Gottfried von der Goltz leads his Norwegian Baroque Orchestra in this presentation of father and son Berlin, the German composer family who made a huge impact on the Norwegian music scene in Trondheim. Inspired world premiere recording of Norwegian/German orchestral music from the 1760s.
Johan Daniel Berlin – composer, firefighter and more
Father JD was born in what was then Prussia, and came to Trondheim as a city musician in 1737. He soon proved to be a veritable powerhouse for the remote city in the north. He became organist at both Nidaros Cathedral and Vår Frues church, constructed a pedal board for his harpsichord, wrote music and books on music theory and pedagogy. He also became the chief of the fire department in 1763, as well as the inspector for the city’s water supply the year after. JD of course also led the Music Society of the city. He also came up with many inventions, and towards the end of his life he designed a threshing machine that would ease a farmer’s workload. It is doubtful if it was ever manufactured, but the design drawings for it can be found on the cover art of this release.
Johan Heinrich Berlin
All of JD’s three sons became musicians, but Johan Heinrich was without doubt the most successful. Born in Trondheim in 1741, he took over his father’s position as organist. JH’s Sinfonia in C major takes a few steps further towards classicism, both formally and in terms of instrumentation – and we also hear a strong inspiration from Italian composers in his works.
Gottfried von der Goltz and the Norwegian Baroque Orchestra
World premiere recordings of Norwegian orchestral music from the mid 1700s does not happen every day. It is especially exiting for Simax that Goltz makes his first recording with his Norwegian Baroque Orchestra, both as leader and violin soloist, in this repertoire. The cornetto soloist is Alexandra Opsahl, who has performed with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, among others. The Norwegian Baroque Orchestra was established in 1988 as one of the first dedicated early music-ensembles in Scandinavia. The orchestra has guested Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Ansbacher Bachwoche, Festival Internacional de Música de Coimbra, Festival International de Musique Baroque & Classique du Beaune, Luzernermusikfest-Wochen, Europäischen Musikfest Stuttgart, Tage Alte Musik Regensburg, Schleswig-Holstein Festival and Musikfest Bremen. Artistic director since 2007 is Gottfried von der Goltz.
