01. Concerto in E minor - Allegro con brio 
02. Concerto in E minor - Adagion, un poco Andante 
03. Concerto in E minor – Presto
04. Concerto in G major - Allegro 
05. Concerto in G major - Largo 
06. Concerto in G major - Presto 
07. Concerto in A major - Allegretto 
08. Concerto in A major - Adagio 
09. Concerto in A major - Vivace ma non troppo 

Konrad Hünteler - flute
Presto Camerata of the 18th Century 

Franz Benda was one of the leaders in a generation of Bohemian musicians who entered Austrian and German musical life, filling important roles in the development of late Baroque and early Classical music.

Frantisek Benda (later Germanized to Franz) was the oldest of five musical children of a linen weaver and village musician who had married Dorota Brixi, an offspring of another major Bohemian music family. This was the foundation of a dynasty of musicians that continues to this day, when one can readily obtain compact discs performed by a family group called the Benda Musicians.

Frantisek, the eldest, became a choirboy at St. Nicholas church in Prague when he was nine, giving him the opportunity for musical studies. However, he ran away from its discipline at 11 to Dresden, Germany, where he got a similar position and learned violin. He returned to Prague in 1723, becoming alto soloist in a Jesuit seminary, where he received a good general and musical education, remaining there until his voice changed and he then returned home and resumed violin studies.

When he got a little older, he fell in love with a baker's daughter and petitioned the local count for permission to learn the secrets of Bohemian gingerbread. The count offered as an alternative to pay Benda's way to Prague for more violin studies. After ten weeks, his teacher there, Konicek, pronounced him a fully trained professional. Benda later said he learned more by following around a Jewish street musician named Lebel.

The 16-year-old Benda escaped Bohemia without permission and got work in Poland. Benda formed a house orchestra for Governor Suchaczewski that was so good he was hired away by the King of Poland, Augustus II the Strong, in 1732. The king died a year later, leaving Benda unemployed. He went to Dresden, got a job, and came to the attention of King Frederick the Great of Prussia, who hired him in 1740 to a job Benda kept for life. He even accompanied Frederick (who was a flute player) on his military campaigns. He had six children, among whom four (two boys and two girls) became professional musicians. His main compositional legacy is an assortment of violin sonatas written at the Prussian court, in which he influenced the future development of violin playing. These manuscripts also contain many observations about style and ornamentation of the period, valuable to research in the "authentic" performance movement. --- Joseph Stevenson, Rovi

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Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A major 14:15
1. I. Senza tempo 6:08
2. II. Adagio poco andante 3:58
3. III. Presto 4:10
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E flat major 17:16
4. I. Allegretto 6:57
5. II. Affetuoso ma non troppo. Lento 5:20
6. III. Presto assai 4:52
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in C Major 19:59
7. I. Allegro 6:52
8. II. Adagio 6:11
9. III. Presto 6:53
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major 20:18
10. I. Allegro 8:22
11. II. Largo 6:18
12. Allegro 5:37

Roman Patocka - violin
Prague Chamber Orchestra (without conductor)

Benda was one of the most illustrious, possibly the single most illustrious, Czech violinist of the eighteenth century. Yet fewer than twenty concertos of his concertos for his own instrument have survived. The intimate nature of the music making suits the performances, and indeed the nature of the compositions themselves. These are pleasantly old-fashioned, more akin to Vivaldi than an Italian contemporary like Tartini - akin to Vivaldi, yes, in a sense, but rather lacking the flair, panache, colour and hubristic danger of Vivaldi.

Which is not to suggest that they are not worthy or exciting in their own way. The C major has a forceful first movement, but the slow movement remains in the memory more for its character than for any true melodic distinction. The finale is probably the finest of the three movements, fizzing with energy and clever contrasts between ritornellos and the vivid, slashing solo violin. Here, for sure, one feels the impress of Vivaldi’s spirit. Here, too, one can tentatively gauge just what sort of virtuoso Benda must have been. The confident, fluent, Italianate lyricism that floods the E flat major is aerial in its finesse, showy in places, whilst not achieving much true distinction. Someone else added extraneous parts to the D major - let’s name him; Johann Georg Pisendel, who was a friend, and led the Dresden court orchestra which, because it was larger than the orchestra for which Benda wrote, needed something ‘extra’ to play. Finally there is the later A minor Concerto, a rather more ‘affetuoso’ work with a melancholy cadenza. Here we find Benda being just a touch too liberal with his expressive caesurae, just a little artificial and over gallant. The finale, though, is rollicking good fun.

Benda’s violin music is highly accomplished and highly polished. I can’t say it’s desperately original, nor is it always melodically special, but it’s well presented here. ---Jonathan Woolf, musicweb-international.com

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