Albrechtsberger: Concerto for Jew's Harp [Import]

Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (Composer), Hans Stadlmair (Conductor), Munich Chamber Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Munich Chamber Orchestra
• Conductor: Hans Stadlmair
• Composer: Johann Georg Albrechtsberger
• Audio CD (December 19, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Orfeo
• ASIN: B000005975
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,899 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Concertino for jew's-harp & mandora in E: [Part 1]

2. Concertino for jew's-harp & mandora in E: [Part 2]

3. Concertino for jew's-harp & mandora in E: [Part 3]

4. Concertino for jew's-harp & mandora in F: [Part 1]

5. Concertino for jew's-harp & mandora in F: [Part 2]

6. Concertino for jew's-harp & mandora in F: [Part 3]

7. Concertino for jew's-harp & mandora in F: [Part 4]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tying bluegrass to classical, January 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Albrechtsberger: Concerto for Jew's Harp (Audio CD)

The first time I heard this recording was on my local PBS station and I was'nt sure what I was hearing. My Grandfather taught me to play the Jew's harp when I was eight or nine years ole and I only thought that this instrument was for what we called a hillbilly band. I took my Jew's harp with me into the army and while stationed in Paris France I played with a country band and became the main attraction when I took out my Jew's harp from my pocket and began to play. I am a classical music lover but until I heard this recording thought that there was no place for the Jew's harp in classical music. I now play along with the orchestra and thouroughly enjoy it . Can't wait to get my own copy so I can aggitate the rest of the family and teach my grandchildren the versatility of the Jew's harp.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant and Unusual, July 11, 2007

By 

R. Folk (Akron, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Albrechtsberger: Concerto for Jew's Harp (Audio CD)

Yes, yes, it's a bizarre choice of instruments. But despite what one reviewer said, these works are sweetly written and very pleasant. Albrechtsberger is obscure as a composer, but well remembered as an influential theorist. He also served as a music teacher to Beethoven when he grew frustrated with Haydn, who had not the time to correct his work. These works are in the galant or rococo style, somewhere between baroque and classical (but closer to classical). These works must be understood in the context of the galant period. At that time, folk instruments had become very fashionable, and some composers became interested in them, such as Leopold Mozart, who wrote for the alp horn, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, and so on. The mandora, a type of lute, has a good sound, and the jew's harp is surprisingly melodious considering the fact that the fundamental pitch does not vary. All in all, this is very pleasant music, and even the non-musical will be entertained by the sheer quirkiness of it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Calling it "bizarre" doesn't quite do it justice, February 4, 2007

By 

chefdevergue (Spokane, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Albrechtsberger: Concerto for Jew's Harp (Audio CD)

Really, it has to be heard to be believed. Recordings of the Jew's Harp Concerto have been amusing music students at parties for years. It is one those oddities that one will find it hard to resist adding to one's collection.

I recommend this with many caveats. There is a good reason why Albrechtsberger is a virtual unknown (if not for the Jew's Harp Concerto, he would be completely off the musical radar), and the novelty of these pieces is really the only thing that can recommend this recording. However, you probably already had guessed that.