Classical Music

Schulhoff’s music remained a well-kept secret for many years, due in part to its apparent eclecticism. Fortunately, that situation has changed over the last twenty years of so. This release from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam contains piano works from the period 1920-1931, an extremely fruitful period during which Schulhoff gave vent to his fascination for the new jazz and dance music without entirely losing signt of classical tradition. He was a brilliant pianist himself, making frequent appearances in the concert hall and later in radio studios, renowned for his immaculate technique, fabulous memory and prowess as an improviser. The combination of classical foundations and more decorative jazz elements in Schulhoff’s music suits Daahoud Salim Alvarez down to the ground, as he studied both classical and jazz piano at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Schulhoff constantly faced the dilemma of respecting traditions while at the same time being keen to distance himself from them. This is illustrated, for instance, by his Concerto for piano and c chamber orchestra- February 1923.

Michael Gees writes of his new release: “How can a musical idea develop over and above what has been written down? What would Bach have thought about Mendelssohn? What would have happened had they been able to encourage each other to extemporize on their compositions? It is considerations such as these that lead me to explore the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy by way of adaptational improvisations. In this context, I want to mention the term historical performance practice. Once upon a time- long before the invention of jazz- it was desired of, and common for, performers to treat the prescribed material creatively, improvising on the works in front of them, not only playing them, but also playing with them.”

Marie Francois studied at the Conservatory of Maastricht with Joop Celis and did her master's degree with Alan Weiss at Leuven. She graduated summa cum laude from both. To take her technique to the next level, she went on to study with the Russian Polina Leschenko and Eliso Virsaladze. She also continued to develop by taking numerous masterclasses and performed concerts in venues across the world. Her debut album is one of deep expression and commitment to the music, not only through technical skills, but also through emotion and intuition. It presents an eclectic program with works by Frederic Chopin, Alberto Ginastera, Muzio Clementi, Sergei Prokofiev, and Nikolai Kapustin which fit her personality perfectly, and with which she can tell her personal story. This is the beginning of a wonderful story that will lead her deeper into the music and present her to a larger audience.

Classical Music

Classical Music

The protagonist of this recording, Salvatore Lanzetti, an Italian cellist and composer, was born in Naples around 1710. He studied cello and composition in his hometown. There is evidence to suggest that between 1730 and 1754, Lanzetti spent a substantial amount of time in London where he helped to popularize his instrument and establish it's newly acquired solo status amongst the English music lovers. In 1736 in Amsterdam, the 12 Sonate a Violoncello Solo e Basso Continuo were published as his Opus 1, dedicated to Federico di Brunswick (Frederick, Prince of Wales). His fame as one of the first true cello virtuosi and that of a composer prone to the technical innovations of the instrument was recognized by M. Corrette in his Methode, theorique et pratique pour apprendre en peu de tems le violoncelle dans sa perfection (1741), where he refers precisely to the Sonatas op. 1. The beauty of the Opus 1, the subject of this recording, lays in their incredible versatility, not only in terms of technical complexity, but also character and the mixture of the French and Italian style which was popular at the time. The extensive use of double stops, shifting, explorations of the entire fingerboard, thumb position and employment of complex bowing techniques, that were until this time the reserve of violin technique, testify to Lanzetti's extraordinary command of his instrument and fearless imagination.

Three wonderful pianists playing their own compositions and improvisations, recorded by producer Bert van der Wolf at his Galaxy Studios. Michael Gees is mostly known as an accompanist of Lieder; he has worked intensively with artists such as Christoph Pr�gardien and Julia Kleiter. As a soloist he mostly improvises, often starting with a single chord and developing the melodies from there. In contrast, Marion von Tilzer is very much a composer, who has previously written both chamber music and orchestral works. Fran's Ehlhart comes from the world of theatre, and as a composer is influenced by jazz, pop and classical music.

Classical Music

Guitar Duo Morat-Fergo writes: "We had always felt the guitar unconsciously lingering in Schubert's musical language. That, combined with our love for Schubert's music, sparked the desire to musically arrange and finally discover Schubert's world, not only as listeners, but as performers. We started out by arranging Moments Musicaux. It was with delight that we realized how well these pieces work for guitar: the intimacy, serenity and folklore in Schubert's piano music, so to speak, lived within the character of the guitar- and in order to move even closer into his world, we decided to play copies of guitars from Schubert's time, with the very sound quality Schubert would have heard in the Viennese musical circles." Elisabeth Leonskaja commented after hearing the duo: "Recently I experienced a magical moment of music: two fine musicians- Christian Fergo and Raoul Morat- playing Schubert on two guitars. I felt transported back to the time of Schubert and thought I was hearing pianos from his epoch. A moment full of magical sounds."

By 1800, several songs with horn, harp or piano accompaniment had been written, but it was not until the heyday of the romantic art song- its main exponent being Franz Schubert- that the combination of voice, horn and piano came into flower. From the nineteenth century alone, around 200 songs with obbligato horn parts survive. When Franz Schubert composed Auf dem Strom (“On the river”) in 1828, he had created a masterpiece in the genre of the so-called concert song. Schubert’s circle of friends in Vienna comprised many young composers, including Franz Lachner. “Die Seejungfern” (“The mermaids”) was written on January 1 1833 in Vienna. “Herbst” (“Autumn”), was written earlier. Another composer who live din Vienna at the same time as Franz Schubert was Conradin Kreutzer. His two songs with horn accompaniment, of which “Das Muhlrad” (“The Mill Wheel”) became very famous, whilst the later “Standchen” (“Serenade”) is hardly performed, both pay homage to the fashion of the time, but also reveal a well-versed composer at every turn. Carl Kossmaly was well regarded during the nineteenth century as a composer, conductor, and teacher. He made his mark as an antipode of the “New German School.” All of this very rare literature is performed by these three artists with panache and excitement.

Charlotte Haesen, born in Amsterdam in 1987 and raised in the French-speaking part of Belgium, studied jazz singing at the Amsterdam University of the Arts. On a sunny Saturday afternoon, she sang French chansons at Amsterdam's Noordermarkt, where she was discovered by viola player Odile Torenbeek. Odile and Charlotte decided to put together a chanson programme anchored in a string quartet ensemble. Leading arrangers then 'arrayed' the chansons around Charlotte's own, particular sound. The next step was the founding of Caf� des Chansons: Charlotte Haesen plus four musicians from the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. They perform gems of the repertoire, including the great French classics by artists such as Barbara, Gainsbourg and Piaf.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music