Johann Georg Pisendel (1687-1755) is rightly regarded as the most important German violinist from the first half of the 18th century. From 1728 he was concertmaster of the famous Dresden Court Orchestra, corresponding to the position of today's chief conductor. In this position he developed his influential influence as a pupil of Torelli and Vivaldi, as a colleague of Zelenka, Heinichen and Hasse, as a friend of Bach and Telemann and last but not least as a teacher of Quantz, the Graun brothers and numerous other musicians. Thus he stood at the centre of a brilliant period of German music history. He composed little, but essential. His solo violin sonata in a minor is absolutely equal to Bach's in terms of structure and complexity. The only difference is that as a virtuoso of his instrument he still "saddles up" technically. Anton Steck, also an outstanding soloist on the baroque violin, has now recorded five wonderful violin sonatas by Pisendel, including the solo sonata, for cpo together with Christian Rieger on the harpsichord.