Maestro Marek Janowski and the WDR Symphony Orchestra present Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth symphonies. Premiered during the same concert in 1808, these two symphonies present two sides of Beethoven's musical persona. Whereas the Fifth is legendary for it's drama and forward urge the "Pastoral" Sixth offers idyllic sounds, albeit shortly interrupted by a thunderstorm that resembles the tempestuous development of the Fifth. Programmed together, these two pieces constitute a fascinating portrait of Beethoven at the height of his creative powers. Marek Janowski is one of the most celebrated conductors of our times, and enjoys a vast PENTATONE discography, including complete recordings of Bruckner's symphonies and Wagner's mature operas. This is his second PENTATONE collaboration with the WDR Symphony Orchestra, one of the most established radio orchestras of Germany.
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 / Blomstedt, Argerich, Lucerne Festival Orchestra [DVD]
Accentus Music
DVD
$41.99Nov 19, 2021
In August 2020, Herbert Blomstedt made his debut with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. You could hardly tell that the maestro had celebrated his 93rd birthday only a month prior for he continuously exudes vitality, awareness, and curiosity. “I’m in love with music,” says Blomstedt, who views his profession as a kind of joie de vivre. Together with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Martha Argerich he revealed just what this joy sounds like with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 – the work that marked Argerich’s stage debut in 1949 - and Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3, the famous Eroica. Recorded live at the Concert Hall of KKL Luzern, August 2020.
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 / Blomstedt, Argerich, Lucerne Festival Orchestra [Blu-ray]
Accentus Music
Blu-Ray
$53.99Nov 19, 2021
In August 2020, Herbert Blomstedt made his debut with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. You could hardly tell that the maestro had celebrated his 93rd birthday only a month prior for he continuously exudes vitality, awareness, and curiosity. “I’m in love with music,” says Blomstedt, who views his profession as a kind of joie de vivre. Together with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Martha Argerich he revealed just what this joy sounds like with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 – the work that marked Argerich’s stage debut in 1949 - and Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3, the famous Eroica. Recorded live at the Concert Hall of KKL Luzern, August 2020.
If you happened to see Daniel Barenboim’s 2003 Beethoven master classes on DVD, you might remember an unusually poised young pianist, Alessio Bax, who chose the “Hammerklavier” sonata’s daunting final movement. Fast-forward 11 years to Bax’s recording of the complete work, coupled with the composer’s ubiquitous “Moonlight” sonata. Bax might not take the “Hammerklavier” Allegro at Beethoven’s admittedly optimistic metronome marking, but the hurling momentum, lean yet nuanced textures, and astute ear for voice leading (the amazingly well contoured fughetta, for instance) convey both structure and kinetic energy. Also note Bax’s explosive build-up of the upward alternating broken fifths and sixths leading into the recapitulation, complete with the controversial “misprint masterstroke” Urtext A-sharp (played by Schnabel and Arrau) rather than the more logical yet less quirky A-natural (Brendel and Kempff).
The brisk, appropriately sardonic Scherzo features stinging offbeat accents and a ferocious upward F major scale buttoning the Trio. When I played the Adagio sostenuto for my college piano teacher, he constantly admonished me to “put some beef on that left hand.” I pass that advice down to Alessio! While he certainly sustains his slow basic tempo with the utmost in expressive economy, he does tend to uniformly voice his slow-moving chords, with the top melody line to the fore. Bax brilliantly characterizes the Largo’s madcap mood swings and broken chord transition into the Fugue, while the Fugue itself is a knockout: brisk, clear, clean, and jazzy as hell.
Bax sets an ideal and flexible pace for the “Moonlight” sonata’s iconic Adagio sostenuto, which he plays gorgeously. A few of the Allegretto’s clipped phrase endings and teensy tenutos strike me as what one of my British colleagues describes as “a mite twee.” However, Bax’s rhythmic discipline, focused articulation, and sharp attention to dynamics in the Presto agitato finale make the performance sound faster than it actually is.
Under Bax’s virtuosic fingers, the Chorus of the Dervishes whirls with Lisztian abandon. On the other hand, his overly fast and lightweight treatment of the Turkish March lacks the thrust and force of Beethoven’s original orchestral version, not to mention the once-popular Anton Rubinstein transcription. Reservations aside, this release adds up to an impressive achievement for which Bax should be proud.
Mozart: Gran Partita / Ogrintchouk, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra members
BIS
SACD
$21.99Nov 06, 2020
Better known as Gran Partita, Mozart’s Serenade in B-flat major, K 361 is the crowning glory of the Harmoniemusik of the Classical era. Austrian and German nobles in particular often employed small wind ensembles called Harmonien which provided entertainment during banquets and outdoor festivities. In order to satisfy the growing demand for suitable music, countless arrangements of operas and ballet music were made, while original works were supplied by a wide range of composers – Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and many lesser masters wrote Harmoniemusik. Among their works, Mozart’s Serenade stands out for several reasons. It is on a larger scale than most: with seven movements and a duration of some 50 minutes, it is scored for thirteen instruments rather than the usual eight or nine. But conceived with a cyclical layout and with a highly economic use of motivic material, it also displays a compositional sophistication unusual for the genre. The Gran Partita is here performed by wind players from one of the world’s finest orchestras, the Amsterdam Concertgebouworkest, under the direction of oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk. Ogrintchouk has also chosen the coupling, a set of variations by Beethoven on Mozart’s famous aria from Don Giovanni scored for two oboes and English horn.
