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American Record Guide: (05/2020) 
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Berlin Classics
03011285BC



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This broad selection of eight concerti grossi by Francesco Geminiani is most welcome since these inventive works have not been recently recorded and this is an excellent performance. Included are two concertos each from Geminiani’s original collections: Opus 2 (No. 2 from the original edition of 1732 and No. 1 from the revised edition of 1757), Opus 3 (No. 1 from the original edition of 1732 and No. 6 from the revised edition of 1757), and Opus 7 (1748; No. 2 and No. 6). As examples of Geminiani’s arrangements there are his concerto versions of his own violin sonata, Op. 4:11, and Arcangelo Corelli’s violin sonata, Op. 5:3. The selections from Opus 2 and 3 allow a comparison between the Corellian reserve of the original editions and Geminiani’s later versions, which are much more ornate and expanded with a solo viola added to the concertino.

The interpretations of these works by Concerto Köln, led by violin soloist Mayami Hirasaki, are excellent. Most of the early recordings are complete recordings of one version or another of Geminiani’s collections (Op.2 and 3, July/Aug 1997; Op.3, Nov/Dec 1992, Jan/Feb 1998, July/Aug 1999; Op.7, Nov/Dec 1991; and the Corelli Op.5 arrangements, Nov/Dec 2000, Nov/Dec 2004). To this list I would add some of my favorites, Op.2 recorded by Tafelmusik (Sony 48043, 1992), Op.3 by the Academy of Ancient Music (Oiseau-Lyre 417522, 1977), and a selection of Geminiani concerti grossi by La Petite Bande (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 747656, 1987). In the Corelli Op.5:3 arrangement, Hirasaki may not have Andrew Manze’s flair or Chiara Banchini’s elegance, but her use of the so-called “Corelli” ornamentations for this sonata along with her own additions offers an enticing alternative. Overall, this new release is a very effective introduction to this music and support the estimation of his pupil, Charles Avison (perhaps in contrast to Handel): “the greatest in instrumental music; I mean the admirable Geminiani; whose Elegance and Spirit of Composition ought to have been much more our Pattern”.

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