Hoffmeister & CP Stamitz: Viola Concertos

Stamitz was a violinist, violist and composer, a formidable virtuoso who absorbed much from his predecessors in the Mannheim school. His Viola Concerto in D is a brilliantly conceived work, full of technical demands more often encountered in virtuosic nineteenth-century music. Allied to this is a rich sense of colour and intricate scoring, making this one of the outstanding works of its century. Hoffmeister is better known as a publisher but his two concertos are adorned with rich melodic beauty, elegance and tonal breadth. They are performed by soloist Victoria Chiang.