Xenia Löffler / Anna Prohaska / Collegium 1704 / Václav Luks JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Oboe Concertos & Cantatas

After the very successful album with the B minor Mass according to the Rheinische Post, the most beautiful recording of this work currently in existence Vaclav Luks and his Collegium 1704 ensemble return to Johann Sebastian Bach. Joined by Xenia Loffler, the solo oboist of AKAMUS Berlin, and the renowned soprano Anna Prohaska, Luks presents a deluxe setup for a programme of concertos and cantatas in which the oboe plays a prominent role. As a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician, Xenia Loffler has gained an outstanding reputation as a baroque oboist over the past several years. Working with ensembles such as the Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, where she has been active as a member and soloist since 2001, she has toured throughout the world and has performed at some of the most important music festivals and concert halls.

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin VIVALDI Doubles Concertos

With more than 500 concertos to choose from, it is easy to select an attractive program of Vivaldi's orchestral music. Indeed, some would argue that with such depth of repertoire, it would be hard not to assemble such a program. But one way or another, one would have to agree that the six works on this 2007 Harmonia Mundi disc make up a singularly attractive program. It opens and closes with two three-movement concerto grossos for string orchestra, and at its center are four enchanting concertos for four different sets of soloists. Each work and each set of soloists is first-rate and the quality of the playing raises even the most familiar work here to new heights. The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin is a suave-toned, sweet-tempered, supremely virtuosic period-instrument orchestra that has demonstrated its excellence many times before. As led by violinist Georg Kallweit in all but the opening Concerto Grosso in G minor, the Akademie seems born to play Vivaldi. The suppleness of the tempos, the intensity of the intonation, and the fire in the tone ideally suit Vivaldi at his energetic best. It would be hard to pick out a single favorite, but if you want just a sample of what the Akademie can do with Vivaldi, try the penultimate Double Concerto in A minor for two violinists featuring Kallweit and Midori Seiler. The fire in the outer Allegros and the passion in the central Larghetto e spiritoso are simply scorching. Harmonia Mundi's sound is crisp, colorful, and deep. (James Leonard)

Xenia Löffler / Batzdorfer Hofkapelle GRAUN Oboe Concertos

Johann Gottlieb Graun became a member of the small court orchestra of the Prussian Crown Prince Frederick in Ruppin in 1732, which Carl Heinrich also joined in 1735. With Friedrich's ascension to the throne in 1740, Johann Gottlieb was appointed concertmaster and Carl Heinrich kapellmeister of the royal court. Johann Gottlieb remained until the end of his life closely linked to Frederick the Great, as concertmaster and chamber musician. Whilst his brother Carl Heinrich became an important figure at the new Berlin Court Opera, Johann Gottlieb strongly influenced the musical life of Berlin and early classicism in general as a violinist and composer. One can no longer determine with any certainty which of the brothers wrote the oboe concertos recorded here the existing sources are too unclear and the differences in their personal styles are too slight. What is certain, however, is that the name "Graun" was a kind of seal of approval in those days for zestful music rich in ideas an estimation still valid today, as is readily apparent when listening to these concertos. The oboist Xenia Löffler has distinguished herself as a specialist for the North German repertoire of this period, as in her recordings with oboe concertos from the Dresden Court and with works from the Dresden Pisendel Collection (ACC 24202 and 24222). Alongside her teaching activities at the Academy of the Arts in Bremen, she is a member of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and in great international demand as a soloist.