Two great artists of the current classical scene gather here for a unique project. It is a simple and effective idea: to intertwine Lieder and piano transcriptions. Cyprien Katsaris writes: “Following our first encounter on June 7, 2015 in Hamburg on the occasion of our concert with the Winterreise of Schubert, which proved to be a wonderful experience, and considering our perfect mutual understanding, I wondered whether Christoph Pregardien would be interested in a recording project. But what repertoire? Usually the Lieder aficionados are not interested in piano and pianophiles do not seem to be Lieder fans… Then I thought, how about bringing together those two categories of the human species? Suddenly… EUREKA!... The concept would be a combination of German Lieder, each of them followed by a piano transcription. Christoph Pregardien immediately agreed.”

The idea is simple. After concerts, there is always someone from the audience who comes to talk to us and asks if we have recorded this or that piece. We have heard this repeatedly over the years, so we decided to combine all of the pieces that we and the audience like on one album. The other common link among these pieces is that all have been arranged or composed for or by us. There’s only one exception: the Rivier, a traditional saxophone quartet, but because we feel such a strong connection to this piece, we decided to make it “ours” as well.

Before the release of the first “Amstel Tracks” we did not think it was such a strong concept, but we were wrong. The album turned out to be the most personal and successful Amstel Quartet CD. The concept of personal taste and emotional links to the works we play turned out to be much stronger than any concept on paper. Thus, we hope that Amstel Tracks Now! will live up to the expectations of all our fans.
-- Amstel Quartet

Reviews:

"A superb program, musically sublimely constructed and played with absolute devotion. The sheer beauty of timbres, the cohesion of playing of the members of the Amstel Quartet, their symbiosis of colours and spiritual implications transform their interpretations into role models of musicality"
Remy Franck, Pizzicato - January 2012

"An album that enthusiasts of classical music would like very much and introduces lovers of the saxophone to listen to the beautiful classic evergreens by Mozart, Brahms and Barber."
Wil Zenhorst, Mania - March 2012

“That a lot of the notes are originally written for strings is no objection: the ‘Amstelwinds’ seems to have lungs with a volume of certified oxygen bottles.”
Telegraaf, Thiemo Wind – 5 may 2012

This debut album of L’Estro d’Orfeo ensemble takes its title Altri Canti d’Amor from a madrigal found in Claudio Monteverdi’s Eighth Book of Madrigals. The program focuses on the music of the Italian Seicento and more precisely on the schools of northern Italy; mainly the Venetian school. It combines both instrumental and vocal pieces- the latter in instrumental versions- connected to the subject of ‘love’. Using instruments instead of the voice may initially seem perverse for such a title, but to the ensemble it suggests the idea of “other ways of singing about love.” This album thus reaffirms the great value and importance that instruments started gaining in the first half of the 17th century, where they ceased serving merely as accompaniments to the voice and gradually became the main protagonist of the musical scene, attaining a level of virtuosity that had never been explored before.

Classical Music

Eighteenth-century Flemish harpsichord music today is mostly identified with the Pièces de clavecin of 1731 by Joseph-Hector Fiocco. Although this collection, consisting of two major harpsichord suites, undoubtedly forms the high point in the genre, I want this CD to show that Fiocco was certainly not the only good Flemish harpsichord composer. The repertoire of this CD is the result of an artistic research project I carried out into eighteenth-century Flemish harpsichord music, based on the rich collection of the Antwerp Conservatory library.
-- Ewald Demeyere

Demeyere shows us that there is more to Flemisch harpsichord music than only Fiocco's music and this CD is a unique statement for that and takes us into the wealth of other compostions of the eighteenth century.

This recording of Mozart chamber music can be listened to as a pleasant private concert "en famille". The choice of the works is dictated solely by the specific instruments played by the three family members: violin, viola and keyboard. This is not a usual instrumentation in the chamber music repertoire, yet it is this combination that has given rise to a pleasantly varied program - thanks to Mozart's inexhaustible genius! This cleverly thought out program features four pieces with different instrumentations and moods in order to elicit a constant interest and pleasure from the listener. The Kuijkens Trio plays with their unmistakable understanding, tenderness, and tone color; a constant delight throughout the album.

