Deutsche Flötenkonzerte / German Flute Concertos
Bruno Meier, Flöte/Flute
Prager Kammerorchester / Prague Chamber Orchestra
NAXOS 8. 570593 D (2008)
CD des Monats September 2008 (Naxos Deutschland)
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These four flute concertos, here recorded for the first time, span the fascinating half century that saw the emergence of Romanticism from the Classical style of the preceding decades. Each requires different forces, reflecting the growth of the orchestra during this time, while giving a prominence to the solo instrument which would decline as the 19th Century progressed. They are, therefore, rare treasures to enjoy for their diversity and unique position in musical history. The performance material for this recording was specially prepared from original sources by acclaimed soloist Bruno Meier.
Peter von Winter (1754-1825)
Flötenkonzert Nr.2 d-moll (1813)*
Flute Concerto No.2 in D minor
Cadenzas by Bruno Meier
Peter von Winter (1754-1825)
Flötenkonzert Nr.1 d-moll (1813)*
Flute Concerto No.1 in D minor
Cadenzas by Bruno Meier
Franz Lachner (1803-1890)
Flötenkonzert d-moll (1832)*
Flute Concerto in D minor
Antonio Rosetti (ca.1750-1792)
Flötenkonzert Es-Dur (Murray RWV C19)*
Flut Concerto in E flat major
Cadenzas by Bruno Meier
* Weltersteinspielung / world premiere recording
FANFARE (USA) , May 2009
World premiere recordings of any major works for my instrument understandably
tend to kindle my interest right away, even before I listen to them. When
they are works from the past, which have been forgotten for no fathomable
reason, they get a special place in my CD collection. When, besides, they
consist of delightful music, played with flair and competence, they inspire
an especially emphatic recommendation. But this CD does more, and deserves
more: it introduces to the music-lover no less than four previously unrecorded
concertos, each one special in its own way, each one, by itself, worth
the price of the CD.
The four concertos presented here were written at different times, and
for diverse instrumental forces, but have enough in common to justify
being gathered in the same recording, as the liner notes convincingly
explain. The performances are equally convincing. Bruno Meier is a brilliant
soloist, with a robust, round tone, amazing technique that seems to come
naturally to him, a commendable sense of style, phrasing that is musical
and flexible, and a personality that basks under the responsibility of
facing an imposing orchestra. He displays bravura, wit, fluid legatos,
a stunning variety of attacks, and a correspondingly big dynamic scope.
His pianissimos are delicate and clean, the fortissimos bold and dense.
The cadenzas that he wrote himself are all appropriate, virtuosic, and
interesting.
The Prague Chamber Orchestra under Antonín Hradil's secure baton
offers the perfect counterpart for such a soloist, giving him the needed
support without crushing him under a sea of sound. The strings are tight-knit
and nimble, and the winds-particularly important here, for they engage
in long dialogues with the solo flute-are all first-class soloists in
their own right. Let's not forget T?ma's creative harpsichord accompaniment.
Everybody seems to be having a great time. And as we know, fun is contagious.
You will find it hard not to join in.
Bruno Meier was responsible for the research that unearthed these concertos
as well as many other praiseworthy flute works that had been long forgotten
in dusty library shelves, works that he has been recording over the years.
Composers like Krommer, Myslive?ek, Reicha, Vanhal, and Witt have gained
a second lease on life thanks to his careful musicological research and
loving performance. If you are at all interested in musical curiosities,
in the flute, in music from the past, or simply put, in good music well
played, don't miss this CD, especially at Naxos's very affordable prices.
