Mozart: Exsuiltate, jubilate, K. 165 - Alessandro Scarlatti:

CARPENTER: Violin Sonata / String Quartet / Piano Quintet

Classical Music

Classical Music

Continuum: Modern Orchestral Works

Engelbert Humperdinck (1854–1921) was a student at the Conservatory in Cologne from the spring of 1872; it was at this time that he got to know the Siegburg district judge and arbitrator Johannes Degen (1826–1902), an excellent singer and violinist, who gave regular chamber concerts in Siegburg at which he played in his own string quartet. Humperdinck, whose talent he had astutely spotted, was the pianist and composer he had been looking for. For his part, the young music student saw his admission to Degen’s chamber-music circle as an opportunity for regular performance; in return, he wrote whatever Degen requested. Humperdinck’s tally of 13 chamber compositions represents a relatively small part of his oeuvre (beside his six operas and about 80 Lieder, along with stage music and choral works). Brief album-leaves for violin or cello and piano contrast with works for the major Classical genres of string quartet, piano quintet, piano trio, sonata and sonatina – most of which were never finished and sometimes survive only in the form of short sketches. His finished pieces include two major works, an early piano quintet (1875) and a late string quartet (1920); the other completed movements include some tailored to Degen’s domestic music-making.

Throughout his long career Liszt’s songs – perhaps the most neglected part of his enormous output – took a radical approach to form: he eschewed convention in his search for a sincere musical response to each text. His free-spirited creativity meant that a single song would often call on a range of stylistic devices, among them bel canto vocal lines, unaccompanied recitative, orchestrally conceived piano textures and audacious harmonic procedures. This first recording of his songs by a bass voice brings out both the power and poetry of Liszt’s remarkable imagination. The American bass Jared Schwartz was born in Berne, Indiana, where he began piano lessons at the age of three, violin at seven and French horn at ten. He began a double major in pre-med and music at Bethel College, Indiana, then studied piano with Alexander Toradze and voice with Victoria Garrett, earning a graduate degree from the Eastman School of Music. For Toccata Classics he has already recorded albums of songs by Faure and Flegier.

REVIEW:

Schwartz's forte singing is most impressive, and his voice remains lustrously smooth and elegant in all registers. His vocal coloring, use of contrasting dynamics, and feeling for the text combine to make his readings thoroughly engaging. When he sings with gentleness and lyricism he weaves a magic spell, as in ‘Des Tages Laute Stimmen Schweigen’, which ends sublimely as he delivers the final line of the text (“As night embraces you with gentle silence”). It is stunning.

Mary Dibbern, who collaborated with him in his Flegier album and in preparing his Fauré album, does a superb job with Liszt’s often challenging accompaniment. She also wrote the comprehensive and informative notes for the release.

I learned to enjoy Liszt through his songs, especially his early high-flying Schiller and Petrarch settings, sung by tenors. I am now enjoying a voice that plumbs the sonic and textual depths of the songs.

-- American Record Guide

This collection of Gabriel Fauré’s mélodies is the first recording to be conceived for a bass voice. It juxtaposes some of the composer’s best-loved songs with some of his lesser-known works. This recital program draws out connections of poets and poetic themes, some of which restore the composer’s own original groupings. This is also the first recording to be based on the new Peters Edition, which eliminates countless errors in older publications. The young American bass Jared Schwartz received the 2013 ‘People’s Choice’ Award in the American Traditions Vocal Competition.

REVIEW:

There are a total of 25 songs on this disc and each of them has been recorded with care and affection for the music of this wonderful French songwriter. Schwartz’s excellent new recording on Toccata gives us pristine sound; it is a recording that should be in the collection of everyone who loves French song.

-- Fanfare

The French composer Ange Flégier (1846-1927) enjoyed considerable frame in his own time but has now been completely lost from view. The extraordinary reception of his song Le Cor points to the predominant place held by the Melodie in his catalogue of more than 350 works. Flégier's songs, composed for his colleagues at the Opera de Paris, are large-scale and orchestrally conceived, sitting stylistically close to Faure in their unassertive dignity and to Duparc in their sense of scale. Many of them receive their first recordings or first modern recordings here.

Seattle Symphony’s first holiday album embraces works composed specifically for Christmas as well as other pieces that convey a universal message of peace, love and hope—the essence of humanity’s highest aspirations. Music Director Gerard Schwarz asked two composers, the Symphony’s Composer in Residence Samuel Jones and Seattle Symphony Principal Oboe Ben Hausmann, to “make the music their own” by scoring several of the pieces to retain the unaffected simplicity of these well-known Christmas and concert works. Schwarz joined them in this task, arranging or editing several of the pieces, with the resulting works celebrating the remarkable artistry of the musicians of the Orchestra. In these new settings, recorded entirely in Benaroya Hall, the music emerges with honest, untarnished beauty.

