Swiss violinist Sebastian Bohren, who’s star is rapidly in the ascendant, makes his AVIE label debut with two concertos from Mozart’s “year of the violin” – Nos. 3 and 5 – paired with the composer’s youthful Symphony No. 29. Sebastian’s interpretations bring out the sparkling energy of the concertos, written when Mozart was just 19 years old, yet at the same time a brandish a smoothly burnished sense of style. His partners on the album, famed Hungarian violinist-turned conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy and Sebastian’s compatriots the CHAARTS Chamber Artists – comprised of leading European soloists and chamber musicians – perfectly embody these contrasting characteristics, both in their accompaniments and their reading of the Symphony which was written within a year of the concerti. Sebastian is equally at home as a soloist and chamber musician. He has performed with the Lucerne Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Basel Symphony Orchestras, among others, under such conductors as James Gaffigan, Andrew Litton and Ivor Bolton. His chamber music collaborators have included Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Thomas Demenga and Konstantin Lifschitz. He plays the “Ex-Wanamaker-Hart” violin made by Guadagnini in Parma in 1761.

REVIEW:

The concerto performances reveal classically balanced interpretations, with Sebastian Bohren's slender, delicate violin playing sounding entirely committed to heavenly, springy elegant tone.

– Online Merker (Ingobert Waltenberger)

Classical Music

This is the first recording featuring the new chief conductor of the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Marc Soustrot. The Maestro has chosen a programme of French music by Bizet. It is a winning combination of an orchestra famous for its brilliant Delius recording and an idiomatic French conductor. These works by Bizet can hardly be bettered. And with sound to match, this is truly "magnifique"! Marc Soustrot is considered a specialist of French orchestral literature. He is also well-known for his deep involvement in contemporary music, which he has cultivated since the beginning of his career. He has been the chief conductor and artistic director of the Orchestre Philharmonique des Pays de la Loire, the Beethoven Orchester Bonn and Het Brabants Orkest Eindhoven. He has been chief conductor of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra since the 2011/12 season and has led the orchestra in concerts in Sweden as well as on international tours. In addition, he has just recently taken on the position as chief conductor of the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra from the 2015/16 season onwards. The Danish city of Aarhus has been named European Capital of Culture in 2017. "Marc Soustrot manages the great feat of making the orchestral music, which blossoms out of its own unique world under his hands, serve the singer's sphere." - Frankfurter Neue Presse

The psalms of David have been a source of inspiration to composers for centuries, each text forming a poetic shape the equivalent of a gothic arch, and expressing a broad range of timeless emotions. Recorded here for the first time in its complete form, John Rutter’s Psalmfest is a collection of nine settings for full orchestra as rich and varied as the original texts. The remaining psalm settings were written for special occasions, including the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011.

Idil Biret’s chamber music performances are relatively rare. Most importantly, she played Beethoven’s violin Sonatas Nos. 5, 7 and 9 with Yehudi Menuhin at the Istanbul Festival in July 1973. In 1975, she played all the five Beethoven cello sonatas with Maurice Gendron. With the London String Quartet, in 1980, Biret played the Schumann and Brahms Piano Quintets at the Queen Elisabeth Hall in London, later at the Istanbul Festival and then recorded the Brahms Quintet as well as the Mahler Piano Quartet with the LSQ. In 2011, she played in concerts and recorded Berlioz’s Harold in Italy in Liszt’s piano transcription and Brahms’ 2nd Viola Sonata with Rusen Gu¨nes. In 2014, she played in concerts and recorded the Schumann Piano Quintet with the Borusan Quartet of Turkey. The same year, she recorded the two cello sonatas of Brahms with Roderic von Bennigsen. Finally, in 2019, Biret played and recorded Mendelssohn’s 1st Piano Trio and the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio with Irina Nikotina and Julya Krepak. These are some of the memorable chamber music performances of her career.

The Concord Sonata by Charles Ives is without doubt the most iconic American piano sonata. Its epic length (appr. 50 minutes), its extreme technical difficulties and its highly unusual form and writing make it one of the greatest challenges for any performing pianist. Any new recording of it is an event. The sonata’s 4 movements represent figures associated with the Transcendentalism movement: Ralph Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bronson and Louisa Alcott and Henry David Thoreau. The piece demonstrates Ives' experimental tendencies: much of it is written without barlines, the harmonies are advanced, and in the second movement there is a cluster chord created by depressing the piano's keys with a piece of wood. The piece also amply demonstrates Ives' fondness for musical quotation (especially Beethoven’s 5th). Pianist Thomas Hell is widely recognised as a specialist of 20th century piano repertoire. He recorded works by Carter, Schoenberg, Dallapiccola, Boulez and the complete Etudes by Ligeti. “A clear frontrunner.” - Classicstoday.com

The opening concert of the Salzburg Festival, for many regarded as the world's most renowned music festival, is by tradition a high-profile event and the 2011 gala presented here was one of the best in memory. Pierre Boulez, the "grand seigneur of subtle minimalism and exquisitely beguiling sounds" (Der Standard), assembled a cast of tremendous distinction to join the Vienna Philharmonic for this prestigious concert, conceived as a tribute to Gustav Mahler: Dorothea Roschmann, Anna Larsson, Johan Botha and rising star Anna Prohaska. After two works by Mahler's pupil Alban Berg, featuring Roschmann and Prohaska, the main event of the concert if Mahler's large-scale cantata Das klagende Lied - a "great spectral opera for the mind's eye" (Vienna Zeitung).

