Jean-Philippe Rameau was perhaps the greatest of all French composers of the Baroque. Sylvie Proulx presents an exceptional program of Rameau's works in transcriptions for guitar. Canadian virtuoso guitarist, Sylvie Proulx has concertized throughout Canada, the United States and England. A champion of new works for the guitar, she has presented numerous Canadian world-premieres. Acclaimed for her exceptional musicality and remarkable technique, her repertoire reflects a wide range of periods and styles. In addition to solo and orchestral work, Ms. Proulx always enjoys the collaborative aspect of chamber music, welcoming new and challenging pieces for that genre.

Classical Music

QUARTET AMERICAN STYLE: POSTCARDS FROM THE AMERICAN MUSICAL PAST • Serafin Str Qrt • CENTAUR 3050 (65:52)

STILL Danzas de Panama. DVO?ÁK String Quartet No. 12 in F, op. 96, “American”.BARBER String Quartet in b, op. 11. GERSHWIN Lullaby

In the informative notes that accompany this disc, writer Renée Silberman asks: “What is ‘American music’—a school of American composition? Musical institutions? High art or folk art? Traditions of the Native Americans, of Blacks, of immigrants and visitors?” As Silberman suggests, it is all but impossible to explain what makes music “American.” Like the striking diversity that makes up our people’s DNA, American music is not readily susceptible to description or categorization, let alone definition. It is remarkable, therefore, that all-American music programs bode so well in the concert hall or on record, as evidenced by the album for consideration here, which I believe marks the debut of the Serafin Quartet, a string ensemble based in Wilmington, Delaware.

The album begins and ends on a lighter note, with William Grant Still’s Danzas de Panama and George Gershwin’s well-known Lullaby. In the former work, a delightful suite inspired by Still’s perennial fascination with the music of African slaves and Caribbean people, the Serafins provide idiomatic and rhythmically engaging performances. In the Gershwin work, the ensemble’s relatively quick pace prevents the premature onset of slumber and makes the music sound less repetitive­—and in truth more interesting—than it is. In Dvo?ák’s “American” Quartet, the Serafins play with impressive accuracy and drive, and the silvery tone of the violin of the ensemble’s leader—a Sanctus Serafin—is particularly delightful. If, at the end of the day, I still gravitate towards the Panocha Quartet’s more nuanced interpretation, the Serafin’s comparatively clear-eyed approach is undeniably valid. I have no reservations whatsoever about the ensemble’s performance of the Barber String Quartet. The Serafins are less driven than the Emerson Quartet, and their more flexible tempo allows the Brahmsian pathos of this work to shine through. Violinist Timothy Schwartz’s and cellist Lawrence Stomberg’s contributions in the Molto Adagio—most often heard in the arrangement known as the Adagio for Strings—deserve special note. (In the interest of full disclosure, I note that since this recording was made in 2009, Schwartz has left the ensemble.)

The engineering is excellent. In sum, this is a memorable disc that is guaranteed to provide much enjoyment to chamber music enthusiasts.

FANFARE: Radu A. Lelutiu

The �tudes by Fr�d�ric Chopin are three sets of �tudes (solo studies) for the piano published during the 1830s. There are twenty-seven compositions overall, comprising two separate collections of twelve, numbered Op. 10 and Op. 25, and a set of three without opus number. They are some of the most performed works in the piano repertory, and hardly need any introduction. These sublime works are beautifully performed by Polish pianist Diana Jaworska. Born in Poland in 1968, Diana Jaworska now lives in lives in Southern France, where she teaches the piano, performs concerts, makes recordings, and composes her own works.

Double-bassist Volkan Orhon performs the wonderful Grieg Cello Sonata. This album also features a great transcription for double-bass and piano of Cesar Franck's Sonata in a Major for Violin and Piano.

Formed in 1992, the Arianna String Quartet garnered national attention by winning the Grand Prize in the 1994 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and First Prize in both the Coleman and Carmel Chamber Music Competitions.  They were also Laureates in the 1999 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition.

Classical Music

In September 2013, in NYC, Richard Dunn conducted the Palisades Baroque in all nine Telemann concerti for horn(s) and strings, with soloist R. J. Kelley performing on a baroque horn. Many of Telemann's horn works are a kind of hybrid. Some, called "concerto," show elements of a suite, while some show elements of both chamber music and orchestral music at the same time. In their selection, they included TWV 43: F8, a composition resembling chamber music but with a solo-tutti indication, and excluded others called "concertos", but in reality are either a suite concertante or chamber music.

Classical Music

The Prospero Trio – Jana Vander Schaaf Ross (violin), Nick Ross (piano), Wesley Baldwin (cello) – are heard to play on this Centaur disc four works of chamber music, three duos and a trio, by one the very best of 20th c. French composers, Arthur Honegger (1982-1955), from recordings made in 2009, 2012 & 2013. The duos each feature a different combination of performers: violin and piano, cello and piano, and violin and cello. All three performers maintain private or university teaching positions, placements in ensembles or orchestras and active performance agendas in the Tennessee-Ohio region of the US.

Italian composer and guitarist Francesco Di Diuseppe presents a highly personal program of solo guitar works. His work draws heavily from his Florentine experience, and he has developed new harmonies, melodies and rhythms inspired by his pictures and memories of Florence, as well as flashbacks to his childhood in his beloved Naples. ​​​​​​​Born in Naples in 1979, Francesco Di Giuseppe majored in Classical Guitar at the Conservatorio “San Pietro a Majella” in Naples, under the direction of Maestro Aniello Desiderio. He also studied piano and composition with Maestro Aldo Cusano, and has won several national guitar competitions. An eclectic and curious musician, over the years Francesco has enjoyed delving into a variety of genres, from classical music to punk rock, from tango to traditional Neapolitan music.

Hungarian composer and virtuoso Franz Liszt gained renown across Europe in the early 19th century for his unmatched piano skills. By 1940 he was considered by many critics to be the greatest pianist of all time. Liszt was also a diverse composer, and made many contributions to the musical world, most notably the invention of the symphonic poem. He was also one of the most significant representatives of the New German School. The lieder of Franz Liszt are some of his most beloved works. On this recording, American tenor Daniel Weeks performs these compositions with magnificent insight. Pianist Naomi Oliphant beautifully accompanies.

Sophia Agranovich, internationally acclaimed virtuoso pianist, and esteemed pedagogue, is a recipient of numerous teaching awards. Described by Fanfare magazine as "a bold, daring pianist in the tradition of the Golden Age Romantics," the Ukrainian-born pianist takes to the keyboard for her second Centaur release, offering up a program perfectly suited to Golden Age aficionados, Schubert's 'Wanderer' Fantasy, D760, and Chopin's Four Ballades, each a masterpiece in itself yet superseding the one before, culminating in the brilliant fourth and last Ballade, the F minor, op. 52.

Composer Alexandra Pajak draws her inspiration from minimalism, Medieval Polyphony, and biology, providing a modern interpretation to each with social justice. In addition to her work as a composer Alexandra Pajak works as a mental health clinician. The present release joins her two passions, and presents a programme of music inspired by mental illness. Each track is titled after a different mental condition, including Schizophrenia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and others, before rounding out with the track Recovery. A brilliant team of musicians interprets this music, including pianist Tim Whitehead, cellist Charae Krueger, violinist Helen Kim, violist Joli Wu, and oboist Sasha Shatalov.

Classical Music

From the United States to Europe to the Middle East and Asia, Israeli cellist Amit Peled - a musician of profound artistry and charismatic stage presence - is acclaimed as one of the most exciting instrumentalists on the concert stage today. For his fourth Centaur Records release, Collage, Mr. Peled, in tandem with pianist Noreen Cassidy-Polera, play Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata in g, op. 19, David Popper's Tarantella, op. 33 and a mid-20th c. cello sonata by the Georgian composer Sulkhan Tsintsadze (1925-91). Glowing tone, a seductive timbre and an emotionally pointed approach... (New York Times)

Italian organist and composer Andrea Gabrieli was busy creating this collection of music for over thirty years of his life. Consisting of thirty-one compositions in total, many consider this collection Gabrieli's most important work. Tastar de Corde and Speculum Ensemble guide listeners through these historically accurate and skillfully played works.

