A Tribute to Gustav Leonhardt, The Last Recordings

Featuring

Gustav Leonhardt
Monika Frimmer
Robin Blaze
Markus Schäfer
Stephan MacLeod
Café Zimmermann

Les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles
François Couperin
Abraham van den Kerckhoven
Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer
Georg Muffat
Louis Marchand
John Blow
Girolamo Frescobaldi
Louis Couperin
Hans Leo Hassler (von Roseneck)
Nicholas Strogers
William Byrd
John Bull
Orlando Gibbons
Johann Pachelbel
Johann Christoph Bach
Christian Ritter
Johann Sebastian Bach

Did you know?

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Recording & Production

During recording sessions, Gustav Leonhardt would sit in silence for ten minutes before each take, a ritual observed by those who worked with him.

Performer Biography

Gustav Leonhardt, to whom this album is a tribute, was an artistic director for the complete Bach cantata recordings for Telefunken in the 1970s.

Interpretation

Gustav Leonhardt was known for his unique ability to make the harpsichord sound like other instruments, such as a lute, theorbo, soprano, tenor, oboe, or violin.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Gustav Leonhardt believed that beauty reveals truth and that an interpreter must approach the musical text with great humility, as the ego can taint the score.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Gustav Leonhardt was described as a great orator and rhetorician, who would transgress norms while imposing his own standards without compromise.

Interpretation

Gustav Leonhardt's conducting style was characterized by energy, clarity, gracefulness, and elegance, following a period of silence and stillness before the performance.