Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

World-renowned young pianist Zala writes of her new release: “This recording brings together some of my favorite music, which I have been playing for several years. It acts like a mirror in which I can see reflections of my own playing, which now belongs to be past: it is one of the first pages that I have turned in the book of my musical activities. Brahms’ Ballades Op. 10 were quite a discovery for the young girl that I was more than three years ago- especially the first, the ‘Edward” Ballad, which is also the darkest and cruelest of the four. Adults around me were often surprised at how strongly I felt this music, which is rarely, if ever, performed by children. I was intrigued by their surprise, as the music and the feelings it conveys seemed perfectly natural to me. Perhaps we are all born with an innate and unconscious understanding of cruelty and tragedy?...Liszt’s Ballade is, like Brahms’ Edward, based on a poem, the famous German ballad Lenore…With its tumultuous fight between evil and good, it represents for me a transition, a hair-raising horse ride, from the darkest side of the preromantic piano music on this album to much brighter and peaceful atmosphere… The composition Crystal Dream that closes the [album] is particularly dear to my heart. Albena wrote it for me when I was eleven with the aim of introducing me to a more modern style. She is always happy when I play it and insists that I have a good sense for contemporary music…”

Classical Music

The present release combines three works by Dmitri Shostakovich, which do not correspond to the clich� of the composer suffering under the Soviet cultural doctrine. While the almost neo-classical ninth symphony refuses any bombast, the two later works show more optimism. No wonder: Stalin was dead, the composer had survived all threats. It provides an interesting juxtaposition of two sides of this legendary composer. The Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie tours regularly to neighboring European countries, playing to packed concert halls in Austria, Holland, Belgium, Italy, France, Spain, Poland, and Switzerland, as well as on tours further afield to the United States and Japan. Founded in 1950, the orchestra has built a sterling reputation, both with it's audiences and in professional circles, welcoming comparisons with orchestras from the big German cities.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Works for and about Christmas can be found on the latest recording by La Fenice, under the direction of Jean Tubery. In over twenty years at the forefront of the national and international scene, the Ensemble La Fenice has emerged as an eminent specialist in seventeenth century music, and it's cosmopolitan musicians take pride in representing the ensemble throughout Europe. This recording shows how the birth of Jesus Christ inspired the creation of works of art that illustrate or narrate the Holy Scriptures.

This recording features works by some of the most well-known composers from the era of the musical Baroque. Born roughly within two decades of each other in Italy and Germany, the influence of the older generation on the younger was significant. The common thread of the selections on this recording is the subject of Christmas, explicitly so in the case of Corelli and Torelli, implied by the time of year in the case of Vivaldi, and by the choice of festive trumpets, the pastoral flute and the oboe d'amore as solo instruments in the works of Bach, Handel and Telemann.

Leticia Gomez-Tagle writes of her new release: "The title of this album is a play on words: 'Si' means 'yes' in Spanish, but it also refers to the musical note B. Since all the sonatas on this album are in the key of B minor, I decided to give it this title. Among the works on this recording are some of the most important sonatas by two of the most 'pianistic' composers of the Romantic era. I have played these works over the course of many years, and my interpretation has matured to the point where I was happy to record them. The third and final sonata on this album is a Baroque jewel: a very simple and short sonata by Domenico Scarlatti that serves as a culmination and conclusion of everything that happened before."

Michael Heupel writes of his new release: “The Greek word afierossis can be translated as ‘dedication’; it contains the root iero meaning ‘sacred.’ To my mind, the bond created by the dedication between a piece of music and its dedicatee is sacred. Just like any other work of art, music has a life beyond the passage of time. For as long as it is performed or listened to by humans, a piece of music is immortal, and some part of that immortality is conferred upon the dedicatee by means of the dedication. On this recording I have sought to collect a range of more or less well-known works for solon violon-cello from the 20th and 21st centuries. Each work bears its own dedication- to a performer such as Mstislav Rostropovich, to a politician such as Gyorgy Aczel, and even to a fictional character like Alexander Knight. I am happy and honored to be the dedicatee of Efi Markoulaki’s Cretan Suite. The selection of contemporary works presented here is both versatile and varied…I approached the selection of works on this programme with great respect and appreciation. After immersing myself into each work to find its central message, I sought to interpret it as faithfully as I could. I hope that these works will offer an equally intense experience to the listener as they do to me during each performance…” Michael Heupel is a sought-after soloist and chamber musician. He has performed at prestigious concert venues such as the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the Megaron in Athens, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Stuttgart’s Liederhalle. He appears regularly at international music festivals including the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Festivals of Athens and Epidaurus, the Euro Music Festival, and more. His performances and interpretations have been praised by the press.

Classical Music