The second volume of the recording of the complete Flute Sonatas by Quantz!

Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773) was a composer, theorist, flutist and flute maker of great name and fame. Despite being of humble origin he quickly rose to great eminence, becoming a personal friend and court composer of Frederick the Great, living happily at the sumptuous Potsdam court for 32 years, where he produced hundreds of works for the flute, playing them on the specially devised instruments that brought out their particular melodic beauty.

Quantz writes about the ideal instrument: “In general the most pleasing tone quality (sonus) on the flute is that which more nearly resembles a contralto than a soprano, or which imitates the chest tones of the human voice. You must strive as much as possible to acquire the tone quality of those flute players who know how to produce a clear, penetrating, thick, round, masculine, and withal pleasing sound from the instrument.”

Benedek Csalog: “The present CD series, which seeks to record some 200 extant sonatas, employs modern copies of Quantz’s instruments, most at this lower pitch. Through these, together with the applied performance style and technique, we hope to demonstrate convincingly the uniqueness of the Quantz flute, and the necessity of using such instruments to reveal the true character of his music.”

The Hungarian baroque flute player Benedek Csalog, winner of most prestigious early music competitions, among others Concours Musica Antique, Brugge (Belgium), graduated at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague in the class of Barthold Kuijken. He has been performing as a soloist in most of the European countries, Japan, North and South America, and the Middle East. He was a guest artist at major festivals, such as Utrecht Early Music Festival, Festival van Vlaanderen, Stockholm Early Music Festival, St Petersburg Early Music Festival, etc. He played with iconic artists such as William Christie, Sigiswald Kuijken, Barthold Kuijken and Emma Kirkby as his partners.

On these 2 CDs Benedek Csalog is partnered by Dóra Pétery and Fanni Edőcs on the harpsichord.