Star oboist Albrecht Mayer was praised by the press for his successful Baroque album »Tesori d'Italia«: »What makes Albrecht Mayer's musical treasures, tonal beauty and technical mastery so precious in these five treasures, is hard to beat.« (FonoForum). Now he presents his new recording Longing for Paradise, recorded with the Bamberger Symphoniker.

After the great success of his last Deutsche Grammophon album dedicated to works by Mozart, oboist Albrecht Mayer now turns to the uniquely gifted Bach family. "Bach Generations" is based on the thread of genius that runs through the different generations, producing works that span late Renaissance, Baroque and Classical styles.

A truly beautiful and unique tracklist with rarities including Víkingur Ólafsson’s new arrangement for piano of a Bach Cantata, rare transcriptions for guitar, for mandolin and even String Quartet; alongside familiar Bach masterpieces, all played by the world’s greatest classical artists, curated and presented Deutsche Grammophon.

One of Germany’s best-loved classical performers joins forces with a legendary close- harmony group for a winter-themed album to bring warmth to the dark months of the year: Albrecht Mayer & The King’s Singers. The pairing of probably the world’s most famous and accomplished oboist, Albrecht Mayer with the UK’s celebrated vocal ensemble is a heavenly musical partnership, and the interplay of colours, melodies and harmonies between these performers enchant and delight with Baroque, classical and seasonal favourites. The album has a Yuletide theme with tracks such as ‘Let It Snow’, ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’.

Star oboist Albrecht Mayer’s new album is inspired by his lifelong love for the music of Mozart and featuring a world premiere recording and several new arrangements of Mozart’s most famous pieces. Mayer’s album is made in partnership with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and harpsichordist Vital Julian Frey and will be released 9 April 2021. Its tracklist features a B flat major version of the Concerto for flute and harp, K. 299 (297c) arranged for oboe and harpsichord, and a transcription of Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165 (158a) for oboe d’amore, orchestra and organ. Also included are arrangements of the concert arias Non temer, amato bene, K.505 and Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle, K.538, the Rondo in C major, K.373 and the motet Ave verum corpus, K.618.

The latest album of star oboist Albrecht Mayer is inspired by his lifelong love for the music of Mozart and featuring a world premiere recording and several new arrangements of Mozart’s most famous pieces. Mayer’s album is made in partnership with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and harpsichordist Vital Julian Frey and will be released 9 April 2021. Its tracklist features a B flat major version of the Concerto for flute and harp, K. 299 (297c) arranged for oboe and harpsichord, and a transcription of Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165 (158a) for oboe d’amore, orchestra and organ. Also included are arrangements of the concert arias Non temer, amato bene, K.505 and Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle, K.538, the Rondo in C major, K.373 and the motet Ave verum corpus, K.618.

New Seasons is a project undertaken by oboist Albrecht Mayer to create "new" concertos for oboe, based primarily on the operas and oratorios of George Frideric Handel. He and arranger Andreas N. Tarkmann used arias, sometimes including bits of recitative, and gave the vocal lines to the oboe, flute, and bassoon without changing too much of the accompanimental parts to create a cycle of four concertos. Compared to Handel's original instrumental music, these are naturally more lyrical and sometimes more declamatory, but it is surprising how often the music is very dance-like. Lively, moving rhythms are not what is normally expected in vocal music, but it makes the arias used here very natural sounding as concerto movements.

This new recording was recorded in Berlin, not in Venice as the cover says. It’s also pretty big on personality – that of Albrecht Mayer himself, principal oboist of the Berlin Phil, photographed on the cover ‘playing’ (?) his oboe at the prow of a gondola and several times in double-page spreads in the brochure. He actually appears twice in some of the two-page spreads. All of which made me fear the worst. I’m very pleased to report, however, that my worst expectations were not realised; far from it, in fact – this turned out to be a most enjoyable recording, very well performed and recorded.

Oboists are not generally among the ranks of the most prominent instrumental soloists, but this delightful album featuring German player Albrecht Mayer, the principal oboist of the Berlin Philharmonic, makes a strong case for wider solo exposure for the instrument. Bonjour Paris is a survey of (mostly) French music of post-Romantic, Impressionist, and conservative contemporary vintage, and some pieces feature Mayer playing the English horn or the oboe d'amore. Some of the works were originally scored for oboe, such as Françaix's L'Horloge de Flore, d'Indy's Fantaisie sur des themes populaires français, and Swiss composer Gotthard Odermatt's "Été," written for Mayer and imagined as an oboe concerto that Ravel might have written.