Quantz: Flute Concertos

Johann Joachim Quantz had already made a career as a flutist at the Dresden court in the chapels of Augustus the Strong when he was heard by the young Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia during a state visit to Berlin. He immediately engaged him as a flute teacher. Later, after he had been crowned king, he hired Quantz as a "court composer" without any obligation to play in the orchestra. His duties were to organise and conduct the royal evening concerts and to give flute lessons to the sovereign. This obligation gave rise to a large number of concertos, which are, however, little known because only three copies were ever made for the king's various residences, "pour Charlottenbourg", "pour Sans Souci" and "pour le nouveau Palais". Thus, in 2012, the recording of the renowned transverse flutist Frank Theuns was a great achievement, whose selection of four flute concertos by Johann Joachim Quantz are now available again on CD as a re-release.