The violin and the concerto shared a common history until the end of the 18th century when the piano, championed by Mozart, supplanted the violin as the "king of instruments."
Composer Biography
Johann Gottlieb Graun, a composer featured on this album, was the first musician to belong to the private chapel of Frederick II of Prussia, serving as Konzertmeister until his death.
Composer Biography
Joseph Bologne de Saint-Georges, a composer on this album, was born in Guadeloupe to an enslaved mother and a plantation owner, and moved to France in 1753.
Compositional Technique
Before Viennese classicism, the concerto did not have a generic form common across Europe; instead, different national or regional schools coexisted, each with its own stylistic characteristics.
Composer Biography
Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen, a composer on this album, was educated at the Ospedale Mendicanti, an orphanage in Venice, and was a pupil of the renowned violinist Giuseppe Tartini.
Historical Context
The orchestra of Frederick II of Prussia, which included composers like Graun and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, was grouped by Charles Burney under the standard of 'The School of Berlin'.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The 'School of Berlin', which included Franz Benda, was at the origin of the 'sensitive' or empfindsamer trend, proclaiming music's ability to portray the affects of the human soul.
You might also enjoy...
Baroque Violin Concertos
Bach: Violin Concertos etc
Haydn: Violin Concertos
Bach: Concerto No. 1, BWV 1041 in A Minor, Concerto No. 2, BWV 1042 in E
