Gottlieb Garvo

ll Pomo d’Oro and Zefira Valova focus here on the little-known violin concertos of the second half of the eighteenth century. Bringing together the works of Franz Benda and his elder Johann Gottlieb Graun (in a world premiere recording), pillars of the orchestra at the court of Frederick II of Prussia, as well as those of the Venetian virtuoso Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen and the iconoclastic Georges Bologne de Saint-Georges (also in a world premiere recording), this recording offers a bright panorama of the evolution of the genre, culminating in Mozart’s achievements in the last quarter of the century, of which Il Pomo d’Oro and Zefira Valova offer us a glimpse with the famous Rondo in C K. 373.

For this second recording in duo, Lucile Boulanger and Arnaud de Pasquale propose a journey to 18th-century Germany, in the marvellous setting of the Sans Souci palace where Frederick II of Prussia had established his court. This disc, reflecting the extraordinary conjuncture experienced by the court of Berlin under Frederick II, brings together some of the virtuosic works for viola da gamba and fortepiano by Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, Johann Gottlieb Graun or Ludwig Christian Hesse and attesting to the results of fruitful collaborations between the composers at that court.

Many important Baroque composers and their music found their way to Denmark – thanks not least to the music-loving King Frederik IV. This CD presents a unique musical panorama of the King's court music and combines concertos by Christoph Graupner, Johann Adolph Scheibe and Johann Gottlieb Graun with newly discovered dance music for the King’s daughter, Princess Charlotte Amalie, reconstructed for this world premiere recording by Danish recorder virtuoso Bolette Roed and the Polish Baroque ensemble Arte dei Suonatori.