Norwegian Baroque Orchestra - Johan Daniel and Johan Heinrich Berlin (2014)

This is the first recording from Simax to feature the Norwegian Baroque Orchestra and their artistic director Gottfried von der Goltz. It presents rarely heard baroque music by the German-born composer Johan Daniel Berlin and his Norwegian-born son Johan Heinrich. The Berlin family moved to Trondheim in 1737 and were important figures on the music scene in Norway during the 18th century.

Johan Daniel Berlin was born in what was then Prussia in 1714, and went to Trondheim as a city musician in 1737. He became organist at both Nidaros Cathedral and Vår Frues church, and wrote music and books on music theory. Sadly, only a few of his compositions have been preserved. All of Johan Daniel’s three sons became musicians, but Johan Heinrich was without doubt the most successful. His Sinfonia in C major takes a few steps further towards classicism, both formally and in terms of instrumentation, and also shows the influence of Italian composers like Corelli.

The Norwegian Baroque Orchestra was established in 1988 as one of the first dedicated early music ensembles in Scandinavia. Since then the orchestra has appeared at major festivals around the world, including the Musikfest Bremen, the Festival Internacional de Música de Coimbra, Luzernermusikfest-Wochen, Europäischen Musikfest Stuttgart, and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival. German-Norwegian violinist and conductor Gottfried von der Goltz is a renowned specialist in the baroque repertoire. He has been artistic director of the Norwegian Baroque Orchestra since 2007.