REVIEW:
As in all the best performances, the wind players of the Concertgebouw (the brand speaks for itself) combine refinement of blend and ensemble with a sense of spontaneous enjoyment. When they choose, the Concertgebouw players are as mellifluous as you could wish. But they’re not afraid of a touch of abrasiveness. This superlatively played new recording immediately joins the shortlist for this most sumptuous of serenades.
Beethoven: Konig Stephan / Bosch, Cappella Aquileia
CPO
CD
$18.99Feb 05, 2021
The focus of our further cooperative effort with the Cappella Aquileia and Marcus Bosch – for the Beethoven Year and with “Beethoven and the Theater” as its theme – is formed by a complete recording of this composer’s stage music for Konig Stephan (King Stephen). Archduke Franz Josef Karl of Austria had a new theater built for the city of Pest as a reward for the loyalty of the Hungarians to the Austrian monarchy. As was fitting for the occasion, Beethoven was given the commission for music commemorating the establishment of the Kingdom of Hungary by King Stephen I, and the music was premiered in the new edifice in 1812. The text for Konig Stephan was penned by August von Kotzebue and surely would have been forgotten long ago if not for Beethoven’s music. The pathos and hero worship in its verses are not so easily grasped today, but this should not stand in the way of the work’s performance. Understood as a historical memorial, Konig Stephan, in particular in the meticulous modernization of the text produced by Kai Weßler for this recording, is a rewarding work. Three versions each of the Leonore Overture and the Fidelio Overture round off the album.
Regarded as one of the finest interpreters of classical and romantic repertoire, Imogen Cooper is internationally renowned for her virtuosity and lyricism. This recording is her sixth release on Chandos Records, following earlier discs of works by Liszt, Wagner, Brahms, Chopin, and Robert and Clara Schumann. Imogen Cooper writes: ‘Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations are rightly considered to be among the greatest works for solo piano ever composed, by Beethoven or anyone else. It is incontrovertible that there is not one superfluous note in this huge masterpiece – each variation is flawless in construction and imagination, and in depth of characterisation. The breadth of ideas is limitless. Each variation tells a whole story, and for all that some are connected in mood, it is no mean feat as a performer to respect the huge scope of Beethoven’s vision.’ Imogen Cooper plays a Steinway Model D, and was recorded in the concert Hall at Snape Maltings, Suffolk.
Wisps in the Dell - Arrangements of Traditional Celtic Folk Songs
Olde Focus Recordings
CD
$20.99Oct 04, 2019
In the late-classical era, an Edinburgh publisher commissioned the most famous composers in continental Europe to orchestrate traditional Scottish folk songs in their original English. A lush sampling of this music is performed here by Makaris, a new early-music super-group headed by soprano Fiona Gillespie. (Olde Focus)
King Frederik IX Conducts the Royal Danish Orchestra & Danish National Symphony
Dacapo Classical
CD
$25.98$51.99Save 50%Jul 31, 2020
The Danish King Frederik IX's preoccupation with music must be described as atypical, in fact, unique for a member of a royal house, since it is hardly possible to cite other examples of ruling monarchs whose favorite pastime was orchestral conducting. As a conductor Frederik IX, although self-taught, favored technically difficult challenges in the great symphonic repertoire, in particular music from Wagner's operas, gave the King's unusual musical activities a certain aura. This limited edition set celebrates two very unique King/orchestra relationship, namely King Frederik IX's close affiliation with the Royal Danish Orchestra and Danish National Symphony Orchestra.
This is the first of five recordings dedicated to Beethoven's complete symphonies transcriptions. Gabriele Baldocci has appeared at the most important concert halls and at major music festivals. He is an ambassador, performer and professor of the Martha Argerich Presents Project and frequently plays in chamber ensembles.
With Resound Beethoven, the Orchester Wiener Akademie brings the music of the great master back into the venues where they received their premiere performances. The focus of this recording is theatre music. Herbert Fottinger has taken the role of narrator in this production of Egmont. John Malkovich serves as narrator in the English version. Producer Stephan Reh captures the acoustic qualities of these venues with fullness and transparency.
Following on from the acclaimed first album of this series, the period wind ensemble Boxwood & Brass returns to Resonus with the second and final volume of Beethoven Transformed. In this major project, the group continues its exploration of the status of wind music in early-nineteenth century Vienna through arranged music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827). The three arrangements presented on this album – the Egmont Overture, Sonata Pathétique and the Seventh Symphony – were all published by Beethoven’s friend Sigmund Anton Steiner and at the time represented a significant ambitious undertaking, arguably showing nine-part Viennese Harmoniemusik in its most advanced stage of development.
