Richter: Sonatas for Flute, Harpsichord and Cello, Vol. 1

Featuring

Aapo Häkkinen
Heidi Peltoniemi
Pauliina Fred
Franz Xaver Richter

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Compositional Technique

The harpsichord's role in Richter's Sonate da camera is thematically and contrapuntally rich, treating its upper voice like a second treble solo instrument, similar to J. S. Bach's sonatas with obbligato harpsichord.

Instruments

Pauliina Fred, the flutist, plays a one-keyed transverse flute made in 2006 by Claire Soubeyran, which is modeled after an instrument by Godefroy Adrien Rottenburgh from around 1760.

Composer Biography

Franz Xaver Richter, the composer, may have been taught in Vienna by Johann Joseph Fux, an Imperial Kapellmeister and author of the influential counterpoint treatise Gradus ad Parnassum.

Critical Reception

Dr. Charles Burney, a contemporary music historian, considered Richter one of the foremost Mannheim composers, admiring his instrumental counterpoint and inventive thematic construction.

Compositional Technique

Richter's musical style combines old and new elements, using piquant dissonances and expressive ornamentation characteristic of C.P.E. Bach's empfindsamer Stil, alongside Italianate grace and a fundamental structural model found in his symphonies.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Richter, while connected to the famous Mannheim court orchestra, resisted many new stylistic developments, preferring to root his works in an older tradition, resulting in richer harmonies and more imaginative part-writing.

Performer Biography

Aapo Häkkinen, the harpsichordist, won second prize at the Bruges Harpsichord Competition in 1998 and was awarded the NDR special prize for his interpretations of Italian music.