Telemann: The Grand Concertos for Mixed Instruments, Vol. 4

Featuring

Michael Schneider
Martin Stadler
Ingeborg Scheerer
Hans Peter Westermann
Annette Spehr
Hannes Rux

Annette Wehnert
Karl Kaiser
La Stagione Frankfurt
Georg Philipp Telemann

Did you know?

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Michael Schneider, the founder of La Stagione Frankfurt, is dedicated to discovering forgotten masterpieces and performing both unknown and popular works with a fresh musical approach, under the motto 'To make the unheard heard'.

Composition History

One of Telemann's concertos on this album, the C minor Concerto, was mistakenly attributed to Vivaldi by a Swedish copyist, but an organ transcription by Johann Gottfried Walther confirmed Telemann's authorship.

Compositional Technique

The E minor Concerto uses compositional devices like the 'Neapolitan sixth' and chromatic scales to create a serious, almost religious character, before concluding with rhythms inspired by Polish folk music.

Composition History

The F major Concerto for two horns, recorder, oboe, two cellos, strings, and continuo was originally conceived with two additional chalumeaux, but these were removed in surviving arrangements because the instruments were unavailable at the courts where it was performed.

Performer Biography

La Stagione Frankfurt, founded in 1988 by Michael Schneider, has earned a unique place among leading early music ensembles, performing opera, oratorio, and symphonic works.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Telemann believed that when melodic invention was exhausted, composers should explore new harmonic paths, a principle he discussed with Dresden concertmaster Johann Georg Pisendel as early as 1711.

Compositional Technique

The D major Concerto for trumpet, oboes, violins, viola, and continuo uses an older concertante principle where each part stands out and competes with others, rather than the modern tutti-solo contrast.