Recorder Concertos from Sanssouci Isaac Makhdoomi & Ensemble Piccante

• Johann Joachim Quantz (1697 - 1773): Flute Concerto in G Major, QV 5.174 (Arr. for Alto Recorder by Isaac Makhdoomi):
• 1 Quantz: Flute Concerto in G Major, QV 5.174 (Arr. for Alto Recorder by Isaac Makhdoomi): I. Allegro 05:16
• 2 Quantz: Flute Concerto in G Major, QV 5.174 (Arr. for Alto Recorder by Isaac Makhdoomi): II. Arioso e mesto 05:39
• 3 Quantz: Flute Concerto in G Major, QV 5.174 (Arr. for Alto Recorder by Isaac Makhdoomi): III. Presto 04:17
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714 - 1788): Flute Concerto in D Minor, Wq. 22 (Arr. for Alto Recorder by Isaac Makhdoomi):
• 4 Bach: Flute Concerto in D Minor, Wq. 22 (Arr. for Alto Recorder by Isaac Makhdoomi): I. Allegro 07:12
• 5 Bach: Flute Concerto in D Minor, Wq. 22 (Arr. for Alto Recorder by Isaac Makhdoomi): II. Un poco Andante 07:19
• 6 Bach: Flute Concerto in D Minor, Wq. 22 (Arr. for Alto Recorder by Isaac Makhdoomi): III. Allegro di molto 06:52
• Franz Benda (1709 - 1786): Flute Concerto in E Minor, L 2.4 (Arr. for Soprano Recorder by Isaac Makhdoomi):
• 7 Benda: Flute Concerto in E Minor, L 2.4 (Arr. for Soprano Recorder by Isaac Makhdoomi): I. Allegro con brio 06:50
• 8 Benda: Flute Concerto in E Minor, L 2.4 (Arr. for Soprano Recorder by Isaac Makhdoomi): II. Adagio un poco andante 05:07
• 9 Benda: Flute Concerto in E Minor, L 2.4 (Arr. for Soprano Recorder by Isaac Makhdoomi): III. Presto 05:02
• Carl Heinrich Graun (1704 - 1759): L'Orfeo, GraunWV B.I.25:
• 10 Graun: L'Orfeo, GraunWV B.I.25: D’ogni aura al mormorar (Arr. for Alto Recorder in G by Isaac Makhdoomi) 07:38
• Total Runtime 01:01:12

Info for Recorder Concertos from Sanssouci

The flute instrument is closely associated with the Prussian King Frederick the Great and his residence Sanssouci, as the Prussian king was a passionate flautist and numerous works were composed for him.

For the recorder player Isaac Makhdoomi, it is a special challenge to transfer these works, which were actually composed for a transverse flute, to his instrument. The idea behind this was to bring new aspects and facets to the works originally composed for the transverse flute, which he actually succeeds in doing brilliantly.

A Swiss recorder player with Indian roots, Isaac Makhdoomi presents this new recording with the Piccante Baroque Orchestra, skillfully introducing us to the works from Sanssouci.

Isaac Makhdoomi, recorder & direction
Ensemble Piccante

Isaac Makhdoomi
comes from an Indian-Swiss family and grew up in the Basel area. As a child of two worlds, he enjoyed, both culturally and musically, a diverse and experiential childhood that gave him an open ear for a wide variety of influences. As a classically trained musician and experimental improviser, he manages to implement these diverse suggestions with passion and success.

From 2005 to 2012 he studied recorder in the master classes of Kees Boeke and Maurice Steger at the Zurich University of the Arts.

Isaac Makhdoomi enjoys playing as a soloist or in chamber music ensembles. His repertoire consists mainly of pieces from the early to late Baroque period, but he is also very familiar with older Renaissance literature and contemporary pieces. As an improvising recorder player, it is a great concern for him to be able to present his instrument in its colorful variety of sounds and great flexibility. Since 2013 he has been doing this with jazz pianist Andreas Svarc, among others, with whom he plays his own compositions under the name "Sangit Saathi", which can be stylistically classified in the area of crossover. In 2016, he released his first album of original compositions together with him under the title Changing Moments.

In 2015, the CD recording of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos with the Brandenburg State Orchestra conducted by Howard Griffiths was released. Isaac Makhdoomi was privileged to serve as principal recorder for this recording.

In 2021, Isaac Makhdoomi released a beautiful CD on the Prospero Classical label featuring the complete sonatas of the largely unknown Domenico Maria Dreyer. This album was co-produced with SRF 2 Kultur and was enthusiastically acclaimed by the specialist press.

In 2022 Makhdoomi was nominated for an Opus Klassik in the category "Artist of the Year".

In spring, the new CD Antonio Vivaldi: Concerti per Flauto e Arie will be released by Prospero Clasical. Makhdoomi was accompanied by his ensemble Piccante, which he founded in 2018.

Having completed a Master of Arts in Music Pedagogy in addition to a Master Performance, Isaac Makhdoomi has been teaching recorder with great dedication and commitment at a music school in the Baden area of the Canton of Aargau since 2013. He is also a composer for recorder and has published his own works with Heinrichshofen and Edition Tre Fontane.

Booklet for Recorder Concertos from Sanssouci