Bach: The Two Violin Concertos / Double Concerto / Concerto for Violin and Oboe Vesko Eschkenazy

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Concerto in D minor, BWV 1043 for two violins, strings and continuo
• 1 I. Vivace 03:38
• 2 II. Largo ma non tanto 06:29
• 3 III. Allegro 04:28
• Violin Concerto No.1 in A minor, BWV 1041
• 4 I. Allegro 03:50
• 5 II. Andante 06:43
• 6 III. Allegro assai 03:31
• Violin Concerto No.2 in E major, BWV 1042
• 7 I. Allegro 07:53
• 8 II. Adagio 06:19
• 9 III. Allegro assai 02:48
• Concerto in C minor, BWV 1060 for oboe, violin, strings and continuo
• 10 I. Allegro 04:54
• 11 II. Adagio 05:40
• 12 III. Allegro 03:31
• Total Runtime 59:44

Info for Bach: The Two Violin Concertos / Double Concerto / Concerto for Violin and Oboe

According to Gramophone magazine the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra is the best orchestra in the world, so you won’t find greater quality performances than this release with the Concertgebouw and its principals as soloists. The oboe and violin soloists shine with unrivaled beauty, rendered even more gorgeous thanks to Pentatone’s high quality recording techniques.

„This starry release features two principals of what many consider the greatest orchestra in the world: The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. Violinist Vesko Eschkenazy has been principal since 1999, while oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk obtained his seating in 2005 neither disappoint, and it is easy to see how each attained their exalted positions. The reading of the Double Concerto for Two Violins is completely within modern standards; while they do not abandon vibrato and fully-finessed contemporary violin standards, the tempos are up, and energy is high. The playing in general is suave and forceful, with little done to distract in terms of personal idiosyncrasies. Likewise the two violin concertos; Eschkenazy is quite conscious of the period in which he lives but also gives due consideration to a more relaxed and lyrical approach, never slacking the underlying rhythmic impetus but always projecting in a concerto-like fashion and striving for the purest tone possible. If I continue to laud Lara St. John for her invigorating performances of these works, and Anne-Sophie Mutter s much older and creamy recordings it is only because the music can take a variety of approaches, of which Eschkenazy's certainly is one, and a very fine one. Though the above pieces were composed during a later period after Bach had accepted his Leipzig position, and had finished his cantata cycle and the great St. John and St. Matthew passions, his Double Concerto for Oboe and Violin belongs to a time of great happiness, indeed the greatest happiness of his life during his tenure at Cöthen, after his remarriage to Anna Magdalena Wilcken, the court's first soprano, and at a time when Bach was greatly influenced by the new music of Vivaldi, the model for this concerto. The three movements display the same rigorous structure that the Italian was to impose on so many of his hundreds of concertos, one that allowed tremendous expression and a huge amount of lyricism. Eschkenazy and Ogrintchouk take this to heart in a reading of tremendous finesse and soaring lines, while the superb Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra employs its sumptuous tonal qualities to good effect. The surround sound is resonant and enveloping, as if in a fine concert hall. A welcome recommendation.“ (Steven Ritter, Audiophile Audition)

“There is very little to criticise here, and these are all very fine performances. The sound is pretty crisp supporting an historically informed approach with brisk tempi, a discretely balanced harpsichord helping things along and admirable transparency of texture and articulation.” (MusicWeb International)

Vesko Eschkenazy, violin & director
Tjeerd Top, violin (BWV 1043)
Alexei Ogrintchouk, oboe
Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra
Marco Boni, conductor

Vesko Eschkenazy
The Violinist Vesko Eschkenazy was born in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia in 1970. He passed his final examination at the local school of music in 1990. He continued his studies withYfrah Neaman at the Guildhall School of Music, London, taking the soloist’s diploma in 1992. He has won prizes in several violin- playing competitions, such as the Polish Wieniawski competition (along with Maxim Vengerov) and the Carl Flesch competition in London. He has performed as a soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, C.P.E. Bach Chamber Orchestra, Monte-Carlo Symphonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado di Mexico, National Irish Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonic Orchestra of Sofia. He has also made appearances with the MIDEM in Cannes, Radio France in Montpellier, the Nantes and Reims festivals, the Varna summer festival and the New Year festival in Sofia. He has played with such famous conductors as Riccardo Chailly, Sir Colin Davis, Carlo Maria Giulini, Bernard Haitink, Kurt Masur and Seiji Ozawa. In December 1997 he made his début in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, with Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. He returned there in 2000 to play Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto on six consecutive evenings. Since January 2000 Vesko Eschkenazy has been first leader of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Marco Boni
Marco Boni comes from a musical family. He studied piano, horn and cello at the Milan conservatory and took his final examination under the guidance of Rocco Filippini, gaining a distinction. He began his career as a solo cellist in theTeatro Comunale in Bologna. Since then he has appeared at festivals both in Italy and abroad, working with Salvatore Accardo, Yuri Bashmet, Bruno Giuranna, Rocco Filippini, Bruno Canino, Susanna Mildonian, PaulTortellier and Sándor Végh. Since his appointment as permanent conductor of the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, conducting has increasingly been the focal point of his musical activities. He has performed with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Hungarian State Philharmonich Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Italian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra delTeatro Massimo di Palermo, the Orchestra da Camera di Mantova, the Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano, the OrchestraToscanini di Parma, the Filarmonici delTeatro Comunale di Bologna, the Virtuosi di Santa Cecilia and the Virtuosi Italiani. He has undertaken successful tours with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra in Italy, Japan, Belgium, Portugal (with Maria João Pires as soloist) and Spain, and has made several CD recordings with the orchestra. With the Virtuosi Italiani he has recorded previously unpublished works by Nino Rota. CD recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra have been planned.

Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra
The Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra (Concertgebouw Kamerorkest) was founded in 1987 and consists of members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. Before that time it was called the Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra (Amsterdams Kamerorkest). The ensemble made numerous recordings between 1957 and 1987, conducted by the likes of André Rieu and Anton van der Horst, and it took part in significant national events such as the coronation of Queen Beatrix on 30 April 1980 and the state visit of US President George Bush in 1989.The Concergebouw Chamber Orchestra also made a name for itself internationally: recent performances include concerts in Belgium, Italy, Spain, Germany, Finland, Portugal and Japan. In addition CD recordings are made regularly for several labels. The recording released in 1999 of Mahler’s arrangements of string quartets by Schubert ("Death and the Maiden") and Beethoven (Op. 95) earned BBC Music Magazine’s highest accolade (five stars) for artistic direction and recording quality. Among the soloists to have performed with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra are Maria João Pires, Friedrich Gulda, Eliane Rodrigues, Lynn Harrel, Jaap van Zweden, Isabelle van Keulen, Janine Jansen, Rudolf Koelman, Quirine Viersen, Jacob Slagter and Vesko Eschkenazy. Since 1995 the ensemble’s permanent conductor has been the Italian Marco Boni.

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