Under the somewhat misleading CD title "Young & Foolish," Café Zimmermann brings together four progressive concertos and orchestral works by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Where "young" is an overstatement (only the 16-year-old Mozart was truly young when he composed his Divertimento KV.138), "foolish" is an understatement. The term progressive is more appropriate, especially
… when it comes to Bach's pieces. 'He is the father, we are the children. Those of us who can do something have learned it from him,' Mozart wrote appreciatively of him. As one of the first composers, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach left the father house of the Baroque era in search of new musical vistas. The most diverse emotions (affects), whimsical structures, surprising twists and colorful instrument combinations, you can hear it all in Bach's Symphony in D, Wq.183/1. The beginning of the opening movement could even be called revolutionary. Instead of a melody, Bach posits a rhythmic statement that turns out to be the main building block. In the slow middle movement, he fuses the timbres of two traversos, viola, cello and violone into a sound hitherto unheard of. Equally exceptional in terms of timbre is Bach's double concerto for harpsichord and pianoforte, which he composed in his last year of life, 1788. By then, Mozart had already completed his Piano Concerto No. 17, KV.453. Another progressive piece with the novelty of independent wind parts. Other than "young & foolish," Bach and Mozart sound especially "ahead of their time" on this album. (JWvR)more
