The Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra enjoyed a long and intensive artistic collaboration, which was brought to an abrupt end by his death in October 2021. BR-KLASSIK is now presenting outstanding live recordings of concerts from the past years that have not yet been released. This recording of Shostakovich's Eighth Symphony documents a concert given in September 2006 at Munich’s Philharmonie im Gasteig.

For Shostakovich's contemporaries, educated in the spirit of Socialist Realism, it was clear that the Eighth Symphony had to have a programme and, even more specifically, a topical reference to current events. And at the time, there could hardly have been anything more topical than the recent, decisive turning point in the war in the form of the battle for Stalingrad. It is therefore hardly surprising that the Eighth Symphony, composed in less than nine weeks between July 2 and September 9, 1943, was also referred to as the "Stalingrad". Under the pressure of circumstance, Shostakovich was obliged to develop an aesthetic of ambiguity, secret hidden meanings and abysmal irony that was almost without parallel in cultural history. This work also expresses the sheer compulsion under which a musical language in conformity with the system had to be created.

Haitink first conducted a Munich subscription concert in 1958, and from then on was a regular guest with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – either at the Herkulessaal of the Residenz or at the Philharmonie im Gasteig. This congenial collaboration lasted more than six decades. The orchestral musicians and singers enjoyed working with him just as much as the BR sound engineers. As an interpreter of the symphonic repertoire, and especially that of the German-Austrian Late Romantic period, Haitink was held in high esteem throughout the world. With him, Dmitri Shostakovich's symphonies were also always in the best of hands. Haitink’s driving principle was to make the sound architecture of a musical composition, with its complex interweaving, transparently audible; extreme sensitivity of sound was combined with a clearly structured interpretation of the score.

As the progenitor of a style whose influence more or less came to define the instrumental music of the High Baroque, Arcangelo Corelli (1653 - 1713) occupies a position in music history as unenviable as it is to his great credit. Just what made Corelli’s style seem strikingly novel to his contemporaries is a tricky question. To be sure, his standardization and popularization of certain formal tropes – most notably the succession of movement types in Sonate da Camera and Sonate da Chiesa – was a significant part of what his followers considered the ‘Corellian’ manner.

But Corelli’s actual compositional style, his way of organizing musical thoughts into phrases and motives, is fundamentally derived from the expressive capabilities of his chosen instrument, the violin. Certain melodic patterns used to modulate and to effect sequences (e.g., chains of sevenths and fifths) basically derive from specificities of violin technique that amplify an instrument with origins primarily in dance music into one that in Corelli’s hands, could imitate the rise and fall of the sung and spoken human voice. This tension between idiomatically instrumental techniques and the evocation of the voice is the defining characteristic of Corelli’s style throughout all his surviving works and would establish the “Roman School” as the supreme measure of musical taste for generations.

For this exploration of the 18th century’s Corelli Craze, the dynamic star trio of Mahan Esfahani, Hille Perl and Michala Petri unite to trace the Roman’s influence, (sometimes in name only...) on the musical legacies of Bach, Händel and Telemann, and of course two works from the pen of the celebrated Italian Master, himself. Gramophone about the Petri/Perl/Esfahani Trio’s Bach recording: “While the tonal and expressive range of the recorder, viol and harpsichord may appear constrained in comparison to, say, flute, cello and piano, in the hands of foremost players such as these, even a relatively lightweight work such as the C major Sonata, BWV1033, comes over as the ideal demonstration of a particular facet of the composer’s style and the performers’ abilities.”

For his series called Schubert+, pianist Can Çakmur juxtaposes the complete major piano solo compositions by the Viennese composer with works by others who were inspired by his music, thus providing the opportunity to see these works in a new light. While making up a near complete anthology of Schubert’s completed major piano music, each disc is also intended as a self-contained recital.

In this third instalment, Çakmur presents not only a work by the 20th-century composer Ernst Krenek but also Krenek’s completion of an unfinished sonata by Schubert. In the process, Krenek assimilated the Schubertian language so well that the result is astonishing. As Çakmur says, ‘I would find it difficult to spot where Schubert ends and Krenek begins if it wasn’t specified in the score.’ Krenek, whose career spanned more than seven decades, was a prolific composer who embraced a host of styles. For his Second Piano Sonata, composed in the 1920s, he pays homage to Schubert by adopting some of his techniques, though the music owes much more to early 20th-century Paris than to 19th-century Vienna. A fascinating and neglected work to be discovered through the prism of Schubert.

