Georg Philipp Telemann 1681–1767 12 Fantasias for Solo Violin TWV40:14–25 (1735)
1 2 3 4
Fantasia No.1 in B flat TWV40:14 I. Largo 2’28 II. Allegro 1’44 III. Grave 1’38 IV. Si replica l’allegro 1’50
5 6 7
Fantasia No.2 in G TWV40:15 I. Largo II. Allegro III. Allegro
1’40 2’05 0’47
Fantasia No.3 in F minor TWV40:16 8 I. Adagio 1’44 9 II. Presto 1’30 10 III. Grave – Vivace 1’18
Fantasia No.7 in E flat TWV40:20 I. Dolce 2’06 II. Allegro 3’07 III. Largo 2’25 IV. Presto 1’05
Fantasia No.4 in D TWV40:17 11 I. Vivace 12 II. Grave 13 III. Allegro
1’55 0’45 2’13
21 22 23 24
Fantasia No.5 in A TWV40:18 14 I. Allegro – Presto 15 II. Andante 16 III. Allegro
2’09 0’41 2’15
Fantasia No.8 in E TWV40:21 25 I. Piacevolmente 26 II. Spirituoso 27 III. Allegro
17 18 19 20
Fantasia No.6 in E minor TWV40:19 I. Grave 2’23 II. Presto 1’37 III. Siciliana 1’46 IV. Allegro 2’44
1’48 2’27 0’39
Fantasia No.9 in B minor TWV40:22 28 I. Siciliana 2’18 29 II. Vivace 2’44 30 III. Allegro 1’32
Fantasia No.10 in D TWV40:23 31 I. Presto 32 II. Largo 33 III. Allegro
1’40 2’36 0’53
Fantasia No.11 in F TWV40:24 I. Un poco vivace II. Soave III. Da capo: Un poco vivace IV. Allegro
1’49 1’36 1’46 0’48
34 35 36 37
Fantasia No.12 in A minor TWV40:25 38 I. Moderato 2’13 39 II. Vivace 1’24 40 III. Presto 0’56
Federico Guglielmo violin
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Georg Philipp Telemann: 12 Fantasias for Solo Violin One of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most famous compositions is his set of Six Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin; so famous that they often overshadow solo violin works by other composers. Bach is placed in a tradition that probably began with Thomas Baltzar (?1631–1663), a composer and excellent violinist, and which also includes Johann Jakob Walther (c.1650–1717) and Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644–1704). Bach’s contemporary Johann Georg Pisendel (1687–1755) was an acquaintance of both Bach and Telemann, and it is probable that his Sonata a violino solo senza basso (1716) was the direct inspiration behind Bach’s set, written four years later, and that Bach himself influenced Telemann’s 12 Fantasias for solo violin. Telemann’s pieces were published in 1735 and probably composed just before: although Telemann does not mention them in his autobiography, the publication belongs to the period when he was strongly involved with chamber music and also wrote a series of fantasias for solo flute and solo viola da gamba (the latter are now lost). The fantasias serve both artistic and didactic goals. They are a catalogue of all the musical gestures possible on the violin at that time. The frequent repetitions of musical figures suggest an etude-like intention, while the many variations in sound and rhythm are proof of their artistic quality. Each fantasia is around 100 bars in length, and the challenge for every musician is to find a balance between the continuity of the work, often through rhythm, and the variations in the details, which can be accentuated mainly through sound and gesture. Although these compositions are explicitly written ‘senza basso’ (without bass), the bass is in fact implicitly present. The melodies are built on a clear harmonic scheme for each phrase, episode and entire fantasia. These pieces are perfect examples of tonal writing, with each episode in a well-defined key, and they share a number of qualities with Bach’s solo violin music. However, they make less frequent use of counterpoint, which distinguishes them from Bach’s writing. Telemann is much more conservative in his use of fugue: if counterpoint is present, it is within the construction of a single line, a technique often used by Baroque composers. Telemann likes to play with the low, medium and high registers, with different
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rhythms within one episode. He is much more inclined towards melody, while Bach prefers to focus on leaps and complex changes which indicates a greater emphasis on counterpoint and an instrumental way of building musical lines. By contrast, Telemann’s music has a clear vocal origin and is written in a style described by his contemporary Mattheson as ‘Sing-Art’, for which indications such as dolce (No.7), piacevolmento (No.8) and soave (No.11) are clear evidence. In Telemann’s time it was common practice to publish compositions for relatively small ensembles or just one instrument in groups of six or twelve – well-known examples are Bach’s Partitas for harpsichord, Handel’s Concerti Grossi and Vivaldi’s published violin concertos – as this allowed the composer to present music in a variety of forms. The opening of the fantasia can be either slow or fast. If it is slow, the melody sounds like an instrumental recitative, with all the sudden changes in rhythm and harmony typical of that genre. In a recitative these changes are of course closely connected with the words, but in Telemann’s fantasias the instrumental line can easily stand on its own. The second section is usually the longest and in a fast tempo. In Bach’s sonatas this is usually where the fugue is placed, but Telemann includes this structural