“This recording features songs by composers from the period of the kaiserlich-und-königlich Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary around the turn of the20th century. We wanted to venture outside our comfort zone to discover as many different timbres and new songs as possible. We have selected composers from the Austro-Hungarian Empire of that time, including the region of Vojvodina, which is now part of Serbia. The variety of art songs featured here not only reflects the Austro-Hungarian period, but also the Austria of today, along with each of our individual artistic personalities. We are two musicians with entirely different origins and religious backgrounds: Austria is where we met and started making music together. Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer form this recording’s dramatic nucleus. We found it fascinating to present this cycle in a rarely performed higher version for tenor. In our view, the Songs of a Wayfarer serve here as a prologue, a foreshadowing, and a summing up of the content you will encounter in the remaining songs on this album. The wayfarer’s story begins with Frühlingsmorgen, a morning in spring. In Franz Léhar‘s two songs he discovers love for the first time. However, he undergoes his first emotional transformation, associated with the first heartache, in Hugo Wolf’s Der Mond hat eine schwere Klag’ erhoben. From there we wander into the Balkan mountain range, to the Vojvodina region on the Danube. In Elegie the wayfarer expresses his pain and sorrow. Along with the change of mood, the language changes, as well. It comes with the heartfelt yearning to turn back time. Childhood reminiscences emerge in the thoughts of the wayfarer, who by now has grown older…” (Ilker Arcayurek)

With the recordings on this album, the Armida Quartet has reached the halfway mark in a project that seeks to intimately explore an entire mountain range: Mozart’s complete works for string quartet, to which they devote intense scrutiny within the framework of a recital series that pairs them with contemporary works specifically commissioned for the occasion. This requires our musicians to pay a particularly attentive ear: history remains unscathed, but the members of the Armida Quartet want to call ingrained listening habits into question. By implication, they explore Mozart’s works as if the composer was looking over their shoulder. In collaboration with Henle music publishers and musicologist Wolf-Dieter Seiffert, they have embarked on a “workshop exploration” of Mozart’s string quartets in the original manuscript. The occasional discovery of certain hitherto overlooked details leads them to interpret certain passages in exciting new ways. All the while, they gain increasing familiarity and assurance as they delve ever more deeply into the master’s musical language. The sources also confirm something that Mozart alluded to in his dedication of the six “Haydn” Quartets to his revered colleague: the fact that the work of composing can be painstaking, at times laborious.

The artists write: “In February 2009, on a date very close to the celebration of Mendelssohn’s 200th birthday, we got together for the first time in a quintet lineup in order to perform a small concert in the form of a public rehearsal. The repertoire was rapidly chosen: it had to include at least one piece by Mendelssohn. After that successful experiment, we spontaneously decided upon the composer’s second surname for our new quintet…” Next to Mozart the two String Quintets by Felix Mendelssohn are probably the most known and famous string quartets in the classical genre. This album is the second from the ensemble on Avi after having released their highly acclaimed first album with works by Bruckner and Zemlinsky in 2016, just 5 years prior.

Adam Fischer writes of Mahler’s 8th Symphonie: “Mahler’s Eighth is a special challenge for all participants: in rehearsals, in performance, and, of course, when making a recording. The challenge lies in freeing the music from all of the technical and logistical problems that come with it. Whenever new possibilities emerged in music history (such as new musical instruments), composers tended to introduce the novelty quite frequently in the first phase to show its potential. A good example was the Mannheim School in the 1700s. The crescendo had just been invented: musicians no longer had to play dynamics in “terraced levels.” Mannheim pieces from that period are thus brimming with crescendos: musicians reveled in the new possibilities. Mahler, later on, wanted to explore the possibilities of an orchestra of unprecedented size, particularly in the Eighth. The effects made possible by such an enlargement should not become an end in themselves. That is the special challenge we have faced. If on this recording we have over 500 people singing and playing together, that is only a means, not an end…”

In a series of 3 albums, the Beethoven Trio Bonn explores the confrontation between one of Beethoven’s standard works for piano trio with a further “house music” arrangement of one of his orchestral works. More than providing an interesting pairing, the Beethoven Trio Bonn was keen on interpreting an original work for piano trio alongside an arrangement of an orchestral work “downsized” to piano trio format. Here the very well-known Piano Trio No. 4 (Gassenhauer) with his enormous witty playfulness (we listen to the version with the violin instead of the clarinet) and his three (!) movements is partnered with the Symphony No. 6, in an arrangement of the Brahms friend Christian Gottlieb Belcke.

The musicians of Trio Gaspard explore the remarkable malleability of the piano trio in their program, combining familiar repertoire with a one-of-a-kind “outlier” from the 20th century. Through his contributions to the genre during the final quarter of the 18th century, Joseph Haydn shifted expectations for what the piano trio could encompass— contributions that helped define the principles and rhetoric of Classical style itself. Only a generation later, Franz Schubert left a substantial mark on the genre through works that have earned a place among the most beloved masterpieces of the chamber music literature. They also anticipate the epic scale of some of the examples to follow later in the Romantic century. Meanwhile, the rarely heard Présence by Bernd Alois Zimmermann represents an interdisciplinary approach to the piano trio concept, layering it with words and dance to transform the inherently abstract genre of chamber music into an “imaginary ballet.” This performance pays homage to the German composer during this centenary of his birth (2018).

The series of the Mahler Symphonies with the Dusseldorf Symphonic under the baton of Adam Fischer has come to this end with the release of the Symphony No. 6.

Over the last four years Adam Fischer's Mahler recordings grew to a most successful recording project, winning the BBC Music Magazine Award, and the OPUS KLASSIK Trophy in Germany and many splendid and outstanding reviews from around the world.

In the Dusseldorf Tonhalle in late February and early March 2020, we gave Mahler's Sixth Symphony in three live concert performances which we recorded for this CD. This date in the calendar had special significance: the first lockdown period due to the Corona pandemic set in immediately thereafter.

The orchestra was playing in full line-up in front of a full house for the last time for a long while. The mood was ominous: we all felt something was amiss, and the next day everything had to be cancelled. We strongly associate those circumstances with our work on the Sixth, and with the foreboding we felt of a catastrophe that has since ruined the livelihoods of many musician colleagues and deprived us all of a meaningful period in our lives. Mahler's Sixth is always a major event for the orchestra and for the audience. One leaves the concert hall weary and exhausted; time is required to regain one's composure. This symphony requires a gigantic orchestra: here, once more, Mahler was attempting to stretch the boundaries of what was possible in his day.

Not to achieve a mere effect, but simply because he needed such a gigantic instrumental apparatus to express his feelings. The sheer amount of emotions we deal with in this symphony is almost unbearable. The controversial third hammer blow provides a good example: Mahler most certainly crossed it out after a rehearsal, overcome by emotion, afraid of dying. In his very bones he thought and felt that this symphony would prompt his demise.

Katharina Konradi writes: “The labels “Mozart soprano” and “Strauss soprano” are often said to be practically indistinguishable. Indeed, in terms of melodic style, the two composers are not that far apart. Mozart suits my voice well, and the same is true of Richard Straus’s light lyrical repertoire. Then Schubert, with his astoundingly vast lieder output and his variety of musical expression, holds a special place for me. Every time I prepare a recital, these almost inexhaustible treasures take me on a delightful journey of surprising discoveries, and that is what my life as a lieder interpreter is all about...... Every piece on this album has a special appeal for me.”

The series of the complete Mahler Symphonies with the Düsseldorf Symphonic under the baton of Ádám Fischer continues here with the release of the Symphony No. 9. Over the last two years Ádám Fischer’s Mahler recordings grew to a most successful recording project, winning the BBC Music Magazine Award, and the OPUS KLASSIK Trophy in Germany. Adam Fischer: "Mahler wrote his Ninth symphony in 1909, and it is about death. To be more precise it is about dying. And I know of no other language apart from German in which the words 'death' (Tod) and 'dying' have entirely different etymologies."

In setting out to record the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler with the Dusseldorfer Symphoniker, Maestro Adam Fischer hoped to create something special with the ensemble. He hoped that conductor and musicians would mutually inspire one another, not creating Fischer’s Mahler, but rather “our” Mahler. Fischer writes of this process: “Whenever I conduct Mahler, I attempt to find a way to formulate each symphony’s world and its emotional content in a way that I can apprehend. Out of the music, I spin stories for myself… It is the result of a long process, in the course of which I ensure that the scores become my innermost conviction. In my view, this is the conductor’s task. It is exactly the opposite of “work-to-rule.”

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REVIEWS:

The Düsseldorf Symphony plays with skill and precision, keeping together without any signs of fatigue and playing with the commitment and passionate intensity of the world’s great Mahler orchestras.

– All Music Guide

Adam Fischer leads a completely convincing interpretation of the symphony. The truculent first movement flows with unusual coherence; the two Nachtmusiks are perfectly paced, the creepy scherzo has a nicely slithery transparency of texture, and the finale rises to an aptly raucous final climax.

– ClassicsToday.com

Martin Klett has referred to his new project “Lamento” as both an “insane project,” and a “matter of the heart.” He writes: “Insanity and the heart fortunately go very well together. The project of doing Bach concertos with a chamber ensemble of solo strings had been going around in my head for almost a decade. And Bach, in a way, is the core of the programme on this album. His music often tends to be combined with other works: with new music, or with Romantic music. Piazzolla’s Four Seasons are often coupled with those of Vivaldi. Thus the idea of combining Baroque music with tango isn’t new. But this specific repertoire is something quite different. Then we have my personal journey with tango: my ensemble Cuarteto SolTango and my passion for dance. What grew out of all of this? a rather large-scale project with musicians from many different countries- and an intense week I will probably never forget.”

The present release is the second album on Avi with the Dutch/French/German group Flex Ensemble. The release features a new arrangement of Beethoven’s Third Symphony, “Eroica,” for piano quartet, completed by the composer’s pupil and friend Ferdinand Ries. Additionally, Canadian/German composer Gordon Williamson wrote two pieces reflecting the Eroica. Both embrace the Beethoven arrangement, and are receiving here their world premiere recording. “When we first found out about an arrangement for piano quartet of Beethoven’s Third Symphony, we were of course very curious! It seemed exciting and perhaps a bit crazy to play an entire symphony with just the four of us, but in fact, in the days before recordings, it was very common to hear and play transcriptions. It was a way to get to know the latest symphonic works, even if you lived nowhere near a big town or city. But even though the idea of transcribing symphonies wasn’t new, for us it offered a totally different and fresh perspective on a very familiar piece of music.” (Martha Bijlsma)

After winning the BBC Musica Award as the Best Orchestral Music album in 2018, Adam Fischer continues his Mahler's survey with the great cycle Das Lied von der Erde. He is supported by two great singers as Anna Larsson and stuart Skelton. The conductor writes: ‘From the onset, the music in Das Lied von der Erde is permeated by a special mood. Even the texts, based on Far Eastern poetry, are more mood than content. Mahler repeatedly abandons the words’ meaning, but the mood remains. The music implies so much more than the words! For instance, the third poem evokes the reflection of a mirror image in water, but I don’t see those images anywhere in the music. Mahler is not concerned with helping us understand every syllable. If the voice, in its anguish, is drowned out by the orchestra, that is what the music is trying to achieve…”

Guido Heldt writes of this new release: “Ironically, it was in 2017- a year of protracted Brexit negotiations- that WDR Broadcasting suggested that we record an album with works by British composers. Nome nest omen: certain pranksters started calling us “the Brextet.” We launched into the project regardless, sorting through kilos of scores on which the notes were often quite difficult to make out. In fact, we copied out separate parts from certain scores in the British library ourselves. After many months of research we finally agreed upon our selection: the marvelous sextets by Holst, Holbrooke and Bridge featured on this album. In the course of our rehearsals it already became clear: we had made a lucky choice. The works exceeded our expectations. We continue to be thrilled with this music, and it has captivated our audiences: the Scherzo by Holst was even a world premiere. Now we have arrived in the year 2019, we celebrate our 20th anniversary as a sextet and, at the same time, are overjoyed to be able to present this album to the general public…”

Johannes Brahms's piano oeuvre was one of the 2016 Ruhr Piano Festival's main themes. That emphasis is reflected, naturally, in the choice of works for our annual boxed set of albums, along with the anniversaries of two further composers, the works of whom are - quite unjustly - seldom performed: Max Reger (marking the 100th anniversary of his death), and Ferruccio Busoni (celebrating the 150th anniversary of his birth). Brahms's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, can be viewed as an act of artistic liberation, here in a version by young German-Korean pianist Christopher Park, who performed his debut recital at the Festival. Finally, Max Reger's technically and musically challenging Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Georg Philip Telemann, Op. 134 are heard in a virtuoso rendition by Joseph Moog. Max Reger's Watercolors, Op. 25, pay omage to the Romantic piano tradition, performed by Anna Tsybuleva, whom we invited as the laureate of teh 2015 Leeds Competition. Then we hear Reger's Dreams at the Fireside, Op. 143, in an interpretation with which Joseph Moog left his audience thoroughly satisfied. This album also contains several epochal works by one of the most influential composers and musical thinkers of the early 20th century: Ferruccio Busoni. Here Busoni dared to explore uncharted territories and wrote music clearly oriented towards the future. The third release is exclusively devoted to the piano oeuvre of Johannes Brahms. ''And he has come: a young man over whose cradle Graces and Heroes have stood watch'': those were the words with which Robert Schumann paid tribute to his young colleague's artistry. The View Balladen, Op. 10 are an early work which Brahms composed in Düsseldorf in 1854: here 22-year-old Gina Alice displayed her impressive keyboard mastery when she gave her debut Ruhr Piano Festival recital this year. Those four poetic gems are followed by the Seven Fantasias, Op. 116, and the Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118: two late cycles that contain some of Brahms's most well-known miniatures. The album closes with the wonderful Rhapsody No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 79, in a multifaceted, congenial interpretation by Louis Schwizgebel - a further debut recital at this year's Festival.''