C.P.E. Bach Flute Concertos - Ariel Zuckermann

My apologies for thinking this album’s cover depicted Lord Voldemort on first sight; it instead is the conductor and soloist Ariel Zuckermann, who appears here with his orchestra, the Ingolstadt chamber orchestra, one with an interesting history.

There are a number of recordings of these concertos, by both historical and modern orchestras. If you’d asked me before this album arrived which I might recommend, my memory would point you to the recordings by Alexis Kossenko with the Arte del Suonatori and Les Ambassadeurs. As a historical ensemble, they embrace the speed and energy in concertos like the fiery A minor H. 431.

While they don’t own the speed record for the above named concerto, Ariel Zuckermann’s entrance into this repertoire has an abundance of energy and “stürm und drang.” As a modern ensemble, it’s interesting that the soloist/director has chosen to approach this music in a quasi-historical manner, from including harpsichord in the ensemble, to using a wooden flute. This album includes three concertos total, H. 431, the G major H. 445, and the D minor H. 425. Each are three movement works.

Zimmermann’s chops and fingers leave nothing more to be desired; he’s a first-rate virtuoso. It’s interesting to think about for whom Bach wrote these works; whether they were intended for Quantz or King Frederick? While Quantz was perhaps focused on the galant style, writing what sounded like works more firmly rooted in the baroque, Bach’s son embraces not only the galant aesthetic, but looks to the storm-and-stress aesthetic.

The second concerto on this disc is clearly wrought with a modern style, focused on emphasizing melody. The same goes for concerto H. 425, which despite embracing elements from the A minor concerto, is clearly less storm and stress than galant in flavor.

Another recording that captures these works is the one featuring Emmanuel Pahud, using a modern flute, performing with the Kammerakademie Potsdam, directed by veteran Trevor Pinnock. Unlike his earlier recording, which took the pace of things a bit slower, Pinnock pushes Pahud hard, making virtuosic showpieces from these works.

Zimmermann does much the same, I think, in this recording. To my taste, I prefer Zimmermann’s flute playing, because he’s using a wooden instrument, but also, I think, because I prefer his articulation. The sound of this recording, made on Fuga Libera, I think is also superior, putting us as listeners up close to the action. While both ensembles provide ample energy, the recording by the Georgian Chamber Ensemble is cleaner sounding.

It’s known by now that Bach favored to some degree his first son, Wilhelm Friederman, who, while a gifted musician, ultimately did not achieve the same level of fame as Bach’s second son, Carl Philipp Emmanuel. I can only imagine being brought up listening to, and performing their father’s works. Imagine developing your skills not only on works like the Well-tempered clavier, but being sized up by the likes of Johann Sebastian! In some ways, papa Bach got away with writing his own music in many ways; his sons were likely less free to be their own artists.

The middle movement of the A minor concerto is a bit of code switching in terms of style; Bach maintains the serious nature of the concerto’s opening, which for me still embodies a bit of the style of his father’s own concerto, BWV 1052. But the middle movement embraces the galant aesthetic, and in the solo for the flute, gives ample opportunity to be a rhetorical exercise. Ariel Zuckermann gets this, I think, in what he provides with his performance. His sound, articulation, and phrasing for me is nearly perfect.

The A minor concerto’s third movement, I’d like to think, was written for the audience’s joy, if not to set up his employer for success. He dispenses with a lengthy orchestral introduction, putting matters to work quickly enough, exposing the soloist to do their best. While less storm and stress, the movement aims to shock us with little surprises from the orchestral forces. The band in this recording has admirable control and meets the demands at moving its audience. When called on to impress, Zimmermann meets the challenge.

The middle movement of the concerto in G is set in the minor mode, as we might expect. It’s hard not to think of father Bach’s slow movements here. I’d like to have hard this with soloists rendering the orchestral parts, but the setup is more than kind before the flute’s entrance. The balance achieved in this recording for me rivals that by Kossenko, that over-emphasizes the continuo. The dramatic nature of this movement is well-done in the recording by Ton Koopman (directing) the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra with Konrad Hünteler as soloist. The flute is more dominant in the mix in the Zimmermann recording; but either way, my comparisons are both good rivals.

Bach manages to infuse a little “storm” into the concerto’s third movement, which is rendered cleanly by the orchestra.

The D minor concerto (H. 484) is the earliest written, also appearing as a harpsichord concerto (H. 425). The opening movement perhaps isn’t as fetching as the opening in the A minor concerto, but even so, it’s an attractive piece. Perhaps more than the others, it looks backwards in the treatment of the orchestral forces opposite the soloist. Either way, Zimmermann’s contribution as soloist is strong. There are multiple passages where the soloist is playing against the upper strings and the parts are nicely melded in total synchronization.

The dynamic contrasts in the final movement of this concerto are dizzyingly brilliant. The part for flute, especially at their pace, is a virtuosic affair. Both the violins and flute are blindingly up to the challenge. The piece is one of those that rivals the best Haydn could imitate in his symphonies focused on storm and stress. The flute playing by Zimmermann is clearly first rate.

The album doesn’t present a complete rendition of C.P.E. Bach’s concertos, but at 66 minutes, provides us with ample drama and energy. While the middle movement is better aligned to the empfindsaner Stil, the final movement, the album’s final track, is amazingly bold in what the composer asks the soloist to achieve. I might be so bold to say that Bach never heard the concerto at this speed, but why not? It works, musically, and the ensemble and soloist are both up to the challenge.

Here’s to hoping a second volume comes next, featuring the other three concertos by Carl Philipp Emmanuel. I’m left in awe with this recording, wondering if anyone could do this music better!