Gottlieb Garvo

Brothers Johann Gottlieb and Carl Heinrich Graun were highly influential and popular figures in 18th Century Berlin. As musicians of the court of Frederick the Great, Carl Heinrich became an important figure at the new Berlin Court Opera, while Johann Gottlieb strongly influenced early classicism in general as a violinist and composer. The name Graun was like a seal of approval in those days for zestful music rich in ideas, displayed perfectly by this collection of concertos. Oboist Xenia Löffler, a member of the Akademie fu"r Alte Musik Berlin, has distinguished herself as a specialist for the North German repertoire of this period.

This disc presents a programme of Concerti by the brothers Johann Gottlieb and Carl Heinrich Graun. Unfortunately the brief attributions ‘del Sig re Graun’ or simply ‘di Graun’ on the manuscripts mean the Concerti cannot always be assigned with certainty to one or the other. Nevertheless these Concerti, performed by Cappella Academica Frankfurt, are full of colour and contain all the stylistic idioms of the transitional period between the Baroque and Classical periods.

Gottlieb Muffat ( 1690-1770) came from a large family of nine children which was not unusual for the time when infantile mortality rate was high. His father Georg Muffat was a composer himself and a Kappellmeister who also served as an organist at the court of the Bishop of Passau. Four of his children were to become musicians including our composer Gottlieb who settled down in Vienna after his father's death.

ohann Gottlieb Janitsch (1708-1763), was born in Silesia (then under Austria, but Prussia from 1742 and now part of Poland) and followed a normal career path for a musician in Mitteleuropa, culminating as contraviolonist in the Royal Orchestra of the Court of Prussia from 1736 until his death in 1763. Janitsch also composed ballet music for the Royal Court Opera), rehearsed the opera chorus, and composed music for the balls held at the opera house during carnival-time. Janitsch was also called on to participate in the intimate concerts that took place in the king’s private apartments at Sanssouci, alongside a number of instrumentalist-composers including C.Ph.E. Bach and Johann Joachim Quantz.

Instrumental works utterly dominate the extensive oeuvre of Johann Gottlieb Graun. It is hardly surprising that among them (besides overtures, symphonies, quartets, trios, and wind concertos) he wrote a great number of concertos and solo sonatas for the violin. He composed at least 83 solo concertos, double concertos, and several ensemble concertos with solo violin. The concerto by Markus Heinrich Grauel on this CD may be taken as an example of Graun's influence.

Johann Sebastian Bach - Felix Gottlieb - The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080
EAC+LOG+CUE | 2xWV: 535 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Melodiya # MEL CD 10 01645 | Country/Year: Russia 2009, 1987
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque

Felix Gottlieb studied at the Moscow Conservatory in Moscow under Emil Gilels, one of the most brilliant pianists of the past century. He was awarded the prize for 'best pianist for chamber music' at the 5th International Tchaikovsky Competition. In 1990 he emigrated to Germany was offered a professorship in Stuttgart. He has produced numerous recordings for EMI, RCA, Victor and Melodiya.