If you are a flutist yourself, getting to know these works is simply mandatory,
no matter at what cost
Laura Rónai - FANFARE, May 2009
Das Orchester 05/2009
Eines der Mysterien der daran nicht gerade armen Musikgeschichte rankt
sich um das immer wieder verblüffende Entdecken "verschollener"
Kompositionen, die nach ihrer Uraufführung oder sogar einiger Zeit
der Beliebtheit aus mitunter nebulösen Gründen gänzlich
in Vergessenheit gerieten. Mit zu diesem Faktum beigetragen hat natürlich
auch die musikhistorisch lange Zeit gebräuchliche Praxis, jeweils
das Neueste zu spielen und sich nicht klanglich rückwärts zu
orientieren. Auch sind die "Gelegenheitskompositionen" oder
Gebrauchsmusiken Legion: nicht immer das qualitätvollste Beispiel
vollendeter Tonkunst, sondern vielmehr häufig ein Abbild von wechselnden
Moden, Fertig- und Besetzungsmöglichkeiten. Aber manchmal blitzen
aus den Tiefen der Musikgeschichte auch Kleinodien hervor, die es gewissermaßen
"verdient" hätten, ihren festen Platz im Konzertrepertoire
einzunehmen.
So gelang es dem Flötisten Bruno Meier, mit der vorliegenden Weltersteinspielung von Flötenkonzerten aus Klassik und Romantik nicht nur das Flötenrepertoire im Bereich der virtuosen Spielarten zu erweitern, sondern durch seine sorgfältige Recherche und behutsame Einrichtung des Aufführungsmaterials auch für hoffentlich weitere Aufführungen zugänglich zu machen. Mit der CD "Deutsche Flötenkonzerte" gibt Meier gemeinsam mit dem Prager Kammerorchester unter der Leitung von Antonin Hradil einen musikalisch höchst spannenden Einblick in das kompositorische Schaffen von Peter von Winter, Franz Lachner und Antonio Rosetti. So kann der geneigte Hörer staunen, mit welch geradezu opernhaftem Zugriff etwa von Winter den Vorhang für die virtuos ein- und von Meier brillant in Szene gesetzte Querflöte öffnet. In bisweilen unerwartet schillernder harmonischer Verquickung entsteht hier trotz kleiner kompositorischer Schwächen ein großer Wurf, der allerdings im orchestralen Bereich hinter der Delikatesse des musikalischen Zugriffs des Solisten ein wenig zurücksteht.
Auch Franz Lachner setzt in seinem Flötenkonzert in d-Moll auf den
dramatischen - zeitlich romantischen - Gestus, der hier in der vorliegenden
Aufnahme klanglich vielleicht am überzeugendsten gelingt. Antonio
Rosettis Flötenkonzert Es-Dur zeigt wieder die klassische Dimension
in interessanten, der Flöte bestens liegenden Klangfarben und bisweilen
längerer kompositorischer Detailverliebtheit, die Meier im orchestralen
Dialog aber spannungsvoll und feinnervig interpretiert und auffängt.
Die Musiker legen eine insgesamt hochinteressante Einspielung wertvoller
Flötenkonzerte vor, die nicht nur für Flötisten eine Bereicherung
ist!
Christina Humenberger - Das Orchester
- Mai 2009 / Seite 68
Kassik-Highlight : Entdeckungen des "Flötologen"
Weil Flötenkonzerte aus der Klassik und Romantik absolute Mangelware
sind, durchforscht der Schweizer Flötist Bruno Meier regelmässig
Archive nach vergessenen Werken. Das Resultat ist mehr als bemerkenswert,
denn es wurde Erstaunliches zutage gefördert.Mit dem Prager Kammerorchester
hat Meier eine Reihe unveröffentlichter Konzerte von Rosetti, von
Winter und Lachner erstmals eingespielt. Dazu wurden die handschriftlichen
Partituren vom Solisten in akribischer Arbeit für die Aufführung
eingerichtet und teilweise mit eigenen Kadenzen versehen. Es bleibt zu
hoffen, dass dem "Flötologen" Meier weitere Entdeckungen
gelingen und er so eine Lücke im Repertoire seines Instrumentes schliessen
kann. Damit sind musikalische Überraschungen auch in Zukunft garantiert.
