{"title":"Atle Hammer","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"c-p-e-bach-flute-sonatas","title":"C.P.E. Bach: Flute Sonatas","description":"A highly fashionable instrument in the 18th c., C.P.E. Bach used the flute in his compositions throughout his life. His works for the instrument, including the complete sonatas for flute featured on this 2CD set, frequently betray the influence of Friedrich II (Frederick the Great), yet the distinctive traits – surprising twists, sensitivity, expressiveness and new compositional approaches – of a composer as great as C.P.E. Bach often surface. Dorothea Seel plays a copy of a late-Baroque Transverse flute; Keyboardist Christoph Hammer on period fortepiano provides the accompaniment.","brand":"Haenssler Classic","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012917219562,"sku":"4010276027911","price":12.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2983359.jpg?v=1778300528"},{"product_id":"keiser-fredegunda-hammer-munich-neue-hofkapelle-138206","title":"Keiser: Fredegunda \/ Hammer, Munich Neue Hofkapelle","description":"\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e There is a real danger, especially in Handel’s anniversary year,                   that he and other major composers such as Bach and Telemann eclipse                   their talented contemporaries completely. Yet the Leipzig Council,                   for example, cannot have been entirely bone-headed in preferring                   Fasch and Graupner to Bach for the post of Kantor at the Thomasschule.                   The story that they thought Bach ‘mediocre’ is, however, based                   on a misunderstanding.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-famReinhard Keiser, born a few years before Telemann                     and Handel, once considered the equal of both, now has to rest                     content with a few lines in reference works where their entries                     run to pages. He normally has to share CD programmes with other                     composers, but his two most famous operas have been recorded                     – \u0026lt;i\u0026gt;Crœsus\u0026lt;\/i\u0026gt; on Harmonia Mundi HMC90 1714.16, 3 CDs, and                     Nuova Era NE693435, 2 CDs; \u0026lt;i\u0026gt;Masaniello Furioso\u0026lt;\/i\u0026gt; on CPO999                     1102, 2 CDs.\u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span style=\" font-size: font-family: new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eCPO have also recorded his secular cantatas (CPO999                     8562 – ‘a lovely disc’: see \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.musicweb-international.com\/classRev\/2004\/Feb04\/Keiser.htm\"\u003ereview\u003c\/a\u003e)                     and his version of the Christmas story is coupled with Graupner’s                     \u003ci\u003eMagnificat\u003c\/i\u003e on ‘a splendid festive offering from Carus                     – albeit short value at forty five minutes’: Carus 83.417 –                     see \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.musicweb-international.com\/classrev\/2008\/Dec08\/Keiser_Carus83417.htm\"\u003ereview\u003c\/a\u003e).                     Keiser was also the first composer to set the \u003ci\u003eBrockes Passion\u003c\/i\u003e,                     a text later employed by Fasch (recorded by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eNaxos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e on 8.570326 – see \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.musicweb-international.com\/classRev\/2008\/Mar08\/Fasch_8570326.htm\"\u003ereview\u003c\/a\u003e),                     Telemann and Handel; perhaps \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eNaxos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e                     will now record that, too.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eThere are two recordings of his \u003ci\u003eSt Mark Passion\u003c\/i\u003e:                     the older Claves recording of his \u003ci\u003eSt Mark Passion\u003c\/i\u003e is                     available from eMusic, albeit on 50 tracks, which will mean                     blowing your whole monthly £12 allocation in one go. The single-CD                     Christophorus recording on original instruments is, in any case,                     the one to go for, (CHR77143 – Parthenia Vocal and Parthenia                     Baroque\/Christian Brembeck); it’s also available from classicsonline                     as a very acceptable 320k download. Bach certainly possessed                     a copy of this work and there are points of similarity with                     his St Matthew and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eSt John\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e settings, including the                     traditional tune of \u003ci\u003eO Haupt voll Blut und Wunden\u003c\/i\u003e – compare                     Keiser’s setting of \u003ci\u003eWenn ich einmal soll scheiden\u003c\/i\u003e (track                     5) with Bach’s. I’m sure that I shall be listening to it on                     future occasions.