Adam Golka’s third album for FHR begins a wonderful journey in which he records all of Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas. This first volume, released in Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year, includes one of the composer’s most celebrated works, the ‘Pathétique’ Sonata in C minor, alongside the contrasting Sonatas, Op. 10. All four sonatas were written 1796-98. Since first self-presenting and performing Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas at the age of 18, Adam Golka has immersed himself in studying the master’s works. He has studied Beethoven under the guidance of masters such as Leon Fleisher, Alfred Brendel, Sir András Schiff, Murray Perahia, and Ferenc Rados. In 2011, Adam performed a cycle of all five Beethoven Piano Concertos with the Lubbock Symphony, with his brother Tomasz at the baton, and last summer, he made his San Francisco Symphony début at the Stern Grove Festival in Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto. He will celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday in 2020 by playing the whole cycle of Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas in multiple cities, which includes a self-produced video series named 32@32, made in collaboration with filmmaker Zac Nicholson and designed to be part of the concert experience.
Jean-Claude Henriot (b. 1949) was born into a family of musicians. As a child, Henriot fixated his conception of great music upon Beethoven. His first great musical experience was of listening to a recording of the ‘Emperor’ Concerto. For this album Henriot has opted to venture outside of the frequently performed piano sonatas by programming Beethoven’s Bagatelles, Fantasia in G minor, Andante Favori, and 32 Variations in C minor. All of the works on this release were composed between 1803 and 1825, during the composer’s late period when the fullness of his potential had been reached.
Previous installments of the Beethoven sonata cycle from Frank Peter Zimmermann and Martin Helmchen have met with wide acclaim. Described as ‘conversations by a perfect instrumental pairing’ in BBC Music Magazine, the albums have received a Choc in Classica and the recommendation of German website klassik.com, respectively. This the third and final volume brings together Beethoven's last three works in the genre, composed between 1801 and 1812. The center-piece is the ninth sonata, the famed ‘Kreutzer Sonata’.
The opportunity to celebrate, in 2020, the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven alongside the 30th anniversary of German reunification is akin to a gift for a label that has been instrumental in preserving the recording heritage of the GDR, offering as it does the opportunity for a retrospective view and assessment of the past. This series with 10 new editions from the archive of ETERNA recordings includes audio productions from the early days of the label as well as later productions from the late 80s. Partly remastered from the original tapes and provided with the original covers, these historic-legendary recordings shine in new glamour. The present volume presents the Piano Concerto No. 5 performed by Dieter Zechlin and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.
Beethoven: Sonate fur Klavier und Violine / Suske, Olbertz
Berlin Classics
CD
$13.99Apr 17, 2020
The opportunity to celebrate, in 2020, the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven alongside the 30th anniversary of German reunification is akin to a gift for a label that has been instrumental in preserving the recording heritage of the GDR, offering as it does the opportunity for a retrospective view and assessment of the past. This series with 10 new editions from the archive of ETERNA recordings includes audio productions from the early days of the label as well as later productions from the late 80s. Partly remastered from the original tapes and provided with the original covers, these historic-legendary recordings shine in new glamour. The present volume presents sonatas for piano and violin, performed by Karl Suske and Walter Olbertz.
Beethoven was involved in theater in one way or another from boyhood, and the commission to compose incidental music for Goethe's play Egmont at the Royal Imperial Court Theatre in Vienna was the first of many such collaborations. Beethoven's score conveys the essence of this tragedy and reveals his clear affinity with it's theme of heroic sacrifice by a man condemned to death for taking a valiant stand against oppression. Leif Segerstam is recognized internationally as a conductor, composer, violinist and pianist. He is currently chief conductor of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also conducted many of the world's most prestigious orchestras, and was one of the most important ambassadors for Sibelius' 2015 anniversary year. His many recordings have been critically acclaimed, and feature works by contemporary composers as well as the complete symphonies of Mahler, Sibelius and Nielsen among many others.
The opportunity to celebrate, in 2020, the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven alongside the 30th anniversary of German reunification is akin to a gift for a label that has been instrumental in preserving the recording heritage of the GDR, offering as it does the opportunity for a retrospective view and assessment of the past. This series with 10 new editions from the archive of ETERNA recordings includes audio productions from the early days of the label as well as later productions from the late 80s. Partly remastered from the original tapes and provided with the original covers, these historic-legendary recordings shine in new glamour. The present volume presents Lenore in its original 1805 version.
![Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 / Blomstedt, Argerich, Lucerne Festival Orchestra [DVD]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3999471-2736774.jpg?v=1786679490&width=800)
![Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 / Blomstedt, Argerich, Lucerne Festival Orchestra [DVD]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3999471-2736774.jpg?v=1786679490&width=400)
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![Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 / Blomstedt, Argerich, Lucerne Festival Orchestra [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/414nSBmwZJL.jpg?v=1786831921&width=800)
![Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 / Blomstedt, Argerich, Lucerne Festival Orchestra [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3999470-2735822.jpg?v=1786831921&width=400)
