Bach: Brandenburg Concertos, Vol.1

On this CD:

1. Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Anner Bylsma, Pieter Dhont, Paul Dombrecht, Ku Ebbinge, Ruth Hesseling, Ab Koster, Wieland Kuijken, Janneke van der Meer, Wiel Peeters, Brian Pollard
Conducted by Gustav Leonhardt

2. Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Frans Brueggen, Anner Bylsma, Paul Dombrecht, Ruth Hesseling, Sigiswald Kuijken, Wieland Kuijken, Janneke van der Meer, Wiel Peeters, Claude Rippas
Conducted by Gustav Leonhardt

3. Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Anner Bylsma, Sigiswald Kuijken, Wieland Kuijken, Gustav Leonhardt, Janneke van der Meer, Wiel Peeters, Alda Stuurop, Marleen Thiers
Conducted by Gustav Leonhardt

Tracks:

Allegro
Adagio
Allegro
(First Movement)
Andante
Allegro Assai
Allegro
Affettuoso
Allegro
Allegro
Adagio Ma Non Tanto E Dolce
Tempo Di Alla Breve

Amazon.com

This delectable collection of Bach Keyboard concertos is so unsullied by tradition or a point to prove that the listener is left refreshed. Angela Hewitt plays with such warmth and song-like smoothness in the slow movements that they are little islands of repose in the midst of Bach's perky outer movements, which Hewitt and conductor-violinist Richard Tognetti launch with unmatched verve, rhythmic thrust and quick-but-never-rushed tempi. The Fifth Brandenburg and the Triple Concerto also call for a violin and flute and Togneti and Alison Mitchell are ideal partners to Hewitt: the give and take seems simply like great "jamming." Every note is clear and each soloist (and the fine Australian Chamber Orchestra) adds ornaments which are pert and welcome. The big cadenza in the Fifth Brandenburg is like liquid--beautifully flowing and well-articulated by Hewitt--and while the virtuosity is never in doubt, she never draws attention to herself. She plays a modern piano and the Orchestra play modern instruments, but early-music performance practice and style are very much in evidence (including a harpsichord in the continuo section). This is Bach playing of the highest order and splendid entertainment. --Robert Levine

Album Details

Angela Hewitt Performed and Recorded with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in February 2005, a Perfect Collaboration Resulting in Two Volumes of Bach Keyboard Concertos.

Customer Reviews:

Exhilarating.......2007-07-12

This is a stupendous CD. Angela Hewitt's glorious and sensitive touch is beautifully matched by the precision and vitality of the ACO. Although some reviewers have decried the performance of Brandenburg No. 5, to me this is a highlight. The solo at the end of the first movement is rivetting.

If I wanted to introduce someone to the glories of Bach, this is the CD I'd play to them. Turn it up loud and rejoice.

The Lightness of Joy.......2007-01-19

Not being a musician, I cannot comment on any technical aspect of the performers' playing (except that the concertos sound just fine with a piano used as a solo instrument and a harpsicord used only as continuo).

However, having now listened to both volumes of the Keyboard Concertos several times, I know how they affect me - every time I listen, I feel better...lighter...simply more joyful.

George Leigh Mallory -- he of "Because it's there" Mount Everest fame -- also said what must surely apply to these performances: "What we get from this ... is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money; we eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for."

A mix of good and not so good.......2006-03-02

A problem for me with performances of harpsichord music on pianos is that the pianist often uses way too much pedal. Not that I want a piano to sound like a harpsichord-- but the cadenza at the end of the first movement of Brandenburg 5 did make me cringe. It was so smeared that sometimes notes disappeared. In other places, there seemed to be very out of place fortissimos that distracted one from the line of the music. All that said, Hewitt excellent pianism often shines through-- I was hearing musical lines that have not been in evidence in other recordings.

The soloist performance I'd rate 3 stars; the support of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the generally excellent sound bumps the overall rating to 4.

Wonderful but.......2006-02-26

I very much enjoyed Angela Hewitt's playing in Bach's keyboard concertos. Some might quibble that they are played on a piano, but horses and carts have also been replaced by motor cars. The ACO is one of Australia's treasures - described in London as the world's best chamber orchestra - and it gives Hewitt wonderful support. (The prolific reviewer Larry VanDeSande has eleswhere described the ACO as "a scrawny sounding period band" but LVDS seems to have sacrificed integrity for effect - he might equally describe the Chicago orchestra as "overblown and conventional"). The real problem with Hewitt and the ACO is that equally fine performances at a fraction of the cost can be found on Naxos with Hae-won Chang (piano) and the Camerata Cassovia. Fair dinkum and I kid you not.

Fans of Hewitt will rejoice; everyone else may look askance.......2005-11-12

You never know what's going to come back into style in classical music, do you? With Murray Perhaiah and now Angela Hewitt playing the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 from the modern grand piano, we seemingly have gone backwards in time to the era of the great pianists and wax recordings in the early 20th century.

Hewitt plays the traditional Bach keyboard concerti Nos. 1 and 7 from the piano and contributes a performance of the Bach "Triple" Concerto from the concert grand to fill out this well-stocked disk of Bach wonders. I only wish I had more wonderful things to say about the goings on.

What I find most unattractive about these renditions -- aside from the very unstylistic inclusion of a concert grand piano in the Brandenburg and Triple concerti -- is the way the combined forces mix styles.

