G.F. HANDEL

 

Concerti grossi Op.3

Sonata a 5 HWV 288

 

The Academy of Ancient Music / Richard Egarr

 

The six widely diverse Concerti grossi Op. 3, published in 1734, and the rarely heard Sonata a 5, a miniature concerto for violin and keyboard, performed by the Academy of Ancient Music and its newly appointed music director Richard Egarr, in their first recording together, volume one of a projected Handel series.

 

Richard Egarr has worked with all types of keyboards: he has performed repertoire ranging from 15th-century organ intabulations, to Dussek, Schumann and Chopin on early pianos, to Berg and Maxwell Davies on modern piano. He is director of The Academy of the Begijnhof, Amsterdam, and is in great demand both as soloist and as accompanist for many of today's finest artists. His collaboration with long-time duo partner Andrew Manze has been setting new performance standards since 1984.

 

As a conductor, Egarr has presented a wide range of repertoire - from Baroque opera and oratorio, to works by 20th-century composers such as John Tavener and orchestral transcriptions by Stokowski. Recently named associate director of The Academy of Ancient Music, he appears regularly with this and other ensembles: the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Orchestra of the Paris Conservatory, the Dutch Radio Chamber Orchestra, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

 

Harmonia Mundi SACD HMU807415