The work on this new release, St. John Passion, displays composer Heinrich Schutz’s musical maturity and compositional aspirations. The a cappella singing that is scored in this work provides a unique, intimate feel. The Dresdner Kammerchor, directed by Hans-Christoph Rademann, performs this fantastic sacred work.

...Serkin's music-making is so vigorous and dynamic that it is hard not to warm to these exciting performances, which more than many of the others in this release convey some of the excitement of a live performance following an intensive period of preparation. Serkin's solo playing is as ever highly polished with fabulous command of keyboard, colour and phrasing... -- Gramophone reviewing the Mozart performances in the Sony Marlboro series

The cassette version of this recording is no longer available.

TCHAIKOVSKY, RACHMANINOV: PIAN

Sibelius's lines flow in a rich, warm glow of tone -- the whole concerto takes wings not, perhaps, as never before, but certainly as very seldom before. The Brahms is given a thorough-going romantic approach, full of feeling but also very carefully considered.

...[A] superlative version of the Sibelius... The performance Francescatti gives of the Sibelius is, technically, an impossible one: not even Heifetz plays the end of the first movement dead in tune, so it can't be done! but Francescatti does it. He also does everything else that can't be done with this concerto (as well, beginning to take things for granted, as everything that can); Sibelius's lines flow in a rich, warm glow of tone, his rhythms pulse, and, again, his chords are in tune. The orchestra are along with Francescatti, and they, too, have a rich quality of string tone and a pulsing rhythm; indeed the whole concerto takes wings not, perhaps, as never before, but certainly as very seldom before.

-- Gramophone [10/1965, reviewing the original LP release of the Sibelius]

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Francescatti himself is in splendid form. He has a bad patch just before the G major episode in the finale, but otherwise his intonation is good and his tone as sweet as ever. The slow movement is rather more expressive than usual, the finale rather more fiery. Much of the credit for this must go to the conductor, Leonard Bernstein, who can get from an orchestra a degree of rubato usually expected only of pianists playing Chopin. The orchestral introduction to the slow movement is an example. Some will find the way Bernstein points the end of each two-bar phrase too mannered for their taste, but, apart from the fact that it's clever to get an orchestra to phrase so sensitively, he certainly matches the style of the solo playing. In the first movement there are no tricks to interrupt the flow of the whole, and the music is played with impressive breadth and understanding. The cadenza is Joachim's. This is without doubt one of the best available versions of the Brahms Violin Concerto, and if you like a thorough-going romantic approach, full of feeling but also very carefully considered, this may well be the one you will like best.

-- Gramophone [12/1963, reviewing the original LP release of the Brahms]

Composer: Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)

Performers:
Matthias Lingenfelder, violin
Jens Oppermann, violin
Stewart Eaton, viola
Andreas Arndt, violoncello






Track Listing:

Disc One:

String quartet op. 64 no. 1, Hob. III:65 in C major
1. Allegro moderato
2. Menuet. Allegretto ma non troppo - Trio
3. Allegretto scherzando
4. Finale. Presto

String quartet op. 64 no. 2, Hob. III:68 in B minor
5. Allegro spiritoso
6. Adagio ma non troppo
7. Menuet. Allegretto - Trio
8. Finale. Presto

String quartet op. 64 no. 3, Hob. III:67 in B flat major
9. Vivace assai
10. Adagio
11. Menuet. Allegretto - Trio
12. Finale. Allegro con spirito

Disc Two:

String quartet op. 64 no. 4, Hob. III:66 in G major
1. Allgro con brio
2. Menuett. Allegretto - Trio
3. Adagio. Cantabile e sostenuto
4. Finale. Presto

String quartet op. 64 no. 5, Hob. III:63 in D major
5. Allegro moderato
6. Adagio. Cantabile
7. Menuet. Allegretto - Trio
8. Finale. Vivace