A unique and imaginative collection newly recorded by a recent star of the Van Cliburn Piano Competition. Anna Geniushene’s fresh; layered; and powerful interpretations won her a worldwide following at the 2022 edition of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; where she took Silver Medal with a stunning account of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto which the critic for Gramophone compared in its power and nuance to Van Cliburn himself.

Born in Moscow; Anna Geniushene pursued graduate studies in London and now lives in Lithuania with her husband; the pianist Lukas Geniusas. In her own booklet introduction; she explains the inspiration for this quirky collection of instrumental lullabies. The Berceuse is ‘associated with tenderness; care; purest love; and the most sensitive moments in our lives.’ She dedicates the album to her two young sons. Perhaps the most celebrated Berceuse of all; by Chopin; is missing; because it was Anna Geniushene’s particular wish to find and share neglected examples of the genre; even by well-known composers. Debussy composed the Berceuse heroique during the First World War as a tribute to the soldiers on the Western Front. The Berceuse Elegiaque of Busoni is better known in its orchestral guise. The brief Berceuse by Hindemith; unpublished in his lifetime; ‘draws listeners’ attention by its utterly eloquent and typically sarcastic character; which has nothing in common with traditional lullabies.’ The sheer diversity of composers makes for a continually varied sequence. George Crumb evokes a magical night-time stillness with a minimum of notes. Mompou’s Berceuse is likewise remarkable for its distilled serenity; whereas the examples by Granados; John Field and Liszt bring comfort with more Romantically moulded melodies in the tradition of Chopin. Anna Geniushene closes the album with two Russian Berceuses; by Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky; lyrical; simple and utterly beguiling in her hands.

Following her lyrical and witty complete recording of Mozart’s Keyboard Sonatas, issued by naïve in March 2023, Yeol Eum Son invites Svetlin Roussev to join her in enfolding himself in the enticingly subtle harmonic intricacies of Germanic post- Romanticism.

For their second recital as a duo, the Bulgarian violinist and the Korean pianist follow the course taken by works written over a period of slightly more than half a century by composers or famous performers upon whom Richard Wagner exercised crucial influence. They take on almost every genre – cinema, opera, chamber music, transcription – treating it in the lyrical, large-scale manner of the Bayreuth master. During their unexpected, fascinating journey, Svetlin Roussev and Yeol Eum Son chart a variety of pathways, from Waxman to Strauss.

So many different worlds! To begin, two figures who made their indelible mark on the music written for Hollywood. Of German-Polish origins, in 1946 Franz Waxman (Rebecca, Sunset Boulevard, A Place in the Sun, Prince Valiant) wrote, at Jascha Heifetz’s request, a paraphrase on themes from Wagner’s Tristan et Isolde, actually an adaptation of a section of the score he composed for the film Humoresque (Warner Brothers, 1947). In summary, a manifesto in music of an impossible love – to which, at the end of the disc, an extremely rare transcription one of the better known Wesendonck-Lieder, credited to the great virtuoso Leopold Auer, forms a response.

The programme continues with Erich Wolfgang Korngold, a child prodigy in Vienna during the 1910s. The famed Mariettas Lied – the best-known moment in his opera Die tote Stadt – and the sublime nocturne from his incidental music for Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (the Scene in the Garden) remain as much moments of lyric intensity as truly cinematographic, deliciously intoxicating love scenes. But lovers also know how to frolic, and if already in Korngold they readily do so, the three more light-hearted pieces by Fritz Kreisler will place them in everyday, commonplace scenarios, where laughing reigns.

The keystone of the programme is unarguably the magnificent Sonata for Violin and Piano that Richard Strauss composed in 1887. He was 23 years old, and still heavily influenced by Schumann and Brahms, even Grieg. Svetlin Roussev and Yeol Eum Son make its case with radiant commitment, sensitive to the spirit stirring in the young Richard, then already in love with the soprano Pauline de Ahna, who would become his wife.

Beyond Wagner, this highly original album above all celebrates that moment of falling in love when, overwhelmed, the heart quivers, to the point of being transformed.

The harpsichord concertos of J.S. Bach form the origins of the keyboard concerto genre that was to continue to flourish through the music of his sons, C.P.E. Bach and J.C. Bach, and onwards. Here, celebrated keyboardist Steven Devine is joined by members of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in this recording that features the Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052, Concerto in A major BWV 1055, and the Concerto in D major BWV1054, together with a new reconstruction by Steven Devine of the Concerto in D minor BWV 1059.

