Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

This album is an all-too-rare recording of Mozart's Gran Partita in a contemporary arrangement for fortepiano, oboe and string trio. The arrangement, made by Christian Friedrich Gottlieb Schwencke, is a pure masterpiece for it's sonic effectiveness and for it's successful coherence in representing Mozart's ideas. Ewald Demeyere has taken part in many recordings and is principally interested in the influence of theories from the Baroque era and performing on period instruments.

Pianist Angela Brownridge made her concert debut at Wigmore Hall when she was only twelve years old. Since then she has toured the world, recorded three albums prior to this one, and has performed at the BOZAR Brussels, Konzerthaus Berlin, and Concertgebouw A’dam. Brownridge has been compared to some of the legends, including Rachmaninov and Cherkasky. The New York Times called her “one of the world’s finest pianists” and a “true genius… Her performances were passionate, rhapsodic, and totally compelling. She is a marvelously exciting artist, and a wonderfully assertive pianist with a strong sense of musical structure.” For this release, Brownridge has chosen staples in the piano repertoire, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas no.’s 3, 23, and 30. Her interpretation of no. 23, “Apassionata,” has garnered her critical accolades.

Working in 17th-century Venice soon after the world's first public opera houses opened there, composer Francesco Cavalli had no tradition to follow. He gave his fertile imagination free rein, tinkering with the brand-new art form to create the lively Venetian style of opera, with it's melodious arias, sprightly dance rhythms, free-wheeling mythological or historical plots and generous dollops of comedy. Like most of Cavalli's operas, I'lpermestra wasn't performed between the late 17th century and recent years. I'lpermestra was written on the occasion of the birth of King Philip IV of Spain's first son in 1658. It was one of the most magnificent operas to have ever been staged. This is the world premiere recording of the opera, made after a live stage performance in Utrecht in 2006.

The bulk of La mer was composed during a visit to Burgundy- a long way from the nearest sea- although the work was completed in the English seaside town of Eastbourne. The composer himself argued that his inspiration was drawn from a range of ocean view paintings and from literature in which the sea played a major part. Debussy described the work as ‘Three symphonic sketches for orchestra’, thus avoiding the term ‘symphony,’ which would have imposed a specific musical structure, as well as the expression ‘symphonic poem,’ which would imply that the music was descriptive in nature. ‘Sketches’ was a wise choice, precisely because it neatly conveys that the music is meant to do no more than provide an impression. Whereas Debussy occupied himself spontaneously and intuitively with looking for new sounds, Ravel placed much more emphasis on the effect that the sounds could have in the context of a musical story. These two impressionistic masterpieces have not been available on the Challenge catalogue until now. Antonello Manacorda brilliantly leads these works.

Rolf Martinsson is one of Sweden’s internationally leading composers. In this album five works are gathered. One work is for soprano and string orchestra: Garden of Devotion is a collection of poems by Rabindranath Tagore set to music by Martinsson in 2013. In To the Shadow of Reality, the soprano is instead accompanied by string quartet in these five songs with lyrics by Swedish poetess Karin Boye. A.S. in memoriam is a piece for string orchestra. Composed in 1999, it is an homage to Arnold Schoenberg. A piece called Landscape for solo violin is dated 2010 and takes its inspiration from The Strand, a painting by Edvard Munch. The album closes with a work for chamber orchestra, Kalliope, composed in 2004.

Classical Music

Classical Music

During the mid 18th century, there was a popular genre of painting called the capriccio. It featured imaginary topographical scenes in which various elemnts, largely architectural, were brought together as never possible in real life. They offered dazzling views and set the imagination in a spin. Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier is the operatic equivalent, for in its recreation of ‘the old Vienna under the Empress Maria Theresia- the very period in which the genre of the capriccio flourished- it juxtaposes seemingly distinct elements, such as 18th-century social conventions, 19th century waltzes and 20th century thinking. Following Hofmannsthal’s lead, Strauss constantly switches between the lyrically symphonic and the downright bawdy in the opera. “Marc Albrecht, once again presented his platinum Strauss credentials… The Netherlands Philharmonic, playing with dreamline ease, tugged at the heart with airborne woodwinds and shapely violin lines, stopping a hair’s breadth away from full extravagance. This introspective restraint created a tenseness throughout, rendering the emotional climzxes all the more powerful.” (bachtrack.com)

This is the second volume in Jan Willem de Vriend & the Netherland Symphony Orchestra's survey of Mendelssohn's complete symphonies. The conductor's fresh, innovative approach to the classical/romantic repertoire is acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, and in the case of Mendelssohn, he comes to the recording session after deep musicological research on the composer's life and work. This particular disc also stands out due to the conductor's decision to use natural horns and trumpets with pistons.

Classical Music

Classical Music