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Charlottesville Classical is a service of WTJU 91.1 FM and the University of Virginia. See the full program schedule. Questions? Streaming problems? Please email wtju@virginia.edu
Ernst Wilhelm Wolf Christmas Cantatas bring holiday cheer
If you're interested in seasonal cantatas, give this release a listen. I found them a welcome alternative to the heaviness of late Baroque cantatas.
Ambitious Oratorios from Georg Philipp Telemann
Michael Alexander Willens and the Kölner Akademie are among the premier practitioners of high German Baroque choral music. Their performances here are fluid and supple.
Kölner Akademie's Telemann Easter Cantatas Highly Recommended
The musicianship is superb. Willens' direction brings out the individual characters of each cantata.
Le jour variable -- Stamitz anticipates Beethoven
If you're not familiar with Stamitz, start here. And discover that the 1790s talent pool extended beyond Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.
Kölner Akademie continues excellent Telemann Christmas series
A welcome addition to the catalog of Baroque seasonal recordings.
Weber Piano and Orchestral Music in Good Hands
I have heard period-instrument performances of Weber that seem flat. Not here. There's plenty of dynamic contrast. And even though the ensemble has a different color to it than a modern chamber orchestra, it still engages the ear.
The Haydenseque Fantasies of Sigismund Neukomm
Michael Willens directs with a light touch, and you can hear subtle inflections in the phrasing that bring this music even closer to the Mozartian ideal.
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