To follow the Christmas Oratorio, the Bavarian Radio Choir under its artistic director Peter Dijkstra again present a major work by J.S. Bach, in a live recording on CD and DVD: the St. Matthew Passion. The choir's partner is the renowned period instrument group Concerto Köln, already heard together with the choir on several BR-KLASSIK CDs. Julian Prégardien sings the part of the Evangelist. The DVD edition of this live recording features highly atmospheric lighting effect

Baritone Christian Gerhaher is currently setting new standards as a Lied interpreter, both on the operatic and concert stage. This release follows two choral-symphonic recordings on BR-KLASSIK. This release contains works recorded during Gerhaher’s time with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks as Artist in Residence. The pieces investigate the contrast between the Kunstlied (art song) and Volkslied (folk song). Containing works by Britten, Beethoven, Haydn, and Shostakovich, the repertoire in this program is close to Christian Gerhaher’s heart. Other artists on this recording include cellist Sebastian Klinger, violinist Anton Barachovsky, and pianist Gerold Huber.

Written in 1782, Mozart's Mass in C minor - although incomplete – ranks as one of the outstanding Mass settings in European music history. The very recent reconstruction/completion of the Mass by Clemens Kemme in the spring of 2018 confines itself to the original sources, avoiding any arbitrary additions. The work was recorded in this critically acclaimed version for the Bayerischer Rundfunk during the summer of 2018, and conducted by Howard Arman. This album is thus the first recording of the definitive version of this new and intelligently edited reconstruction of Mozart's Mass in C minor. An introduction to the work is also included, enabling this masterpiece to be approached from new perspectives. In Vienna in the summer of 1782, Mozart started writing a new Mass despite having apparently received no commission to do so. On August 4, 1782 he married Constanze Mozart, and from his correspondence it appears that he had made himself a promise to “have a newly-composed mass performed in Salzburg if he brought her there as his wife.” The work may have been performed on October 26, 1783 in St. Peter's Church in Salzburg, with Constanze as the soprano soloist; concrete evidence of such a performance is however lacking. Nevertheless, the Mass can probably be seen as a kind of votive offering for Constanze. The fact that the work was not completed may be due to the church music reforms implemented by the Emperor Joseph II, who preferred sacred music to be performed on a smaller scale. In 1785, Mozart eventually reworked the “Kyrie" and "Gloria" from the mass for his cantata Davide penitente.

Following it's audio biographies of Mahler, Wagner and Verdi, BR-KLASSIK now presents the fourth in the series: an audio biography of Richard Strauss, to coincide with the Strauss anniversary year of 2014. In operas such as "Elektra" and "Salome", the Munich-born composer made masterly use of established traditions, placing them brilliantly into new contexts and also pointing the way ahead especially where musical theatre was concerned. The three CDs in the edition contain the exciting audio biography (CD1), a selection of letters from Richard Strauss to famous contemporaries such as Hans von B�low, Cosima Wagner, Stefan Zweig and Hugo von Hofmannsthal (CD2), and also a representative selection of works with a special focus on Strauss's work as a composer of tone-poems and operas (CD3). Anette Unger, the author of the audio biography, is already widely known as a Strauss expert; her works include the book "Who was Richard Strauss? - Nineteen Answers". The Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Moest, currently Musical Director of the Vienna State Opera and Principal Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, has been a welcome guest at the helm of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks for the past 25 years. The two live recordings from the Munich Herkulessaal in 2010 and 2013 include the symphonic poem "An Alpine Symphony" (1915) and the four symphonic interludes from the opera "Intermezzo" (1924).

This new release from BR-Klassik brings together the most well-known works of Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius. Included in this disc are Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 D Major op. 43, and Finlandia op. 26- Karelia Suite op. 11. The recordings on this album were made during autumn of 2015 in Munich, by The Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. Conducting the orchestra is Mariss Jansons, who is well-known for his interpretation of Nordic music.

