Classical Music

Classical Music

Dr. L. Subramaniam,"The God of Indian Violin" (The Times of India) & Roby Lakatos, "The Fastest-Fingered Fiddler in the World" (The Daily Telegraph) invite you to a fascinating musical journey, building bridges between Traditional Indian Music and Gypsy Music. A unique project reminiscent of the spirit and openness of the late Sir Yehudi Menuhin, a mentor close to the heart of both artists. Lakshminarayana Subramaniam (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music, and renowned for his virtuoso playing techniques and compositions in orchestral fusion. He studied medicine prior to pursuing music full time at the California Institute of the Arts. Hungarian violinist Roby Lakatos was born into a family of Romani violinists descended from Janos Bihari. He made his debut with a Romani band when he was 9. For the next ten years he led the house band at a popular restaurant, before going on to win first prize for classical violin at the Bela Bartok Conservatory of Budapest.

The king of the violinists, lauded as "The fastest-fingered fiddler in the world" by The Daily Telegraph, the unique Roby Lakatos is back with a stunning new double album: La Passion! Entirely recorded live at the iconic Sydney Opera House, La Passion will allow music lovers to discover Gypsy supernatural violinist Roby Lakatos in an all new program including never previously recorded pieces such as Meadowlands (Songs of the Plains), the Flight of the Bumblebee, Valse Triste, Oblivion, Chiquilin, Those Were the Days, Du Schwarzer Zigeuner and many more gems new to Roby's discography. The second album is devoted to the most famous bits of Roby's repertoire with such beloved pieces as Two Guitars, Fire Dance, Black Eyes (Ochi Chornyje), Brahms Hungarian Dance No 5, Monti's Csardas... This album also features a phenomenal L'Alouette (The Lark) lasting more than twelve minutes and catching Roby Lakatos in a jubilatory improvisation. This recording will furthermore allow many listeners to discover an all rejuvenated Ensemble featuring an amazing array of young Hungarian musicians aged from only 19 to 25! La Passion captures the unique energy that emanates from Roby Lakatos' live performances. This double album constitutes a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in a world marked by musical freedom, warmth, matchless virtuosity and surprising repertoire ideas with long forgotten melodies set in totally new and original arrangements.

For the first time on audio and video recording, “the fastest-fingered fiddler in the world” Roby Lakatos is joined by “speed demon” guitar hero Biréli Lagrène for a unique tribute to Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt. Both musicians performed in their youth with Stephane Grappelli. For this album they surrounded themselves with the superlative big band of the Modern Art Orchestra and by two first rate Jazzmen of the younger generation: thrilling drummer Niek de Bruijn and guitar sensation Andreas Varady. This is an explosive tribute to Manouche Jazz with standards such as “Djangology,” “Nuages,” “Stella by Starlight” and “Nuits de Saint-Germain-Des-Pres.”

For the first time, internationally acclaimed violinist Philippe Quint records two of the most intoxicating violin concertos of the Russian repertoire. Masterly supported by the Bochumer Symphoniker led by Steven Sloane, and recorded in state of the art sound, Philippe Quint exhales all the excitement and infinite flavours from these thrilling yet melodious masterpieces.

Sergio Tiempo, the electrifyingly brilliant pianist hailed by The Sunday Times, has brought together an exceptional cast of mentors for his latest album. These individuals have all played a pivotal role in shaping Tiempo's artistry: Lyl Tiempo, a world-renowned music pedagogue and Sergio's mother, the iconic Martha Argerich -who is recording for this album Schubert's Fantasy in F minor D. 940 for the first time in studio-, legendary pianist Nelson Freire, Alan Weiss, one of the most sought-after professors and pianists, incomparable cellist Mischa Maisky and Karin Lechner, Sergio's sibling and lifelong musical partner. The album is a tribute to the cooperative efforts of some of the most renowned musicians of our time and is a showcase of Tiempo's exceptional artistry.

