Regardless of its stubborn reputation as a pure teaching tool for children, the recorder has been recognized and taken seriously as a versatile solo instrument for decades. This is also evidenced by the strong interest of contemporary composers. An example is the Dutchman Chiel Meijering, who has created no fewer than 50 recorder concertos to date! Another example is Elena Kats-Chernin. The Uzbek-Australian composer wrote six playful re-inventions for recorder and strings, which are based directly on the two-part inventions by Johann Sebastian Bach. Of course, the famous Thomaskantor was not the only artist of the Baroque period to write some demanding passages for recorders and transverse flutes, as the fourth of his six Brandenburg Concertos shows.

Antonio Vivaldi, who was admired by Bach, also considered the flute family. Between 1728 and 1729 he wrote the technically challenging C major Concerto for his sopranino offspring. After Vivaldi and Bach’s deaths, interest in this instrument disappeared for the time being – the symphony genre, on the other hand, was never affected by comparable fluctuations in attention. Its first grandmaster, Joseph Haydn, made 103 copies. His number 25, composed around 1760, comes up with the stylistic element of a fugue, which is rather atypical for the genre. At the same time, the brevity of the work makes one think of a »Sinfonia«, the opening piece of a stage work. Haydn was also extremely active in this sector. A concise demonstration object is the overture to the opera “L’isola disabitata” (“The Abandoned Island”).

Programme:

Haydn – Overture to “L’isola disabitata”

Vivaldi – Concerto in C major RV 443 for sopranino recorder, strings and b.c.

Sibelius – Romance op. 42

Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 BWV 1049 for solo violin, two recorders, string orchestra and b.c.

Haydn – Symphony No. 25 in C major Hob.I:25

Kats-Chernin – Re-Inventions No. 1, 2 & 6 for string orchestra and solo recorder after the two-part inventions by Johann Sebastian Bach

Chiel Meijering “Ludwig auf Freiersfußen” for two treble recorders and string orchestra