Vivaldi’s Concerti Ripieni are probably the most unusual works written by the Venetian composer. Some of these pieces, however, are particularly exceptional for various reasons, especially considering the artistic environment in early 18th century Venice. This recording presents Vivaldi’s most brilliant and at the same time bizarre works from this genre. These compositional experiments are sometimes quite extreme and far ahead of their time, such as the enigmatic Concerto Conca, the solemn Sinfonia Al Santo Sepolcro, the avant-garde and at the same time archaic Concerto Alla Rustica. This recording is the first collaboration of the Academia Montis Regalis with Enrico Onofri as principal conductor.
The musical styles of Europe always arrive a bit later in Spain, but with the avantage that they are transformed to full maturity. This cd shows a unique version of how a symphony by Haydn was transformed for a performance in the Cahedral of Sevilla. But the real interest are the till yet unrecorded masterpieces by Antonio Ripa and Joseph Barrera. As always Enrico Onofri ensures a top...
Small size, four gut strings, a short bow were at beginning the ingredients of the magic. Such magic happened in Italy, the cradle of the violin, during the seventeenth century. “Seicento!” is therefore a multifaceted time-travel through the Early Baroque, from Venice to Sicily, exploring the wonders of the first violin virtuosos and their dexterous-passionated playing. A collection of music...
During the height of its popularity, from the mid-16th century into the 18th, the cornetto was frequently depicted in art as an instrument of angels. Paintings, sculptures, and engravings abound in which the cornetto takes a prominent place among choirs of angelic musicians, usually paired with at least one voice and with other instruments such as the organ, viol, lute, harp, violin and...
Sebastian Bach composed many works for violin (besides the pieces for organ and harpsichord, the two instruments he mainly played). He had learned to play the violin as a child and knew its characteristics perfectly well. Unfortunately, the manuscripts of many of his compositions were lost after his death: the three sonatas for violin and basso continuo BWV 1021, 1023 and 1024 are today a small...
The musical styles of Europe always arrive a bit later in Spain, but with the avantage that they are transformed to full maturity. This cd shows a unique version of how a symphony by Haydn was transformed for a performance in the Cahedral of Sevilla. But the real interest are the till yet unrecorded masterpieces by Antonio Ripa and Joseph Barrera. As always Enrico Onofri ensures a top...
Just like most German composers of his time, Telemann was very well acquainted with the stylistic developments in the other European countries, Italy and France in particular, and in his own compositions he assimilated the various national styles: the Lully Ouverture, the stylized French dances and the Italian trio sonata and concerto. Telemann’s contribution to these forms and genres was...
With this CD, violinist Mayumi Hirasaki, who has been Concerto Köln’s concertmaster since 2011, explores the chameleon-like possibilities of her instrument: when playing with scordatura, instead of the usual fifths interval between the violin strings, an alternative is used in which at least one string is tuned to a different pitch. This results in completely new sonic and harmonic...
Brahms composed only a small number of original works for piano four hands, but arranged almost all of his chamber music and orchestral works for this instrumentation. He played most of them immediately after their completion with Clara Schumann and greatly appreciated her opinion. In his Hungarian Dances Brahms brilliantly transformed original Hungarian melodies and rhythms into multi-coloured...
