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Track(s) taken from CDA67607/8

Keyboard Concerto No 6 in F major, BWV1057

composer

Angela Hewitt (piano), Australian Chamber Orchestra, Richard Tognetti (conductor), Alison Mitchell (flute), Emma Sholl (flute)
Recording details: February 2005
Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Australia
Produced by Ludger Böckenhoff
Engineered by Ludger Böckenhoff
Release date: June 2005
Total duration: 16 minutes 32 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

Andrew Arthur (harpsichord), The Hanover Band

Reviews

‘Her playing is absolutely captivating: she decorates the solo part with playful, come-hither ornamentation—twirls, flutters, arabesques—and yet it never disturbs the clear, logical path she forges through the course of each work. Her staccato touch has the force of sprung steel and yet her legato line is a miracle of smoothness and transparency. An absolute joy’ (Gramophone)

‘Hewitt's Bach is well-known for its expressive restraint, lucid textures and rhythmic grace. These virtues are abundantly present in her thoughtful, unmannered approach to the Concertos. Contrapuntal arguments are admirably clear and Hewitt's restricted use of the sustaining pedal ensure a pleasing clarity of dialogue. These virtues are mirrored by the lightly articulated bowing of the strings of the Australian Chamber Orchestra under the direction of its leader Richard Tognetti … my own prefernce lies just with Hewitt and her Australian musicians’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘These two discs, while available separately, go in tandem as a beguiling example of what can be achieved in performances of Baroque music on the piano when they have been prepared with such thought and are blessed with such compelling artistry as Angela Hewitt's. Her Bach catalogue for Hyperion is already extensive, and here she joins the outstanding Australian Chamber Orchestra for the six concertos and two other works that spotlight the keyboard, the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto and the A minor Triple Concerto with flute (Alison Mitchell) and violin (Richard Tognetti, who also directs the orchestra). The performances call on different traditions: Hewitt plays a modern Fazioli grand, the orchestra deploys certain historically aware techniques, to the extent of having a discreet harpsichord in the continuo part. But such is Hewitt's sensitivity to style, and such is the orchestra's versatility, that there is no sense of compromise or jarring anachronism. Rather, the two coalesce in interpretations of remarkable synergy and fascinating textures. The familiar argument that Bach would have written for a piano if only he had had one is nowhere given more persuasive advocacy than in Hewitt's singing melodic lines, her judicious range of tonal colouring and in her touch, which combines the crispness and full flavour of a fresh apple. Take a bite of any of these concertos, and you will want to make a whole meal of them’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘Her fingers dance as well as sing: in the outer movements, rhythms are buoyantly sprung, and this communicates itself to the members of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, whose slender string accompaniment in no way lessens their energy, while Hewitt responds by projecting the piano parts with all due attention to Bach's overall texture’ (International Record Review)

‘Here the Fazioli is heard at its exquisite best, its spongey bass chords pumping with clarity, its treble caressing a heart-tuggingly beautiful legato out of the slow movement, while the dainty strings sketch an almost tongue-in-cheek pizzicato in the background. Hewitt's sense of phrase is masterful … the statements have regal import under the authoritative hands of this queen of keyboard playing’ (The Times)

‘As always, she really sparkles in the allegros, infusing the music with wit as well as technical bravura’ (The Sunday Times)

‘The result of their historically informed modern-instrument take on the music is stunning, with crisp rhythms and singing melodic lines’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘Hewitt's performances are brilliantly alive. Her subtle lyricism adds a rich, occasionally dark dimension, possibly not as Bach himself would have envisaged, but always with a deep sense of musical integrity’ (The Scotsman)

‘These are warmly involving interpretations of pioneering pieces’ (HMV Choice)

‘Her [Hewitt's] success comes from the shaping of each concerto, these are rhythmical, warm interpretations shimmering with boundless energy and skilled virtuosity’ (Cathedral Music)