Christmas with the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks! Under the direction of Florian Helgath, the chorus sings German holiday classics along with selections from France, Italy and Great Britain. Music between the carols is provided by oboist François Leleux, who enriches the release with restful instrumental intermezzi and virtuosic touches. A close alignment with Christmas and the music of the season makes for a truly wonderful Christmas holiday. The Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks was founded in 1946. Its artistic advancement has run in close parallel with the growth of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and, since 2003, Mariss Jansons has served as the Chief Conductor of both ensembles, supplemented by Peter Dijkstra, who was appointed Artistic Director of the chorus in 2005. The group’s stylistic versatility covers every area of choral singing from medieval motets all the way to contemporary works.

“The will to happiness” determined the life and work of the great Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, even though it did not always enable him to reach his goal. Jorg Handstein’s audio biography takes this motto and fills it with the moving story of Tchaikovsky’s life, his survival and, of course, his impressive music. In nine chapters, on the first three of the four albums in this release, Tchaikovsky’s life can be vividly experienced, and his most famous and most important compositions heard, all closely interwoven with the highly exciting events of his life. Further along in the release, the Pathetique Symphony can be heard in a complete recording by the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Mariss Jansons (recorded live in June 2013), together with the first ever album recording of the a capella song “The Nightingale,” performed by the Chor and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen in a live recording from January 2016.

Although fifty years have now passed since Fritz Wunderlich’s tragic death on September 17, 1966, the singer and his incomparable tenor voice have remained unforgotten. One reason for this was the meteoric success of his artistic career. Following his performance in a student production of Mozart’s Magic Flute in Freiburg, the young singer was instantly engaged by the Stuttgart State Opera, then went on to Frankfurt and Munich, performed at the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival, and had already received an offer from the New York Metropolitan Opera. What people remember most about him was his vital, lively personality, his almost limitless ability to cope under pressure, and of course his mellifluous voice, with its great depth, radiance, and delightful timbre. His accurate and always intelligible pronunciation of the words he sang has remained quite unparalleled. He performed operetta scenes with ease and charming levity; he bestowed the grace of genuine feeling onto lieder that had fallen into sentimental discredit; and he belted out party pieces with all the effortless verve of an Italian. This new release, which commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the singer’s death presents early, as yet unreleased radio recordings made between 1959 and 1965. The recordings of some Munich Sunday concerts and studio recordings by the Bayerischer Rundfunk show him and his tenor voice at the height of their success.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Freedom Above All Else an Audio Biography by Jorg Handstein is racked by revolution, wars, fears and hopes and music, too. "In instrumental music, art is independent and free" that is the proud claim of the Romantic movement, and Ludwig van Beethoven implements this new artistic ideal thrillingly in his works. In the 10-part audio biography "Freedom Above All Else", J�rg Handstein tells the story of Beethoven's life. The panoramic backdrop of great historical events makes the highly personal story of this radical individualist all the more gripping. A major role is played by the music, which constantly follows new paths and is powerful, profound, eccentric, poetic, sensual and philosophical. This audio experience is rounded off by excellent actors, most notably Udo Wachtveitl as the narrator and Cornelius Obonya as Beethoven, and they are joined by several of the most renowned musicians of our time. On a total of four CDs, Beethoven's life and aspirations can be vividly shared and experienced, and his music with it's many subtleties is woven into this highly exciting biography. His thoughts, feelings, everyday experiences and entire epoch are brought to life here - with everything based strictly on the original sources, but performed and narrated in a lively and inspired manner throughout. Vividly related ten-part audio biography on 4 CDs. Celebrated narrators including Udo Wachtveitl and Cornelius Obonya Complete recordings of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Mariss Jansons, and the Piano Sonata in F minor performed by Alexej Gorlatch.

A notable addition to the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks Beethoven symphony cycles, chief conductor Mariss Jansons transforms the cycle concept in several regards with these live performances recorded in Tokyo's Suntory Hall renown for it's dazzling acoustics. Beethoven's first two symphonies are interlaced with commissions from contemporary composers Misato Mochizuki (born Tokyo, 1969) and Johannes Maria Staud from Austria (born 1974), both of whom were asked to contribute their own musical reflections on Beethoven's symphonies. Praised during the Japanese tour for his "new, modern and transparent-sounding Beethoven", Jansons proves both the enduring endless power of early Beethoven including the continuing inspiration that contemporary composers draw from.