device in only three of the 12 fantasias (Nos. 2, 3 and 6). And where he does, the second and sometimes third voices appear only in snapshots, not as equal and complete voices. Most of the fantasias have three movements (a few have four), and the final movement can be either fast or slow. Telemann had no predetermined form in mind when he composed these works – the structures usually grow out of motifs that are repeated, exploited by association or put aside in favour of new material – because for the time in which he was active (i.e. pre-Classical era) composers were not yet following a structural model. In some sections, however, we can observe sub-sections reminiscent of an exposition, development and recapitulation – precursors of the Classical sonata, in other words, although we cannot be sure how much of a conscious decision this was on Telemann’s part. The title ‘fantasia’ does not indicate that these pieces may be entirely regarded as autonomous music. Several sections bear traces of dances, such as the gavotte, courante, allemande and polonaise. The first section of Fantasia No.9 is explicitly labelled Siciliano. The use of the polonaise probably goes back to
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Telemann’s stay for several years in Upper Silesia, which he writes about in his autobiography: ‘One would scarcely believe what wonderful ideas the pipers or fiddlers have when they improvise while the dancers pause for breath. An observer could gather enough ideas from them in eight days to last a lifetime’. Telemann’s scores do not contain many performance indications. Phrasing is indicated very precisely, but we do not know if he allowed the performer to add ornamentation, and although many passages have a dance-like character this does not mean they have to be played with a rigid pulse – these passages are stylised dances, not music to dance to. The same uncertainty exists about dynamics: in many places Telemann indicates piano or forte, but in just as many places any instruction is absent. Telemann himself described these pieces as ‘12 fantasias for the violin without bass, of which six include fugues and six are Galanterien’. This comparison hints at a fundamental difference between those written in the galant style and the other six. Perhaps this was true for Telemann and his contemporaries, but for posterity the similarities were more striking. Telemann was a composer mainly writing for the new and rising bourgeoisie class who liked to play intimate music, suitable for the advanced or skilled amateur, often without a spectacular theatrical character and instead aimed at the home (the concert and the concert hall were still a rather new phenomenon at that time). The style of these fantasias reflects this objective: the music is highly melodic, harmonically uncomplicated and rhythmically rather predictable – traits which were to underpin the soon-to-emerge Classical style of Haydn and Mozart. Indeed, while according to the history books Telemann is a Baroque composer, most of his chamber music, including these fantasias, hints at the later style. No wonder Telemann was much more popular during his lifetime than his contemporary Bach. 훿 Emanuel Overbeeke
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Federico Guglielmo The Paduan violinist Federico Guglielmo is acclaimed by international critics for his ‘extraordinary versatility’ and ‘mature interpretive confidence’, views which are further confirmed by the appreciation garnered for his live performances and the prizes he has won for his numerous recordings. Winner of the Antonio Vivaldi International Recording Prize he was hailed as ‘the new star of the ancient music landscape’ by the Boston Globe, while the French music magazine Diapason, which awarded him the Diapason d’Or for his recording of Vivaldi concertos, praised his ‘sparkling virtuosity which provides a cross section of everything of which the violin is capable’. His ‘brilliant and entertaining’ interpretation of Haydn’s Violin Concertos led the American critic Robert Maxham to write in Fanfare that ‘between Isaac Stern’s energetic approach to these works, those of celebrated Mozart interpreters like Szymon Goldberg and Arthur Grumiaux, and the insightful explorations of Christian Tetzlaff seem like halfway houses on the journey to Guglielmo’s more full-blown re-creations. Those who admire Haydn’s concertos should be among the first to rush to acquire these performances, but everyone should join that rush sooner or later.’ Guglielmo’s international career began at just 22 when he won first prize in the Vittorio Gui Chamber Music competition in Florence; the same year, having