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eLike those other two operas, \u003ci\u003eFredegunda\u003c\/i\u003e                     (March, 1715) was composed for the Hamburg Oper am Gänsemarkt,                     or Goose-market Opera, where it was extremely popular, four                     years after \u003ci\u003eCrœsus\u003c\/i\u003e. The libretto is by Johann Ulrich                     von König (1688-1744) after an Italian libretto by Francesco                     Silvani (c.1660-c.1725). It is sung in German and Italian. The                     plot concerns the tempestuous relations between the sixth-century                     Frankish King Chilperich and his mistress Fredegunda; each of                     them has another lover, making for two sets of love triangles                     though all, of course, ends happily.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eAs usual, I set out first to test the claims made                     in the blurb on the rear insert, that this is ‘an important                     and entertaining ... opera [which] abounds in melodious, often                     ravishingly orchestrated, music.’ More crucially, do the performances                     do justice to the music?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eCertainly the music is very attractive – listen                     to track 28 of CD1 \u003ci\u003eRicordati, ben mio\u003c\/i\u003e (‘Remember, o my                     beloved’) for some of the finest baroque music – though the                     opera has its moments of \u003ci\u003elongueur\u003c\/i\u003e and there is no doubt                     that posterity has been correct in preferring Telemann and Handel.                     If you have already become familiar with their music, however,                     \u003ci\u003eFredegunda\u003c\/i\u003e is well worth trying.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eThe opening \u003ci\u003eSonata\u003c\/i\u003e goes with a real swing                     in this performance; there’s no stodginess here, but rather                     the kind of abandon at the start which I associate with modern                     Italian performances of baroque music. On the other hand, there’s                     enough contrast between the sections to avoid the problem of                     having everything too hurried, which I recently found with Collegium                     Musicum den Haag’s performance of Telemann’s \u003ci\u003eEbb und Fluth\u003c\/i\u003e                     (\u003ci\u003eL’Europe réunie\u003c\/i\u003e, ORF SACD3008).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eDora Pavlíková as Fredegunda begins her opening                     recitative in fiery mood, too: at first she sounds almost too                     fiery to hit the notes securely, but soon settles down, especially                     in the aria \u003ci\u003eDu verlachtest die Tränen\u003c\/i\u003e (‘you mocked my                     tears’, CD1, track 3). After all, Fredegunda is a fiery character                     and she is chiding Chilperich for preferring Galsuinde – she                     opens the recitative by referring to him as \u003ci\u003eGrausamer\u003c\/i\u003e,                     ‘awful man’, and ends the ensuing aria by referring to his undoing                     their relationship \u003ci\u003emit deiner falschen Hand\u003c\/i\u003e ‘with your                     faithless hand’.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eTomi Wendt’s Chilperich comes over as penny plain                     to Pavlíková’s twopenny coloured Fredegunda – I might have preferred                     him to be a little more sonorous and her a little less squally,                     but, again, this is not inappropriate to their roles – Chilperich                     is something of a wimp at this stage. By the time that we come                     to Fredegunda’s arias on tracks 20, (\u003ci\u003eIhr reizende Blicke\u003c\/i\u003e,                     ‘your ravishing looks’) and 22, (\u003ci\u003eSchließet euch, ihr holde                     Kerzen\u003c\/i\u003e, ‘be extinguished, dearest candles’) Pavlíková is                     in much more mellifluous voice and Wendt’s Chilperich much firmer-toned.                     By track 24 (\u003ci\u003eZur Rache!\u003c\/i\u003e ‘Revenge!’) both the character                     and Wendt’s voice have come much more to life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eThe first notable aria is Galsuinde’s \u003ci\u003eLasciami                     piangere\u003c\/i\u003e, ‘let me weep’ (CD1, track 7), and Bianca Koch                     sings it well. I might have preferred her to bring out its beauty                     a little more lovingly; it is, of course, a lament, but laments                     don’t have to be entirely squally. Galsuinde has some of the                     finest music – and the aria \u003ci\u003eRicordati, ben mio\u003c\/i\u003e (CD1,                     tr.28), to which I have already referred as some of the finest                     baroque music, is sung by Koch in a manner which could hardly                     be bettered.