Renaissance polyphony and contemporary sound clouds orbit around vocal late Romanticists like satellites. The Zurich Chamber Singers, conducted by Christian Erny, unearth a special narrative drama. Starting with Anton Bruckner, they turn their attention to Palestrina as a point of reference. At the same time, they cast a spotlight back on the work of the Austrian vocal innovator through three contemporary works. A comprehensive selection of Bruckner's Latin motets combine here with chosen works by Palestrina and three world premiere recordings of the Stuttgart composer Burkhard Kinzler’s commissioned works.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina may have been one of Bruckner’s musical inspirations and historical references, as he, albeit some three hundred years Bruckner’s senior, was continuously celebrated in music history for centuries after his death. Bruckner’s Catholic faith – supremely profound, and at times unhappy – is inherent to almost all of his compositions. The composer is sometimes said not to have managed to write a single secular piece, including his symphonies. In this album, the Zurich Chamber Singers focus on Bruckner’s Latin motets and choose to consider them something of a musical prayer book and personal diary of the composer. Bruckner, who suffered from severe self-doubts throughout his life, composed motets for almost his entire life. Although in varying intervals and with considerably less public attention than other of his works, Bruckner was dedicated to the composition of motets with admirable regularity. Therefore, these pieces allow a singular access to Bruckner’s musical development and personality, as well as his religious psyche. In this program Anton Bruckner’s motets are presented in a careful sequence combining them with works by Palestrina and Burkhard Kinzler. The latter feature as a commentary that both hearkens back ‘ad fontes’ and towards the twenty-first-century present.

Concerto Köln is one of the leading orchestras for historically informed musical performances and recordings. Recent concerts of Wagner’s “Rheingold” and an album released together with soprano Jeanine De Bique have been celebrated and praised by critics and listeners alike. The conceptual originality of their work seems endless.

In their newest album “Pi – Pisendel”, baroque violinist Mayumi Hirasaki, Concerto Köln’s leading concertmaster for the past ten years is highlighted. As an inspiration for the program served her historical role model, the violin virtuoso, composer and concertmaster himself Johann Georg Pisendel. According to Hirasaki “It should be a program that doesn't only focus on me as a violinist, but also unfolds the virtuosity of the whole orchestra.” Together as a unit concertmaster and ensemble present a diverse selection of Pisendel’s pieces that stand out through their rich orchestration, stylistic variety and instrumental virtuosity. Again, the artistic vision of Hirasaki and the concerto Köln captures the imagination of the listener with an accurate recreation of the historic sound and an innovative, refreshing interpretation.

Newcomer Tassilo Probst releases his first album with duo partner Maxim Lando. The young violinist ventures into truly virtuoso repertoire and presents three sonatas for violin and piano by Béla Bartók, George Enescu, and Joseph Achron - the latter is a world premiere recording.

"I love all kinds of music, including Beethoven or Brahms sonatas, of course. But for my first recording, I liked to record unknown sonatas!", explains Probst in an interview with Malte Hemmerich. The young musician has already made a name for himself in the classical music scene. "Tassilo is an outstanding violinist and musician, with a strong will, unique sound and impressive mastery of the instrument," reports Daniel Hope, with whom both Tassilo Probst and Maxim Lando have been guests a few times.

Experience the rich and vibrant sounds of Europe's Romantic tradition with our latest CD featuring music by four talented composers. Discover the little-known talent of Sigurd Lie, a highly skilled violinist and composer from Norway who studied with leading teachers in Leipzig and Berlin. Immerse yourself in the enchanting folk tale inspiration of Lie's "Huldra aa'n Elland" for violin and orchestra and be captivated by the playful and seductive solo violin performed by the renowned violinist Ragnhild Hemsing. Follow in the footsteps of Lie's compatriot, Johan Svendsen, a famous violinist and composer who studied in Leipzig and Paris and is best remembered for his Romance for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 26. Svendsen's work was admired by Belgian violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe and was reprinted 65 times. This CD is a must-have for any lover of the Romantic era, the diverse sounds of Norway and Europe, and the virtuosic performances of Hemsing.

