David Schulenberg, music professor and chairman of Wagner College’s Music Department, was part of a trio that performed on a new recording of “Seven Flute Sonatas” by 18th century German composer Johann Joachim Quantz. Schulenberg, who played harpsichord, peformed with Mary Oleskiewicz on transverse flute and Stephanie Vial on violoncello. All three were playing on period instruments.
The new recording makes available seven previously unrecorded works by J.J. Quantz (1697–1773), the leading flutist-composer of the 18th century. Six of the sonatas are for flute and basso continuo (cello and harpsichord); one is a trio sonata, performed as a duo for flute and keyboard.
This is the third recording of J.J. Quantz compositions for the flute by Oleskiewicz, Schulenberg and Vial. In 2004, they released a recording of “Six Quartets for Flute, Strings, and Continuo” by Quantz, joined by Elizabeth Field on violin and Daniel Elyar on viola. The compositions on that recording, previously lost, had been discovered by Olaskiewicz, who reported on her research in a 2003 article, “Quantz's Quatuors and Other Works Newly Discovered,” in the journal Early Music. A critical edition of the six quartets (score and parts) by Mary Oleskiewicz, with continuo realizations by David Schulenberg, was also published by Steglein Publishing.
In 2003, Oleskiewicz, Schulenberg and Vial — this time joined by Jean François Beaudin on flute and recorder — released a recording of seven solo and trio sonatas by Quantz on copies of period instruments, titled simply “Flute Sonatas.”
The German flautist and composer Johann Joachim Quantz was born in 1697. He worked for 25 years at the Dresden court before entering the service of King Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia in 1741. Best known today for his influential manual on flute playing, Quantz served as flute teacher and flute maker to King Frederick. Many of Quantz’s approximately three hundred concertos and over two hundred other works for flute were composed for his royal pupil. His richly varied music combines lively Baroque counterpoint with elegant, expressive melodies.
A native of New York City, David Schulenberg is one of America's foremost authorities on the music of the Bach family and an internationally respected performer on harpsichord and other early keyboard instruments. Before joining the faculty at Wagner College, he served on the faculties of the University of Notre Dame, Columbia University, and several other institutions. His books include the textbook and anthology “Music of the Baroque,” “The Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach” and “The Instrumental Music of C.P.E. Bach.” He has edited two volumes containing keyboard sonatas of C.P.E. Bach and has published numerous articles and reviews. In addition, he has held research fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Andrew Mellon Foundation and has presented lectures and concerts in and around Tokyo as a Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Performance credits include solo recitals for the American Bach Project, the Berkeley Music Sources series, and the International Bach Harpsichord Festival in Montreal, as well as concerts and lecture-demonstrations at the Library of Congress, the Boston Early Music Festival, and the Great Performers at Lincoln Center series.
Schulenberg releases new CD
July 11, 2011
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