Ars Produktion
286 products
Weimarer Klassik, Vol. 3 / Pommer, Thuringian Chamber Orchestra
Schubert: Piano Sonatas D 784, D 664, D 845 / Elena Margolina
Elena Margolina's Schubert interpretations are characterized by sensitive playing, which enables the pianist to make audible the shades that are so immensely important in these works. The pieces are poignant in the truest sense of the word and take hold of the listener. Pianist Elena Margolina enjoyed a highly distinguished musical education, graduating with a piano concert diploma from the St. Petersburg State Conservatory and, summa cum laude, from the University of Music in Detmold in 1996. Elena Margolina has won prizes at renowned piano and chamber music competitions, including First Prize at the Fifth International Schubert Piano Competition in Dortmund in 1995. She has taught at the University of Music, Media and Drama in Hanover and at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart and offers master classes world-wide, including in Germany, Italy, South Korea, Canada, China, Albania, Russia, the Ukraine, Israel, and the United Kingdom. In 2014 Elena Margolina joined the faculty of the University of Music in Detmold as professor of piano.
Ivan Bessonov plays works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev
Ivan Bessonov (*2002) is an exceptional musical phenomenon: He began his professional training as early as 2012 and took up piano studies at the Central Music School for Particularly Gifted Children of the Moscow Conservatory. In 2015, he made his debut in his native Russia as a film music composer. His international breakthrough came in 2018 when he won the 'Eurovision Young Musicians Competition' in Edinburgh, one of the more important international music competitions. On this recording he offers a challenging program of Russian classics and an original composition.
PianOrchestra 2 / Poizat
Prior to the age of mechanical reproduction, music lovers had two primary ways in which to enjoy music: they could attend concerts, which was fraught with difficulties due to the dilapidated state of the road system and lack of transportation methods, or they could make music themselves, giving rise to the tradition of the house concert during the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. The increase in importance and popularity of Hausmusik was enabled by rapid technical advancements in the development of the piano. Composers and virtuosos created an ever-increasing number of transcriptions and arrangements for piano two or four hands with the intention of making them available to a wider audience. This recording presents a selection of arrangements of orchestral works for piano solo, arranged specifically for this purpose, by composers Bedrich Smetana, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel, and Aram Khachaturian. New York-based French-Swiss pianist Francois-Xavier Poizat provides a wealth of tone colors while exploiting the virtuosic capabilities of the piano to its limits.
Chinese Dreams
1892 Reflections / Uta Weyland
Symphony No. 1 (Live Recording 1989)
Rheinberger: Der Stern von Bethlehem - Advent Motetten / Gecer, Fraas, Junge, Dresden University Choir, Vogtland Philharmonic Orchestra
| Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger is one of those late Romantic composers who enjoyed extraordinary popularity during his lifetime, but whose works are largely forgotten today. In 1890 Rheinberger wrote one of his most personal and soulful works, the Christmas cantata "Der Stern von Bethlehem" for solos, choir and orchestra, for which his wife, the then-published poet Franziska von Hoffnaaß, had written the text. The cantata premiered on December 24, 1892, at the Kreuzkirche in Dresden and soon became one of Rheinberger's best-known and most beautiful oratorical creations. His nine "Advent Motets" were written in 1893, composed as a contribution to the traditional cultivation of the chants of the church service, which changed according to the church year. These motets are assigned to the liturgy of the four Sundays of Advent and form a coherent cycle for the Advent season. |
Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Glazunov: Russian Mood / Kruithof
If one tries to characterize Russian music, then one almost involuntarily finds descriptions such as "soulful", "melancholic" or even "emotionally charged", attributes that could also apply to the sphere of sound of the violoncello. Benjamin Kruithof and the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie conducted by Conrad van Alphen play Tchaikovsky's short tasteful salon piece Pezzo Capriccioso, the cheerful, elegant and witty Rococo Variations, the Nocturne in C-sharp minor from his piano cycle Opus 19 and the slow movement (Andante cantabile) from his String Quartet No. 1 op. 11 - plus Glazunov's Chant du Ménestrel op. 71 and Dawidov's peacefully flowing Sunday Morning op. 20. Popper's Fantasy on Little Russian Songs op. 43 combines the lyrical mellifluousness and sheer unfailing bravura that also distinguished Popper's own cello playing. Rachmaninov's Vocalise Op. 34, No. 14 completes RUSSIAN MOOD.