On his new album “31” pianist Fabian Muller plays the late work of Franz Schubert- the piano sonatas no. 19-21 as well as Drei Klavierstucke D946. The idea behind this recording is to play the late works as a young person- in view of the fact that Schubert himself was a young man when he composed them. Muller plays the pieces lovingly, peaceful. Sad, but at the same time incredibly happy- and in his interpretations he likes to take liberties with the tempo and sometimes leaves out repetitions. “It’s important to take the composer seriously, but it’s also important not to overdo it. In the end, it often remains a mystery what the composer really wanted anyway. That’s why I have great confidence in making my own decisions,” Muller says.

On his latest album "Brahms, Schumann, Gade", the clarinet virtuoso and three-time ECHO Klassik winner Sebastian Manz dedicates himself to three absolute opera magna of the clarinet repertoire. The focus on the chamber music core repertoire makes this album project stand out clearly from the artist's previous discography. Without distractions or programmatic embellishments, Sebastian Manz completely serves the artistic content of these timeless masterpieces in this album. Sebastian Manz is accompanied on the piano by Herbert Schuch. Together they inspire with recordings in which one can hear that time and space have been left for spontaneous musical qualities. The thoughts and emotions of the performers thus come to the fore unfiltered. In addition, large-scale takes preserve the musical flow and their naturalness.

After her award-winning album "Røta", Ragnhild Hemsing dedicates herself to the Norwegian national epic "Peer Gynt" and its musicalization by Edvard Grieg. Through the collaboration with the Trondheim Soloists the world-famous melodies resound in new arrangements for violin and Hardanger fiddle with string orchestra. "Edvard Grieg himself has said that his Peer Gynt music is inspired by Norwegian folk music. With that in mind, my desire through this project has been to penetrate deeper into the sound world of the Peer Gynt music and explore the exciting intersection between folk and classical music", says the Norwegian artist. From "In the Hall of the Mountain King" to "Morning Mood", her new album has everything you need to immerse yourself in the Nordic soundscapes and mythical sagas.

REVIEW:

Ragnild Hemsing once again makes a strong case for the Hardanger fiddle and, through Tormood Tvete Vik’s clever and tasteful arrangement of Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt music, brings it very close to Norwegian folk music. The 12 individual movements are played alternately by Hardanger fiddle and the violin.

Ragnild Hemsing plays beautifully and creates indescribably atmospheric moments that have never been heard before. The Trondheim Soloists accompany the soloist with beautiful sound that exactly reflects the mood of the music. This somewhat short CD (48') is a must, and not only for those who like to explore. There are also informative booklet texts.

-- Pizzicato

Il Gusto Barocco approaches Johann Sebastian Bach's suites and concertos from a contemporary and at the same time historically informed perspective. On their new album "Suite & Concertos", Jörg Halubek and the early music specialists of Il Gusto Barocco take a look at Bach's activities in the Zimmermann coffee house in Leipzig. They are not reconstructing an actual programme, but testing how the spirit of the musical gatherings in the circle of family, relatives and students can be transferred to our modern times. "We want to take a more modern look at Bach, who today is mainly seen as a strict church composer. For us, it's about the communicative side turned towards people," says ensemble leader and harpsichordist Jörg Halubek. The cello, which is slowly emerging from its basso continuo shadow in Baroque music, leads the way through the program with Bach's third cello suite. The solo concertos inserted between the suite movements extend the individual focus to the group. The tendency in concert practice to preserve the inviolability of such a cherished work is here afforded a historically-informed approach accessed simultaneously through the eyes and ears of a modern musician. We do after all know, from contemporary sources from Bach’s time, that instrumental works were not always played in their entirety. The forthcoming albums in this series, featuring new recordings and released to mark Bach’s birthday, which began last year with the recording of the Brandenburg Concertos, should be afforded a musical presenter. The aim is to spotlight the soloistic qualities of the individual musicians who together form the ensemble overall, while also maintaining their individuality. In the concertos chosen for this program the orchestra plays more than just an accompanying role.