String quartet op. 64 no. 6, Hob. III:64 in E flat major
9. Allegro
10. Andante
11. Menuet. Allegretto - Trio
12. Finale. Presto


Timing: 139.48

NIELSEN, TAFFANEL: WIND QUINTE

Bach: Toccatas, BWV 910-916

With their expressive timbre and the technical excellence of the recording, the Auryn Quartet need not fear the competition, even though there is already a multitude of recordings in existence. Hartmut Leck, Klassik-heute There is no shortage of great and famous Beethoven Cycles, but there are no performances such as these. For me, this is now the set to beat. (Laurence Vittes)

The “The Last Judgment” by Louis Spohr is one of the most important oratorios of the early 19th c. Accompanied recitatives, short contrapuntal solos and above all great choruses characterize the musical structure. Contrary to other apocalyptic compositions, Spohr focuses on a positive, comforting fundamental attitude of joyful anticipation, making manifest the praise of God and the portrayal of omnipotence, kindness and righteousness. Frieder Bernius and the Stuttgart Chamber Choir together with the Bremen Chamber Philharmonic present the oratorio on this recording.

This 2CD set represents the first release on TACET of what will ultimately become a complete recordings project of Domenico Scarlatti's 555 keyboard sonatas. Pianist Christopf Ullrich, a prolific recording artist whose embarked on other projects of this or similar kinds, sets out in this extended journey with 30 Essercizi and 12 Sonatas.

This is the first compendium of tracks from different TACET productions. For once, the main feature of this CD is not a musician, a composer or a musical theme. Instead, the star of the piece is: The condenser microphone. Something for music gourmets. (Scala)

CHOPIN Impromptu in c#, Op. 66/4, “Fantaisie.” Nocturnes: in Db, Op. 27/2; in Eb, Op. 9/2; in c#, Op. posth. Etudes: in Gb, Op. 10/5, “Black Key”; in Ab, Op. 25/1, “Aeolian Harp”; in F, Op. 10/8, “Sunshine”; in c, Op. 10/12, “Revolutionary.” Preludes: in e, Op. 28/4; in Db, Op. 28/15, “Raindrop.” Waltzes: in Db, Op. 64/1, “Minute Waltz”; in c#, Op. 64/2. Souvenir de Paganini, B 37. Ballad No. 1 in g, Op. 23 • Warren Mailley-Smith (pn) • SLEVELESS 1002 (55: 05)

Prize-winning British pianist Warren Mailley-Smith is another young artist whose career is off to a running start. Solo debuts in London (Wigmore Hall) and New York (Carnegie Hall) were met with critical acclaim, and in 2011, he soloed with the Royal Philharmonic in Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto. With the release of this Chopin recital, recorded in 2009 at Champs Hill, Mailley-Smith, according to his bio, has six albums under his belt, ranging in repertoire from Mozart and Beethoven to Liszt.


For his Chopin program, Mailley-Smith has chosen a number of the composer’s most popular items—the “Black Key” and “Revolutionary” etudes, the “Raindrop” Prelude, and the nearly two-minute, “Minute Waltz.” Interestingly, he has also chosen pieces from among all but two of Chopin’s major work types or categories. Missing are any selections from the mazurkas and the polonaises. Perhaps the pianist will give us some of those in a future recording.


As I believe I’ve noted once or twice before, Chopin is not one of my favorite composers. Much of his music makes me feel depressed, and not in a good way, his famous E-Minor Prelude, op. 28/4, being a prime example. So, any pianist who can overcome my ambivalence towards Chopin and gain my rapt attention for nearly an hour-long program of his works deserves special notice. Mailley-Smith is such a pianist.


For one thing, by mixing pieces of different types and alternating slow and fast numbers, Mailley-Smith’s recital provides the listener with variety and balance. It also provides the pianist with myriad opportunities to display both his technical prowess and his poetical sensibilities. In neither area does he disappoint. His “Revolutionary” Etude and G-Minor Ballad, for example, are quite electrifying, while his “Raindrop” Prelude and Db-Major Nocturne are truly heartfelt and touching.