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eMichael Kranebitter as Sigibert, too, sings attractively,                     if a little too forthrightly: in his recitative \u003ci\u003eIch kann                     ja wohl die Zähren nicht verdammen\u003c\/i\u003e (‘I cannot condemn the                     tears’, track8) he almost seems to have two different registers,                     one more attractive than the other. His diction is not exactly                     ideal: so keen is he to bring out the drama of his words that                     he sometimes fails to enunciate them perfectly. His aria \u003ci\u003eIch                     muß schweigend von dir gehen\u003c\/i\u003e (‘I must be silent and leave                     you’, track 16) did not affect me as it should – here, more                     than anywhere, I felt that he was the weakest link in the cast,                     though not as disastrously so as Elisabeth Scholl, who is really                     off-form in Naxos’s recording of Handel’s \u003ci\u003eSemele\u003c\/i\u003e – don’t                     just take my word for it in my \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.musicweb-international.com\/classrev\/2008\/Oct08\/Handel_Semele_8570431.htm\"\u003ereview\u003c\/a\u003e;                     see also Robert Hugill’s \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.musicweb-international.com\/classrev\/2008\/sept08\/Handel_Semele_8570431.htm\"\u003ereview\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eKatja Stuber as Bazina also has an attractive voice;                     in her first scene (track 9), however, she is slightly out-sung                     by Tomo Matsubara as Hermenegild. His voice has an attractive                     timbre, though his diction, too, is not perfect – he is not                     a native German-speaker. His aria \u003ci\u003eEine stolze Hand zu küssen\u003c\/i\u003e                     (tr.11) illustrates both the attractiveness of his voice and                     his comparative failures of enunciation. If Stuber is a little                     reticent here, she is certainly in fine and powerful voice by                     track 30, giving Fredegunda as good as she gets in \u003ci\u003eDu drohest                     and rasest\u003c\/i\u003e (You threaten and rave). By this point, too,                     Kranebitter’s Sigibert has also warmed up somewhat; though I                     still found him a little too droopy in \u003ci\u003eAch betrachte doch                     die Wangen\u003c\/i\u003e (tr.35 ‘Just look upon her cheeks’), his account                     of \u003ci\u003eMich schrecket kein Eifer, ich achte kein Drohen\u003c\/i\u003e (tr.37,                     ‘Your overbearing threats do not frighten me’) is just right.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eTobias Haaks as Landerich is perhaps a little too                     forthright in the recitatives but he sings \u003ci\u003eAch, ich will                     viel lieber sterben \u003c\/i\u003e(tr. 44, ‘Ah, I would much rather die’)                     in such a way as to make it one of the highlights of the first                     CD, almost at its close. If, as I suspect, the Chilperich-Fredegunda                     duet \u003ci\u003eVieni, o cara, o mio Tesoro\u003c\/i\u003e (tr.48, ‘Come, my dear,                     my treasure’) which closes CD1, is meant to outshine Landerich                     – the few arias in Italian are some of the highlights of the                     music – it doesn’t succeed here: their singing sounds merely                     very decent by comparison, though they round off the act and                     the disc stylishly enough.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eMatters are much the same on CD2, which begins                     quietly with the duet of Galsuinde and Bazina, \u003ci\u003eSanfte Lüfte\u003c\/i\u003e                     (‘Gentle breezes’). There is some intrusive stage noise here                     – much than on CD1 – and in the ensuing scene. Bazina’s aria                     \u003ci\u003eEin Sklav’ ist mehr beglückt\u003c\/i\u003e (tr.3, ‘a slave has greater                     fortune’) is a little underpowered. If Kranebitter is the weak                     link on CD1, he atones somewhat in Sigibert’s duet with Galsuinde                     (tr.5), though he is still a little too lugubrious and Koch’s                     Galsuinde still a little shrill.