Pianist Danae Dörken is embarking on a musical journey: on April 22, 2022, her new album "Odyssee" will be released by Berlin Classics. The repertoire is a varied selection and leads the listener through different eras. Among them are well-known classics by Franz Liszt or Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, but also works that the pianist associates with her Greek origins, for example by Manos Hatzidakis and Vangelis. "Odyssee" is about traveling, wandering and dreaming. "The Odyssey has fascinated me from a very young age. Even as a child, it was read to me as a bedtime story by my grandparents," Danae Dörken says. She knows the various stages of the journey inside out. "For me, it's a very current story. I think we're going through a modern odyssey. That's what I want to show with this album."

What the largely unknown name of Georg Muffat may lack in dissemination and reputation, he makes p for in incredible variety, virtuosic power, and influence, especially on the development of instrumental music. The treasure trove of Muffat, which comes to light in particular in his sonata collection “Armonico Tributo,” is what the early music ensemble Concerto Copenhagen and its director Lars Ulrik Mortensen are taking to the discographic spearhead of their 30th anniversary in 2022. Concerto Copenhagen is one of Scandinavia’s most innovative and experimental baroque orchestras. Long known and celebrated beyond the borders of Denmark, the early music ensemble delights audiences throughout Europe with exciting border crossings between early and contemporary music.

The Isabelle van Keulen Ensemble was initiated in 2011 by the internationally well established violinist and violist Isabelle van Keulen, following her Carte Blanche concert series in the Concertgebouw Haarlem, the Netherlands, with the purpose to perform Astor Piazzolla’s Tango Nuevo masterworks to the highest technical and musical standards.

Together with bandoneonist Christian Gerber, he himself one of the leading performers of his generation, and winner of several prizes such as the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, pianist Ulrike Payer, well known for her versatility and sensibility in all musical genres and double bass player Rüdiger Ludwig, a charismatic musician and Co-Principal of the NDR Orchestra Hanover, they overwhelmed their audience on their first appearance. The present release features Piazzolla’s Variations on Buenos Aires, in collaboration with dkn, the Deutsches Kammerakademie Neuss, van Keulen's string orchestra.

REVIEWS:

For the Dutch violinist Isabelle van Keulen, this recording, released by Berlin Classics, is a matter of the heart: in 2011, together with the bandoneonist Christian Gerber, the double bassist Rüdiger Ludwig and the pianist Ulrike Payer, she founded the Isabelle van Keulen Ensemble, with which she focused on tango nuevo and, above all, music by Astor Piazzolla. The classically trained violinist had always enjoyed crossing supposed genre boundaries, thus leaving the comfort zone of a classically trained and renowned violinist, at home on the concert stages of the world. Since 2019, she has also been artistic director of the German Chamber Academy Neuss, where she combines solo playing and direction from the concertmaster's podium.

So now a little homage to Astor Piazzolla. On the CD, “Piazzolla: Variations on Buenos Aires” she brings her two ensembles together. It is easy to imagine that this is not easy to implement - especially for classical musicians - since tango is not exactly part of the repertoire of orchestral musicians in training and everyday practice. But here the musicians of the German Chamber Academy Neuss surprise, or are simply strongly influenced by their artistic director. With the combination of a typical tango ensemble and a classical string orchestra, van Keulen shows through the line-up what was also typical of Astor Piazzolla and his music: although influenced by the tango from birth, the composer felt deeply attracted by so-called Western classical music. These references can also be heard in the pieces recorded here: Tres minutos con la realidad reveals echoes of Stravinsky, and his suite Silfo y Ondina shows his admiration for Bach.

