Benda: Sinfonias 1-6

Benda was another one of those terrific Czech classical composers who, by weight of sheer talent and numbers, dominated the European musical scene in the time of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Other famous names included Hummel, Vorisek, Reicha, Vanhal, Rosetti, Krommer, and Stamitz. All of them wrote lively orchestral music and had a special way with wind instruments. Benda belongs to the generation just before Haydn, and his little Sinfonias all belong to the Italian tradition--three short movements arranged in a fast-slow-fast pattern. They are charming, lively works between 8 and 11 minutes long, and they are admirably performed here. --David Hurwitz