ANDREAS BRANTELID: CPE BACH & HAYDN

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

TIMES OF TRANSITION

In the NAXOS CLASSICS CD TIMES OF TRANSITION, Danish cellist Andreas Brantelid plays three concertos: one by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the other two by Franz Joseph Haydn; Lars Ulrik Mortensen leads the Concerto Copenhagen.

C.P.E Bach’s Cello Concerto in A Major is an essential component of the cello repertoire, characterized by the impassionedly theatrical style of Carl Philipp Emanuel, J.S. Bach’s first-born son.

Termed Empfindsamer Stil (Sensitive style) by the composer, the A Major concerto contrasts with the courtlier works written in the much in vogue Stile Galant that had been around since the second quarter of the 1700’s.  C.P.E Bach’s avoidance of Baroque structural complexity and contrapuntal intricacy signaled a new kind of music that gradually led to the compositions of Franz Joseph Haydn.

Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C major and his Concerto in D major are both perfect samples of their genre. The first, an early work that remained undiscovered until after the death of its composer straddled the mannered Stile Galant and Haydn’s Classicismwhile the Concerto in D major written for the virtuoso Anton Kraft is a fully formed masterpiece of its kind.

Cellist Andreas Brantelid brilliantly takes up the challenges of each of these three works, seamlessly phrasing the Adagios in the grand manner, boldly articulating even the fastest Allegro passages, and taking up with utmost energy the cadenzas. Brantelied, a huge talent to the manner born, plays an Emil Hjort, Copenhagen 1887 cello with gut strings. Lars Ulrik Mortensen leads the Concerto Copenhagen with absolute command of the style, all the while providing effortless support to the soloist.

Rafael de Acha                  ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”