• “Into the Ravine” is the first release on Signum from the Carducci Quartet, one of the UK’s most dynamic string quartets. • The quartet is joined by oboist Nicholas Daniel for three world premieres from well-established UK composers, and all written specially for them. • The Carducci quartet run their own festival and recording label, and are international competetion winners.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was born in the city of Bonn, but moved in 1792 to Vienna, where he spent the rest of his relatively short (he died aged 56) yet highly productive life. While best known, perhaps, for popular large-scale orchestral works such as his concertos and symphonies, he also composed string quartets and other chamber music, songs and, of course, a large amount of music for his 'own' instrument, the piano. In each genre, Beethoven was to some extent a path breaker, transforming the models he inherited from his predecessors or the approach taken by his contemporaries into something radically unique and bequeathing to posterity music that pushed the bounds of politely regulated Classicism towards the highly personal drama of Romanticism. When the young Beethoven arrived in Vienna, he quickly established himself as a virtuoso pianist-contemporaries had quite simply never heard anything like him before-and though deafness ended his career as a pianist, he continued to compose, ultimately publishing 32 piano sonatas (some early sonatas remained unpublished), several sets of piano variations, bagatelles and dances between 1793 and 1822, a representative selection of which are featured on Easy-Listening Piano Classics. Many of Beethoven's piano sonatas have names that describe their character, though not all of these originated with the composer. For instance, 'Path�tique' is an abbreviation of Beethoven's full title 'Grande sonate path�tique' (that is, 'passionate' rather than 'pitiful'); the 'Moonlight' was so named by a music critic who thought of moonlight shimmering upon Lake Lucerne when he heard the first movement (Beethoven simply gave it the sub-title Quasi una fantasia, 'Like a fantasy'); the 'Kurf�rstensonaten' are pre-Viennese sonatas dedicated to the Elector (Kurf�rst) of Cologne; 'The Tempest' comes from Anton Schindler's claim that the sonata was inspired by Shakespeare's play; 'Pastoral' was provided by one of Beethoven's publishers. In addition, Beethoven composed many shorter piano pieces, which he referred to as 'Kleinigkeiten (Small Things) or Bagatelles', though these should not be underestimated: while some are popular in style and suitable for amateur performers (such as the famous, and probably misnamed 'F�r Elise') others are highly characterful miniatures that one writer has described as 'lapidary, fragmentary, yes, even ironic'-true harbingers of Romanticism. Many of his dances (Minuets, L�ndler, Ecossaises and so forth) also combine charm and sophistication. Whether composing large-scale serious works for the enjoyment of connoisseurs or smaller popular pieces primarily designed to entertain, Beethoven was very interested in the piano, maintaining close contact with leading piano manufacturers in Vienna and London. The demands he made on both performers and the instrument itself contributed to the development of the modern concert grand. One observer wrote that when Beethoven played the piano 'the music of the man's soul passed over his countenance. He seems to feel the bold, the commanding, and the impetuous, more than what is soothing or gentle. The muscles of the face swell, and it's veins start out; the wild eye rolls doubly wild, the mouth quivers, and Beethoven looks like a wizard, overpowered by the demons whom he himself has called up.' Yet, whether seeking the sublime or appealing to the lighter sentiments, Beethoven's music always communicates 'From the heart... to the heart'.

The stage works of Maurice Ravel are as delicate and poised as one could imagine. In the Spanish-shaded L’heure espagnole, Ravel gives new vitality into the opera buffa by making the comedic element human, and giving the plot poignancy. Ravel wrote clear vocals, harmonic magic, and radiant orchestration. He imbues Cervante’s famous character with blue-blooded Spanish swagger, while still giving him a sort of heroic kindness and openness.

Franois Couperin’s Concerts Royaux (1722) and Les Nations (1726) use open scoring, indicating that they could be performed by whatever instruments were at hand. + He later confessed that he himself preferred to perform them on two harpsichords. + This suggestion had to wait for these two CDs to be taken up in a recording (the second CD is being readied for future release). + Also presented are a number of his Pices de clavecin, also in rarely heard realizations for two harpsichords.

