Artist: Wolfram Christ
Title: J.C. Bach, M. Haydn, C. Stamitz: Viola Concertos
Year Of Release: 1994
Label: Koch Schwann
Genre: Classical
Quality: FLAC (image+.cue,log,scans)
Total Time: 01:05:50
Total Size: 384 Mb
Tracklist:01. Concerto for cello (or viola) & orchestra in C minor (falsely attrib. to J.C. Bach)- 1. Allegro molto ma maestoso [0:04:24.03]
02. Concerto for cello (or viola) & orchestra in C minor (falsely attrib. to J.C. Bach)- 2. Adagio molto espressivo [0:05:52.37]
03. Concerto for cello (or viola) & orchestra in C minor (falsely attrib. to J.C. Bach)- 3. Allegro molto energico [0:03:55.03]
04. Concerto for organ (or harpsichord), viola & orchestra in C major, MH 41 (P 55)- 1. Allegro moderato [0:11:51.62]
05. Concerto for organ (or harpsichord), viola & orchestra in C major, MH 41 (P 55)- 2. Adagio [0:10:59.15]
06. Concerto for organ (or harpsichord), viola & orchestra in C major, MH 41 (P 55)- 3. Prestissimo [0:08:37.53]
07. Viola Concerto in C major- 1. Allegro [0:10:25.55]
08. Viola Concerto in C major- 2. Andante moderato [0:05:13.45]
09. Viola Concerto in C major- 3. Rondo allegretto [0:04:34.20]
Performers:Wolfram Christ - viola
Roswitha Trimborn - harpsichord
Kölner Kammerorchester
Helmut Müller-Brühl - conductor
Wolfram Christ can be a boring performer (witness a deadpan Berlioz Harold in Italy with Maazel), but these works seem to suit him perfectly.
The J.C. Bach Concerto (is *that* really J.C. Bach???) is quite splashy, especially witness the final movement. It's very exciting, and definitely worth exploring, with a tuneful first movement, and a lovely second. The first theme of I comes back to haunt in III, making it a "cyclical" work.
The Stamitz is well known to any violist, and is a very rewarding concerto, regardless of the instrumentation.
One reviewer stated that these works are not "virtuosic". That's a judgment made from the twentieth (twenty-first!) century: in their time, these works were considered to be very much the fare of virtuosos. The attitude that only modern or romantic works can be virtuosic (vis-a-vis the viola literature) miss the point. In any case, even music without lots of notes or string crossing, double stops, etc., is MUCH harder to perform; witness Mozart, where so many performers spin notes but don't make music. Conversely, virtuosic affairs by Sarasate or Paganini may have all of the fireworks, but no soul--the performer only need play all the notes.
Anyway, I'm off the track. Explore this recording; it's rewarding!
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