“With his Viennese background, Suitner brought something authentic and credible with him.” Memories are still vivid in the minds of contemporaries when asked about recordings that were made over thirty years ago. Such recordings must have made a lasting impression on those involved, including Lothar Friedrich (long-standing violinist of the Berlin Staatskapelle), who is quoted above. This 1986 double LP release by the East German label Eterna, featuring works by Gustav Mahler, is certainly no exception. The main work, the Fifth Symphony, once a groundbreaking success for the composer, is joined by songs from the anthology Des Knaben Wunderhorn (the boy’s magic horn). The interpreters: baritone Siegfried Lorenz, the Staatskapelle Berlin and Otmar Suitner. Suitner, the conductor who died in Berlin in 2010, was Austrian, a fact that may be key to understanding why this record was ever made at all. Suitner was general music director of the Berlin State Opera on Unter den Linden from 1974 until 1991 and thus directed the Berlin Staatskapelle at the same time. “He was very relaxed, not over-focussed – a fantastic conductor, always at ease and enthusiastic. These songs needed an orchestra that produces pure expression”, said singer Siegfried Lorenz about the recording of the “Wunderhorn” lieder with Otmar Suitner. The longtime violinist of the Berlin Staatskapelle, Lothar Friedrich, adds regarding the Fifth Symphony: “When I listen to the recording now, I feel vindicated. Suitner struck an excellent balance between his emotional side on the one hand and his intellectual approach on the other.”

By May 2, 1945, Berlin had fallen to the Red Army. The city lay in ruins, its transport network had been crippled and all the theatres and museums had been either destroyed or severely damaged. The Berlin State Opera no longer existed. Seemingly lost forever, the beautiful opera house on Unter den Linden was proudly described by its architect Hans Georg Wenceslaus von Knobelsdorff in 1742 as “a magnificent palace, detached on all sides,” a novelty in Europe at the time, “and there is easily enough room around its exterior to accommodate a thousand carriages... The theatre is one of the longest and widest in the world. The boxes are so spacious and comfortable that they resemble fully appointed rooms and yet they offer an unrestricted view of the arena all round.” Major General Nikolai Berzarin, the first military governor of Berlin, gave the following order just two weeks after the city surrendered: “Performances must immediately be resumed.” He instructed Heinz Tietjen, the long-standing general director of all the Prussian state theatres, to take over the management of all the opera houses in Berlin and immediately start preparing for their reopening. After the reopening and reconstruction of the opera house (under difficult circumstances) the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 was the next watershed. The wall divided not only the city but also the cultural interests of both West and East Berlin. All the more astonishing is the sterling artistical quality of the Berlin State Opera later in the 1980s. During the 1980s the Berlin State Opera had developed an extensive repertoire. The hereby presented compilation of works was released as vinyl at the ETERNA label in 1987. This release brilliantly reflects the remarkable prowess of the State Opera and is a historical reference of the time just before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of an even more artistic new era.

SENSUAL:CLASSICS,ESCAPE

Johann Sebastian Bach is revered by musicians and music lovers around the world. The German weekly Die Zeit has described him as the “fount of all music,” and violinist Yehudi Menuhin had a very simple explanation for our continuing fascination with Bach’s works: “He represents something greater within us.” Classical saxophonist Asya Fateyeva has engaged with Bach’s oeuvre since her youth, albeit at a disadvantage to many of her colleagues- the Thomaskantor wrote no works for the saxophone. This has not put off the young musician, who was voted Best Female Newcomer at ECHO Klassik 2016: her latest release “Bachiana” featuring works by J. S. Bach and Heitor Villa-Lobos prove her to be not only a virtuosa of her instrument but also a gifted arranger. She is ably supported by the inspired Wurttemberg Chamber Orchestra of Heilbronn under its principal conductor Ruben Gazarian. Asya writes: “Even when I was a child, I was really inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. That was when I began to play the piano, later I switched to the saxophone- and his music was simply always there. I think every musician feels the same; Bach’s universal language knows no frontiers and when you come into contact with his music, you sense that you are in touch with eternity.”