Wolf-Ferrari: Violin Concerto, Op. 26 - Divertimento, Op. 20 - I gioielli della Madonna / Iwasaki, Beikircher, Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra
| It is regrettable that the music of the German-Italian Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948) is largely forgotten today. Yet until the 1930s he was considered a legitimate successor to Verdi and Puccini and was one of the most frequently performed opera composers in the world. Not only did the First World War and fascism in Italy and Germany plunge him into a creative crisis, musical history overtook his tonal language, which then seemed finally obsolete after the Second World War. A Wolf-Ferrari renaissance is still pending, but the present successful recording with instrumental music will contribute to an overdue revision. |
Schumann, Schubert, Grieg: Märchenbilder / Wellisch, Uhde
All of the works gathered on this album have - as different as they may be - one thing in common: they can be heard in the popular and idealized folk tone popular in the Romantic period. Whether Schumann's Fantasiestücke or Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata, all of these pieces catch the ear quickly, stir deep emotions and yet are complexly composed works that place the highest demands on cello and piano. Born in Freiburg, Germany, into a musical family, Tatjana Uhde took her first cello lessons at the age of 6, with her mother Sanja Uhde Mitrovic. She later went on to study with Martin Ostertag (Hochschule für Musik, Karlsruhe), Philippe Muller (Conservatoire national supérieur de Paris), and Antonio Meneses (Hochschule der Künste Bern). Since 2008 Uhde has been Associate Principal Cellist at the Paris National Opera. She is also a member of the Festspielorchestra in Bayreuth. A sense of sound, virtuosity, stage presence and a special feeling for an interesting selection of programs characterize the pianist Lisa Wellisch. Her particular concern is to facilitate access to classical music for a diverse audience through exciting music education - without compromising on the always demanding selection of works. She especially likes to give lecture recitals and in 2009 founded the concert series “Klassik im Sigma Zentrum” Bad Säckingen, which makes an important cultural contribution to the region with 10 top-class concerts a year, moderated by the artists.
Schubert: Piano Sonatas D. 959 And D. 960 / Hans-Jurg Strub [2 SACDs]
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 / Fischer, Gustav Mahler Fest Kassel Festival Orchestra
Die Romantische Seele: Clara und Robert Schumann / Jauregui, Grau, Orquestra Simfonica Camera Musicae
Shostakovich: Festive Overture, Piano Concerto No. 2 & Symph
Sounds Of Hollywood: Music From The Movies / O.s.t
Pleyel: Hidden Gems, Vol. 4 / Ignaz Pleyel Quartet [SACD]
Dominik Hellsberg writes: “Ignace Pleyel’s string quartets represent an attractive challenge for experienced chamber musicians. The style is very familiar, yet the music is entirely new and full of surprises. For example, one discovers discrepancies between exposition and recapitulation, unexpected changes from major to minor keys, or the peculiar nature of the scoring, in which every instrument and ensemble member, even the second violin, is tasked with the continuation of the principal voice. Elegance is one of the main stylistic ingredients of Viennese Classicism, and it is also a principal focus of Pleyel’s compositional style. The beauty of Pleyel’s music is expressed with the utmost delicacy and with noble, deliberate restraint - a sign of true art.”