In the opening Allegro con brio movement of the Piano Concerto No. 2, Beethoven follows Classical rules, concentrating on the two principal subjects of a double exposition—orchestra first, the soloist next—then a development section, and finally, a recapitulation. The main themes in their cheerful confidence are distinctly Beethoven’s. However, their working out is clearly influenced not only by Haydn but also by the recently departed Mozart. The middle movement—Adagio, in E flat major—hints at the slow movement of the Fourth Concerto to come a decade later. It is, in effect, an accompanied fantasia that resembles a carefree theme and variations, with an attention-getting solo recitative-like passage at the end. The twice-rewritten finale, Molto allegro, combines sonata and rondo forms, with perhaps the nicest surprise of all saved for last: a brief solo rumination which the orchestra brusquely interrupts with a terminal tantara. Mozart may have been his model, but the spirit here is pure young Beethoven.

Far from any kind of drama, the first movement of Ravel's G Major Concerto emphasizes joy, elegance, and cheerfulness. It all starts with a crack of a whip! Ravel sets out five thematic figures with Spanish influences and glissando-like jazz sounds; “circus-like elements” are also particularly evident in his extensive use of percussion. The Adagio offers the greatest possible contrast to this. The movement is characterized by simplicity and discretion. The final movement, Presto, abruptly tears the listener away from the melancholy mood. The music unfolds at a breathtaking speed, defined by circus-like percussion. The piano-playing is determined by frantic activity, indeed, by breathlessness. The motifs are sometimes onomatopoeic, now and then syncopated, at times march-like and grotesquely distorted, but always tempestuously pressing ahead until the fanfare from the beginning abruptly ends the work.

Classical Music

Roby Lakatos' latest release for avantijazz is an all-Jazz project. Featuring prestigious guests including legendary French manouche-fiddler Stephane Grappelli, superstar Russian violinist Vadim Repin, cult American jazz trumpeter Randy Brecker, world-renowned Hungarian saxophonist Tony Lakatos and French Jazz master Marc Fosset, Roby Lakatos.

With Musical Friends is a unique journey to heart of Jazzland.

Roby Lakatos has always been famous for his incredible ability to improvise in every possible style. Curious about many musical repertoires, Roby has played jazz since childhood. After many experiments with established masters, he decided to produce an album entirely devoted to Jazz and choose the most incredible standards: From Dave Brubeck’s Blue Rondo á la Turk to Miles Davis' Four, via Charlie Parker’s Donna Lee and Paganini’s 24th Capriccio, this album is an extraordinary opportunity to discover his limitless talent in a musical genre so dear to his heart.

?For Roby Lakatos playing jazz is above all sharing and you will discover how wonderful he is at sharing musical sets with the most incredible cast of guests.

This version includes a 2nd CD with 3 bonus tracks (24 minutes) never released before.

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

One of the leading pianists of our time.

Sergio Tiempo is one of the leading pianists of our time, and this interesting disc of Liszt and Tchaikovsky finds him on good form in repertoire that suits him admirably. Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 may be one of the best loved of all his compositions, and of all piano concertos too, but it is also one of the most Lisztian of Tchaikovsky’s works. He admired the earlier master and frequently turned towards him as an example, so to couple the concerto as here with music by Liszt is an eminently suitable choice.
 
Tiempo galvanises the performance with a thrilling opening phrase, and though the relationship with the orchestra doesn’t sustain this kind of frisson throughout, the performance always sounds well. The vivacity of the finale and above all, the charm of the central movement, bring many moments to savour.
 
Liszt’s Totentanz, first performed by Hans von Bülow at The Hague in 1865, is the master’s greatest work for piano and orchestra, despite the two concertos. It takes the form of a powerful set of variations on the Medieval plainchant the Dies Irae, which Liszt first encountered in the finale of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, of which he made a notable piano transcription. Tiempo’s live performance has real electricity, with slightly faster tempi than the benchmark recording by Krystian Zimerman (DG 423 571-2) but rather less rhythmic bite. This may be down to the relative lack of depth in the recorded sound, but either way Tiempo’s performance is highly rewarding, with a good piano-orchestra balance and a satisfying collaboration of intent.
 
