Music of the period between the High Baroque of Bach and Vivaldi and the High Classical music of Haydn and Mozart has lately been the focus of energetic exploration by historical-instrument ensembles. Italy was in the stylistic forefront of what became the symphony, but experiments in putting together what we know as the exquisitely balanced forms of the late eighteenth century occurred in various parts of Europe. This disc offers a fair sampling of the music of Johann Melchior Molter, a composer active in the German cities of Eisenach and Karlsruhe. There are two pieces titled "Ouverture," essentially French dance suites that are starting to show the influence of the symphony and replace some of the dances with Classical-sounding fast movements.

Thuringia-born Johann Melchior Molter (1696-1765) is at best known as the composer who wrote some of the earliest concertos for the clarinet, which had just been invented at the time. Otherwise, the practical exploration of the oeuvre of the long-time Karlsruhe court kapellmeister is still in its early stages. In the highly acclaimed series 'Forgotten Treasures' at ARS PRODUKTION, Michael Alexander Willens and his Kolner Akademie present some of the concertos and orchestral works in first recordings, which once again make us take notice because of their above-average quality and remarkable inventiveness.

Trevor Pinnock and The English Concert take a refined look at Christmas Concertos from the baroque masters. So that's Vivaldi, Handel, Corelli and plenty more.

The Swedish trumpet-player Niklas Eklund, born in Göteborg (Gothenburg) in 1969, trained at the School of Music and Musicology of Göteborg University. Further studies took place under the tutelage of Edward H. Tarr at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. After five years as solo trumpet with the Basle Radio Symphony Orchestra, he left the orchestra in the autumn of 1996 to further his career as a soloist. Since then he has appeared with leading ensembles and conductors such as Zubin Metha, John Eliot Gardiner, Heinz Holliger, András Schiff, Robert King, Eric Ericson, Reinhard Goebel, Gustav Leonhardt, the London Baroque, the Bach Ensemble (New York), the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble and the English Baroque Soloists.

Thuringia has always been a highly musical region. Along with the greats who resided there, including at times Schutz, Telemann, Bach and his sons, and Liszt, a closer examination reveals other Thuringian composers who indisputably contributed to the course of music history such as Johann Melchior Molter. This composer from Tiefenort was active in Eisenach and Karlsruhe and during his lifetime was regarded as one of the most productive and significant composers as well as a trailblazer participating in the transition from the Baroque to the classical era. On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of his death Theater&Philharmonie Thringen has launched an editorial project in cooperation with the Institute of Musicology in Weimar-Jena.