Laurent Petitgirard's eclectic career as a composer of lyrical and intensely French symphonic music, operas and chamber music is matched by conducting activities at the highest level- experience that accounts for the colorful richness of his orchestration. The rhapsodic concerto Etats d'ame explores the saxophone's vocal expressiveness. Of the three symphonic poems Le Marathon is an allegory in which the runners represent birth, love and death, while Flaine is a poignant and inspiring journey through art and culture. "Anyone enjoying accessible contemporary music will find much to enjoy here." (MusicWeb International on Petitgirard's Concertos for String Instruments)

Classical Music

Listen to the Naxos Podcast to learn more about this release

The Eighth Book of Madrigals, subdivided into a substantial series of vocal and instrumental partbooks, contains some of Monteverdi's greatest music. In this sumptuous collection the material is carefully arranged by category into madrigals of war, love and those for the stage, with a wide array of human passions and compositional styles. This is the first recording to present Book Eight in its original, uncut form, also incorporating instrumental sinfonias and dances by Biagio Marini to round off Monteverdi's design. In keeping with seventeenth-century practice, the madrigals are performed entirely by male voices, including a boy soprano in the role of Cupid.

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REVIEWS:

The quality of the performances is extremely high. Technical prowess is always in the service of the music, and Marco Longhini is not averse to pushing his all-male ensemble to extremes of slow or fast tempos or to special vocal effects. Another strength of this excellent interpretation is the size and scope of the instrumental forces. There are 9 players in the continuo group, a further 9 in a mostly string ensemble (including 2 recorders), and a viola da gamba quartet. This gives Marco Longhini a very wide palette to draw on for dramatic power, theatrical variety, and evocative effect.

– American Record Guide

As Longhini has pointed out in previous releases, the instruments to be used is largely left to the performers, and in the composer’s day would probably have depended on those available. In this series of discs he has opted for a ‘middle-of-the-road’ approach, so as not to become ornate, yet providing more that an obliging backdrop. In the vocal group there are, of course, no female voices in music of that period, so that much rests on the shoulders of the outstanding countertenor, Alessandro Carmignani. Yet again I will heap praise on the sonorous bass voice of Walter Testolin, his deep voice is an earthy delight. Solos permeate all of the madrigals, and when numerous voices are used, the Delitiae’s blend is pure joy. Longhini's approach throughout this series has that feel of dedication and authenticity, the music continually intriguing, immediately likeable, and, in every way, it has been a wonderful experience with this as its crowning glory. The engineers have once again played their part in the clarity of texture they have created. It is terribly sad that it is coming to an end, but there remains just one more book, the unfinished Ninth, that was published after the composers death.

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

The Composers Conduct

Xavier Montsalvatge's music enriched Catalan culture throughout the second half of the twentieth century, and he remained one of Spain's leading composers. This overview of his orchestral music begins with excerpts from his ballet Manfred, which reveal the important influence of Stravinsky. The ingenious Bric � brac is his last orchestral work, written when he was eighty-one and premi�red by the forces who perform it on this recording. The mainly orchestral Simfonia de R�quiem is one of Montsalvatge's most important and well-known works.

The present CD is dedicated to one of the most beautiful new organs in Austria, the instrument from the Lenter workshop built in early 2010 in the parish church "Unserer lieben Frau Geburt" in Maishofen with 25 sounding stops. Thanks to it's soft, sustainable and very natural sound, this organ is ideally suited for the adequate presentation of organ music of all significant epochs; combined with the warm acoustics, this organ is inspiring to an exceptional degree for players and listeners alike.

Both works heard on this new recording by the Daniel Quartet are from Robert Schumann’s significant chamber music œuvre. + Remarkably, it was within a single year (1842), at the start of his career, that Schumann composed his three String Quartets, op.41 and the Piano Quintet, op.44; both are now considered pillars of the chamber music repertoire. + The Daniel Quartet is renowned for its performances of chamber music at major venues in the USA and across Europe. + Hungarian pianist Klára Würtz – one of Brilliant Classics’ most prolific and recognized artists – joined them for the Piano Quintet.

The great piano virtuoso Claudio Arrau (1903-91) joined a transcendental technique with the gift of intellectual analysis, making him a superb Liszt performer as well as one of the most admired 20th c. performers of classical and romantic repertoire. "His" Beethoven had no comparison for clarity of musical logic. Arrau's Schumann perfectly joined strong passionate intensity with a sense of rigor regarding musical structure. All these elements are present on this CD that gathers two live Swiss recitals, captured by Italian Swiss Radio, from 1959 and 1963 during the apex of his career.

This collection of rarely recorded Wagner repertoire, the master’s work for voice and piano, includes the famed Wesendonck-Lieder in both its original German and an Arrigo Boito Italian version. Also featured are the famed ‘Gretchen am Spinnrade’, ‘Melodram’, the complex ‘Dors, mon enfant’ and further works with texts by writers including Hugo, Heine, de Ronsard and Scheurlin. Michela Sburlati - ‘a fine dramatic soprano’ (NYT) and fellow Italian maestro Marco Scolastra perform. Booklet includes liner notes, sung texts and artist biographies.