The arrangements that can be heard here were created by bandoneonist Christian Gerber, taking into account the special requirements of the larger line-up. So he sometimes distributes the music only to the extended voices, or to added opposing voices; he even precedes the very well-known Oblivion with a bandoneon introduction. With this type of editing, Gerber and thus this recording are entirely in the tradition of Piazzolla, who in turn repeatedly adapted his own works to suit possible changing needs.

The selection of Piazzolla's pieces ranges from relatively unknown ones such as the above-mentioned Bach-like suite, but also such catchy tunes as Oblivion or the touching Adiós Nonino can be found on the CD. The successful collaboration of Isabelle van Keulen's two ensembles creates a successful combination between classical music and tango - something that Piazzolla always strived for. Thanks to the brilliant playing of the typical tango ensemble, this slightly different version of the works loses nothing of the typical tango sound.

-- Klassik Heute

Following on from her debut album impressions, featuring chamber music for bassoon and piano, bassoon player Sophie Dervaux is poised to release her second album on the Berlin Classics label. This album marks two premieres: in addition to this being the very first recording of the Concerto no. 2 in C major for bassoon and orchestra by Johann Baptist Vanhal, Ms Dervaux performs as both soloist and conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg. The recording of Mozart’s Concerto in B flat major for bassoon and orchestra was the starting point for this present album. It is acknowledged to be one of the most important works ever written for the wind instrument: composed in the Viennese Classical style, sophisticated and nuanced- and the only bassoon concerto by Mozart to have survived. “The Concerto in B flat major forms the basis for many bassoonists’ repertoire,” Sophie Dervaux explains, “and for that reason I have long waited to record the work – it is an important step along my career path and I faced up to it with respect.” What can be paired on an album alongside a work that enjoys the huge significance of Mozart’s bassoon concerto? Sophie Dervaux has chosen two composers who were close to Mozart and who share a common history with him. Vanhal and Hummel, like Mozart, all left their mark on the musical history of Vienna- the city in which Sophie Dervaux, as solo bassoonist with the Vienna Philharmonic has chosen to make her home.

Let’s just do it: that was the motto when Simon Höfele and Frank Dupree decided to grab a hot potato. The two musicians, who have been making music for years, and not exclusively in the classical field they studied, love jazz as much as they love Hummel’s trumpet concerto and Beethoven’s for piano. That said, they can seldom stray far afield in their repertoire: the gap between classical music and jazz is so great; prejudices are simply insurmountable, and musical approaches too diverse. So they have done that anyway, and together with Frank’s colleague Obi Jenne on drums, Jakob Krupp on bass and the Goldmund Quartet they have produced an album that aims not to point out differences, not to emphasize what divides, but something that instead creates musical networks, music that aims to liberate us from conventions and put us in a good mood.

“Mendelssohn is a challenge, because his music appears to be so deceptively easy,” says the pianist Claire Huangci, speaking about her new album. Together with violinist Marc Bouchkov she has recorded works by Mendelssohn for violin and piano: the two Violin Sonatas in F – one major, one minor – and the Double Concerto in D minor. They are accompanied in the latter work by the successful conductor Howard Griffiths and the Basel Chamber Orchestra. As Ms Huangci points out, this represents a program rich in contrasts highlighting Mendelssohn’s artistry and the versatility of such a combination of works: “A mix requiring wit and brilliance on the one hand, while also requiring the performers to go beneath the surface and reveal a deeper meaning including sorrow, compassion and nobility, and that is something that is not easy to detect at first glance. The young Felix Mendelssohn has such a feel for the dramatic.”

REVIEW:

This is the first recording I’ve heard by Marc Bouchkov, a violinist born in Montpellier in 1991. He won 1st Prize at the Queen Elizabeth Competition at Brussels and 2nd Prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He is an excellent violinist with a fiery temperament and a highly polished technique. Claire Huangci studied at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia with Eleanor Sokoloff and Gary Graffman and with Arie Vardi in Hanover. She is a perfect match for Bouchkov, and the two make this music exciting.

