CD · 1 disc
The sonatas recorded here encompass almost the entirety of Hans Werner Henze’s creative life. Composed in difficult conditions just after WWII, the Violin Sonata covers the broadest range of human emotions, and is in some ways a study for the extraordinary First Violin Concerto. Steeped in Italian mythology, the Solo Violin Sonata is ‘a real piece of theatre,’ as is the emotionally shattering Viola Sonata, written straight after the completion of the ballet Orpheus. The Violin Sonatina is drawn from Henze’s children’s opera Pollicino, and the two remaining miniatures are memorials for lost colleagues. Internationally acclaimed violin virtuoso Peter Sheppard Skaerved’s close connection with Hans Werner Henze is well recognized, and this release follows on from his recordings of Henze’s First and Third Violin Concertos “having some seriously emotional meat on the bones of this traditional form” (MusicWeb International), and the Second Violin Concerto summed up as “a superb [album]… highly recommended” by Gramophone. This is the first recording to bring together Henze’s solo sonatas for violin and viola, as well as the early Violin Sonata and later Violin Sonatina. Peter Sheppard Skaerved recorded the composers revised 1992 version of the Solo Violin Sonata on the Metier label in 2000, but returns to the 1977 original for this recording, completing a deal with the composer to “see who is right!”
One of the most important and prolific composers of the latter half of the 20th century, Hans Werner Henze wrote for guitar often, enjoying the evocative potential of the instrument and painting a diverse array of emotions and atmospheres in his compositions. The two Sonatas on Shakespearean Characters, featured on this album, portrays the timeless characters like Lady Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, and Ariel, personifying these characters with new and dramatic expression. Andrea Dieci is “a true star of the classical guitar.” (Corriere della sera). His previous recordings include Jappelli’s complete works, and guitar compositions by Piazzolla.
Kammermusik 1958'': for tenor, guitar and eight solo instruments, on the hymn ''In lovely business'' by Friedrich Holderlin, is one of Hans Werner Henze's most scintillating creations. Featuring a wide-ranging tenor part, a virtuosic solo guitar and brilliant contributions by the instruments Schubert chose for his great Octet, this masterpiece imaginatively confronts the mannered style of the Darmstadt school. In ''lovely blueness'' the emphasis is on ''blueness'' - but not only when lovely. The Mediterranean light and the nostalgia for Greek Antiquity give this music a special place in the composer's output: to the element of euphony, of consonance in its widest sense are added grittier sounds and sharper contrasts, as befits the hymn's heavily symbolic content. - ''The idea for 'Neue Volkslieder und Hirtengesange' is closely linked to my activity as cultural animator during the Eighties in the Steiermark. At the time I had made a nice collection of sketches on Styrian folklore and composed songs for an amateur play. From this material I have now assembled this small chamber music in folksong style, hoping to capture some of the atmosphere, of the mood of this melancholy landscape, like a dream or a painful memory''.
CD · 2 discs
DVD · 1 disc
SACD · 1 disc
Blu-Ray · 1 disc
Croatian-born Lovro Peretić has selected a panoramic program that reaches back to the 18th century and forward to modern times. This recital includes Peretic’s own arrangements of a Brahms Intermezzo and two barely known works by Debussy, heard here in their world premiere recordings, alongside Karel Craeyvanger’s Weber homage, a sensually evocative piece by Barrios Mangoré, and Henze’s richly characterized Second Sonata on Shakespearean Characters.
![Henze: Der Prinz von Homburg / Meister, Stuttgart Staatsoper [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3842143-2587188.jpg?v=1786832000&width=400)
