Two years ago, the Ensemble Arte dei Suonatori and their dynamic conductor and harpsichordist Marcin Swiatkiewicz presented the "Hamburg Symphonies" by C.P.E. Bach (jpc 11816216) – remarkably expressive and deeply personal works. Restless, full of unexpected twists, surprises, contrasts, and "affects," in short, they are characterized by emotional sensitivity.

"This time, Arte dei Suonatori and Marcin Swiatkiewicz present six "Berlin" symphonies composed between 1755 and 1758, thus before the "Hamburg" symphonies. Arte dei Suonatori and their conductor chose the original versions for strings alone with harpsichord continuo, making this recording the first to present all these works together in their original form without the wind parts added later. The chamber music character of the composition is emphasized here by the ensemble's compact instrumentation, in which every musician participates on equal footing and everyone is audible. Swiatkiewicz also points out that their interpretation, based on historically informed performance practices, "is founded on a constant search for analogies between music and poetry and close attention to prosody and dance forms," which will undoubtedly appeal to music lovers of the 21st century.