Born in Niederpoyritz near Dresden in 1910, Rudolf Kempe was trained as a pianist and oboist at the orchestral school of the Sächsische Staatskapelle in Dresden between 1924 and 1928. After posts as an orchestra musician in Dortmund and Leipzig he made his debut as a conductor in Leipzig in 1935. After further conducting posts in Chemnitz and Weimar he was brought to Dresden in 1949 by Joseph Keilberth and made General Music Director of the Dresden Opera and Staatskapelle the following year. Semper’s famous opera house lay in ruins, like the whole of the city centre, whereas the evacuated Staatskapelle had survived the war and the post-war years largely intact. Kempe later recalled: “For my career, those were the happiest years of my life – the last glimpse of ‘Paradise’: with opera, concerts and chamber music all year round in the same place.” Eterna producer Dieter-Gerhardt Worm considers Rudolf Kempe to be one of the most significant conductors of the twentieth century and regards the recordings he made with the Dresden Staatskapelle as ideal: “There have surely been very few conductors who have fathomed the nature of the Staatskapelle so deeply and so widely exploited this orchestra’s potential as Rudolf Kempe. In the studio, he was a highly effective ‘worker’. Kempe was the only conductor I have known who did not explain to the musicians what he wanted of the orchestra but simply showed them.” Rudolf Kempe’s early death prevented the implementation of numerous planned projects with the Staatskapelle. When the present recording of Stravinsky’s Firebird ballet suite and Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem was made in January 1976 none of the participants had an inkling that it would be Kempe’s last.

Piano Music: Grand-Mondain

SENSUAL:CLASSICS,REVERIE

Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations are, without a doubt, an integral part of great piano literature. Here, pianist Friedrich Gulda interprets the works. When Gulda recorded these works in the 1960s, he joined forces with producer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer to create a unique sound. Brunner-Schwer hung the microphones directly over the strings of the piano to give Gulda a presence that feels as though he is live. Joachim Kaiser wrote of Gulda’s performances, “Gulda’s remarkable qualities take him far beyond mere virtuosity and the capacity for brilliant piano playing. Gulda plays the most articulate, fascinating, natural, and purest Beethoven of the century.

SENSUAL:CLASSICS,VISION

Discover Piano Classics features some of the most beautiful piano melodies of all time, including selections from the Well Tempered Clavier, Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and many more.; The Discover Series from Berlin Classic aims to make classics popular, firing people up about the music presented, regardless of musical taste.; Rather than focusing on complete works, this series focuses on individual pieces that have rewritten our musical history.

BELIEBTE OPERNARIEN

This new release presents Carl Orff’s masterwork opera in a benchmark recording that will set a new standard of sound quality and interpretation. “Die Kluge,” composed in 1943, is written in the style of a fairy tale with the moral of a fable, and tells the story of a king, a peasant, and a clever girl. It is based on Die Kluge Bauerntochter (The Peasant’s Wise Daughter) from the Grimm’s Fairy Tales. “The recordings were made between 1976 and 1980 and… are remarkable among the conductor’s recordings for the quality of their sound.” (Dietrich Brakemeier, Living Stereo, Munich 1994)

This new release is the soundtrack from the motion picture, Bach in Brazil. The story is inspired by true events, and follows retired German music teacher Marten Brueckling as he travels to Brazil to collect a sheet of original Bach manuscript, but ends up teaching music to children in a juvenile detention center. The tracks on this release are enchanting arrangements of Bach’s best loved melodies, mixed with Brazilian flair. “Our aim in Bach in Brazil is to bring Bach’s melodies to life with Brazilian rhythms and instrumentations, rather like Marten Brueckling in the film gaining a new perspective on his life from the children and the Brazilian feeling for life.”

Beethoven’s three most popular and most performed piano sonatas are featured on this new benchmark release, “Moonlight Sonata,” the “Appassionata,” and the “Pathetique.” Pianist Peter Rosel recorded the works on this album in the late 1970s. Here they are beautifully remastered for optimal sound quality and presented in collector’s edition packaging. “Without wanting to seem immodest, I can say that I was pretty satisfied with the result, and I still am today. The fact that the recording will now be made available on both CD and vinyl for today’s music lovers gives me immense pleasure.” (Peter Rosel)

Songs From 8 Centuries is a celebration of the long and successful life of the Dresdner Kreuzchor, who is celebrating their 800th birthday.; This musical journey travels from the ensemble’s roots through their prosperous career, from Gregorian chant all the way to contemporary music of the twenty-first century. This album tells the story of not only the history of the boys’ choir, but the history of the world.; Compositions include works by Johann Walter, Johann Hermann Schein, Heinrich Schutz, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Mikis Theodorakis, and more.