Two of the four works by Carl Friedrich Abel on this album, Sinfonie Concertanti WKO 42 and 43, are world premiere recordings, released to mark his 300th birthday.
Composer Biography
Carl Friedrich Abel, the composer, and Johann Christian Bach, the youngest son of J.S. Bach, together ran the famous Bach-Abel Concerts in London for seventeen years.
Composer Biography
Carl Friedrich Abel struggled with severe alcoholism in his later years, which impacted his ability to compose, though he maintained his improvisational skills on the viola da gamba.
Performer Biography
Bruno Delepelaire, the cellist on this recording, became the 1st Solo-Cellist of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2013, just one year after moving to Berlin.
Historical Context
Carl Friedrich Abel's father, Christian Ferdinand Abel, was a gambist at the court of Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Köthen, where Johann Sebastian Bach later became Kapellmeister.
Historical Context
In 1782, Carl Friedrich Abel visited the Prussian court, bringing these cello concertos to impress Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, who was a passionate gamba and cello player.
Critical Reception
The Sinfonia Concertante WKO 42 was so popular that it was performed ten times in seven years, an extraordinary success given that audiences at the time preferred new music.
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