Joseph-Marie-Clement Dall'Abaco (1710 - 1805) was an Italian/Flemish composer and cellist. Little is known about his life, but we do know that he travelled and performed as a cellist. He also wrote for cello, and these works clearly show his great mastery. Performing these pieces is Charles Rasmussen. Charlie Rasmussen enjoys an active career as both a modern and Baroque cellist and as a teacher at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Mr. Rasmussen was previously on faculty at the Talent Education Suzuki School in Norwalk, CT where he taught private and group cello lessons, musicianship classes, and coached chamber ensembles. Mr. Rasmussen strives to help his students develop a lifelong passion for music and cello playing. Mr. Rasmussen holds a Masters of Music in Cello Performance from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro (UNCG), where he was a graduate assistant and studied with Dr. Alexander Ezerman. He also received a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Music Theory from UNCG. Before his studies at UNCG, Mr. Rasmussen graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of the Arts degree in music from Luther College where he studied with Dr. Eric Kutz. Mr. Rasmussen studied the Suzuki Method with Carol Tarr at the University of Denver, and he is trained to teach Books 1-10 through the Suzuki Association of the Americas.

After Anastasia Seifetdinova's Carnegie Hall debut in 2006, the New York Concert Review wrote: "For a critic, hearing a new pianist with a truly warm, luscious tone is like breathing in the scent of jasmine blooming - a pleasure to be recalled again and again - and so I'm happy to report did from the first not she touched at her Weill Hall recital, she was a genuine pleasure to listen to every piece, every measure, every note..."

Classical Music

Classical Music

As ever, Mr. di Bonaventura plays with pristine clarity, exquisite technique and impeccable musicianship. He has long had a special affinity for Scarlatti's single-movement sonatas. For this program of 14 works he has chosen some of the less familiar sonatas, like the capricious A flat (K. 127), an elusive piece that keeps shifting moods: by turns playful, episodic and curious. Mr. di Bonaventura vividly conveys the fanfares, hunting calls and Spanish-influenced dance rhythms that run through this music, as in the jocular Sonata in E (K. 216). And he elegantly articulates Scarlatti's intricate contrapuntal writing, which threads through boldly shifting modes and keys in these inventive pieces. The pensive and elegant Sonata in C minor (K. 302) comes across as a work of astounding nobility and harmonic ingenuity. This recording is worth the wait. -- ANTHONY TOMMASINI, The New York Times 11/11/2007

Classical Music

This is an amazing program of piano works by contemporary Italian composer Roberto Piana, brilliantly played by Italian pianist Antonio-Pompa-Baldi, who now has nearly 20 albums on the Centaur label. This album consists of two major works: 25 Preludi Pittorici, and Piano Sonata. Antonio Pompa-Baldi is an award-winning concert pianist and a beloved professor of music at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Maestro Pompa-Baldi’s talent is powered by boundless technical prowess and a genuine love of music. We hope this website gives you a worthy preview of his art. “Pompa-Baldi demonstrated both brilliance and structural insight… He also showed himself to be an ensemble player of considerable sensitivity, seeming to relish the partnership of other instruments.” (The Boston Globe)

This album features a group of contemporary art songs by Korean women composers, all commissioned by The Korean Society of Women Composers. These songs are brought to life by Korean soprano Kyoung Cho, and Korean-Canadian bass Won Cho. Internationally acclaimed Korean soprano Kyoung Cho has established a reputation in diverse regions of Asia, Europe, The Mid-East, and North America. Critics praised her performances as “Sublimely beautiful, transcendent, serene, dazzling, and heavenly” and “Refined tone color and dignified sound, which effectively expressed an appeal that penetrated the heart.” Korean-Canadian Bass Won Cho is in demand in both concert and operatic repertoire worldwide thanks to the unique range and beauty of his voice as well as his outstanding acting ability and strong stage presence, appearing with many of the opera houses and orchestras of the US, Canada, Europe, Mid East, Asia, and his native Korea. Critics hailed Cho’s performances as “expertly played whose deep tones vibrate the seats,” “one wished the score let him sing his overcoat aria twice,” “Won Cho steal(s) the show,” “deep resonant mellifluous sound," "he sang with a grave, classic beauty," “a particularly dark, melodic yet rafter-ringing bass that is worth the price of admission all by itself.”