Considered one of the most influential composers inspired by the natural world, Edward Cowie's collaboration with the exceptional Kreutzer String Quartet spans nearly a decade. This partnership has resulted in the recording of Cowie's first six quartets, as well as remarkable solo and duo works showcasing the quartet's unparalleled skill. Now, Cowie presents his seventh string quartet, "Western Australia," specially crafted for the Kreutzer Quartet, accompanied by four solo portrait pieces dedicated to each member. From the ethereal heights of Clifton Harrison's viola to the intricate melodies inspired by the habits of owls for Neil Heyde's cello, Cowie's compositions reflect a profound reverence for both the human animal and the natural world.

Delving into the heart of Australia's rugged landscape, Cowie's quartet captures the awe-inspiring vastness and ancient beauty of Western Australia. Each movement paints a vivid picture of the region's diverse landscapes, from the expansive horizons of the first movement to the primal origins depicted in the second, culminating in the mysterious allure of the Pinnacles in the final movement. Through his music, Cowie masterfully evokes the ever-changing landscapes and intricate ecosystems of Western Australia, inviting listeners on a transformative journey through time and space.

Additionally, the recording features four solo portraits, each a testament to the unique talents and personalities of the Kreutzer Quartet members. From Neil Heyde's emotive exploration of owls to Mihailo Trandafilovski's evocative interpretation of evolution, Cowie's compositions showcase the quartet's versatility and virtuosity. With each note, Cowie pays homage to his collaborators, celebrating their friendship and artistic prowess while pushing the boundaries of contemporary chamber music. Experience the extraordinary fusion of nature and music in Cowie's latest masterpiece, a testament to the enduring power of creative collaboration and the boundless wonders of the natural world.

The Kreutzer Quartet has established itself as one of the most sought-after string quartets in the UK. They appear regularly at the major London venues and have made many live and studio recordings for the BBC, and major networks all over Europe. They have taken their extremely eclectic programmes to Italy, Germany, France, Holland, Serbia, Montenegro, Sardinia, the US, Spain, Cyprus, Poland, and Lithuania. Recent critical and publicly acclaimed performances have been at the Warsaw Autumn Festival, de Doelen, Rotterdam, Quartet 2000, Manchester International, and the Vilnius Philharmonic Festival.

Klaus Mertens had long been wanting to record the ‘Geistliche Lieder’ by Johann Sebastian Bach from Schemelli’s Musicalisches Gesangbuch (1736). Ton Koopman had been looking for the right program to showcase the beautiful Teschemacher chamber organ in Oosterland and realised it would actually be an ideal match with the program his friend Klaus Mertens had in mind. So in early 2023 Mertens and Koopman spent some (rather cold but) inspired days in Oosterland to record this selection of 24 songs, interspersed with six organ works.

Santtu conducts Stravinsky is the third album from Philharmonia Records featuring two incredible works by Igor Stravinsky - the complete Petrushka (1947 version), and the Firebird Suite (1945 version) - conducted by Principal Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, these two works were recorded at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall in 2023.

In June 1878 Johannes Brahms wrote to Clara Schumann: "The A minor Concerto by Viotti is my very special passion. It is a splendid piece with a remarkable freedom of invention: it sounds as if he were fantasizing, and everything has been designed and executed with such mastery …" Already during his lifetime Viotti was regarded as one of the most brilliant violin virtuosos, and his violin concertos also enjoyed special renown. As a composer Viotti brings in the schemes of the Italian School but also weaves in romantic motifs far ahaead of their times.

San Francisco-based early music ensemble Cantata Collective continues its major series of J. S. Bach’s choral works with the Mass in B Minor, a towering testament of sacred music and the composer’s crowning achievement of his final years. With celebrated conductor Nicholas McGegan, four of today’s most distinguished early music vocal soloists and a refined chamber choir, this live recording exudes a spontaneity that reveals the depth and passion of Bach’s glorious affirmation of faith.

REVIEW:

Some of the most impressive choral singing in this recording is heard in the central three choruses of the Symbolum Nicenum, the crowning glory and some of Bach’s best music in the entire Mass. The Cantata Collective’s choral forces shine in their expressive use of color and dynamic shading in the long arching lines of “Et incarnatus est” and “Crucifixus” and are able to hold their own in “Et resurrexit” — due, in part, to McGegan’s careful balancing and phrasing.

— EarlyMusicAmerica.org