20th and 21st centuries. He made numerous concert appearances and recordings and inspired composers like Blacher, Jolivet, and Tomasi to write major works for his instrument. André was born in the Cévennes district of southern France. Young Maurice began taking vocal instruction (solfeggio) at age ten, but two years later, influenced by his father – a miner, but also an excellent amateur trumpeter – began playing the cornet and eventually the trumpet. But he also followed his father's occupation, becoming a miner at age 14. It was not long until his father realized the depth of his son's talent and arranged lessons for him with local teacher Leon Barthélémy. Because his father's wages were meager, André could not consider study at the Paris Conservatory, but through Barthélémy's clever plan, he gained admittance, tuition-free, by first joining a military band.