Georg Phillip Telemann
Georg Phillip Telemann was not only a prolific composer, but also a prolific business man who printed and sold his voluminous output throughout Europe. Though he was incredibly popular during his lifetime, later generations have sometimes given Telemann a bum rap assigning more credit for the volume of his work than for his creativity as a composer. But as more and more of Telemann’s music is discovered and performed, it has become evident that Telemann was not only a music business guru who knew how to cajole the market, but a musician whose compositional skills matched the best of his contemporaries.
L’accademia Giocosa
A 2014 Oehms Classics release titled Telemann: sonaten, trios, concerti by the German ensemble L’accademia Giocosa challenges the popular belief. The album captures Telemann as a virtuoso cosmopolitan immersed in European cultures and styles—a composer who drew from his vast knowledge and catered to diverse audiences, like successful pop artists today who tap into current trends and capitalize on what’s “in” at the moment. The pieces that L’accademia Giocosa include on their recording are not often heard, and they represent a trove of Telemann’s versatility and the three-dimensionality of his imagination.
L’accademia Giocosa is a relatively new ensemble, founded in 2010 by members of the Bavarian Radio Symphony who wanted to bring back the music of the 17th and 18th centuries, playing historically appropriate instruments with a “flair for the giocoso,” or a flair for the playful.
