Karl Richter’s recordings of Bach’s orchestral and sacred music influenced an entire generation of musicians and listeners, presenting the conductor’s unique sound and style. When Richter recorded Bach’s works, he freed them from a ponderous tradition that had mired the music in romantic sounds and idiom. Richter lightened Bach’s music, and, with an orchestra of outstanding musicians, helped bring it toward the more modern interpretations that listeners have become familiar with today. This is still a bit far from the historically-informed performances that are pretty much the norm, but there is a unity and natural originality that comes through the music in these recordings.
This set includes Richter’s excellent recordingsRead more of the Brandenburg concertos... In the Brandenburgs, Richter provides a light, airy sound for the strings, very different from what was common in the 1960s. His tempi, relatively quick, give the music vigour it had not known perhaps for some 200 years. The instruments take their rightful place here as soloists in an ensemble, and the balance among them is exemplary. Rare indeed, even today, are the conductors who manage to play the Second Concerto with such joy and brio as Richter. Each instrument - the trumpet, the flute, and the oboe - stands out perfectly in the first movement, with its brilliantly lively tempo. The contrast of the second movement, andante, is excellent, and the trumpet shines again as the third movement opens, in this delightful performance... All in all, this is a first class set, and one which deserves its place in the history of Bach recordings...
-- Kirk McElhearn, MusicWeb International reviewing the Brandenburg Concertos, reissued as part of DG 463657 Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Brandenburg Concerto no 1 in F major, BWV 1046by Johann Sebastian Bach Conductor:
Karl Richter
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Munich Bach Orchestra
Period: Baroque Written: 1717; ?Cöthen, Germany
2.
Brandenburg Concerto no 2 in F major, BWV 1047by Johann Sebastian Bach Conductor:
Karl Richter
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Munich Bach Orchestra
Period: Baroque Written: 1717-1718; ?Cöthen, Germany
3.
Brandenburg Concerto no 4 in G major, BWV 1049by Johann Sebastian Bach Conductor:
Karl Richter
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Munich Bach Orchestra
Period: Baroque Written: circa 1720; ?Cöthen, Germany
4.
Brandenburg Concerto no 5 in D major, BWV 1050by Johann Sebastian Bach Conductor:
Karl Richter
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Munich Bach Orchestra
Period: Baroque Written: 1720-1721; ?Cöthen, Germany
Concerto for Oboe d'Amore in A major, BWV 1055by Johann Sebastian Bach Performer:
Manfred Clement (Oboe d'amore)
Conductor:
Karl Richter
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Munich Bach Orchestra
Period: Baroque
7.
Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C minor, BWV 1060by Johann Sebastian Bach Performer:
Edgar Shann (Oboe),
Otto Büchner (Violin)
Conductor:
Karl Richter
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Munich Bach Orchestra
Period: Baroque
8.
Brandenburg Concerto no 3 in G major, BWV 1048by Johann Sebastian Bach Conductor:
Karl Richter
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Munich Bach Orchestra
Period: Baroque Written: 1711-1713; ?Weimar, Germany
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: ( 1 Customer Review )
Great intro into classic musicFebruary 13, 2014By Taylor C. (Penn Hills, PA)See All My Reviews"We listen mostly to classical music and especially welcome those pieces that have life and lift in them. We were so impressed with the Brandenburg Concertos in tHis CD that we sent a copy each to my two daughters. Their reaction was the same as ours!"Report Abuse
