JOHANN QUANTZ : Flute Concertos (Rachel Brown · The Brandenburg Consort · Roy Goodman) (1997) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Quantz owes his current neglect in the concert hall and recording catalogue to a somewhat perverse fact of history: he was by far the most highly paid musician of his day (earning seven times as much as C P E Bach, for example) and yet his patronage from Frederick the Great—he was truly an 'exclusive artist'—meant that none of his works was published, all remaining in the monarch's private collection.

Today his prolific output (there are some 300 flute concertos alone) is gradually being resurrected, these delightful works being recognized for their true worth. Quantz's own virtuosic skills on the flute, coupled with several drastic innovations he made to flute design and construction, make for works which push the Baroque instrument to the very limits of feasibility. Hyperion

Johann Quantz (1697-1773)
1-3    Concerto In A Major No. 256    17:25
4-7    Concerto In B Minor No. 5    14:16
8-10     Concerto In C Minor No. 216    16:29    
11-13 Concerto In G Major No. 29    11:58
14-16 Concerto In G Minor No. 290    15:36
Credits
Flute, Soloist – Rachel Brown
Directed By [From The Fortepiano And Harpsichord] – Roy Goodman
Orchestra – The Brandenburg Consort
Illustration [Front Illustration] – Cornelis Troost

FRANZ BERWALD : Symphonies and Overtures (Roy Goodman) 2CD (2004) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

The Swedish composer Franz Berwald wrote music staggeringly ahead of his time; his symphonic works have rather more in common with Mendelssohn and Berlioz than strict chronological considerations would suggest. Robert Layton has written (in his Guide to the Symphony): 'It is the quality of Berwald's thematic invention, his transparent textures and expert orchestration, and the generosity of spirit that informs his musical personality that make his music engage both our sympathies and our affection'.

This set contains the four complete surviving symphonies, the fragmentary youthful A major Symphony (completed for this recording by Duncan Druce), and overtures to two of the composer's most successful operas.

There could be no orchestra more qualified to record the works of Berwald than that of the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation. Here they are conducted by Roy Goodman and recorded in the Berwald Hall in Stockholm. Hyperion

JOHANN QUANTZ : Flute Concertos (1997) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless