Classical Music

Telemann was a prolific composer, writing over 40 Passions for the Church of Hamburg alone. His six Passion oratorios differ in that they do not strictly adhere to the literal text of the Gospels. A delightful work that deserves to be heard more often, Das selige Erwägen, was in its time one of Telemann’s most popular and frequently performed compositions. This recording is the perfect starting-point to explore the rich landscape this 18th-century German music.

In the Baroque it was by no means uncommon for composers to freely transcribe and arrange their own works or works by others for a different instrument. Therefore, any present day attempt of alternative instrumentation should be viewed with respect and curiosity: the result counts. And what result we encounter on this new recording of Flute Concertos by Telemann transcribed for the Pan Flute! By turns dramatic and furious, sweet and beguiling: the pan flute has infinite coloristic qualities to do full justice to these master works. The pan flute in its present form originates from 17th century Rumania, mostly used as a folk music instrument. However the use of the pan flute in “classical” Baroque music is by no means an abomination. The improvisatory character, the organic way of tone production which is regulated by the intensity of the breath of the player suit the Baroque music particularly well! These tracks are all exhilarating performances by master pan flutist Hanspeter Oggier and his Ensemble Fratres.

This release is centered around four cantatas taken from the composer's Harmonischer Gottesdienst ('Music for Religious Services'), a collection of cantatas for solo voice, flute, oboe or violin, and harpsichord that, on account of it's idiomatic writing for voice, it's relation to the instrumental parts and the many indications concerning interpretation, rests among the great achievements of the period. One of Telemann's characteristic skills was his ability to imbue the arias with the sort of brilliance that we normally associate with solo concertos (consider the radiance of the initial aria in Deine Toten werden leben), and this extends to his often virtuosic use of the recorder in the works - an instrument with which he was obviously familiar. Indeed, that Telemann was a more than competent player himself can be seen from the quality and quantity of music that he wrote for the recorder, and it is two of his lesser-known creations for the instrument - the E minor Partita and the Trio Sonata in G minor - which form the remainder of this highly engaging disc. Gemma Bertagnolli is widely considered to be one of the leading sopranos in Early Music. She is a favoured soloist of such celebrities as Rene Jacobs, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Fabio Biondi, Diego Fasolis, Trevor Pinnock, Ton Koopman, Ottavio Dantone and many others. Her voice is powerful, lyrical and passionate, always conveying the emotional message of the text. On this new recording (2012) Gemma joins the Early Music group of Stefano Bagliano, also a specialist in the field, in Cantatas for solo soprano, recorder and continuo, drawn from Die Harmonische Gottesdienst, brilliant works displaying vocal and instrumental virtuosity of a high level.

Tchaikovsky: Complete Music for Violin and Orchestra, Composer Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Artist Ilya Grubert violin, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky conductor, Format 1 CD, One of the most widely performed works in the violinist's oeuvre, Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto has been the subject of many a release over the years. Here, rather refreshingly, it is joined by a host of other orchestral works written for the instrument: the quiet S�r�nade m�lancolique, created for the esteemed Hungarian violinist Leopold Auer and composed soon after the Piano Concerto No.1 in B minor; the Valse-scherzo, a charming divertissement with a gypsy flavor and strong rhythmic pulse - not to be confused with the much more famous version for solo piano; and finally Souvenir d'un lieu cher, whose middle movement was originally intended as the slow movement of the Concerto and which was later re-orchestrated by Glazunov out of the lesser known version for violin and piano. Interpreting these works is internationally renowned Ilya Grubert, winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition back in 1978 and described as 'a musician of exceptional talent, a violinist in the tradition of the great Russian virtuosos, possessed of a clear unwavering tone and an extraordinary technique.' (New York Times). He is supported by an all-Russian cast: the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Vassily Sinaisky - now Conductor in Residence at the Bolshoi Theatre. Recorded in Moscow, 1997. This CD presents one of the most popular and widely performed concertos, the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, logically coupled with the composer's other works for violin and orchestra, thus showing the two faces of the Russian master: the large scale, dramatic concerto form and the smaller scale genre pieces (Valse Scherzo, Souvenir d'un lieu cher), mildly melancholic and melodious, breathing the atmosphere of Russian aristocratic salons. Excellent performance by Ilya Grubert, prize winner of the 1978 Tchaikovsky Competition, supported by the all Russian forces of the Moscow Philharmonic under Vassily Sinaisky.

Classical Music

The works on this release represent some of the finest for the violin to emerge from the French violin tradition, a tradition that stretches back some four centuries. From Louis XIII's 24 Violins du roi of 1626, through Lully and Leclair in the 18th century, and Rode, Kreutzer, de Beriot, Lalo, Vieuxtemps and Saint-Saens in the 19th. Lalo's evergreen Symphonie Espagnole reflects his Spanish ancestry, and it is thought that he consulted the great Spanish virtuoso Pablo Sarasate during the composition of the work. It is a clever blend of symphony and concerto, Spanish color, French effervescence and Germanic structure.

SYMPHONIES, PIANO CONCERTOS, V

SYMPHONIES NOS. 40 & 41

SYMPHONIES NOS. 3 & 4

Classical Music

STRAVINSKY: SYMPHONY OF PSALMS

Between Richard Strauss and Ludwig Thuille (born in 1864 and 1861 respectively) existed a strong friendship and mutual respect. Their two youthful cello sonatas share the same idiom: passionate and late-romantic soaring themes, a profound lyricism and a virtuoso writing for both cello and piano. Performed with an appropriate sense of exaltation and grandeur by cellist Andrea Favalessa and pianist Maria Semeraro, who form a duo for many years, having won several international chamber music competitions. The duo Favalessa Semeraro have already successfully recorded the complete music for cello and piano by Alfredo Casella for Brilliant Classics, and this is a brilliant successor.

German composer Hugo Staehle left few surviving works before dying, aged 21. This disc brings together two collections of his songs, performed by acclaimed soprano Eleonora Contucci and veteran forte pianist Costantino Mastroprimiano. Staehle's lieder reveal the influence of Robert Schumann's work of the same genre. Booklet contains detailed music notes, artist biographies, sung texts and information on the Graf fortepiano (1826).

Classical Music