An extraordinary disc. Baritone Thilo Dahlmann couples the innocence and beauty of Brahms’ Volkslieder with the the despair and mourning of Glanzberg’s Holocaust Lieder. Glanzberg’s scantly known Lieder are imbued with a stunning melodic gift. Through the juxtaposition of these two masterworks, the musicians highlight one of the most tragic cultural ruptures in history.

The For nearly a hundred years, the doors of the famous Red Hedgehog coffee house (Zum roten Igel) opened onto the very heart of Viennese musical life. The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde established the city’s first public concert hall there, hosting regular premières by Beethoven, and then Schubert, who even lived next door at one point. As if that wasn’t enough, the complex of buildings included a bar at the back with a vaulted cellar that later became Brahms’s favorite haunt, where patrons caroused and who knows what kind of musical activities went on after hours. The original building was demolished in 1906, but the spirit of the great composers feeding off the soundscape of a dynamic and cosmopolitan urban culture lives on in ZRI. Schubert and Brahms were both fascinated by Hungarian ‘Gypsy-band’ music and it became as fashionable as the waltz in Vienna, with one of the tunes included here still a concert favorite even now in an arrangement by Brahms. Bach may never have been to the city but some of his music must surely have been performed at the Igel and his ghost presided over the whole tradition.

This recording celebrates ghosts from the future too. American tunes were being played in Vienna even in Brahms’s time, and once the first recordings started to arrive the jazz influence on improvising Hungarian bands and artists like Georges Boulanger was immediate. The transatlantic flavor of Hora din Budesti and Tamboo owes much to this uniquely Viennese melting pot and, if the Igel still stood, the fusion of old-world instruments with contemporary songs by Donna Summer, Solange and Taylor Swift would not be out of place.

As one of the great pianists of the 20th century, WILHELM BACKHAUS (1884–1969) needs no introduction. He recorded almost continuously from 1908 until his death, but this set, focusing on his earliest recordings, completes APR’s coverage (see also APR 6026, APR 6027 and APR 5637) of all his solo and concerto output for The Gramophone Company/HMV, except the electrically recorded Brahms titles, which are available elsewhere. These early discs reveal Backhaus as an exciting young virtuoso, rather than the sober purveyor of German classics he was to become.

Introducing the exclusive release, "John Boyden, a Celebration," a tribute to a lifelong journey in classical music—a journey that began in the recording industry where John served as an executive and distinguished producer. His ground-breaking venture, Classics for Pleasure, achieved an extraordinary feat by selling four million classical recordings in just four years. Following this success, John assumed the role of the inaugural Managing Director of the London Symphony Orchestra during a challenging phase in its history. Subsequently, he went on to establish multiple independent classical record companies and the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra, committed to reviving the performance styles of the early twentieth century.

This album features two iconic recordings produced by John Boyden and a captivating new rendition of Schubert's Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 (“Die Forelle/The Trout”), performed by the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra. "John Boyden, a Celebration" pays homage to one of the British music industry’s most esteemed individuals, ensuring his legacy resonates with classical music enthusiasts.

Dedicated with kind permission to H.M. The Queen, the patron of the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra, a testament to the profound impact of John's contributions to the world of classical music.

Introducing the exclusive release, "John Boyden, a Celebration," a tribute to a lifelong journey in classical music—a journey that began in the recording industry where John served as an executive and distinguished producer. His ground-breaking venture, Classics for Pleasure, achieved an extraordinary feat by selling four million classical recordings in just four years. Following this success, John assumed the role of the inaugural Managing Director of the London Symphony Orchestra during a challenging phase in its history. Subsequently, he went on to establish multiple independent classical record companies and the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra, committed to reviving the performance styles of the early twentieth century.

This album features two iconic recordings produced by John Boyden and a captivating new rendition of Schubert's Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 (“Die Forelle/The Trout”), performed by the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra. "John Boyden, a Celebration" pays homage to one of the British music industry’s most esteemed individuals, ensuring his legacy resonates with classical music enthusiasts.

Dedicated with kind permission to H.M. The Queen, the patron of the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra, a testament to the profound impact of John's contributions to the world of classical music.

