Haydn: Violin Concerto No. 1 in C major, Hob.VIIa:1

Gil Shaham and Sejong Soloists’ association extends back over a decade, the Haydn concerti and Mendelssohn Octet on this release benefiting from a US tour in April 2009 just prior to the recording sessions.

Haydn and Mendelssohn may not be obvious bedfellows but there is considerable synergy in the composers and this repertoire. Both Haydn’s C major and G major concerti date from the 1760s, still very much in his self proclaimed, “extended youthful period”, together with the fresh and adventurous nature of the Octet, composed when Mendelssohn was still just a teenager. Haydn and Mendelssohn also shared a certain financial freedom that seemed to propel both to new heights of inspiration.

Shaham and Sejong give this repertoire a sense of real intimacy, creating a magical intensity and engagement. The Haydn concerti display Shaham’s flawless technique and lyrical tone - communicating like few others can - and Sejong embrace his direction and Haydn’s intricacies magnificently.

Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat Major is arguably THE crown jewel of chamber music. In this recording, Gil Shaham combines aspects from Mendelssohn’s original manuscript version of the Octet, which saw him achieve instant fame, and the final published edition, the 2 versions being separated by 7 years and several revisions in between.

Here, for the first time, the modern music world is introduced to the youthful spirit with which Mendelssohn first brought this work to the world. Of particular significance is the considerably more lively tempi adopted from the original manuscript. Shaham and Sejong embrace and execute this with amazing clarity, the sound being lush and sumptuous yet with an amazing sense of intimacy.

This recording is one of those rare occasions where the ensemble and repertoire come together, the ultimate triumph being the blend and balance achieved by Shaham and Sejong to completely immerse the listener in the moment.

The insightful CD booklet annotations have been authored by Stephen Somary, Artistic Director of the Mendelssohn Project.

‘Shaham manages to combine extraordinary virtuosity with uncommon restraint ... The majestic sweep of the augmented quartet form was given full rein ... two powerful forces in the service of a higher cause.’ Santa Barbara Independent, Mendelssohn/Haydn Concert Review April 2009

Rachel Podger’s first recording with orchestra since the landmark Gramophone Award winning disc of Vivaldi’s La Stravaganza.

Follows eight volumes of the Award Winning Mozart Violin Sonatas edition.

Rachel Podger challenges Pavlo Beznosiuk.

Soloists play on real ‘Strads’.

The musicians of the Freiburger Barockorchester chose to highlight the craggiest 'Sturm und Drang' side of the composer in August 2008 when they recorded this symphony known as 'La Passione'. Composed in the deliberately chosen key of F minor, the work bathes in an intensely emotional atmosphere entirely characteristic of this pre-Romantic movement which came shortly before the arrival of the classical style. It is coupled here with Violin concerto No. 1 and Symphony No. 80, two calmer pieces which enable listeners to return to terra firma.

Following his critically acclaimed recording of all the Mozart concertos, Giuliano Carmignola fulfills his long-held wish to record the unjustly neglected violin concertos of Joseph Haydn. Carmignola’s technical precision, disciplined musicality and gorgeous tone bring every one of the composer’s intentions to vivid life. His musical collaborators here, the remarkable Orchestre des Champs-Élysées − known for performing repertoire from Haydn to Mahler on period instruments − makes an ideal partner.

After Haydn became vice-Kapellmeister to the Esterházy family in 1761, he soon realised that he had at his disposal some remarkable musicians in the orchestra at the court. In his Symphonies 6, 7 and 8 he had given the principal musicians significant solo parts. Although he didn’t repeat this in later symphonies, he produced a series of concertos for violinist Luigi Tomasini, cellist Joseph Weigl and others.

These works lay unknown throughout the 19th century, and only came to light in the first part of the 20th – in fact the famous D major Cello Concerto (now one of the most popular of Haydn’s works and one of the ‘great’ cello concertos) wasn’t discovered until the early 1950s.

New booklet notes by Haydn authority David Threasher.

‘The recorded quality is lifelike, surfaces are completely silent – save for the impeccable playing of these splendid artists.’ Gramophone, October 1981 (violin concertos)

New recording from August 2008, made on period instruments.

L’Arte Dell’Arco was founded in 1994, and has rapidly built a reputation as one of the world’s leading Barock ensembles. They have worked with Cecilia Bartoli, Pieter Wispelwey and Christopher Hogwood. They have recorded for CPO, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, and Brilliant Classics

Haydn’s violin concertos are early works dating from the 1760s. The First in C was only discovered in 1909 in the archives of the publishers Breitkopf – 100 years after the composer’s death. The First and Third concertos (the second is lost) were composed for the Italian violinist Luigi Tomasini, who, in 1761 was the concertmaster of the court chapel at Esterhaza. Doubtless his considerable skills influenced the writing for the solo parts as it both concertos are indebted to the Italian school, with Vivaldian sequences, and in the case of the First concerto, a delicious slow movement.

The Fourth Concerto in G is a very different work in style, and it is doubtful that it was written for Tomasini. More likely (and it is by no means certain that the work is actually Haydn’s – it just has enough ‘finger prints’ to be attributed to him) it was composed for the leader of the Morzin orchestra. It is the most old-fashioned of the three concertos on this CD, but nonetheless contains some lovely moments, especially the slow movement and the restless finale.