Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Symphonies - From Berlin to Hamburg

by Akademie fuer Alte Musik, Berlin

Overview

This release concludes the complete cycle of C.P.E. Bach's more than 20 symphonies by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, which have appeared periodically over the years. This one made classical best-seller lists in the spring of 2024, and the albums have generally been accounted a great success, partly because good recordings of these works have been hard to come by. These are muscular readings that capture the compactness of C.P.E.'s material, more often made up of a string of chords than a melodic line. Mozart said that anyone who listened closely could not fail to perceive his indebtedness to C.P.E. Bach, "although, of course, we don't do things that way anymore." One can hear the connection in these performances. They do not sound like Mozart symphonies, but C.P.E. has the same quality of not wasting a single note. As the title suggests, the program includes works from two different periods of Bach's career; the first half is devoted to works from 1740s Berlin, and the second to the Wq. 182 set commissioned by the Baron van Swieten, also a patron of Mozart, in a deliberately difficult style. These are exceptionally interesting works; sample the widely diverging harmonies in the first movement of the Symphony in G major, Wq 182/1. Harmonia Mundi's sound here, from Berlin's b sharp studio, is excellent; close-up and intense without drawing attention to itself. Those who haven't heard the earlier recordings by AKAMUS could do very well to start with this one. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	03/22/2024
Label:	Harmonia Mundi
UPC:	3149020950456
Rank:	36814

Tracks

1. Symphony in C major, H.649, Wq.174~I. Allegro assai
2. Symphony in C major, H.649, Wq.174~II. Andante
3. Symphony in C major, H.649, Wq.174~III. Allegro
4. Symphony in D major, H.651, Wq.176~I. Allegro assai
5. Symphony in D major, H.651, Wq.176~II. Andante
6. Symphony in D major, H.651, Wq.176~III. Presto
7. Symphony in E minor, H.652, Wq.177~I. Allegro assai
8. Symphony in E minor, H.652, Wq.177~II. Andante moderato
9. Symphony in E minor, H.652, Wq.177~III. Allegro
10. Symphony in G major, H.657, Wq 182/1~I. Allegro di molto
11. Symphony in G major, H.657, Wq 182/1~II. Poco adagio
12. Symphony in G major, H.657, Wq 182/1~III. Presto
13. Symphony in C major, H.659, Wq.182/3~I. Allegro assai
14. Symphony in C major, H.659, Wq.182/3~II. Adagio
15. Symphony in C major, H.659, Wq.182/3~III. Allegretto
16. Symphony in A major, H.660, Wq.182/4~I. Allegro ma non troppo
17. Symphony in A major, H.660, Wq.182/4~II. Largo ed innocentemente
18. Symphony in A major, H.660, Wq.182/4~III. Allegro assai
19. Symphony in B minor, H.661, Wq 182/5~I. Allegretto
20. Symphony in B minor, H.661, Wq 182/5~II. Larghetto
21. Symphony in B minor, H.661, Wq 182/5~III. Presto

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Akademie fuer Alte Musik, Berlin   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Philipp Nedel   Editing,Artistic Director,Mixing
Uwe Arens   Photography
Peter Wollny   Liner Notes
Charles Johnston   Liner Note Translation
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach   Composer
Dennis Collins   Liner Note Translation
Martin Kistner   Mastering
Matthias Erb   Engineer
Linus Bickmann   Interviewer
C.F. Feldt   Illustrations