VENEZIA 1625The golden age of Venetian instrumental music
Maurice Steger (recorder & direction), Hille Perl (viola da gamba), Lee Santana (chitarrone), Naoki Kitaya (organ & harpsichord), Sergio Ciomei (harpsichord & organ), Thomas Boysen (theorbo & baroque guitar), Mauro Valli (cello), Margret Köll (baroque harp), Thor-Harald Johnsen (baroque guitar), Sabrina Frey (recorder), Eva Borhi (violin), Christian Beuse (dulcian), Stefan Temmingh (recorder) & Peter Barczi (violin) All instrumentations & realisations by Maurice Steger, played on period instruments, high Venetian pitch,A = 466 Hz, 1/6 meantone. Venice, 1625: the city of the doges is one of the principal artistic centres of Europe. At the Cappella San Marco, a profoundly original style of instrumental music is in the process of discarding all reference to the tradition of vocal polyphony.The era of Baroque stravaganze has begun! Now, in the hands of a supreme master of the recorder, this ultra-virtuosic art acquires a new lease of life. Maurice Steger is one of the leading artistic personalities of his generation. He is a frequent guest soloist with leading Baroque ensembles such as the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Musica Antiqua Köln, the English Concert, Europa Galante and I Barocchisti. His recordings have enjoyed great success and in 2006, his interpretation of Telemann's Recorder Concertos with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin for harmonia mundi won top awards from the international press. Unbeatable in this repertoire. “This was a period in which the violin was coming into its own, and much of this music was written for it. But Steger takes his cue from the fact that instrumental forces were frequently unspecified or interchangeable to give a recital of unalloyed joy.” The Telegraph, 1st April 2009 ***** “Maurice Steger is a player of wonderful dexterity, and his colleagues are excellent.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2009 |
