JOHANN GOTTLIEB GRAUN (1702-1771): Concerto in A Minor for Viola da gamba and Orchestra, Ouvertüre und Allegro in D Minor, CHRISTOPH NICHELMANN (1717-1762): Piano Concerto in C Minor, FREDERICK THE GREAT (1712-1786): Sonata for Flute and Bass No. 190 in C Minor, CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH (1714-1788): Symphony No. 1 in D, Wq 183,1.

Description: The tercentenary of Frederick the Great's birth is marked by this concert of music from members of his court orchestra, headlined by the concertos by Nichelmann (in the manner of C.P.E. Bach's keyboard concertos but with a more complex part for the soloist) and Graun (virtuoso in its outer movements and soulful in its slow one), who also provides a two-part overture with a French overture-like first part ending in a fugue and a brief, lively allegro which follows, while Big Fred himself has the only chamber music right at the center of the recording. Raphael Alpermann (fortepiano), Akademie für Alte Musik.