André Scheurer / Radio
Swiss Classic - Radio-Magazin 43/44 - Oktober 2008
Der Schweizer Flötist Bruno Meier, Schüler von Peter-Lukas Graf,
gehört nicht zu jenen Musikern, die sich mit dem Abspulen des Gängigen
zufrieden geben. Im Gegenteil, er scheint von unbändiger Entdeckerlust
erfasst. Auch wenn bei diesen Fundstücken nicht alles als Gold glänzt,
so ist es doch edles Silber. Das gilt gerade für jene Stücke,
die Meier jetzt als "Deutsche Flötenkonzerte" vorstellt
: vier Werke zwischen 1778 und 1832, entstanden in der faszinierenden
Übergangsphase zwischen Klassik und früher Romantik. Dabei war
Meier gleich mehrfach gefordert: als glänzender Bläsersolist
natürlich, denn es werden manch virtuose Ansprüche erhoben,
dann als wissenschaftlicher Bearbeiter und keineswegs zuletzt als Verfasser
angepasster Kadenzen.
Der am ehesten bekannte der Komponisten ist Antonio Rosetti, ein gebürtiger
Böhme voll Sturm-und-Drang-Attitüde. Klassische Unterhaltungskunst
mit höherem Anspruch - das gilt kaum minder für die übrigen
Konzerte, die pikanterweise alle in Moll stehen. Also jene zwei aus der
Feder des gelegentlich geschmähten Mozart-Konkurrenten Peter von
Winter sowie der einschlägige Beitrag von Franz Lachner. Der Letztere,
später hoch angesehener Hofkapellmeister in München, gehörte
in jungen Jahren zum Schubert-Freundeskreis. Das prägte seine Musik;
sie gibt sich melodiös,pendelt effektgewandt zwischen Passagen in
lyrischer und brillanter Manier.
Mario Gerteis - Musik &Theater - Februar 2009
AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE , March 2009
These are first recordings of four flute concertos by three minor late
18th and 19th Century composers who deserve to be better known.
Peter von Winter (1754-1825) was born in Mannheim and became both a violinist
and double-bass player in the fine Mannheim Orchestra. In 1778 he, along
with many other orchestra members, moved to Munich when the Mannheim Orchestra
was dissolved. In 1798 he was appointed Kapellmeister of the Munich Court
Orchestra. During his career he also toured to Vienna, Paris, and London.
He left a wide range of compositions that are of considerable interest
and are slowly coming to records. (I now have ten of them.) His two flute
concertos were written for Johann Nepomuk Capeller, the Munich Orchestra's
principal, in 1813. The first one is in one movement with four parts.
It is well written and falls felicitously on the ear as it alternates
between major and minor key sections. The second one is in three movements
and opens with distinctly military style themes, while III is in typical
polacca style.
Franz Lachner (1803-90) was exceptionally long lived. He eventually studied
music in Munich and then Vienna. There he became part of Schubert's circle.
By the age of 23 he became Kapellmeister of the Kartnertor Theater and
two years later gained the same post with the State Opera. He moved back
to Munich in 1836 for 32 years as Hofkapellmeister and General Music Director.
As his importance as a conductor grew, his time for composition decreased.
Even so, he left many works behind when he died.
He wrote his flute concerto in 1832. It is in one movement and reminiscent
of Schubert. Franz Anton Rossler (c.1750-92) was born in Leitmeritz, Bohemia.
Little is known of his early life, but he served the Russian Count Orlov
before taking a position in the court of Oettingen-Wallerstein in 1773.
There he changed his name to Francesco Antonio Rosetti. Many other Bohemian
musicians did the same thing. He gradually rose in importance while there.
(His Requiem, written for Countess Maria Theresa in 1776, was performed
in an expanded version for Mozart's funeral services in Prague in 1791.)
This particular flute concerto-he wrote about 60 for various wind instruments,
including 13 for flute-was probably written about 1778 and later was rearranged
for horn. Although long passages are the same in both, there are also
some notable differences. It proves to be a substantial concerto for flute
and is well worth knowing.
