Pandolfi: Complete Violin Sonatas
All we know about the mysterious Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Meali--as his full name runs--is that he "flourished" at the court of Innsbruck between 1660 and 1669. And we probably wouldn't know even that, save for the fact that two sets of violin sonatas, designated Op. 3 and Op. 4, respectively, and dating from 1660, have somehow survived to the present day. Anyone familiar with the music of this period will realize just what a treasure these works potentially represent, for this was the moment of the emergence of the first great school of violin playing in Italy and Austria, typified by the dazzling music of Biber and his Salzburg contemporaries. Pandolfi was clearly one of the gang: his music is by turns winsomely lyrical and technically brilliant. None of these 12 works is longer than eight minutes, and each is a little suite of arias and dances full of contrast and invention. Andrew Manze is not just the world's best baroque violinist, he's one of the world's best violinists, period. His interpretations of these appealing sonatas are matchless, and Harmonia Mundi's sonics bathe both violin and harpsichord in a golden glow. Magnificent.--David Hurwitz