Sergio Azzolini, Parnassi Musici - Telemann - Trio Sonatas (2003)

Telemann is said to have transformed traditional trio sonatas as composed and performed in Germany from esoteric music for virtuoso players into a considerably more popular form. I am not sure what "popular" means, but what we have here is music of the highest order, performed by a group of accomplished musicians. Admittedly, the sound of period instruments is not always to everyone's taste (including, at times, mine), but here they work well with the material and the result is on the musical mark.
The musical content in this disc's presentation is itself unusual, in that it contains a complete sonata cycle, rather than grab-bag selection. Consequently, one can retrace Telemann's progression and form an idea of his historical achievement as he builds upon, or shall we say reinterprets, fire style pioneered by the Italians, primarily Corelli. Other sonatas of the cycle are pure Telemann, however.
I auditioned this material first on my main system and was struck by the stereo spread and soundstaging, not to mention the detail and depth. This is a superior sounding recording in every way. […] A must of all fans of Telemann and Baroque music in general.