Bruno Meier, the soloist here, studied with Andre Jamet in Zurich, Marcel
Moyse in the USA, and Peter-Lukas Graf in Switzerland. He has been increasingly
active as a musicologist in recent years, and he rediscovered and prepared
these concertos for recording. Needless to say, his performances are very
good, as is their accompaniment by the Prague Chamber Orchestra. The recording
is good, too, as are the notes.
Carl Bauman - AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE,
March 2009
Un disque absolument épatant...
Cathérine Buser - RSR Espace
2 / L'île aux trésors - 10.11.2008
Der Titel "Deutsche Flötenkonzerte" klingt nach Understatement.
Dabei zeigt schon der erste Blick auf das Cover, dass diese CD mit vier
Weltersteinspielungen aufwartet. Wer Bruno Meier kennt, wird nicht überrascht
sein. Der Aargauer Flötist fördert seit Jahren vergessen geglaubtes
Repertoire zutage - mit Gewinn, wie auch diese jüngste Einspielung
zeigt. (...) Den unterschiedlichen Ansprüchen begegnet Bruno Meier
nirgends mit selbstzweckhafter Virtuosität, sondern mit einer Noblesse,
die den schlanken, eleganten Ton favorisiert. Die Empfindsamkeit des Musikers
zeigt sich nicht allein im Umgang mit seinem Instrument, sondern auch
in jenem mit dem Prager Kammerorchester, dem er seit langem verbunden
ist.
Elisabeth Feller - Aargauer Zeitung
/ Kultur - 15.November 2008
DAVID'S REVIEW CORNER, November 2008
Bruno Meier's exploration into the world of unknown flute concertos here
takes him on a journey from the classic era of Antonio Rosetti through
to the early romantic period of Franz Lachner.
On the way we discover the long forgotten 18th century German-born composer,
Peter von Winter. Of the three, it is Rosetti who still holds a place
in the repertoire by virtue of his wind music, though he was a double-bass
player before turning to conducting and composing, being successful in
both. His flute concerto-which also exists in a version for horn-dates
from the mid-1770s, and is a modest showpiece of the performer's technique,
its main virtue coming from its long singing melodies. Based in Munich,
Winter was highly productive as a composer and toured extensively through
Europe enjoying much success as a performing musician. His two flute concertos
are unabashed showpieces, the first of finger-knotting complexity and
requiring considerable agility, a feature extended by Meier's demanding
cadenzas.
Neither concerto contains earth-shattering melodic invention, but both
are extremely pleasant. The Marco Polo label has made some of Lachner's
music known, his life stretching through almost all of the 19th century
and placing him in direct comparison with so many great composers that
his modest talents simply could not match. His short one-movement flute
concerto dates from 1832, his twenty-ninth year, and is a piece of perky
brilliance. All four concertos receive their first recording, the scores
having been prepared by Meier. Born in Switzerland, Meier has built a
career both as a flute soloist and member of chamber orchestras. Clarity
of articulation in fast passages is striking, and he has an intuitive
feel for this period of music. Neat, tidy and unobtrusive support from
the Prague Chamber Orchestra in an unfussy and well-balanced recording
completes a likeable release.
David Denton
Much is made of the fact that Bruno Meier plays a 14-carat gold flute;
that might be, but it is his golden sound that is more impressive. He
and the Prague Chamber Orchestra make a somewhat gentle, even staid impression
in these four concertos. Meier's understatement suits this repertory's
fragile charms well, however, so no harm is done. The Prague Chamber Orchestra
plays stylishly throughout.
Raymond Tuttle - Classical Net - 2009
The main attraction of this CD is the repertoire, which if not essential,
is still representative of an era rich in developing styles and technique.
There are two works by Winter, and one each by Lachner and Rosetti (real
name: Franz Anton Roessler, a Bohemian composer). The soloist composed
the cadenzas for all three works, which he plays with great empathy. The
Prague Chamber Orchestra is famous as a conductorless ensemble, and is
here led by concertmaster Antonin Hradil.
The New Recordings, cliffsclassics.com - Giv Cornfield - December 19,
2008