As I had noted in the post for Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Symphonies for Strings last year, CPE's reputation at the time eclipsed that of his father Johann Sebastian. With a style incorporating a wide emotional range, unpredictability and use of harmonic colour his influence on composers of the day was keenly felt.
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| Jean-Pierre Rampal |
It is likely that the Flute Concerto in D minor recorded here was an arrangement of a keyboard concerto. The 1964 Harmonia Mundi recording appeared on this Oryx label reissue. My copy is rather worn - especially in the finale, but the presence of two great French musical figures of the mid-late 20th Century makes this a performance worth hearing in my opinion. The soloist, Jean-Pierre Rampal was a flautist who did more than anyone to bring the instrument to the fore. A prodigious recording artist who gave recitals and concert performances all over the world, Rampal was also a great teacher and collaborator. Given this present recording it's somewhat ironic that the only piece dedicated to him that he never publicly performed was Pierre Boulez' Sonatine, which he found too abstract for his taste.
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| Pierre Boulez |
Pierre Boulez' appearance on this record as conductor was (for me at any rate) rather surprising, as his reputation as a modernist composer is far removed from CPE's late-baroque world. Around the time of this recording Boulez was conducting at the Paris Opera, notably in Alban Berg's Wozzeck, and it is the Paris Opera Orchestra who play on this record.
Far removed from the "historically informed performance" ethos that was just taking hold at the time Boulez - especially in the finale - takes no prisoners, and J-P Rampal's virtuoso solo playing is remarkable.
Cartridge: Acutex M412STR
Phono amp: Graham Slee Accession
Turntable: Kenwood KD7010
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