Hoffmeister & C.P. Stamitz: Viola Concertos

Stamitz was a violinist, violist and composer, a formidable virtuoso who absorbed much from his predecessors in the Mannheim school. His Viola Concerto in D is a brilliantly conceived work, full of technical demands more often encountered in virtuosic nineteenth-century music. Allied to this is a rich sense of colour and intricate scoring, making this one of the outstanding works of its century. Hoffmeister is better known as a publisher but his two concertos are adorned with rich melodic beauty, elegance and tonal breadth. They are performed by soloist Victoria Chiang.

"There is no doubting…the craftsmanship that has gone into these Concertos and especially the writing for viola. It is given a relatively uncommon chance to shine as a bringer of melodic cheer, not tear, especially in the Hoffmeister works. Of these the first movement of the B flat Concerto, featuring a fine cadenza written by Suzanne Beia, and the Adagio of the D major work, are particularly memorable.

The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra perform on modern instruments, but with appropriate restraint and elegance. Their music director Markand Thakar guides them thoughtfully through the scores. Though not especially challenging for the ensemble, they nevertheless require just this kind of insightful reading to bring them to life.

Victoria Chiang’s job is somewhat harder, with plenty of technical demands, especially double-stopping in the Stamitz, that have no chance, however, of catching her out. Her tone is attractively rich, her intonation splendid and her fingers nimble.

Sound quality is good, warm and well balanced… The CD booklet is slim but informative…" --MusicWeb International, September 2011

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