111 J. S. Bach: Concertos Vol. II, BWV 1041-1043, 1056, 1060, 1064

Description

“[…] Having grown up as a lover of music in stereo, I am used to hearing music coming from different directions; but I have never been so close to (recorded) music; no other production has ever captured the mood of the recording location so intensively. […]” stereoplay

“The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra is a prime example of an ensemble in which the separation of historical and modern instruments, historical and modern styles is simply no longer an issue: here, what belongs together anyway, if one wants to fill music with emotion and expression, has grown together.
In its approach to Bach, the ensemble, which was founded in 1945 and can boast the attribute of being the oldest European chamber orchestra, is as careful as it is spirited. Nothing is exaggerated and nothing is smoothed out; details are lovingly sounded out, and music is deliberately played together.
Benjamin Hudson, who leads the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra here as concertmaster, plays the solo part of the original and reconstructed violin concertos very precisely, smoothly and with a decidedly unsolistic attitude. All this does the pieces good. The fact that they come across here as ensemble pieces rather than virtuoso works is historically correct and rounds off the extremely positive impression of a recording that is spectacular if only because it avoids the spectacular.” (klassikheute.com)

Audiosample (mp3, stereo)