In the opening Concerto No. 1 for keyboard, Hewitt at times produces a sonority that is more appropriate for Brahms than Bach. She is matched by a scrawny sounding period band from Autstralia. This combination of Brahmsian piano and period string band...well, it just doesn't come off very well for me.

Other than her occasionally overripe tone and romantic sonority, I don't quibble with Hewitt's approach for the most part. She is a known commodity in Bach and her work here is similar to everything else she's done with this composer. Only a highly romanticized cadenza at the conclusion of the Triple Concerto -- which probably comes off best among the four concerti recorded here -- seems wayward.

On the pluse side, the opening movement of the Concerto No. 1 is pushed very hard in Bach style and the middle section of the Concerto No. 7 is very beautiful. It works well in the piano concertos but elsewhere seems to me to be a step backward to a time when people thought Bach surely must have meant to include a concert grand piano where he only had the limitations of the clavichord and harpsichord at his disposal.

Where this error in judgment is most apparent is in the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. Listen to that long harpsichord solo at the end of the first movement by any good recording using a harpsichord, then come back to this recording and notice the way the piano not only lacks color throughout the concerto but almost seems to disappear at the same junction.

At other times, the concerto grand overwhelms the thin tone of Richard Tognetti's violin and Alison Mitchells flute, both here and in the Triple Concerto. This, to me, is what most renders this recording a curiosity and not essential Bach musicmaking.

I think this recording will be accepted with open arms by fans of Hewitt and those that hanker for a return to the era of Alfred Cortot's recordings of the Brandenburgs circa 1931. For others, this recording will more likely be considered an oddity to be heard once and discarded.

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos, Vol. 1: Nos. 1-3

Average customer rating:

Praise to Leonhardt and SEON
Maybe the best complete Brandenburgs of all time
I disagree!
if you want period instruments get Trevor Pinnock's CD

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos, Vol. 1: Nos. 1-3

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Customer Reviews:

Praise to Leonhardt and SEON.......2006-08-09

I totally agree with the review below. Gustav Leonhardt's recording of the Brandenburgs is one of the best. Everyone who loves baroque and earlier music performed on period instruments should try to get all of the SEON recordings from the 1970s that have been transfered to CD.

Maybe the best complete Brandenburgs of all time.......2002-04-15

This was the first recording (1977) of the Brandenburgs Concertos which proved what marvellous insights the use of contemporary instruments (with the music, that is) could lend to the musical result (Harnoncourt's first set from 1963 came too early in their discography for the techniques of playing old instruments to have been fully mastered in these most demanding works). In the present set, well-judged tempi and an unerring sense of rhythm are juxtaposed in splendid proportion (most tempos here are moderate compared to some of the performances by next generation performers, the finale to BWV 1048 being an exception). Elsewhere (among these reviews) I read with astonishment the opinion that Leonhardt is "not a good conductor". As one who has experienced Mr. Leonhardt's performances live on many occasions, I can attest to his extraordinary level of achievement as musical director of many ensembles. Leonhardt is, simply, one of the greatest musicians of our time, and, as conductor, whatever he may lack in conventional "stick-technique", he more than makes up for in his extraordinarily authoritative, knowledgable, yet passionate musicianship (the same goes with Frans Bruggen - his conducting looks strange, but any of the musicians in his orchestra - and I know many of them personally - will confirm his mastery, and the enormous debt which all of us owe to him). Anyone with ears to hear will recognize the profound musical truths unlocked by these legendary performances. I also noticed, elsewhere, Leonhardt compared unfavourably with Trevor Pinnock. This is ironic, since Mr. Pinnock would be the first to acknowledge his own profound debt to Leonhardt. Actually, given the range of Leonhardt's achievements, and his unique role in re-discovering many facets of "authentic" performance that are now taken for granted, and copied by almost everyone (including Mr. Pinnock, in fact), what is astonishing to me is how timeless and enduring Leonhardt's musicianship has proved, and how little of substance has been added to what he and his generation discovered. Actually, all of the re-issues in the SEON series (here offered by Sony at a ridiculously low price) are collector's items, important for any one who wants to experience the excitement of discovering early music on period instruments for the first time. Do yourself a favour and acquire this one while you can. Let's not overlook the contributions of all the musicans on this release: Lucy van Dael, Frans Brueggen, Anner Bylsma, Wieland and Sigiswald Kuijken, Paul Dombrecht, Kees Boeke, Bob van Asperen. Many of these luminaries are Leonhardt's friends and students, themselves testimonies to Leonhardt's profound contribution to musical performance in our time. One of great bargains.

I disagree!.......2001-03-26

I disagree completely with the previous reviewer. He/she does not seem to enjoy good music... Gustav Leonhardt and the Kuijkens are among the best players in period instruments! Their recording of Bach's Brandemburg is wonderful. Don't go for that unfair review...

if you want period instruments get Trevor Pinnock's CD.......2000-11-23

These were some of the earliest authentic instrument performances, back when musicians didn't have a good grasp of period instruments and good soloists interested in period practice were almost non-existent. Now we have some outstanding musicians making period instrument recordings with experience playing Baroque instruments. So for a good period instrument recording, I would recommend Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert Orchestra or other good period ensembles. Don't settle for Gustav Leonhardt. He was a pioneer, but he wasn't a good conductor. And the same for the orchestra in this recording.

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