Gramophone Awards
2026 Shortlist
Concerto
Isabelle Faust (violin), Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (early music ensemble), Ute Hartwich (trumpet), Edi Kotlyar (violin), Clemens-Maria Nuszbaumer (viola), Katharina Litschig (cello), Bernhard Forck (director/violin)
Telemann: Ouverture-Suite in B Minor, TWV 55:h4
Telemann: Sonata a tromba in D Major, TWV 44:1
Telemann: Violin Concerto in A Major, TWV 51:A4 "Die Relinge"
Telemann: Suite for 2 Violins in D Major, TWV 40:108 "Gulliver's Travels"
Telemann: Fantasia in B Minor No. 3, TWV 40:14
Quantz: Circle Canon for 2 Violins in E Minor, TWV Anh 40:103
Telemann: Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo in A Minor, TWV 51:a1
Telemann: Concerto for Violin, Trumpet, Cello, Strings and Basso Continuo in D Major, TWV 53:D5
Violinist Isabelle Faust joins forces with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin under Bernhard Forck for a vibrant survey celebrating the virtuosity, humor, and inventive opulence of Georg Philipp Telemann. A pioneer of the concerto genre in Germany, Telemann crafted works filled with daring imitative effects, lyricism, and theatrical flair.
The program pairs major orchestral concertos—including the famous "Frog" Concerto (Die Relinge) and the multi-instrumental Concerto in D Major—with solo and chamber treasures such as the whimsical Gulliver's Travels Suite for two violins and the hypnotizing Circle Canon (attributed to Quantz). Faust and the ensemble deliver high-adrenaline performances brimming with color, rhythmic zest, and period-instrument finesse.
"In league with the high-adrenalin Berlin band, her playing has all the finesse, colour and flamboyant theatricality Telemann's cosmopolitan music demands... If you're still suspicious about Telemann's compositional fertility, these joyous, uninhibited performances could be just the answer." — Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2025