‘Her playing is absolutely captivating: she decorates the solo part with playful, come-hither ornamentation—twirls, flutters, arabesques—and yet it never disturbs the clear, logical path she forges through the course of each work. Her staccato touch has the force of sprung steel and yet her legato line is a miracle of smoothness and transparency. An absolute joy’ (Metro)
A bit of clever recycling resulted in the creation of the Concerto No 6 in F major, BWV1057. You can be forgiven if you don’t immediately recognize it as the Brandenburg Concerto No 4 in G major, BWV1049; the tunes will be familiar, but the scoring is not. The original concerto has two solo flutes, and they remain in this version, but the addition of a solo keyboard part (largely replacing the solo violin) is a novelty. It is not really a true solo concerto, as the keyboard shares the limelight with the flutes, but it nevertheless demands a very advanced technique, especially in the make-or-break outbursts of the finale. The slow movement, marked Andante, is a processional, making great use of echo effects between orchestra and keyboard. The finale shows how effortlessly Bach combined both fugal and concerto forms, with the opening entries of the subject followed by brilliant episodes for the three soloists. The joy and virtuosity that we find in the last movement of the Italian Concerto, BWV971 (also in F major) are much in evidence here.

from notes by Angela Hewitt © 2005

Un recyclage intelligent déboucha sur la création du Concerto no 6 en fa majeur, BWV1057, et vous serez pardonnés de ne pas y voir d’emblée le Concerto brandebourgeois no 4 en sol majeur, BWV1049. Car si les airs sont célèbres, l’instrumentation, elle, est méconnue. Aux deux flûtes solo conservées du concerto original s’ajoute ici une nouveauté: une partie de clavier solo qui remplace largement le violon solo. Mais il ne s’agit pas pour autant d’un authentique concerto avec soliste puisque le clavier partage la vedette avec les flûtes – ce qui ne l’empêche pas d’exiger une technique très poussée, surtout dans les déchaînements à la «ça passe ou ça casse» du finale. Le mouvement lent, marqué Andante, est un cantique processionnel multipliant les effets d’écho entre l’orchestre et le clavier. Le finale montre comment Bach combina sans peine les formes fuguée et concertante, avec les entrées initiales du sujet suivies d’épisodes brillants adressés aux trois solistes. On retrouve ici, bien en évidence, la joie et la virtuosité du dernier mouvement du Concerto italien, BWV971 (également en fa majeur).

extrait des notes rédigées par Angela Hewitt © 2005
Français: Hypérion

Das Konzert Nr. 6 in F-Dur BWV1057 ist ebenfalls dank geschickten Recyclings entstanden. Es kann den Hörern nachgesehen werden, wenn sie es nicht gleich als das Vierte Brandenburgische Konzert in G-Dur BWV1049 identifizieren. Die Melodien sind zwar vertraut, die Besetzung jedoch nicht. Das Original hat zwei Soloflöten, die hier beibehalten werden, doch ist die Hinzufügung eines Soloparts für Tasteninstrument (das größtenteils die Solovioline ersetzt) ein Novum. Es ist jedoch kein echtes Solokonzert, da das Klavier zusammen mit den Flöten auftritt; gleichwohl verlangt es eine sehr fortgeschrittene Technik, besonders in den kritischen Ausbrüchen im Finale. Der langsame Satz ist mit Andante überschrieben und bewegt sich prozessionsartig, wobei Echo-Effekte zwischen Orchester und Klavier zu hören sind. Das Finale demonstriert, wie mühelos Bach die Genres der Fuge und des Konzerts miteinander zu verbinden verstand: auf die ersten Einsätze des Themas folgen brillante Zwischenspiele für alle drei Solisten. Die Freude und Virtuosität, die im letzten Satz des Italienischen Konzerts BWV971 (auch in F-Dur) vorherrscht, ist hier ähnlich.

aus dem Begleittext von Angela Hewitt © 2005
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

Other albums featuring this work

Bach: Harpsichord Concertos Nos 2, 5 & 6
Studio Master: SIGCD764Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
Bach: The Keyboard Concertos, Vol. 2
CDA67308Download only
Bach: The Keyboard Concertos, Vol. 2
This album is not yet available for downloadSACDA67308Super-Audio CD — Deleted
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