C. P. E. Bach: The Three Cello Concertos Ditta Rohmann, László G. Horváth, Anima Musicæ Chamber Orchestra

• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714 - 1788): Cello Concerto in A major, Wq. 172, H. 439:
• 1 Bach: Cello Concerto in A major, Wq. 172, H. 439: I. Allegro 06:26
• 2 Bach: Cello Concerto in A major, Wq. 172, H. 439: II. Largo con sordini, mesto 06:56
• 3 Bach: Cello Concerto in A major, Wq. 172, H. 439: III. Allegro assai 05:42
• 4 Bach: Cello Concerto in A minor, Wq. 170, H. 432: I. Allegro assai 10:42
• 5 Bach: Cello Concerto in A minor, Wq. 170, H. 432: II. Andante 07:48
• 6 Bach: Cello Concerto in A minor, Wq. 170, H. 432: III. Allegro assai 07:05
• Cello Concerto in B-flat major, Wq. 171, H. 436:
• 7 Bach: Cello Concerto in B-flat major, Wq. 171, H. 436: I. Allegretto 08:23
• 8 Bach: Cello Concerto in B-flat major, Wq. 171, H. 436: II. Adagio 07:59
• 9 Bach: Cello Concerto in B-flat major, Wq. 171, H. 436: III. Allegro assai 06:39
• Total Runtime 01:07:40

Info for C. P. E. Bach: The Three Cello Concertos

This recording brings to life C.P.E. Bach’s brilliant and expressive concertos for cello and orchestra, showcasing Rohmann’s artistry and the ensemble’s vivid sound.

A journey through elegance, passion, and innovation — these works capture the spirit of one of the 18th century’s most inventive composers.

As the second son of Johann Sebastian Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach occupies a truly unique place in music history: he not only represents the transition between the Baroque and Classical eras, but in his own time he also enjoyed outstanding fame and exerted a profound influence on Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. In fact, in the second half of the 18th century, the term “the great Bach” no longer referred to Johann Sebastian, but to Carl Philipp Emanuel.

The cult of heightened sensitivity – the Empfindsamer Stil – was a powerful response to the rationalism of the Enlightenment, asserting that music must touch the heart and stir the passions. It is often compared to the literary movement of Sentimentalism, alongside the novels of Samuel Richardson and Laurence Sterne, as well as the influence of Lessing and Klopstock in Germany. As the most distinctive representative of Empfindsamkeit – the North German style that proclaimed the primacy of emotion – C. P. E. Bach’s music is characterized by a highly individual rhetoric, sharp contrasts of emotions, and unusual harmonies: sudden shifts of direction, abrupt halts, and unexpected modulations into remote keys became hallmarks of his style, consciously challenging listeners’ expectations and far anticipating his time.

Ditta Rohmann, cello
Anima Musicæ Chamber Orchestra
László G. Horváth, 1st violin, conductor
Bence Kristófi, double bass
Fanni Edőcs, harpsichord

Ditta Rohmann
is known for her enormous versatility as a musician. She appears as a soloist in various concert halls, improvises with world-music ensembles, and plays a major role in collaborations with dancers, both as a chamber musician and most recently as an actress.

Born in Budapest in 1983 into a family of musicians (her father is pianist Imre Rohmann), she started her musical education at the age of seven.

She studied at the New England Conservatory of Boston between 1993 and 1994 with Suren Bagratuni, and then at the Franz Liszt Academy of Budapest from 1995 to 2005, the last six years as a student of Miklos Perenyi.

Her master studies were with Ivan Monighetti at the Academy of Music in Basel, while completing an internship at the Zurich Opera House.

Of huge importance to her was her participation in masterclasses with Boris Pergamenschikow, Jean-Guihen Queyras, András Schiff, György Kurtag, Steven Isserlis and others. In common with many of today’s greatest soloists, Ditta regards the Hungarian pianist and teacher Ferenc Rados as a reference and ‘master’.

More recently Ditta completed a doctorate at the Franz Liszt Academy, entitled ‘Sacher-Theme’, on the 12 works commissioned by Rostropovich in honour of Paul Sacher’s 70th birthday. Indeed, twentieth century and contemporary music form an important part of her repertoire, and she works regularly with the Hungarian composer Péter Eötvös.

In 2012 Ditta Rohmann was a prize winner at the prestigious Leipzig Bach Competition. Her recording of the 6 Bach Cello Suites on Hungaroton has been acclaimed by the public and critics alike, with the authoritative magazine ‘Gramophone’ ending its review of the second disc “..file Rohmann’s two volumes … on the shelf under ‘definitive’.” In January 2018 her third Bach disc ‘Sonatas and Partitas’ was released, on which she uses the violoncello piccolo to play the E major violin partita. It also features two of the violin and clavier sonatas with her husband Lászlo Fassang on baroque organ, and the A minor flute partita.

Ditta performs regularly as a soloist with orchestra. Whilst contemporary compositions and the concertos of C.P.E.Bach take particular prominence, chamber music also holds a special place in her musical life. She regularly attends the September ‘Open Chamber Music’ festival of the International Musicians Seminar, Prussia Cove, UK, where she has played alongside such artists as Steven Isserlis, Frans Helmerson, Andras Schiff and Thomas Adès. She has also appeared in the Kronberg, Lucerne and Santander festivals, and Music at Marsac, etc. Ditta’s CD of cello and piano works by Bartók, Debussy, De Falla and Ravel with her father Imre Rohmann was awarded one of just six Gramofon awards for the best Hungarian classical recordings of 2017.

She is also a committed teacher, having held a post for several years at the University of Debrecen. She runs her own summer school, also in Hungary, and gives regular masterclasses. From September 2018 on, Ditta will join the faculty of the Academy of Music Franz Liszt in Budapest as assistant professor.

Always in search of more direct forms of expression, Ditta takes on projects well outside the framework of the conventional concert, from improvisations (often singing as well as playing) or performing in ‘world music’ groups, to dance performances in which she plays on stage. She even took a role in a play in which she also played the cello. Nevertheless, recitals of solo Bach remain among her most treasured performances.

Since 2008 Ditta has played on a 1770 cello by Jean-Baptiste Salomon (Paris) and more recently on a five string violoncello piccolo, acquired for the sixth Bach suite but with which she is now exploring the violin repertoire.​​

This album contains no booklet.