Viola Concertos from Berlin Ensemble Diderot & Johannes Pramsohler

• Johann Gottlieb Graun (1702 - 1771): Viola Concerto in E-Flat Major, GraunWV Cv:XIII:116:
• 1 Graun: Viola Concerto in E-Flat Major, GraunWV Cv:XIII:116: I. Allegretto 07:15
• 2 Graun: Viola Concerto in E-Flat Major, GraunWV Cv:XIII:116: II. Adagio un poco Andante 04:20
• 3 Graun: Viola Concerto in E-Flat Major, GraunWV Cv:XIII:116: III. Allegro 06:05
• Markus Heinrich Grauel (1720 - 1799): Viola Concerto in C Major:
• 4 Grauel: Viola Concerto in C Major: I. Allegretto 05:35
• 5 Grauel: Viola Concerto in C Major: II. Adagio 05:20
• 6 Grauel: Viola Concerto in C Major: III. Allegro 04:13
• Ignaz Mara (1709 - 1783): Viola Concerto in E-Flat Major:
• 7 Mara: Viola Concerto in E-Flat Major: I. Allegro moderato 03:26
• 8 Mara: Viola Concerto in E-Flat Major: II. Largo 03:34
• 9 Mara: Viola Concerto in E-Flat Major: III. Allegro 03:15
• Carl Heinrich Hermann Benda (1748 - 1836): Viola Concerto in F Major:
• 10 Benda: Viola Concerto in F Major: I. Allegretto 06:49
• 11 Benda: Viola Concerto in F Major: II. Adagio 04:06
• 12 Benda: Viola Concerto in F Major: III. Allegro assai 04:23
• Markus Heinrich Grauel: Viola Concerto in E-Flat Major:
• 13 Grauel: Viola Concerto in E-Flat Major: I. Allegro moderato 06:14
• 14 Grauel: Viola Concerto in E-Flat Major: II. Larghetto 03:10
• 15 Grauel: Viola Concerto in E-Flat Major: III. Allegro 05:00
• Total Runtime 01:12:45

Info for Viola Concertos from Berlin

With its third volume of Berlin Concertos, Ensemble Diderot opens a new chapter in its exploration of the vibrant musical world of Enlightenment Berlin, turning its attention to the viola and its surprisingly rich role in the city's flourishing concerto culture. Featuring four world-premiere recordings, the album makes a significant addition to the viola repertoire, showcasing the instrument’s extraordinary expressive range and virtuoso capabilities.

These rediscovered concertos challenge long-held perceptions of the viola as merely an accompanying instrument, revealing it instead as a solo voice of striking brilliance, sensitivity, and dramatic power. Performed on period instruments by Ensemble Diderot, the recording combines scholarly insight with compelling musicianship. Directed by Johannes Pramsohler, who also takes on the solo viola role, the project brings fresh life to these forgotten masterpieces, highlighting their originality, dramatic power, and striking modernity. Newly composed cadenzas by the ensemble’s harpsichordist Philippe Grisvard further enrich this journey of rediscovery.

More than a recording, this album is an invitation to rediscover a remarkable chapter of European musical history and to hear the viola – as Berlin’s composers once imagined it – as a voice of eloquence, sensitivity, and brilliance, rising from the very heart of the ensemble.

Johannes Pramsohler, viola, direction
Ensemble Diderot

Ensemble Diderot
Founded in 2008 by violinist Johannes Pramsohler and a group of like-minded musicians, Ensemble Diderot has become an absolute reference in classical music. Their distinctive sound, the fresh approach to baroque music on original instruments inviting audiences to go on thought-provoking journeys, the creative use of historically informed performance, thorough research, and highly inventive programming have earned them a large international fan base, not only in the Early Music scene. The award-winning discography consisting mainly of world premiere recordings bears testimony to the adventurous spirit of the ensemble's members.

Johannes Pramsohler
With a PhD in Historically Informed Performance from the Royal Academy of Music and an extensive discography acclaimed by international critics, Johannes Pramsohler is widely acclaimed as one of the leading forces in the Early Music scene. A stimulating and inspirational personality with a desire for inventive programming and innovative collaborations, he brings a joyful sense of adventure to his music-making. Born in South Tyrol and now living in Paris, Johannes Pramsohler alternates his roles as artistic director and leader of Ensemble Diderot with that as a guest both as soloist and as conductor at the head of numerous groups. As artistic director and first violin of Ensemble Diderot, which he founded in 2008, he brings to life unknown repertoire with a keen sense for significant rarities and creative use of historically informed performance. As concertmaster, Johannes has collaborated with Concerto Köln, The King’s Consort, Le Concert d’Astrée, the European Union Baroque Orchestra, and as a guest of the Berlin Philharmonic with its early music ensemble Concerto Melante.

Johannes Pramsohler’s communicative skills and vast musicological knowledge make him a welcome guest as a soloist and increasingly also as a conductor of baroque orchestras and modern symphony orchestras alike. Thus he has performed with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Ivan Fischer, the Taiwan Baroque Orchestra, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, Darmstädter Barocksolisten, the Lower Saxony State Orchestra in Hanover, and the Tyrolean Symphony Orchestra Innsbruck, performing in concert halls such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Cologne Philharmonie, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

Recent conducting engagements have taken him to the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires for a staged production of Handel’s oratorio Theodora, to the Théâtre de l’Athénée and the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris for the operas Dido & Aeneas by Purcell and Croesus by Reinhard Keiser, and to the Haus der Musik in Innsbruck where he conducted Beethoven symphonies.

A desire for artistic independence even in the recording studio led Johannes to found his own record label in 2013. Audax Records continues to release an astonishing variety of recordings, many of which have been awarded prizes including the Diapason d’Or, the German Record Critics’ Award (Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik), and the International Classical Music Award.

As a sought-after pedagogue, Johannes was responsible from 2011 until 2018 for the strings of the French Youth Baroque Orchestra, teaches at the Summer Academy of the Festival du Périgord Noir, and is regularly invited to give master classes at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei, the Shanghai Conservatory, the Norwegian Academy of Music, and the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

Johannes Pramsohler studied at the Conservatory “C. Monteverdi” in Bozen with Georg Egger, at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with Jack Glickman, David Takeno and Rachel Podger, at the Paris Conservatoire CRR with Patrick Bismuth, and at the Mozarteum Salzburg with Reinhard Goebel, and trained as an orchestra conductor with Nicolas Brochot in Evry. He obtained his doctoral degree (PhD) from the Royal Academy of Music with a thesis about style and performance issues of the early trio sonata in England and France. Johannes Pramsohler was a prizewinner at the 2011 Magdeburg International Telemann Competition. In 2010 he was awarded the Futura Award for young South Tyroleans abroad and in 2019 the Vincent Meyer award of the Royal Academy of Music. Since 2008 he has had the honour of owning Reinhard Goebel’s violin, a P. G. Rogeri made in 1713.

Booklet for Viola Concertos from Berlin