Classical Music

To mark what would’ve been the late choral as conductor, pedagogue and organizer Uwe Gronostay’s 75th birthday, audite is releasing the present Christmas carols CD recorded for the RIAS Berlin during the 14 years (1972-86) of his period as RIAS Chamber Choir artistic director. + The Christmas carols form a dramaturgical cycle, beginning with the mysterious night into which falls the light of God; narrative and devotional songs as well as hymns of praise follow, leading to the birth of Christ, then back into the night that also symbolically bears within itself the dawning of the new day.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Having spent nearly two decades playing solo recitals and chamber music, as well as performing alongside renowned orchestras, Marc Coppey turns to three classics of the cello repertoire. Following the album of cello concertos by Haydn and CPE Bach, audite now presents the second disc with the French cellist. Departing from home: in Schelomo, Bloch examines his cultural and religious roots; in his cello concerto, Dvorák illustrates both his old and his new native countries, whilst the forest scene Klid represents a bridge and also an atmospheric reminiscence. In all three works, the composers look from Europe to America and vice versa: Bloch's Schelomo was written immediately before his crossing to America; Dvorák composed his B minor Cello Concerto only once he had arrived there. Klid (Silent Woods) sits in between: before departing for America, Dvorák arranged this work, originally for piano duet, for cello and piano, to be played during his farewell tour. In this format, the piece became so popular that he went on to produce an additional version for cello and orchestra. Antonín Dvorák and Ernest Bloch provide clear performing instructions, but also demand a high degree of free interpretation. Marc Coppey manages to realise both of these aspects, maintaining a convincing balance and communicating intensively with the orchestra. He does not need to demonstrate his virtuosity through overly hasty tempi: instead, he follows the recommendations found in the scores. This greatly benefits the clarity, vividness and eloquence of his interpretations. The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Kirill Karabits prove congenial partners.

Classical Music

Drawing from creation myths, the 'Seven' project explores the spiritual dimension of creation and the question of the unnamable, of the fragmentary nature of the beginnings of life. It's aim is not to provide answers, but to reawaken our love of the question and of the act of questioning itself. Fittingly, this exploration takes the form of improvisation. Each improvisation is a creative act, bound to time, giving an answer only in the present moment and changing in the next. Improvisation creates possibility, openness, expansiveness, dialogue, development, connection - all preconditions for asking questions without a predetermined answer. And the shifting between the sound worlds of jazz and tradition also reflects the search for the universal, for shared origins and, one could also say, for the essence of music. With Hansj�rg Fink and Elmar Lehnen, two remarkable talents devote themselves to this search, each a virtuoso on his respective instrument and together a versatile and experienced duo willing to try new things and sound out the limits of what is instrumentally possible. Solo trombone and the world's largest German Romantic organ thus join together to create a unique sound world.

Franziska Pietsch's recent recording of the Prokofiev Violin Concertos with large-scale orchestra is followed seemingly by the opposite: works for solo violin. What appears, at first sight, to be a contrast is in fact a logical continuation of her extensive discography, even an enhancement: whilst in her previous releases, Pietsch demonstrated her expressive range and intensive approach both as a brilliant soloist and as an eloquent chamber musician, she now faces the greatest possible reduction, namely a solo recital. This limitation demands incredible presence, power and intensity, for which Franziska Pietsch is predestined. From isolation, she draws depth and grounding; "less" becomes "more"; soleness transforms into greatness. For her solo recital, she has put together an individual choice of compositions which have accompanied her from an early age and which, for her, represent significant personal and artistic experiences. Prokofiev, to whose works she feels a particular affinity, is also featured here. Once again, Franziska Pietsch displays a compelling combination of technique and interpretation: her irrepressible creative force penetrates all technical challenges, never losing sight of her interpretation, every note forming part of her reading - a deeply personal recording of the solo sonatas by Bart�k, Ysa�e and Prokofiev. Bart�k's solo sonata, written for Yehudi Menuhin in 1944, and the six sonatas Op. 27 by Ysa�e are amongst the most prominent twentieth century compositions for violin. Bach, the great paragon, is present in all these works. From Ysa�e's cycle, Pietsch has chosen the particularly striking Sonatas Nos 2 and 3 which are dedicated respectively to the violinists Jacques Thibaud and George Enescu. As an "encore" she plays the solo sonata Op. 115 by Sergei Prokofiev which had been intended for ambitions violin students.

Classical Music

Classical Music

The PianoDuo Takahashi|Lehmann combines intellectual programming with passionate expressivity. Original and adaptation – the lines are blurred: in his Concerto for Two Pianos, Stravinsky has the performers appear both as virtuoso soloists and representatives of an imagined orchestra. The composer’s arrangement of Le Sacre for four hands is a masterpiece in its own right. Arnulf Herrmann’s Hausmusik turns the relationship between original and arrangement upside down, whilst the music which drove Nancarrow to compose for player pianos has been retranslated for four hands by Mikhashoff.

Classical Music

Roland Glassl presents this new album of Suites for Solo Viola. This album contains compositions by Max Reger, Adolf Busch, and Justus Weinreich. +The Suites by Justus Weinreich are receiving their premiere recording with this release. Roland Glassl enjoys a rich performing career as a soloist and chamber musician, and teaches at the Hochschule fur Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main.

This release showcases Jeroen Berwaerts' musical versatility on several levels: he developed the concept of this album, performs as a trumpet soloist and jazz vocalist and directs the ensemble. Jeroen Berwaerts and Salaputia Brass prove congenial partners on the same wavelength. The Belgian musician does not believe in genre boundaries. He performs early music equally naturally as he does new music or jazz. No matter how diverse the musical styles, Berwaerts always looks for, and finds, one element in particular - a soulful profundity. "Signals from Heaven" combines spirituals and spiritual music by Takemitsu, Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Gershwin and Ellington. Historically, stylistically and geographically speaking, these musical styles could hardly be further apart. Listening carefully, however, it becomes apparent how close they can be. Defying the confines of epochs, continents and genres, they form a new harmony. This search for a soulful profundity in music unites all participating artists, as well as the aim of connecting people through music. Jeroen Berwaerts' concept does not represent "crossover" but a combination of voices which have something to say to one another. And they do - the concept is audibly successful.

Classical Music