Albinoni Concertos, op. 10, nos. 1-6

Piero Toso -violin. Giuliano Carmigola - violin.

I solisti Veneti, conducted by Claudio Scimone.

Warner Classics - Apex CD 2564 61136-2

BORN in Venice in 1671, Tomaso Albinoni's music should be one of the most easily recognised of composers, yet most people would be hard pushed if you asked people to name the piece he is famous for.

His Adagio for Organ and Strings has become a familiar background musical interlude to many events and wedding receptions.

However, the piece owes more to the arranger Remo Giazotti, who found a scrap of paper with the theme while writing a biography about Albinoni in 1946.

That apart, Albinoni was a prolific composer of baroque music and in particular, music for the oboe.

In all, he wrote many vocal compositions, operas, sonatas and concertos.

Much of the libretto, especially for his operas is now lost, but there is still a huge amount that is played regularly in the concert hall.

In his youth Albinoni was a singer and he also played the violin.

He also flirted with the idea of composing church music.

This was unsuccessful and he moved his sights towards instrumental music.

JS Bach is reputed to have been a keen listener to Albinoni's compositions.

Albinoni Concertos, op. 10, nos. 1-6 features six violin concertos - all of them a delight to the ear.

If baroque music is your pleasure, this CD surely should be an addition to your music library.