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003ePavlíková’s Fredegunda, too, is just a little too                     shrill for my taste in \u003ci\u003eVieni a me\u003c\/i\u003e (tr.7, ‘Come to me’)                     by contrast with the delicate accompaniment. It may be wishful                     thinking on my part, but she does seem to tone down the shrillness                     for the repeat of this aria (tr.11).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eWendt’s Childerich is in much better voice than                     he was on the earlier part of CD1. His aria threatening to react                     with slaughter of his foes, \u003ci\u003eCon le stragi\u003c\/i\u003e (tr.13) goes                     with quite a bang, as does Haaks in Landerich’s \u003ci\u003eDa voi fieri                     guerrieri \u003c\/i\u003e(tr.15, ‘Your beauteous eyes, proud warriors’).                     Both these Italian arias are among the high points of the opera,                     and both receive good performances.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eFredegunda’s invocation of Hecate (tr.17) is another                     high spot and here Pavlíková is in almost ideal voice despite                     some unusually intrusive stage noise. Yet she is able to achieve                     real tenderness a few moments after this outburst in \u003ci\u003eAch,                     nenne \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003emich\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e doch nur noch einmal Königin                     \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e(tr.19,                     ‘Oh, let me just once more be called the queen’)\u003c\/span\u003e.                  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman lang=\"DE\"\u003eMatsubara really manages to convey Hermenegild’s                     indecision (tr.21, \u003ci\u003eAch nein, ich kann nicht entscheiden\u003c\/i\u003e,                     ‘Ah. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eNo,                     I cannot decide’) and does so with fewer problems of diction                     than before. Paradoxically, Kranebitter’s diction in \u003ci\u003eSu’l                     mio crine\u003c\/i\u003e (tr.23, ‘I shall be crowned with love’) is less                     than ideal.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eWendt, in Childerich’s aria bidding fortune do                     its worst, \u003ci\u003eWeich immerhin zurück\u003c\/i\u003e (tr.25) is affective,                     though not entirely tonally secure. Koch is equally affective                     and in better voice in \u003ci\u003eFelice moriró\u003c\/i\u003e (tr.30 ‘I shall                     die happy’). The whole opera is rounded off by a suitably jubilant                     performance of the short fifth act.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eThis, then, is not a ‘Sunday-best’ cast but it                     is a good, often very good, workaday one. It’s certainly good                     enough for me to predict that I shall return to it – and I shall                     follow with interest the careers of these singers, mostly still                     in their twenties.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eChristoph Hammer’s direction is secure; his own                     solo keyboard performances have clearly prepared him well to                     lead the Munich Neue Hofkapelle. Though founded in 1992 to specialise                     in historically informed performances, their playing offers                     baroque music without any of the excesses which sometimes spoiled                     period performances in earlier days and still sometimes intrude                     where one least expects it – on Jordi Savall’s rather strident,                     but still enjoyable, version of Biber’s \u003ci\u003eMissa Bruxellensis\u003c\/i\u003e                     (AV9808) for example. Some of the accompaniment here is really                     sensitive, as in the case of Fredegunda’s aria \u003ci\u003eVieni a me\u003c\/i\u003e                     (‘Come to me’, CD2, tr.7).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                    \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eApart from some very minimal stage noise and applause                     at the end of each CD, there is little to indicate that the                     recording was made live. That it was so helps in part to explain                     why some of the singers are a little slow off the mark at the                     beginning – in a studio performance, of course, there could                     have been retakes to round off some of the slightly rough edges.                     The recording itself is neutral in the best sense of the word.