As the son of the better-known Georg Muffat, Gottlieb Muffat was also touted by his father as a musical prodigy at the European courts, much like Mozart in his early years under the self-serving tutelage of Leopold. In Vienna, however, Gottlieb Muffat grew up under the careful guidance of Johann Joseph Fux, the music director of the court orchestra. This relationship deepened after Georg's death in 1704, when Gottlieb was only 14 years old.

Fux eventually used his connections to get his talented pupil an official position, and this album of piano partitas is impressive proof that his trust in Gottlieb Muffat was justified. The date of composition is uncertain: only two collections of his music were published during his lifetime, and after 1739 he seems to have given up composing and devoted himself entirely to making music and teaching at the court chapel.

Listeners familiar with Johann Sebastian Bach's partitas for piano will recognize much in the elegant sequence of French dances introduced by a more exploratory prelude. Muffat's counterpoint may not be quite so strict, but his flair for melodious melodies is a delight in itself. The use of French, English and even Spanish titles for the individual movements underlines the imaginative and playful character of the collection: listen, for example, to "Postillon" from the Suite in F major, "Coquette" from the Suite in A major, a hornpipe from the Suite in D minor and the Intrada from the Suite in F major.

In addition to his highly acclaimed recordings of works by Pasquini, Gabrieli, Vivaldi and above all Frescobaldi, Roberto Loreggian has already recorded the collection "Componimenti Musicali", published in 1739, which this new recording follows on from. Fanfare wrote about his collection of Telemann partitas: "His playing does not seem rushed, but is lively and articulate, and he is always sensitive to Telemann's stylistic diversity, regardless of whether it tends towards the courtly or the folk-musical at any given moment."