Best of Telemann

"It seems a bit much to have to wait more than 200 years after your death for a 'best of' album to be released, but in the case of Georg Telemann, it was well worth the wait. History has been far less kind to Telemann compared to his rival, JS Bach. But Telemann's skill and style are just as fluid and fulfilling as his more famous contemporary...A slight gripe is the fact we only listen to movements rather than the complete concertos, but Naxos has listed the record numbers of the CDs in which the excerpts can be presumably heard in full-leading you into a world of Telemann treats."
- Sunday Herald (Glasgow) (Philip Gates), Sunday July 30,2000

During his lifetime, Georg Philipp Telemann was more famous than his younger friend, Johann Sebastian Bach. The composer of more than 20 operas, at least 1000 Cantatas and 46 settings of the Passions, he was to dominate music in the city of Hamburg, eventually assuming the role of Director of the Opera House. His music was to have a major influence throughout Europe, and he lived well into the period dominated by Haydn and Mozart. Unlike Bach, he composed in every genre of music, though today his fame largely resides in his orchestral scores. Many of these were composed in dance rhythms, Tafelmusik being among the most engaging orchestral works written in the 18th century.