Classical Music

Classical Music

It is not a well-known fact that the Amadeus Quartet were championed the music of their contemporaries. Accomplished for radio broadcasts, they recorded string quartets written by the major English composers of their time, Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett, as well as the Hungarian composers M�ty�s Seiber and B�la Bart�k. By also recording Henry Purcell's string fantasias, included on this release, they followed references between Britten and the cradle of English chamber music. This edition, Vol. IV, Modernism, will substantially broaden the view of the Amadeus Quartet, demonstrating the inquisitiveness and assuredness with which first violinist Norbert Brainin and his three colleagues explored modern music. This Amadeus Quartet audite series continues to exclusively present performances seeing their initial CD release.

The American baritone Barry McDaniel was one of the outstanding singers of the post-war era, enjoying a successful career as both opera singer and Lieder interpreter. Audite proudly presents a première double CD of Lieder sung by Barry McDaniel. This selection of songs by Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, Duparc, Ravel and Debussy reveals diverse facets of McDaniel’s artistic personality.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Following the Bach cantatas edition (audite 21.415) with Karl Ristenpart, audite continues the series of historic recordings from the archives of RIAS Berlin with a complete recording of the Christmas Oratorio. As soloists, Ristenpart engaged leading Bach singers of the time, thus ensuring that the recitatives of the Evangelist, the arias and ensembles were of particularly high quality. Alongside the RIAS Chamber Choir and the RIAS Chamber Orchestra a recording was created in December 1950 which both validly represents Bach interpretation of that time, and also heralds, notably in Parts 4 and 5, historically informed performance practice.

A choir of young Dominicans conducted by Father Thomas sings solemn vespers in Latin in honor of St. Dominic, founder of the order, in the Hamburg Dominican church of St. Sophien. The order, which celebrates it's 800th anniversary in 2016, has a long tradition in chorale singing. The hymns and anthems on this CD continue to be sung by members of Dominican order in their liturgical prayer worldwide. The Latin chants are in exciting dialogue with the organ improvisations by Thierry Mechler.

With seven commissioned works, eight world premieres and first recordings, these new pieces for brass ensemble are worth listening to at every moment, always enjoyable and never aloof or elitist. As dedicatees and performers of the works they themselves commissioend, Salaputia Brass significantly enriches the repertoire and range of recordings for brass ensemble. The members of Salaputia Brass met already as young musicians while playing for the Bundsjugendorchester, before forming the ensemble in 2007. Their success story began when they won First Prize at the Jugend musiziert national competition, continuing with a prize at the International Competition for Brass Ensembles in Passau. Today many of the ensemble's members hold solo positions in such leading German orchestras as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Gurzenich-Orchester Koln, Konzerthausorchester Berlin and several others.

"Julius Katchen’s solo recordings of works by Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Schumann and Liszt’s B minor Sonata presented here were made for RIAS Berlin and expand his discography by as many as six first releases. Thanks to his natural combination of virtuosity, musicianship and sense of form, these recordings are documents of magnificently timeless piano-playing."

Classical Music

This new recording by Jimin Oh-Havenith presents three of Beethoven's most famous, beautiful, but also most demanding piano sonatas. In addition to the dramatic F minor Sonata, Op. 57 ('Appassionata'), the pianist plays the late Sonatas in E major, Op. 109, and C minor, Op. 111, the last of the 32 piano sonatas. The exploration and crossing of boundaries can be seen as a central motif in Beethoven's compositions in general, and in his piano music in particular. While the variation movement in the 'Appassionata' is flanked by rugged outer movements and the ending is a lively dance, Opp. 109 and 111 close with extended, expressive variation movements. In the finale of Op. 109 and in the simple, yet rapturously poignant Arietta of Op. 111 with the metamorphoses in it's five variations, Beethoven enters uncharted territory. Here, Beethoven not only reaches expressive extremes, but also challenges his instrument: the keyboard range is stretched to the limit. The listener experiences the end of the C minor Sonata as a farewell to the world and to the genre of the sonata itself, but also as a beginning of something new and unknown. Jimin Oh-Havenith's interpretation convinces through carefully chosen tempi, which facilitate a vivid and transparent presentation of the thematic structures and internal developments. The clarity and expressiveness of her playing provides an immediate experience of Beethoven's inexhaustible imaginative power and the transformation of the poetic idea.