Hertel‘s father Johann Christian was a famous gambist and, until its dissolution in 1741, concertmaster of the Eisenacher Hofkapelle. On the recommendation of Franz Benda, he later got a job as concert master at the court of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. His son Johann Wilhelm received music lessons from the Eisenach Bach student Johann Heinrich Heil at a very early age and accompanied his father at the age of twelve as a harpsichord player on his concert tours. The years 1747 and 1748 served to perfect his education, this time in Berlin. There he had contact with the brothers Benda, Carl Heinrich Graun and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and continued to maintain these contacts with the Berlin school. In 1752 Hertel became court composer at the Fürstenhof in Schwerin. In 1767 the court chapel was moved to Ludwigslust, where Hertel taught the children of the princely family and supplied the court with compositions. With the selection of works presented at this album, a highly interesting composer is experiencing a revival and at the same time, thanks to extensive introductions in the booklet, the release offers an insight into the musical life of a typical court in the German province in the second half of the 18th Century.

Samoan Songs (A Historical Collection)

Enchanting, witty, charmingly entertaining music penned by one of the most prominent arrangers of Viennese Biedermeier, seen on the same level as Mozart, Haydn and Romberg by his contemporaries.

Fascinating music by a composer who was popular during his lifetime and is unknown today, here presented in very colorful interpretation.

Six sonatas for oboe and basso continuo combined on one CD require an exciting, varied sound experience in the accompaniment. In order to fulfill this claim I took a close look at the character of the individual works in order to work it out particularly through the instrumentation. Sonata I and III are accompanied by a chest organ, whereby the pieces themselves create great contrasts: Sonata I is a very soft, restrained work with a lot of chromaticism, Sonata III on the other hand shines with many fanfare-like figurations. Sonata IV leaves a lot of room for improvisation on a harpsichord, Sonata V is very equal in treble and bass and requires a string bass combined with the keyboard instrument. The decision was made to use a very contoured and transparent-sounding instrument: the violoncello da spalla.

The Sonata VI remembers of a very festively radiant piece for trumpet. Clearly an organ is perfect for the accompaniment. To support the percussive character of the bass line we‘ve added a baroque guitar here. Probably the most unusual line-up on this CD can be heard in Sonata II. It needs radiance in the first half and a special, sparkling color for the dance movements. Here the bass is performed by an regal, a very special color in combination with the oboe.

Bach, J.S.: Lute Music - Bwv 995, 996, 999, 1000, 1006A, 100

Classical Music

Richard Strauss‘ father, Franz Strauss, was one of the most prominent horn virtuosos of the time, and the horn was one of the instruments for which Richard had a predilection throughout his life. With his “Serenade,” Strauss junior convinced conductor Hans von Bülow of his talent. Von Bülow took the piece into the program of his famous Meininger Hofkapelle. There is a close relationship between the first concerto in C Minor op. 8 by Franz Strauss to the horn concerto op. 11 of his son who orientated him-self at the romantic stile of his father. The horn virtuoso himself premiered his own concerto in C Minor in spring 1865 during an academy in the Odeon concert house in Munich. Born in the same year as Franz Strauss, Franck received his first music lessons and made his first public appearances as pianist before moving with his parents to Paris, where he became a pupil of Anton Reicha. In 1871 he was a co-founder of the Société Nationale de Musique, and later elected its president. Characteristic of Franck’s mature style is the so-called “cyclical form” – a formal concept that attained full significance only in the works from Franck’s last decade. This period also saw the composition of his today most well-known works, which of course attained their great popularity only after his death. The Piano Quintet is considered the beginning, the “portal work,” whose tendencies and motifs are taken up again in later works such as the D-Minor Symphony, the Violin Sonata, and the String Quartet. Premiered in its original form on 17 January 1880 in the Société Nationale de Musique, the work experienced its premiere in the expanded form of a “Symphony for Orchestra and Piano” on 8 June 2008 with Mathias Weber, who made the arrangement, performing the piano part.

Telemann, G.P.: Partitas Nos. 1-6

Classical Music

Mozart: Piano Music, Vol. 1

Nardini: Flute Chamber Music

Mozart: Bassoon Concerto, K. 191 - Violin Concerto No. 1 - H

Mozart: Complete Works For Two Pianos

John Blow, who was to give service to five monarchs, was born into a humble family in Nottinghamshire, presumably at Newark, sometime within a month of the beheading of King Charles I. He was a music scholar at the Magnus Song School in Newark before becoming a chorister in the Chapel Royal. There, under the tutelage of Henry Cooke, his colleagues included Pelham Humfrey, Robert Smith, William Turner and Michael Wise - all of whom achieved significant distinction in their later careers. Blow showed considerable promise as a composer; several of his anthems were included in the chapel repertory. Blow became an organ pupil of Christopher Gibbons before his first appointment at Westminster Abbey at the age of nineteen and he was made Musician for the Virginals to the King a year later. From 1674 until his death, he was Master of the Children at the Chapel Royal. In 1679 he transferred his office at Westminster Abbey to his pupil Henry Purcell, with whom he shared a close professional relationship and lifelong friendship. He took over the post again after Purcell’s untimely death in 1695, and held several other important positions in London: as Master of the Choristers of St Paul’s Cathedral and appointments at court. He continued to serve as Abbey organist until his death. Blow stands out as the dominant figure among the group of London-based musicians whose work is associated with the royal court beginning around 1650, and which assimilated first Italian, and then later elements of French influence. Among the new school of composers were Blow’s pupils Jeremiah Clarke and William Croft, and, of course, the towering musician of the age - Henry Purcell.

Popper: Complete Etudes for Cello