Perhaps the highlight of the disc comes in the three Petrarch Sonnets from the second book of Années de Pèlerinage, a collection inspired by literary sources. The piano sound does full justice to Tiempo’s control of dynamic shadings, while his command of line and keyboard texture is no less impressive.
 
-- Terry Barfoot, MusicWeb International

If you think that big, unfettered, golden-toned Romantic pianism is the exclusive property of the dead, then you've yet to hear Polina Leschenko. Her flamboyant technique and ardent temperament revel in rolling virtuosic paragraphs and bass lines that haven't soared so elegantly since Benno Moiseiwitsch's prime. Sample the Bach A minor Fugue's rhapsodic dynamism, or the Chaconne's fiery passagework, and you'll agree. On the other hand, Leschenko proves almost too freewheeling as she speeds up and slows down sections of the Faust Waltz, dissipating Liszt's carefully orchestrated keyboard textures. However, a similarly energetic, improvisatory, yet more forward-moving profile rivets your attention throughout the B minor Sonata. Anyone who can take total, incisive charge of the treacherous octaves and danger-packed leaps without the slightest banging has my admiration. On the basis of this disc, Polina Leschenko is a real virtuoso pianist, and an exciting one too. Recommended.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Note: The included bonus DVD is in the PAL format and may not play on North American DVD players but should play on most computers.

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This release from Avanticlassic features siblings Karin Lechner and Sergio Tiempo in an extraordinary recital of celebrated French Music for piano duo or two pianos.

Karin and Sergio are two of the best soloists of their generation. Their acclaimed soloist careers did not prevent them from keeping a place for piano duo. It is always a musical highlight when both brother and sister join forces to offer us a truly virtuosic but also highly inspired moment of music.

Their first album for avanticlassic focuses on one of the most interesting musical periods in France history: La Belle Époque. With Scaramouche from Darius Milhaud, Daphnis and Chloé by Maurice Ravel, Dolly by Gabriel Fauré, two Nocturnes from Debussy and a haunting la Valse from Maurice Ravel, they chose an inspired program displaying the intimacy, the magic, but also the fascinating musical concepts arising from this culturally rich era.

This edition also includes an exclusive DVD featuring Insights of a Duo, directed by Joachim Thôme ) plus Night Recordings, a documentary on Karin Lechner and Sergio Tiempo.

FRANCESCO PIEMONTESI RECITAL • Francesco Piemontesi (pn) • AVANTI 5414706 10342 (SACD: 71:16)


HANDEL Suite in Bb. BRAHMS Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel. BACH Partita No. 1. Fantasy and Fugue in g. LISZT Vallée d’Obermann


This is very beautiful and stylish pianism from this young Italian-Swiss artist. His glowing tonality and unhurried pacing gives his playing a kind of pleasantly old-fashioned allure, apart from many of his more overtly brilliant contemporaries. His performance of the Brahms Handel variations lacks the energy of the famously propulsive Rudolf Serkin approach to the score, but the listener is rewarded by a sense of repose that makes the music more episodic and lovelier, if those are qualities you think are appropriate in this work. It works for me, although Serkin’s bracing cold shower of a performance will probably never fail to excite me. Similarly, Piemontesi lowers the temperature of the Bach partita vis-à-vis the incomparably joyous and theatrically alert playing of Dinu Lipatti, and yet wins over the senses with his rich coloration, incisive harmonic voicing, and delightfully subtle improvisations. His total absorption in the sheer beauty of his material combined with an extraordinarily high level of finish (the excellent SACD sound is a great asset here) makes his playing a hedonistic joy to hear.


I can imagine that some listeners would object to Piemontesi’s tendency to round off the corners of the music. His style flirts rather dangerously with mannerism, but does not really cross the line. I find his approach to be personal but sincere. In the Liszt, his gift for tonal control and his poetic sense for phrasing seem ideal for the material, and this performance positively glows. It would be interesting to hear this tremendously talented musician in yet more repertoire.


FANFARE: Peter Burwasser