Johann Sebastian Bach - Brandenburg Concertos (Trevor Pinnock, 2007)

Information

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

CD1:

• (01-04) Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046
• (05-07) Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048
• (08-10) Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050

CD2:

• (01-03) Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047
• (04-06) Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049
• (07-09) Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat major, BWV 1051

European Brandenburg Ensemble
Trevor Pinnock, conductor

Date: 2007
Label: Avie
http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Name/European-Brandenburg-Ensemble/Ensemble/155363-4

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Review

Musicians savour each other’s company in inspiring music: happy birthday!

When Trevor Pinnock first recorded the Brandenburgs with the English Concert for DG Archiv in 1982, period performances of these works were relatively rare; today they abound, and it has become harder to make a mark in music that does not readily admit a wide range of interpretations. Not that Pinnock need worry about that at this point in his career. This new recording, made with an ensemble hand-picked for the job, is a 60th-birthday present to himself, and is just what such a project should be: talented musicians relishing each other’s company in music of truly inspiring greatness.

Unsurprisingly, it reflects the increased playing standards of 25 years of period-instrument growth. Only Pinnock himself remains from that first line-up, and while the players then were a high-class team (Simon Standage, Lisa Beznosiuk and Michael Laird among them), the players of the European Brandenburg Ensemble include some of the finest of today’s Baroque chamber players, and there is a relaxed expertise about their performances which seems to allow them to communicate directly and without technical or ideological hindrance. A hint of over-exuberant thickness in the texture of Concerto No 1 is perhaps a reflection of this, but elsewhere it is good to hear playing from the likes of violinist Kati Debretzeni, flautist Katy Bircher and the excellent David Blackadder on trumpet that is bold and confident without straying into coarseness. The clarity achieved in Nos 4, 5 and 6 also has a more natural air than the “studio?y” balance of the Archiv set, no doubt helped by the decision to use a violone at pitch rather than the more usual octave below. The pensive violin improvisation which links the two movements of No 3 is surely a miscalculation, feeling like more of a hold-up than it need be; more lastingly refreshing to my ears were the subtle relaxations of tension in the first movement of No 6, these days so often given the hard-drive treatment.

This is not a Brandenburg set that sets out to score points, and all that is needed from us is to sit back and enjoy its relaxed, celebratory spirit.

-- Lindsay Kemp, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2008/Jan08/Bach_Pinnock_AV2119.htm
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2008/July08/Bach_Pinnock_AV2119.htm
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=5323
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/a/avi02119a.php
http://www.allmusic.com/album/bach-six-concertos-mw0001393870
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bach-Brandenburg-Concertos-European-Ensemble/dp/B000XJ1444
http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Six-concertos-Margrave-Brandenburg/dp/B000XJ1444

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Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and over three hundred cantatas of which around two hundred survive. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach

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Trevor Pinnock (born 16 December 1946) is an English harpsichordist and conductor. He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert which he helped found and directed from the keyboard for over 30 years in baroque and early classical music. Since his resignation from The English Concert in 2003, Pinnock has continued his career as a conductor, appearing with major orchestras and opera companies around the world.  He has also performed and recorded as a harpsichordist in solo and chamber music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Pinnock

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