Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Having already garnered a number of accolades sisters Mona and Rica Bard present a specially programmed pas de deux through eighty years of French piano music. At one and at two pinstruments they create a panorama of piano sound to animate the sometimes playful often elegant but always masterful music of Milhaud Ravel Bizet and Poulenc.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

"Previously unreleased. This small trove of live recordings from conductor Claudio Abbado from the Lucerne Festival, approved for release by the conductor himself, is being issued in memory of his recent passing (Jan. 2014). The extensive multi-language booklet contains a portrait of Claudio Abbado by Peter Hagmann tracing the conductor’s long-standing activities in Lucerne; also included are previously unpublished photos from the Lucerne Festival archives."

Classical Music

The Swiss Piano Trio's sixth and final release featuring works for piano trio by Ludwig van Beethoven presents two early masterworks and real rarities: adaptations for piano trio of Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 and his String Quintet Op. 4, based on his Octet Op. 103 and reworked by the composer himself (this piano trio is therefore a double adaptation of the octet). Both piano trio adaptations were published by Artaria in Vienna in 1806. Whilst it is not documented who arranged the string quintet for piano trio, the Second Symphony was adapted by Beethoven's pupil Ferdinand Ries in collaboration with Carl Czerny and under the supervision of the composer. The result is a resplendent realization of an ingenious orchestral work which greatly astonished contemporary audiences. The magnificent version for piano trio facilitates a renewed encounter with a work which is still unjustly overshadowed by the Eroica Symphony.

Classical Music

Johann Bernhard Bach's four Orchestral Suites, composed for the court orchestra of the cultured duke of Saxony-Eisenach, are amongst the most varied and sophisticated musical works of the high baroque period in Middle Germany. It was not by chance that Georg Philipp Telemann, a one-time Kapellmeister at Eisenach, commented retrospectively: "I have to praise this orchestra, arranged for the most part according to the French style, for it surpassed the very famous Parisian opera orchestra." From 1703, Bernard Bach was engaged as harpsichordist in this noble orchestra. His Orchestral Suites provide the only surviving "soundtrack" of the illustrious musical life at the Eisenach court during the 1710s and 20s. And what a soundtrack: cosmopolitan, and truly European, with sparkling virtuosic brilliance, as if written by a fiery Italian, whilst displaying the elegant taste of a noble Frenchman. In other words, the "mixed taste", for which the best German composers of the late baroque period were famous, in it's finest form. Little wonder then that Bernhard Bach's suites became core repertoire for Johann Sebastian Bach's Leipzig Collegium Musicum, also influencing his compositions. All this provides sufficient motivation for the Thuringian Bach Collegium to continue their exploration through the Middle German courts for their second recording and, with unbridled enthusiasm in their music-making, to bring these jewels of the early Thuringian orchestral music back to life. Bon Appetit!

Following their critically acclaimed debut album on audite Violoncelle Fran�ais the Cheng� Duo (pronounced Cheng Squared Duo) offers a compelling program of music by Spain's foremost twentieth-century composers. The interpretations are again steeped in a rare balance of unfiltered youthful joy and enthusiasm in their playing on one hand, and mature, historically informed and profound interpretations on the other - this special balance becoming the trademark of the Cheng� Duo and commanding attention from the very first note. Violonchelo del fuego is the second in a set to be recorded with audite, with each album focusing on the music of a particular country. A further recording of Russian works for cello and piano is already being planned. Since debuting at Carnegie Hall in 2011, the Cheng� Duo continues to be celebrated by audiences and critics alike for it's artistic excellence, generous spirit, and compelling vibrancy. The Canadian duo is made of the siblings Bryan Cheng and Silvie Cheng and has been making music together for the past 15 years. The duo has presented recitals throughout North America, in Europe, and Asia, and has been featured at numerous international festivals, including Aspen (USA), Trasimeno (Italy), Ottawa Chamberfest and Festival of the Sound (Canada). The performers have not only proved success as Cheng� Duo but have also won renowned awards as soloists, each in their own right.

Classical Music