HAGEN: Lute Sonatas / Locatelli Variations

Featuring

Robert Barto
Bernhard Joachim Hagen

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Performer Biography

Robert Barto, the performer, won first prize in the International Lute Competition in Toronto, Canada, and the top prize for all instrumental soloists in the Musica Antiqua Competition in Bruges, Belgium, both in 1984.

Compositional Technique

Hagen's command of the lute is evident in his solo sonatas, which were likely conceived for the instrument and showcase 'pre-classical' music with technical brilliance and melodic grace.

Instruments

Hagen's music represents the last major contribution to the lute repertoire, at a time when the instrument was becoming a rarity and virtually disappearing from the European musical scene.

Historical Context

For German aristocrats of the 18th century, cultivating the arts was considered almost a moral duty, seen as a way to moderate the harshness of their responsibilities within the hierarchy of absolutism.

Composer Biography

Joachim Bernhard Hagen (1720-1787), the composer, was primarily a violinist but must have studied the lute from an early age, possibly with Adam Falckenhagen, a former pupil of the great lutenist Silvius Leopold Weiss.

Composer Biography

Hagen was known as 'the famous lutenist and chamber musician of his Highness the Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth' and performed lute solos and duets with his brother, as well as violin concertos.