A series of high-quality concerts launched the success story of the Isabelle van Keulen Ensemble, which has since become well established on international concert stages and festivals. The subsequent recording of three successful albums testifies to the success story, the vast repertoire, and the versatility of the ensemble. From the very beginning, the Isabelle van Keulen Ensemble has been dazzling its audiences through its depth of musical expression, its technical brilliance, and the simultaneous mixture of melancholy and severity which is so typical of the Tango Nuevo, pairing great joy in playing with intimacy.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) was a genius. Naturally he was most widely known and rewarded as one of the founding composers of Hollywood film music, but he is not a particularly well-known composer in the classical music world. His three string quartets are surely masterpieces and can be seen as modern tone poems imbued with beautiful melancholy and Viennese charm. A child prodigy, Korngold wrote some of the most heart-wrenching melodies, which are sure to leave any listener longing for more. His String Quartet No. 2, Op. 26 (1933) was written just before Korngold moved to Hollywood and is full of musical imagery of Vienna, with gestures towards the waltzes of Johan Strauss II as well as the intricate lyricism of Richard Strauss. A fierce anti-serialist, Korngold was determined that it was still possible to stretch the boundaries of tonality without adapting to the 12-tone technique. The String Quartet No. 3, Op. 34 (1945) is full of themes that he used in his film scores and was written when Korngold was suffering from deep depression. The quartet is much darker. Why did we choose to tackle Korngold’s music for this unique project of a direct-to-disc recording on vinyl? The music resonates deeply with us, as it represents the epitome of late romanticism and lyrical expression. We all have a profound love for romantic music and after listening to some recordings of his quartets we knew instantly these were the perfect fit for us. It was definitely a challenge to understand the idiom in Korngold’s writing. Our individual personalities as well as the Alma sound is clearly audible.

The profile of Norwegian soprano Mari Eriksmoen continues to rise through her regular appearance on Europe’s major opera, concert and recital stages, and she is consistently praised for her compelling blend of radiant stage personality and purity of vocal tone. This is her first opera arias recital and is focused on Handel and Mozart. Previously on album, Eriksmoen features on Schumann’s Szenen aus Goethes Faust with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Daniel Harding, Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, both with Akademie für alte Musik Berlin under René Jacobs and Glyndebourne Festival conducted by Robin Ticciati, and in a “poised, elegant and persuasive” (Guardian) debut recital album featuring songs by Grieg, Grøndahl, Wolf and Strauss with Alphonse Cemin (Alpha).

Thirteen Nocturnes and as many Barcarolles form the core of the collected output of Gabriel Urbain Fauré for the piano. Night-time meditations, then, along with inspiration drawn from rippling water (the origins of the barcarolle lie in the songs sung by Venetian gondoliers and the word itself comes from the Italian ‘barca’, a boat.) Along with some impromptus, préludes and other works, one might rapidly gain the impression of a delightful collection of salon music, whose titles may actually display the influence of Chopin. But this music is so very much more than pretty salon music. In the intimacy of these genres, Faure succeeded time and again in nothing short of exposing his very soul. And the French composer’s style is entirely his own-original and personal - from the first note to the last.

Hannes Minnaar received international acclaim after winning several international competitions and being awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship. This re-release of his 2016 deluxe album package omits the original companion DVD.

Reviews:

‘Minnaar’s identification with this unique realm of music is complete and his deeply felt interpretations shine with clarity and infinite nuance.’ -Gramophone

‘One very exhilarating recording. Hannes Minnaar’s playing is not only sensitive but also lyrical und sometimes dreamy. With a wide spectrum in sound shades, much refinement and a continuous flow the Dutch pianist’s performances are absolutely fascinating.’ -Pizzicato

‘Minnaar consistently avoids the kitsch trap. He takes this music seriously and immerses it in different moods: a darkly flowing river, then a pointillistic sequence of small effects, then again a radiant melody over a moving underground. -Deutschlandfunk

-‘The delicate poetic qualities of Fauré’s piano pieces requires the most sensitive of touches from the pianist tackling them, and it’s clear that Hannes Minnaar is comfortably a master of the idiom.’ -CD Choice UK

‘The crystal-clear, free-flowing performance fits Fauré’s reserved luminous notes perfectly. It’s amazing how he transforms the nocturnes into musing monologues, or how he consecrates the preludes with mild severity.’ -De Standaard

Three concertos for double bass and orchestra by Johann Matthias Sperger, who was not just a composer but also the most renowned double bassist of the 18th century, performed and recorded here by orchestra and soloist according to their original scores. These works are all products of the years of Sperger’s first employment as a double bassist, between 1777 and 1783, in the court orchestra of the archbishop of Hungary, the duke Joseph Graf von Batthyány in Pressburg. They date specifically from the years 1778 and 1779. The soloist uses gut strings, as was common practice at the time of the works’ composition well over two hundred years ago, bringing out the warm sound of the instruments. To do justice to history and for the pleasure of today’s audience the present recordings were made in the same auditorium where Johann Matthias Sperger first presented these concertos: the “Hall of Mirrors” in the Primate’s Palace of Bratislava (formerly Pressburg).