-- American Record Guide

Eckart Runge and Jacques Ammon, who with their last album "Revolutionary Icons" already explored the field of tension between Beethoven and the rock/pop heroes Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse and David Bowie, now devote themselves to the baroque and jazz. A closer look reveals how many connections there are despite the 200 yeas in between and what bridges ca be built between the two styles: "Walking basso continuo", the joy of the spontaneous and the high art of improvisation. From Vivaldi to Amanti, from bach to Miles Davis and from Gluck to George Gershwin - an outstanding potpourri of the highest musical quality on cello and piano.

Deluxe edition in lavish packaging and an extensive booklet lovingly furnished with full-color pictures, including complete vocal texts. This recording from 1974/1975, which was highly praised by the specialist press, unites outstanding soloists (Arleen Auger, Annelies Burmeister, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam, Michael Wittig) with the Dresdner Kreuzchor and the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra (first trumpeter is once again Ludwig Guttler). Under the direction of Martin Flamig, the ensemble reaches top form here. Radiant chorales, yet with great attention to detail, and powerful arias characterize the recording, which also leaves little to be desired in terms of recording technology. A well-balanced overall sound, clear weighting of vocal solos and orchestral accompaniment. The members of the orchestra deserve to be mentioned individually, as each instrument is excellently cast.

Take time in the summer to think about the winter, country folk would say. That is just as true of CD albums compiled to celebrate the happiest days of the year. In this record-breaking sultry summer, Ludwig Guttler has been giving some thought to how to celebrate the 200th anniversary in 2018 of this global song appropriately. "It is one of the first carols I learned to play on the accordion, a present I was given for Christmas after my fifth birthday," recalls Ludwig Guttler, who remembers that when he was a child, everybody sang along. In fact it took him a long time to understand how anybody sitting in church could stay still to the sound of "Stille Nacht". In addition to the best recordings from his gigantic catalogue, there are also recordings that have not yet been publihed: Guttler has arranged "Silent Night, Holy Night!" for his brass ensemble, clad each of the six verses in an instrumental garb of it's own and recorded it in the summer in Zwettl in Austria.

The Christmas compilation 'Sind die Lichter angezundet' brings together the most beautiful and time-honoured treasures from the Eterna archive on two CDs. Available on CD for the first time ever, the album offers numerous recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s, with a focus on children's, youth and boys' choirs. The most beautiful and best-known Christmas melodies are contrasted with regional carols, rarely performed and recorded works and almost unknown gems - the perfect comprehensive and varied musical accompaniment to the Advent season and Christmas Eve.

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) was an Argentine composer and bandoneon virtuoso who revolutionized the traditional tango by infusing it with elements of jazz, classical music, and modern harmonies. His work transformed tango from a dance genre rooted in Buenos Aires' popular culture into a sophisticated art form suitable for the concert hall. Central to this transformation were his bandoneon concertos, which showcased the expressive possibilities of the instrument and blurred the boundaries between popular and classical traditions. The bandoneon, a type of button accordion originally developed in Germany, became the soulful voice of Argentine tango. Piazzolla mastered it's complex mechanics and extended it's expressive range far beyond it's traditional role. Aconcagua: Concerto for Bandoneon and Orchestra (1980) represents the peak of Piazzolla's orchestral writing. Named after the highest mountain in the Andes, it symbolizes artistic ascent and ambition. This concerto highlights the instrument's dual nature-melancholic yet rhythmic, intimate yet dramatic. In this concerto, Piazzolla combines lush textures, driving rhythms, and virtuosic passages to create a dialogue between the bandoneon and orchestra that is both lyrical and dynamic. Also included on this disc are the Tres Tangos for orchestra and the immensely popular Oblivion, known from Marco Bellocchio's film Enrico IV. Played by Klaudiusz Baran, one of the leading bandoneon players of his country, and the Czestochowa Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Adam Klocek.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music