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17.4.19

Dip Your Ears No. 232 (Julian Steckel Galant Splendor)


available at Amazon
Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach, Cello Concertos
Julian Steckel (cello), Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Susanne von Gutzeit
Hänssler Classic

Empty Noodle No More


Galant music – the musical period into which Bach’s sons fall – has a reputation of being empty frills and noodling excess: the tedious bridge between the blissful baroque and classical period. That’s partly because of our lack of familiarly with the style. Alas, the proposition to become familiar with the style, presumably consisting of spending endless hours over the course of years with that music, doesn’t seem a particularly appealing solution to the problem, either. Unless, of course, one gets to hear works like these CPE Bach Cello Concertos! ARD Music Competition Winner Julian Steckel presents them masterfully, in very lively and sensitive dialogue with the responsive, quick-fire Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. The A-minor concerto especially has a somber tone that even pre-shadows the romantic cello concertos to come. When it comes like this, Gallant music does, why then everyone should be happy to better get acquainted with the style.





2 comments:

Jeffrey Smith said...

Spending endless hours with 18th century music, whether late Baroque, galant, Classical, or anything in between...that's a problem I would love to live with...

jfl said...

Re: Jeffrey. :-)))