The two discs of Handel organ concertos offer nine of the 16 published concertos: all six from op. 4, two from op.7 and the concerto in F, HWV 308. Daniel Chorzempa’s readings with Schröder and the period instrument Concerto Amsterdam were highly regarded when they were new and hold up 28 years down the road.
On this CD Jorg Halubek and his Ensemble "Il Gusto Barocco" attempt a reconstruction of three of Bach's organ concertos that today are primarily treated as harpsichord concertos. How thrilling must it have sounded when Johann Sebastian Bach at the organ engaged in a contest of virtuosity with an entire orchestra. The present recording offers a tangible and imaginative impression of it.
Many of us tend to pigeonhole composers; we think of Beethoven and Brahms as symphonists (and rightly so) and associate the name of Mozart with his 20-odd piano concertos. With Haydn we might answer with either the symphony or his unassailable settings of the Latin Mass. Seldom—if ever¬—is the gentleman from Rohrau, Lower Austria, thought of as a composer of concertos. But Haydn wrote a respectable number of them, including ones for flute, bassoon, and double bass that are irretrievably lost.
Conclusion of a Sensational and Unprecedented Edition. We are now finally presenting to you our last CD featuring Handels organ concertos in the version for piano and orchestra. The positive response to our first two CDs in this series has shown that the transfer of the solo part of Handels organ concertos to todays piano is a logical and obvious move. Johann Sebastian Bachs harpsichord concertos belong to the standard repertoire of all world-class pianists, and the same principle truly applies to Handel.
A generous collection of Haydn Concertos, Overtures and Dances, this 2CD set offers the Philips recordings of the Cello Concertos and the Argo recordings of the remaining works. Although released in various reissues, the Marriner/Argo Haydn Concertos have never before been offered together and this collection offers a great opportunity to explore these recordings from 1966–69. Familiar works such as the E flat major Trumpet Concerto and the two Cello Concertos appear together with the little-known Organ Co’ncerto. Also on offer, are two sets of German Dances/Allemandes (both making their first appearance on CD) and a pair of Overtures, of which that for Acide e Galatea’ is a first-on-CD release.