The immaculate acoustics of the Champs Hill hall pick up Mailley-Smith’s Steinway with unusual purity and transparency, making this an all-around very desirable and strongly recommended release.

FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

New light on Pergolesi! This album sheds light on a lesser-known aspect of the great Italian composer, offering two masterpieces in their first modern edition and first recording: the Mass in D major and the mottettone Dignas Laudes. Both editions are the outcome of recent musicological research carried out by the Centro Studi Pergolesi in Milan, and show a facet of Pergolesi – his energetic and solemn character – that complements and amplifies the dramatic and introspective moods of his most renowned sacred works. This Arcana release inaugurates a collaboration with the Ghislieri Choir & Consort and celebrates the fifteenth anniversary of the ensemble, which specialises in eighteenth-century sacred repertory and has already recorded works by Galuppi, Jommelli, Perez (Il Mattutino de’ Morti) and Handel (Handel in Rome 1707) for Sony-DHM. The soloists on this recording, conducted by Giulio Prandi, are the soprano Marlis Petersen, one of the leading sopranos on the international scene, and a quintet of young Italian singers who already perform in the most important and prestigious European venues.

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REVIEW:

This release of two previously unrecorded pieces is an important one. The singing and orchestral playing are excellent, although there is occasionally a little too much operatic vibrato from the two principal soloists. It is good to hear the organ making itself felt in the Messa. This is a welcome addition to the Pergolesi recording library.

– Early Music Review

Erika Haase continues her ambitious project of recording the most significant etudes of piano literature. This time she has tackled the etudes by Franz Liszt. The daredevil difficulties for the pianist playing these works are legend. She masters them with bravura and enriches them with her own highly sensitive musical note.

This is not an historical recording. Yet mysteriously the music is performed in an interpretation which is historically authentic down to the last detail. The key to this mystery is: The original performer was present at the recent recording session, but not physically: The music is heard on a modern Steinway. Never has music stored in the Welte-Mignon system sounded so "right" or so good. Thanks to TACET's much-praised recording technique, and because the Welte-Mignon memory system and sound production mechanism have now been newly adjusted for the first time by the leading expert in the field - and are thus able to meet TACET's requirements. (Welte-Mignon was invented in 1904.) the Welte-Mignon mystery can now speak to US without distortion.

• A truly legendary performance led by conductor Clemens Krauss, recorded at Bayreuth, 1953. • A stellar cast of Wagnerian singers, including Ramón Vinay (Parsifal), Martha Mödl (Kundry), Hermann Uhde and George London. • Clemens Krauss left precious few recordings before his untimely passing in 1954."

Classical Music

Kultur SPIEGEL, January 2005: "There are good pianists, there are grandiose pianists and there is Evgeni Koroliov: In each recording the Russian pianist, who hitherto was mainly to be heard playing Bach, sets new standards. With Debussy he competes with champions such as Gieseking or Michelangelo - and triumphs: this round of portraits of atmosphere, hovering wonderfully between jest and seriousness, has never before sounded so expressive or transparent."

Classical Music

SALON MUSIC OF THE 19TH CENTUR

The Sun King’s Mass was without any doubt one of the privileged rites for the standing of the glory of the sovereign, as much because of its splendor, as for its ceremonial aspect, which brings time to a halt, solidifying the eternal image of royal power. The greatest composers of the kingdom distinguished themselves by making the holy service a veritable heavenly concert. The bell rang, the fifes and drums announced the arrival of the king in the gallery, the organ burst forth, the Grands Motets by Lully and Delalande enthralled under the golden vaults, the delicate and intimate petits motets by Couperin appear with grace in the alcoves of the Royal Chapel. The mass is performed here by Marguerite Louise and Gaétan Jarry.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music