Benda, Graun, Saint-Georges, Sirmen: Violin Concertos Zefira Valova & Il Pomo d'Oro

• Franz Benda (1709 - 1786): Violin Concerto in A Major, L2.13:
• 1 Benda: Violin Concerto in A Major, L2.13: I. Allegro 06:02
• 2 Benda: Violin Concerto in A Major, L2.13: II. Adagio poco andante 05:22
• 3 Benda: Violin Concerto in A Major, L2.13: III. Presto 03:49
• Johann Gottlieb Graun (1703 - 1771): Violin Concerto in C Minor, GraunWV Av:XII:18:
• 4 Graun: Violin Concerto in C Minor, GraunWV Av:XII:18: I. Allegretto 05:39
• 5 Graun: Violin Concerto in C Minor, GraunWV Av:XII:18: II. Adagio 06:50
• 6 Graun: Violin Concerto in C Minor, GraunWV Av:XII:18: III. Allegro 05:17
• Joseph Bologne Saint-Georges (1745 - 1799): Violin Concerto in D Major:
• 7 Saint-Georges: Violin Concerto in D Major: I. Allegro maestoso 07:36
• 8 Saint-Georges: Violin Concerto in D Major: II. Adagio 04:28
• 9 Saint-Georges: Violin Concerto in D Major: III. Rondeau 03:59
• Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen (1745 - 1818): Violin Concerto in B-Flat Major, Op. 3 No. 1:
• 10 Sirmen: Violin Concerto in B-Flat Major, Op. 3 No. 1: I. Allegro 06:21
• 11 Sirmen: Violin Concerto in B-Flat Major, Op. 3 No. 1: II. Andante 01:59
• 12 Sirmen: Violin Concerto in B-Flat Major, Op. 3 No. 1: III. Rondo 05:46
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): Rondo in C Major for Violin and Orchestra, K. 373:
• 13 Mozart: Rondo in C Major for Violin and Orchestra, K. 373: Allegretto grazioso 05:21
• Total Runtime 01:08:29

Info for Benda, Graun, Saint-Georges, Sirmen: Violin Concertos

Il Pomo d'Oro and Zefira Valova focus here on the little-known violin concertos of the second half of the eighteenth century. Bringing together the works of Franz Benda and Johann Gottlieb Graun (in a world premiere recording), pillars of the orchestra at the court of Frederick II of Prussia, as well as those of the Venetian virtuoso Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen and the iconoclastic Joseph Bologne de Saint-Georges (also in a world premiere recording), this album offers a bright panorama of the evolution of the genre, culminating in Mozart's achievements in the last quarter of the century, of which Il Pomo d'Oro and Zefira Valova offer us a glimpse with the famous Rondo in C K. 373.

Zefira Valova, violin
Il Pomo d’Oro
Zefira Valova, conductor

Zefira Valova
was born in Sofia and studied baroque violin at the National Academy of Music there. From 2003 to 2008 she was concertmaster of the Classic FM Radio Orchestra and the Sofia Festival Orchestra and performed as a soloist with various Bulgarian orchestras and ensembles. In 2008 she became part of the European Union Baroque Orchestra and was concertmaster under Petra Mullejans, Ton Koopman, Roy Goodman, Lars Ulrik Mortensen and Enrico Onofri. From 2011 to 2015 she was concertmaster of the orchestra Les Ambassadeurs under Alexis Kossenko. Further engagements followed with the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien and La Chambre Philharmonique, among others. She has recorded with Brilliant Classics, Channel Classics, Alpha, Bulgarian National Television and Radio, Bulgaria's public broadcaster, and Deutsche Grammophon. She is also co-founder of the Sofia Baroque Arts Festival, the only annual early music festival in Bulgaria. Since 2015 she has been concertmaster of Il pomo d'oro under Maxim Emelyanychev. As such, she has recently performed with stars such as Joyce di Donato, Franco Fagioli and Edgar Moreau. She also regularly conducts the ensemble Il pomo d'oro and the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra.

Booklet for Benda, Graun, Saint-Georges, Sirmen: Violin Concertos