Baroque Treasury—National Arts Centre Orchestra/Pinchas Zukerman, violin & viola; Amanda Forsyth, cello; Charles Hamann, oboe (Analekta 8783)
The National Arts Centre Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Ontario, and for those whose thoughts have turned to Canada during the US election marathon, here is a bittersweet musical postcard from our friends north of the 49 th parallel. Bittersweet because this is the final recording by Pinchas Zukerman as the head of the NACO. After 16 seasons spent as music director, he takes on the roles of conductor emeritus and artistic director of the Young Artists Program. Says Mr. Zukerman, “This was a terrific album to record, and I had a wonderful time collaborating with such fine musicians. I think of it as a painter’s palette of sorts where we ‘journey’ through the Baroque era. When one plays a range of repertoire that spans an entire period, the listener gains a greater understanding of both the instruments and the performers.” The program offers Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon, Bach’s Concerto for Oboe & Violin, a Tartini Pastorale arranged by Respighi, a Vivaldi Double Concerto (in which Zukerman teams with his wife, cellist Amanda Forsyth), the Telemann Viola Concerto, and finally Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3. (Note: link sends you to the Analekta website.)
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