Franz Dimler was a talented guy. He was hired as a French horn player at Mannheim in 1767. In 1778 he joined the Munich court as a double bass player. And all the while he composed: symphonies, concertos, quartets, and operettas. After his death in 1827, Dimler’s music lapsed into obscurity. So I’m happy to […]
CPO
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Marianna Martines Dixit Dominus has something to say
Musically, Marianna Martines was always in good company. She took keyboard lessons from Haydn. Metastasio — opera librettist and Poet Laureate of the Austrian Empire — was a close family friend. She played four-hand piano sonatas with Mozart. In her lifetime, she was highly regarded as a pianist, a singer, and a composer. This release […]
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Johann Wilhelm Hertel Concertos – light and airy
Johann Wilhelm Hertel is classed today as a transitional composer. He was active in the mid-1700s and wrote in the Empfindsamer Stil. The idea behind this “emotional style” was to express natural emotion. This was a departure from the formalized — and focussed — emotional expression of the Baroque. From the Empfindsamer Stil, Classical Era composers would go […]
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Le jour variable — Stamitz anticipates Beethoven
If you’re not familiar with Carl Stamitz, this release is a good place to start. Carl Stamitz was the son of Johann Stamitz. Johann was the leader of the Mannheim Palace orchestra, the incubator of the classical style. The Mannheim School inspired both Haydn and Mozart. These composers took the Mannheim innovations to the next […]
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Baroque Cantatas from Central Germany II continues tradition
This has been a long time coming. Volume one of this series was released in 2015. Volume two finally arrives here in 2021. This installment focuses on the “transitional” German composers. They were of the generations between Heinrich Schutz and Johann Sebastian Bach. During this period the Lutheran church began to codify liturgical music practices. […]
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Tobias Zeutschner “Weihnachtshistorie” worth rediscovery
Two things I’m always on the lookout for. One, composers I’ve not heard of before. And two, classical Christmas music I’ve not heard before. So of COURSE I was excited to audition Weihnachtshistorie by Tobias Zeutschner. And I wasn’t disappointed. Zeutschner (1621-1675) was a Polish composer and poet, active mainly in Silesia. He was a […]
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Howard Griffiths presents Cipriani Potter
I find Cipriani Potter a fascinating figure. This composer, pianist, and educator was a major influence in British music. Perhaps more than most people know. He studied with Joseph Wölfl, a colleague of both Mozart and Beethoven. Potter visited Vienna in 1817. Beethoven declined to accept him as a student. But he did review and […]
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Kölner Akademie continues excellent Telemann Christmas series
This volume features two Advent and two Christmas cantatas by Georg Philipp Telemann. The difference between these liturgical seasons has blurred over time. But in the 1700s there was a clear difference. Advent was the season anticipated the birth of Christ — hopeful, but waiting. Christmas marked the arrival of Christ, and the twelve days […]
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Franz Lachner well served by Evergreen Symphony Orchestra
The Evergreen Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is a 70-piece Taiwanese ensemble. They’ve recorded eight albums for the CPO label. Although “evergreen” is in their name, none of the music they record would earn that title. But that’s not due to the quality of the music, just the stature of the composers. Franz Lachner was a respected […]