Suk: Klavier und Kammermusik / Dorken, Tetzlaff, Ridout, Donderer
Il bel sogno / Moreno, Tchakarova
Brahms: Klavierstücke, Opp. 116-119 / Yunus Kaya
It is important to Yunus Kaya to let his interpretation seem spontaneous, almost improvisational, with all the care of rehearsal. Ilona Eibenschütz, a student of Clara Schumann who met Brahms personally and visited him during his summer stay in Bad Ischl, was allowed to hear his Opera 118 and 119 by the composer himself. In her memoirs, she describes his piano playing as "very free-spirited - as if he were improvising - with heart and soul..." During the recording, Kaya wanted to make these two aspects palpable: the loneliness and introversion on the one hand, and the openness to the spontaneous in sound and tempo shaping on the other. No feeling, no pain can be felt and described in the same way every day. From this basic attitude, Yunus Kaya has sought the balance between fidelity to the musical text and artistic freedom of the performer.
Piazzolla: Tango Concertante, Vol. 1 / ardeTrio
An album on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Astor Piazzolla. The arde Trio offers two world premieres on its debut release: Fresh and new arrangements by Omar Massa, which are congenially embodied by the unusual instrumentation of the arde Trio, allow not only the great "classics" of Tango Nuevo music to resound anew on this album, but also the new compositions of Omar Massa, who leads Tango Nuevo into the 21st century and is described by the press as the secret successor of the great Astor Piazzolla. Experience a fascinating journey through time!
Blumine / Eriko Takezawa, Reinhold Friedrich
The production with Reinhold Friedrich, Eriko Takezawa and Alisa Kratzer unites original works for trumpet and piano as well as arrangements for this instrumentation. One can only share Friedrich's regret that despite numerous, sometimes even exposed orchestral solos, there are no virtuoso solo concertos for trumpet by these composers. Reinhold Friedrich, a prolific performer on major stages around the world, is a professor of trumpet at Karlsruhe, a sought-after lecturer for master classes, honorary professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid and also in Hiroshima. Many of his recordings were awarded international prizes and got high press acclaim. Together with the versatile pianist Eriko Takezawa they form a perfectly harmonized duo whose repertoire reaches from Teleman over Gershwin to works by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.
Ballade / Emily Hoile
With her first solo album, Emily Hoile would like to present works rarely heard on the harp until now. She takes great joy in arranging compositions for keyboard instruments and thus expanding the repertoire available to the harp: J.S. Bach's Toccata in C minor and D. Scarlatti's Sonata K.135 in E major make their debut on the harp with this release. The transcription of the Ballade by Claude Debussy is meant to underline the great importance that Paris had for harp music at the turn of the century. These arrangements are framed by two magnificent original compositions for the instrument: the surprisingly rarely played Harp Sonata by Casella and the Fantasy by Zabel inspired by Gounod's Faust.
Mahler 10 / Joolz Gale, ensemble mini
Gustav Mahler's death left his Tenth Symphony unfinished, consisting only of an unfinished score and several sketches. Ensemble Mini, a radical collective of soloists from Germany's finest orchestras, presents Michelle Castelletti's fascinating recreation of the work - one of the most powerful sound creations ever written - in a version for chamber ensemble. Ensemble Mini is a radical collective of super-sonic-soloists from Germany's top orchestras that repackages super symphonic music for new audiences. Addressing the need to make classical music cool for the 21st century, its mission is to revolutionize the symphonic concert experience through new style, sound and setting whilst never dumbing down.
Vivaldi: Concerti per fagotto, Vol. 2 / Fukui, Power, Ensemble F
Antonio Vivaldi's bassoon concertos convince not only with their astonishingly authentic composition, but also with their almost inexhaustible ingenuity and their extraordinary musical quality. On her second release for Ars Produktion, featuring bassoon concertos by the Venetian composer, Miho Fukui also plays works in which the oboe takes part as well. Miho Fukui was born in Japan. After receiving her degree in Tokyo, she went on to study in Frankfurt and Lubeck. She plays regularly in several different orchestras and ensembles in Switzerland, Japan, and Germany, where she performs on both the modern and baroque bassoon. In 2009 she founded the “Ensemble F,” which is dedicated to Vivaldi’s 39 bassoon concertos.