Mischa Levitzki (1898–1942) was born near Kiev to naturalized American parents who had returned to their homeland. He was a pupil of Michalowski, Stojowski, and Dohnányi and quickly established himself as a major rising star in the 1920s. Indeed, had it not been for his early death, he would surely have been seen as one of the major pianists of the century. He specialized in the virtuoso romantic repertoire, and his recordings include several of the warhorses of the period such as Rubinstein's 'Staccato' Etude and Moszkowski's 'La Jongleuse'. However, at the same time, there is a refinement to his playing which is heard to good effect in his Chopin and Schumann, making his Liszt noble rather than bombastic. The HMV recordings presented here form the most important part of his meager recorded legacy.

An album combining works by Schubert, Piazzolla, and Lintinen, cellist Trey Lee is joined by the English Chamber Orchestra to perform compositions exploring the effects and impacts of climate change on both the environment and society. The album has two world premiere recordings of new arrangements for both cello and piano, and cello and orchestra by Trey Lee. “With the cello as a platform, I seek a sober yet trenchant means to tell the story of our seasons, and concurrently, create a musical narrative to account for how this crisis unfolds. This album is a journey across our world from the past to the present, and finally, to an increasingly plausible future through the prism of works by three composers from three eras.” – Trey Lee

An unobtrusive figure in the British music scene and despite her self-stated lack of ambition, KATHLEEN LONG (1896–1968) was a musician of the highest order. She taught for 44 years at the Royal College of Music and was a major Decca artist for two decades, having recorded for several other labels before that. Her first recording was made in 1928, and her first Decca recordings (of Mozart’s Piano Concertos K449 and K450) were made in 1935. Her first Decca solo recordings are those on this release. On disc, she made premiere recordings of several Mozart concertos and sonatas and was renowned for her Scarlatti and Fauré. For her service to French music, she was made Honorary Member of the Académie de France.

In his music, if not in his life, Schubert was able to reconcile his innermost longings with the realities of life, to overcome the fear of death and restore the “lost paradise” of innocence and beauty. Very few artists have expressed their inner world, their vision of heaven, with such lucidity and conviction. Schubert composed an incredible amount of music during the last year of his life, as if knowing that he was running out of time. These works represent the pinnacle of his creativity, summing up his exploration of different musical forms, genres, and manner of writing. Among his finest compositions from this period are two sets of Impromptus and the Musical Moments that are included in this recording. [Vladimir Feltsman]

German pianist ELLY NEY’s posthumous reputation has, perhaps justifiably, been tarnished by her links to the Nazi regime, but 80 years on it’s easier to focus on her pianism and acknowledge she was one of the finest pianists of her generation. A previous APR release (APR7311) presented her interpreting a wide range of composers, but she came to be regarded as one of the great interpreters of the Austro-German repertoire and here she tackles two of the masterworks, including a monumental performance of the Brahms Second Piano Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the first version recorded by a woman. Brahms specialist, Max Fiedler, ostensibly conducts, though our booklet note reveals Alois Melichar as the uncredited conductor who completed the project after Fiedler’s sudden death. The suite of Schubert dances which completes the release appears never to have been reissued before.

Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff was a German pianist and composer. Although his repertoire included Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well known for his interpretations of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, recording the complete sonatas of both composers. Wilhelm Kempff’s 78-rpm recordings were very much focused on Beethoven, as can be heard on seven previously issued APR discs, but this release presents everything by other composers he set down from the start of electrical recording until the war. Notable among the titles are four of his own Bach transcriptions and, revealing the pianist in an unexpected light, his own virtuosic elaboration of the Schubert/Liszt ‘Hark, Hark! The Lark’ transcription.

REVIEW:

There's something special about these recordings, something quite miraculous. In spite of the relatively primitive technology involved in these early electrical recordings, I had no trouble at all forgetting sonic imperfections, and zeroing in on a great master channeling great composers. The French Suite no. 5 of Bach, recorded in 1935, is the highlight of the disc; it's a masterful interpretation. I was in awe of this from the first time I heard it, since I had the strong feeling that Kempff was communicating his own awe.

-- Music for Several Instruments