Camerata Bern & Heinz Holliger - Graun / Krebs / Telemann: Oboe Concertos (2004/2012) [Hi-Res]

In its time, the high Baroque oboe concerto was the ne plus ultra of the virtuoso, the sin qua non of the soulful, and the denier cri of the tuneful. But times change and for all but the most epicurean of the cognoscenti, the oboe concertos of Johann Gottlieb Graun, Johann Ludwig Krebs, and Georg Philipp Telemann are at best terra incognito and at worst nearly persona non grata. In his day, Heinz Holliger was the crème de la crème of oboe virtuosity, the apex, the acme, and the essence of the metaphysical quintessence of oboe virtuosity. So great was Holliger's celebrity that, after he had finished recording the oboe concertos of Mozart, Bach, and Strauss, he was allowed to record the oboe concertos of Graun, Krebs, and Telemann.

Of course, Holliger's performances are terrific. Beyond the fact that he is a supreme oboe virtuoso, Holliger is a supreme musician, and he makes the most convincing case possible for the music. And the music of Graun, Krebs, and Telemann is terrific, too, virtuosic, soulful, and wonderfully tuneful. The accompaniment by the Camerata Bern under both Alexander van Wijnkoop and Thomas Furi is attentive and supportive. In its time, Archiv's late stereo sound was superlative and this digital remastering improves the superlative.