Frederick the Great, Music for the Berlin Court

The more I hear from the Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin, the more respect I have for them. I have heard many of Frederick the Great’s flute works in the past, and the works surrounding them from his court. I am afraid to say that often I find them tedious, except when they’re presented like this you can’t help but understand why they’ve last the last 300 years. They feel fresh, as if they’re being recorded for the first time. I love the brightness and bounce to every note in the Allegro movements. The accents and occasionally syncopations surprise just as much now as they would have in the day.