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won the national competition for teaching posts, he became the youngest professor of strings at an Italian conservatory, a post he still holds at the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory in Florence. As both a Baroque and Classical violin soloist and as a conductor he is regularly invited to perform by major ensembles worldwide. He led the renowned Academy of Ancient Music on tour in England, and was subsequently invited by groups such as The Handel & Haydn Society of Boston and the Tokyo Chamber Orchestra; his debut in Sydney with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra was a sensational success, with his performances watched by over 10,000 spectators and recorded by ABC. The Daily Telegraph reported that ‘his ability to move from playing to conducting reminded us of the virtuosic players of the Baroque such as Vivaldi’, while the Sydney Morning Herald described his ‘superb technical ability demonstrated in the stratospheric passages at the very top of the fingerboard’. In 1995, together with his father, he formed the period instrument ensemble L’Arte dell’Arco, with whom he has performed in major European festivals and recorded more than 75 CDs for Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Sony/BMG Classical, Chandos, CPO, Stradivarius, ASV Gaudeamus and Rai Trade. 2011 saw the publication of the final volume of the complete 30-CD set of Tartini’s 125 violin concertos for Dynamic, and the first volume of the new Vivaldi project (19 CDs of all his published works) for Brilliant Classics. Federico Guglielmo collaborates with musicians such as Bob van Asperen, Emma Kirkby, Monica Huggett and Dan Laurin. He has performed Bach’s violin concertos with conductor Gustav Leonhardt, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Gran Canaria Philharmonic, conducted by Christopher Hogwood, and Franz Clements’s Violin Concerto with Reinhard Goebel (first European performance in modern times). He has taught Baroque violin in Italy, Brazil, and Japan and for the New South Wales Conservatory in Australia. In addition to his solo work, Federico Guglielmo also has a great passion for chamber music. He is a member of the Stradivari Trio, which he founded in 1992, and he has played with musicians such as Pieter Wispelwey, Mario Brunello, Kathleen Battle, Hansjörg Schellenberger, Wolfram Christ and Michala Petri. Chamber music
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recordings include Brahms Piano Trios (Dynamic), Mozart Piano Trios (CPO), named as CD of the month by the German magazine Fono Forum, and Grieg Violin Sonatas (Decca). Federico Guglielmo was born in Padua in 1968. He obtained his diploma from the ‘B. Marcello’ Conservatory in Venice and then attended violin masterclasses with Salvatore Accardo, Vladimir Spivakov and Isaac Stern, chamber music masterclasses with the Beaux Arts Trio, the Trieste Trio, the Amadeus Quartet, the Quartetto Italiano and the LaSalle Quartet, and an orchestral conducting masterclass with Gianluigi Gelmetti. While still very young he was concertmaster for the principal Italian symphonic orchestras for ten years – a role he is still happy to perform occasionally today with the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto. He has also won several prizes in national (Vittorio Veneto) and international (Paris, London, Canada) competitions; since then he has regularly performed at the main concert halls such as the Großer Musikvereinsaal in Vienna, Wigmore Hall in London, Società del Quartetto in Milan, Accademia Santa Cecilia in Rome, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Herkulesaal in Munich, Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall in New York, Suntory Hall, Opera City and Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, Izumi and Symphony Hall in Osaka, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and the City Recital Hall in Sydney. In his role as principal violin and leader of the string ensemble I Solisti Filarmonici Italiani, he has led concert tours every two years in Japan and the US since 1990, and has made more than 35 recordings for Denon Nippon Columbia. In the last few years he has concentrated more on conducting, including opera. He conducted the world premiere of Piccinni’s Il finto turco at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza (live broadcast by Rai Radio 3) and the first performance in modern times of Vivaldi’s Ottone in villa (recorded by Brilliant Classics); he was also responsible for the reworking of Domenico Scarlatti’s La Dirindina for MiTo/Settembre Musica. The CD of Handel’s Water Music (CPO) which he conducted was awarded ‘First Choice’ on BBC Radio 3’s Building a Library and was chosen as one of Gramophone’s ‘Recommended Recordings’ for its ‘splendid playing, involving and vibrant’. Federico Guglielmo plays on a ‘modern’ violin by Giovanni Battista Grancino (Milan, 1690), and a ‘Baroque’ violin by Claude Lebet (La Chaux-de-Fonds, 1995), a copy of the ‘Davidoff’ Guadagnini.
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Also available on Brilliant Classics
Recording: 23–24 January 2011, Sala della Carità, Padua, Italy Producer: Fabio Framba Recording engineer & editor: Fabio Framba Diapason: 415 Hz Violin: Claude Lebet, La Chaux-de-Fonds 1995 (after G.B. Guadagnini ‘Rabinof’, Parma 1761) Bow: Renzo Ghirardelli & 훿 2014 Brilliant Classics
Telemann: Trio Sonatas 93873 2CD
Telemann: Virtuoso 94995
J.S. Bach: Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin 94667 2CD
Ysaÿe: Sonatas for Solo Violin 94678
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