Any attempt at dating J.S. Bach’s three sonatas for viola da gamba and obligato harpsichord (BWV 1027 – 1029) is a very complex issue. According to the most recent research, Bach’s gamba sonatas are dated 1736 – 41, and therefore could have been written for Carl Friedrich Abel (1723–1787). Here the Viola da gamba Sonatas are performed by two musicians who have a wide experience and deep knowledge of period instruments and late Baroque performing practice. They focused their attention on the instruments to play. Sergej Istomin chose a viol built by Jacob Stainer in 1655, whose sound is especially brilliant and resonant. Sofronitzky very unusually decided to play these late pieces by Bach on a Silbermann fortepiano copy, built by Paul McNulty. A new instrument at that time, the fortepiano was approved and appreciated by Johann Sebastian Bach during his visit to Gottfried Silbermann in 1747. Paul McNulty’s copy of Silbermann’s 1749 instrument represents the final stage of the builder’s development, seventeen years after the first fortepiano he had built following a description of Christofori’s original design. These two instruments’ blend of tones and colors conjure up for a unique, singing and invigorating account of well-known works.

Tales from Norway transforms musical stories from Norwegian folk traditions into new compositions that defy genre-related labelling and envision a broader, bolder concept of “contemporary music.” The string quartet piece Stringar devotes each of three movements to a specific strand of the Norwegian springar tunes, synthesized with elements coming from disparate – albeit never gratuitous – directions. Western art music, Indian rhythms, progressive metal and semi-improvisatory techniques engage in a dialogue with the unusual rhythms and melodic turns of the Western Norwegian udelt takt springars, the time-bending telespringars from Telemark and the hypnotic valdresspringars from the mountainous slopes of Valdres. Ancient traditions from the secluded valley of Setesdal tell tales of forests, mountains and magical beings through melodies carved out of stone and wood, shaped by water and wind. In A Norwegian Suite the storytelling is entrusted to the vulnerable and otherworldly sound of the Hardanger fiddle, spinning the thread of folk inspirations into a variety of textures that ranges from the ecstatic to the frenzied. The two works originate from the common space that lies between several genres and enter a hybrid territory that gives rise to something different. The compositional process itself becomes an innermost companion that constantly negotiates its identity with the world around it.

Lucia Swarts writes: “Even as a young child, I was taught to be extra alert when women did not have the same opportunities as men. Many women did not have the same opportunities as men to compose and publicly share their musical ideas and lead public lives as composers, with some having their freedom limited by ill health or because family or society had different plans for them. Through the ages, female composers encountered considerable difficulties, often with fewer opportunities, support and education, even when they were members of the upper social classes. They were not in a position to enjoy worldwide fame, but several of them accomplished a great deal. Strong women, in other words. I have chosen from the works of five special women for this album. Five women with eventful lives who deserve a podium because of their musical qualities. Two Germans – Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Wieck – both trained in the classic Romantic school, and two French women, Melanie Bonis and Lili Boulanger; Melanie, also a classic Romantic composer in style and Lili, impressionist and exotic. Finally the Dutch composer Henriette Bosmans, whose parents influenced her in the German Romantic style but whose own interests wandered eagerly towards the French Impressionists in an ongoing quest for her own independent compositional method.”

The relatively rare Masses that celebrate saints other than the Virgin Mary were usually composed in response to an individual’s or an institution’s particular devotional interest. There is good reason to believe that Nicolas Champion composed his Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena expressly for Margaret of Austria, whose devotion to Mary Magdalene is well known. Champion (c. 1475-1533) worked for the Habsburg-Burgundian chapel from 1501 to 1524; this Mass was probably written between 1507 and 1515. This is the third installment in one of Challenge Classic’s most successful projects: five recordings of music drawn from the Den Bosch Choirbook.