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                                  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eThe libretto, mostly in German but with sections                   in Italian, is available online as a pdf document but in portrait                   A4 – how do you get that into the CD case? – and there is no English                   translation, which is a problem, since even those with a decent                   knowledge of German may find the sometimes archaic diction hard                   to follow. It would be much better to offer the libretto as a                   download in landscape mode at a size capable of being cut, folded                   and inserted into the case – Naxos, please learn from Chandos,                   Gimell and Linn, who offer texts and notes in this manner with                   their downloads. Actually, it is possible to cut and paste the                   text into a Word document and print this in the correct format,                   but it is a nuisance to have to do so.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e                 \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"NoSpacing\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eI would gladly have forfeited the booklet’s four-and-a-half                   pages of illustrations of the parent production, from the Bayerischer                   Theaterakademie August Everding, in favour of the libretto. These                   illustrations make me grateful to have received this recording                   on CD rather than DVD, since they show the production to have                   been the kind of up-dated version which I almost inevitably find                   annoying – featuring, in this case, a baby carriage and, apparently,                   the use of a taser.\u003cbr\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e                  -- \u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: \" times new roman\u003eBrian                   Wilson, MusicWeb International\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e                  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025388818666,"sku":"730099023177","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1463367.jpg?v=1778336832"},{"product_id":"mendelssohn-early-works-for-piano-strings","title":"Mendelssohn: Early Works for Piano \u0026 Strings","description":"Since their revival in the latter portion of the twentieth century, these pieces have been performed a number of times. This particular recording, however, stands apart from the rest due to its impeccable attention to the performance practices of Mendelssohn’s time. These works are performed on a replica of an 1815 six-octave Streicher grand piano, which is very close to what was actually used by the young child prodigy. These musicians also follow Mendelssohn’s practice of utilizing the keyboard in the concerto tuttis as well as the solo part. The orchestra plays on gut strings with Tourte-style bows. The Piano Concerto in A minor was written for Mendelssohn’s sister, Fanny in 1822. The Sextet was written two years later, and is the first foreshadowing of the vigorous energy and shimmering textures which would soon mark Mendelssohn’s unique personal style.","brand":"Affetto Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025560457450,"sku":"888295453752","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3457907.jpg?v=1778306803"},{"product_id":"the-best-of-paganini-75042","title":"The Best Of Paganini","description":"We could also have called this disc 'The Ilya Kaler Showcase', as he is the dazzling soloist in the Violin Concertos and the 24 Caprices. The American Record Guide described them as \"in a class by themselves\", and the Gramophone described him as \"a first-rate fiddler\". Paganini was such an incredible virtuoso that in his lifetime rumors were rife that he was possessed of the devil, a fact greatly inflamed by his appearance. He was also a highly suspicious man, the scores of his works for violin and orchestra being devoid of the violin part so that no one could become his rival in his own music. We know the date of composition of the second concerto as 1826, but the first is more doubtful, and probably as early as 1817. They are both demonstrations of violin technique, his frequent use of playing plucked notes (pizzicati) with the left hand creating a cascade of notes. He also composed a considerable amount of music for other instruments including works for violin and guitar, and the Gramophone magazine writing about the Cantone di Sonata included on this disc says \"it is unlikely that the Centone will ever be better played\".","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46028017729770,"sku":"730099668026","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/199447.jpg?v=1778381320"},{"product_id":"gershwin-in-vienna","title":"GERSHWIN IN VIENNA","description":"GERSHWIN IN VIENNA","brand":"DECURION","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46055013613802,"sku":"4255839900151","price":17.77,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4501141-3548627.jpg?v=1780076083"}],"url":"https:\/\/arkivmusic.com\/collections\/atle-hammer.oembed","provider":"ArkivMusic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}