Camerata Bern

By ''Early Viennese School'' is meant the group of composers contemporary, in the capital city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with Haydn and Mozart. Not all of it is particularly early; indeed Albrechtsberger, Vanhal and Salieri lived well into the nineteenth century. And it is arguable whether the Viennese of this period really represent a 'school' in the sense that the Mannheimers, or even the North Germans, clearly do; Vienna was a great musical clearing-house, wide open to influences (French and especially Italian opera were much performed there all through this period), and it is perhaps better to regard Viennese composition of the time as representing a wide spectrum of dialect within the late eighteenth-century lingua franca.

"For me, Mozart’s music is timeless and not linked to any specific instrument. It communicates a sense of pure joy, a lightness based on depth, a feeling of unbridled singing. It evokes images of an exuberant child dancing across a meadow. That’s Mozart’s spirit for me: an unconditional devotion to life, a love for reality, acceptance and ultimately reconciliation."

The box-set traces the history of Archiv from 1947, when the first recordings were made (Helmut Walcha playing Bach organ works), to a bonus CD featuring selections from the new 2013 albums mentioned above. A complete overview is appended. In between comes a sequence of albums several of which are new to CD from the great names of the label, from Walcha, Wenzinger and Safford Cape, through Karl Richter, Nikolas Harnoncourt and Sir Charles Mackerras…

Lebrun & Mozart - Heinz Holliger - Oboe Concertos
Lebrun: Camerata Bern / Thomas Füri - Mozart: Münchener Kammerorchester / Hans Stadlmair
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 435 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Archiv Produktion # 471 724-2 | Country/Year: Germany 2003, 1965, 1980-82
Genre: Classical | Style: Viennese School

…these recordings were nothing short of "must haves". While – in the intervening years – performance practices have encountered emendation and musical aesthetics have been altered, the immense musical and artistic value of these performances still holds.