Classical Music

Baritone Michael Volle, (b. 1960) has long numbered among the top singers in German operatic life, yet until recently listeners had no opportunity to enjoy the artist’s full range on CD. BR-KLASSIK presents Mr. Volle’s first portrait album recorded with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester under Ralf Weikert. Besides the great baritone arias by Verdi and Mozart are both baroque and operetta arias as well as Schubert songs in orchestral transcriptions. The main features of this album are three Wagner arias, of which the Han Sachs aria from “Meistersinger” Mr. Volle feels a special affinity towards.

The lavishly produced audio biographies in the BR-KLASSIK WISSEN series tell the life stories of famous composers in an entertaining and amusing way. Who were Mozart, Mahler, and Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn? In what period were their works written? And how did their lives influence their music? This box set contains the ten audio biographies published to date by the music publicist J�rg Handstein. Great actors and actresses bring the past to life: Matthias Brandt, Martina Gedeck, Gert Heidenreich, Brigitte Hobmeier, Cornelius Obonya and many others. As the narrator, Udo Wachtveitl is the main voice of the series. Numerous musical examples as well as several complete works, recorded by leading musicians at an outstanding level, bring the composers' work to life. All quotations are from genuine sources - after all, what really happened is more exciting than all the anecdotes invented later. In this way, and captivatingly, well-founded knowledge becomes listening pleasure.

Mozart was certainly among the ''domestic dieties'' of Viennese pianist Friedrich Gulda. He repeatedly played Mozart's piano music in his concerts and had it recorded. In so doing, this classically-trained musician, who had already played successfully in jazz bands at a young age, ignored the strict limits imposed by genres: he wanted to show audiences that there are no distinctions between musical styles whenever good music is played honestly and conscientiously. On June 27, 1982, Gulda again appeared at Munich's ''Klaviersommer'' festival. His partner was the jazz pianist Chick Corea, and the collaboration of both musicians is documented on this album ''The Meeting'' - a standard in recording history. Until now, only the famous second half of this concert has been available and not the first, which Gulda performed on his own and was devoted primarily to Mozart. Gulda thus used Mozart's piano music as a kind of introduction to the world of jazz improvisation. The first part of this legendary concert, performed at the Deutsches Museum in the summer of 1982, took the soloist Gulda over 40 minutes to perform, even though he ''only'' played Mozart's Piano Sonata in C Major, K. 330. But he began and ended it with his own improvisations, which sound less than Mozartian, even though they do contain a broad and subtle range of different styles and effects, catchy melodies, and violent cascades of sound. Gulda proves to be a highly gifted interpreter of Mozart as well as a mischievous improviser on the piano - who also wants to entertain and can do so on a high level. As a transition to the second part of the concert, he performs two of his own compositions, which can also be heard on this album. It is a piece of good fortune that the Bayerische rRundfunk has now made the first half of this concert event accessible to a wide audience too.

Arvo Pärt (b. 1935, Estonia) has succeeded in bringing sacred music back to a broader audience, and away from the confines of the church service, more than almost any other contemporary composer. The meditative character of his works, and his return to the simplest and most basic musical forms, convey moments of intense spirituality. Even before his emigration from the Soviet Union to Austria and then to Germany, Pärt had already invented what he termed the tintinnabuli style of composition (from the Latin word for a bell). He produced an early and important example of this style in 1977 with the "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten", scored for string orchestra and bell, and it is also a key feature of the three great choral works that form the greater part of this new BR-KLASSIK CD "Arvo Pärt: Live", namely the "Seven Magnificat Antiphons" for mixed choir a capella, the large-scale oratorio "Cecilia, vergine romana" for mixed choir and orchestra, and the vocal work „Litany – Prayers of St John Chrysostom for Each Hour of the Day and Night” for soloists, mixed choir and orchestra. Also included on this CD is the "Collage on B-A-C-H" for strings, oboe, harpsichord and piano. Composed in 1964, before Pärt's aesthetic reorientation, it is one of his most famous works.

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REVIEW:

Despite the 11-year span of these live recordings and four different churches used as locations, the album’s aural impression is uniform, the sound very good, and the singing crisp and up to the high standards of this phenomenal professional chorus.

– ClassicsToday