Anton Schwartz (tenor sax) Peter Bernstein (guitar) Taylor Eigsti (piano) John Shifflett (acoustic bass) Tim Bulkley (drums) Produced by Bud Spangler and Anton Schwartz. Recording and Mixing Engineer: Dan Feiszli. Mastering engineer: Paul Stubblebine. 'Radiant Blue' had a long run on the US jazz radio charts, peaking at number four and earning a JazzWeek cover story. 'Much like Chris Potter, Anton Schwartz is a nice and unassuming guy to talk to, yet both turn into modern day tenor titans as soon as they put the mouthpiece between their lips... There's a lot to like here with sharp arrangements and crisp straight ahead playing that seems to hit all the right notes.' - Tad Hendrickson, JazzWeek Magazine '... this is a first-class audiophile product.' - John Henry, Audiophile Audition 'Anton Schwartz and his sidemen are deadly serious about their fun... they are all adept at staying in the pocket while stretching it. As for Schwartz, he has a classic clear-throated tenor sound and kicks like a mule. His zeal to communicate is fervent yet sophisticated... Radiant Blue could make an excellent introduction to jazz for someone on the outside looking for a way in.' - Thomas Conrad, Jazz Times Magazine 'This is grade 'A' 'all-killer-no-filler'... The five musicians are virtuosos, endowed with temperance, eschewing gratuity for the greater good of the music... Schwartz' compositions are engaging and sophisticated... these are truly unique musicians of the highest order.' - Jan-Mikael Erakare, Abstract Logix 'Schwartz blows with a warm, fluid tone, and great economy... his decisions all sound right... This ensemble shines.... The music bins are full of bluesy jazz albums; this one brims with optimism and intelligence.' - Ed Kopp, JAZZIZ Magazine The liner notes from the CD: THE BLUES IS A FEELING THE BLUES IS A FORM The blues is a feeling. The blues is a form. Two statements about music. You've likely heard the first one at some point, but perhaps not the second. So I'd like to explain a bit. Music is nothing without feeling, and nowhere is this more true than in blues music. Blues greats such as Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and B.B. King have been masters at conveying emotion, and they passed down as their legacy an emotional vocabulary of musical riffs, stylings, phrases and techniques that form the vernacular of blues music. But no less a part of their legacy is a contribution of a different nature: the blues *form*. In poetry, a sonnet is distinguished by it's form - a particular fourteen-line structure. So, too, much of blues music conforms to a particular structure - a distinct sequence of chords twelve measures in length. That structure has come to permeate popular music far beyond the genre of blues. 'Rock Around the Clock' is, structurally, a perfect blues. So is the theme from *Batman*. And Charlie Parker's 'Now's The Time.' But none of these would be called blues music. So when jazz musicians say, 'let's play a blues,' what they are proposing is not a song with a certain feeling, but a song with a certain structure. Radiant Blue is a collection of ten blueses - which is to say, ten songs based on the blues form. To be sure, there are stylistic elements of the blues in many of the songs (check out 'Sneaking Suspicion' and 'Blues for Now'). But most of the music is not particularly bluesy. The grooves run a wide gamut, from fast straight ahead jazz to New Orleans to Afro-Samba to feel-good South African to angular funk. _Radiant Blue_ is a CD of blueses, but it is not a blues CD any more than The Who's rock opera, *Tommy*, is an opera CD. If you're familiar with music theory, you'll know that I've taken many liberties with the blues form throughout the CD. But my hope is that, regardless of your musical knowledge, with a few listenings of the CD you will be able to 'squint your ears' and make out the shape of a blues, in the same way you might recognize an old friend at a distance by just their silhouette and their walk. For jazz musicians, the blues form is such a friend. - Anton Schwartz, June, 2006, Oakland.

Saxophonist Anton Schwartz brings music for the serious jazz lover, but is also fun and accessible to all. With classic holiday songs and compelling arrangements, this is a perfect stocking stuffer for any music lover!. Anton Jazz.2004.

When Music Calls

Flash Mob

The followup to Schwartz's acclaimed debut album, 'When Music Calls'. 'The Slow Lane' is 70 minutes of dynamic, acoustic jazz! 'Schwartz savors the implications of each note, allowing the listener to delight in the endless melodies created by his stirri.Independient.2005.

BLUES CITIZENS