Telemann: Oboe Concertos

Featuring

Donatas Katkus
Andrius Puskunigis
St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra
Georg Philipp Telemann

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Performer Biography

The St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1994 by Donatas Katkus, is known for its wide range of musical styles, from Baroque to contemporary, and for initiating the rebirth of Baroque period performance in Lithuania.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Telemann was an independent spirit who embraced various national styles—German, Polish, French, and Italian—and all musical genres, influencing contemporaries like J.S. Bach and Handel.

Compositional Technique

Telemann championed the modern concept of accompanied melody, contrasting with the traditional counterpoint advocated by chapel master W.C. Printz.

Composer Biography

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was largely self-taught and, despite family opposition, became one of the most important musicians in Germany during his lifetime.

Performer Biography

Andrius Puskunigis, the oboist on this album, began playing the oboe at age five under his father's guidance and later studied in France and Germany.

Performer Biography

Andrius Puskunigis is the first solo oboist of the Heidelberger Sinfoniker and has previously recorded Haydn's Sinfonia Concertante No.105 with them.

Compositional Technique

Telemann's concertos often follow the four-movement structure of the concerto da chiesa (church concerto) and adopt the Italianate style, emphasizing contrast between the virtuoso solo instrument and the orchestra.