Anna Fedorova and the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen under Modestas Pitrenas complete their critically acclaimed cycle of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos with this recording of his Third Piano Concerto. Anna Fedorova considers Rachmaninoff’s Third one of the grandest concertos ever written, stating "it has incredible compelling power and demands mobilization of all the physical, creative and emotional abilities from both soloist and orchestra. At the same time this composition is very romantic by its nature, sort of a lyrical confession of the composer”. BBC Music Magazine has given 5-star reviews to all previous Fedorova/Rachmaninoff recordings, noting that "Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova is a remarkable artist. The clear thinking and feeling behind these Rachmaninoff concerto interpretations are refreshing indeed”. As a post scriptum to this album, Anna Fedorova performs The Messenger for solo piano written by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. It is a musical meditation, a thought for her country and fellow Ukrainians, a message of light, peace and hope for the future.

The Baroque dream team of Rachel Podger and Kristian Bezuidenhout interpret the astonishing music of C.P.E. Bach’s Violin Sonatas in C Minor, B Minor, D Major and G Minor. The two early sonatas here from the 1730s resemble the older style of his father. Listening to these works, you can imagine J.S. Bach glancing over Emanuel's shoulders while he wrote them as a teenager at home in Leipzig. The later sonatas, written 30 to 50 years later, reveal an emancipated composer whose developed musical language embodies the 'Empfindsamer Stil', the directly emotional and rhetorical style characteristic of northern-german music of the time.

Rachel Podger writes: “It was wonderful to delve into the specific musical world that belongs to C.P.E. Bach for this recording with Kris. These violin sonatas are (quite unfortunately!) largely overshadowed by the classical Viennese sonatas of Mozart and Beethoven. Part of his genius is that he is full of surprises and unpredictable turns, and this was hugely enjoyable for me during the musical partnership with the wonderful Kristian Bezuidenhout.”

REVIEWS:

Rachel Podger and Kristian Bezuidenhout are performers of the highest level of technical polish, and I am especially impressed by Bezuidenhout’s imaginative and assertive pianism. Podger’s violin was built by the Genoese maker Antonio Pazarini (Pesarinius) in 1739. Excellent sound from Channel as usual.

-- American Record Guide

Across the later sonatas Kristian Bezuidenhout and Rachel Podger savor the qualities of coaxing, pleading, playfulness, and arresting quirkiness that signal their identification with the so-called Empfindsamer Stil. But nothing is ever cut and dried. The keyboard opening of the B minor Sonata, composed some three decades after its G minor cousin, sounds like a throwback to the teenage work. And, rich in Empfindsamer fingerprints, the Arioso with five variations proves to be a 1780 respray of an earlier work.

At one level, Bezuidenhout and Podger help to pinpoint the chronology, allotting a handsome-sounding copy of an 1805 Walther fortepiano to the later works and a Taskin-inspired harpsichord to the products of the 1730s. It’s just one example of the thoughtfulness with which they approach a set of performances that are as equally persuasive in the bustling, youthful incisiveness of the G minor and D major Sonatas, as in the pristinely-paced, probingly expressive whimsy of the Arioso. Their music-making is infectiously spontaneous yet tellingly ‘considered’ – seamless rapport and impeccably-judged articulation delighting in a stream of illuminating felicities. CPE Bach’s free-spirited sonatas have surely found their free-spirited match.

-- BBC Music Magazine

This is how it’s done, my friends. A completely scrumptious new release from the queen of the Baroque violin, Rachel Podger. In partnership with keyboardist Kristian Bezuidenhout, Rachel gives to us a bit over an hour of completely entrancing music by the often underestimated Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788), fifth child and second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach.

There should be nothing underestimated about these keyboard and violin sonatas. They are imaginative, innovative, sublime. Add to this the impeccable performances, with that breath of life Rachel delivers so well in all of her performances, the excellent partnership with Kristian Bezuidenhout, and the utterly delightful recording quality from Jared Sacks, and one has an album to savor again and again. It is a must listen recording.

There is pure joy in Podger's performances, one feels her connection with music, the composer, and her audience. Kristian Bezuidenhout is her perfect partner in these works, As with Podger, his playing is not tied to a metronome. He plays, as does she, with a degree of improvisational exploration that makes these works far more interesting than in many other hands.

Listening to them together, one feels their connection in this music. I was particularly struck by this in their excellent performance of the Sonata in C minor which fairly danced with barely contained energy in the final Presto movement – their timing together is exquisite.

The shift from harpsichord to fortepiano and back again adds great interest to the recital. With the change in instruments, the texture of the sound changes. The balance of the violin and the keyboard shifts. Hard to accomplish in a live performance, but a delightful gift across the breadth of this recording.

-- Paul Rushton of Positive Feedback

The Ragazze Quartet joins forces with violist and composer Garth Knox to perform two compositions for string quartet, along with numerous duets and solo pieces. His quartet ‘Four Into Twenty’ was written for the Ragazze Quartet and is a reflection on the current decade of the ‘Twenties’.

Garth Knox is at the forefront of the contemporary music scene. Drawing on his vast experience as the violist of the Arditti Quartet and Ensemble Intercontemporain, as well as his close collaboration with today’s leading composers, he is a unique performer in many different styles. His own compositions broaden the horizon of all string players who play his music. He creates an imaginative world consisting of mostly cheerful sounds with a hint of Scottish and Irish folk music.

Ragazze Quartet’s album Four, Four, Three - Music of Terry Riley, released to critical acclaim, received Gramophone Magazine’s Editor’s Choice which stated: “This performance deals up moments of sheer magic”.

Internationally acclaimed flutist Ashley Solomon and period ensemble Florilegium present “Spohr Collection, Vol. 2”. Ashley Solomon: “The opportunity of playing original flutes from the 18th century is a rare occurrence. Whenever the chance presents itself, it must be seized immediately!”. On Solomon’s remarkable Spohr Collection, Vol. 1 (CCS43020), he set himself a challenge to record on 9 original flutes, mostly domestic chamber music, together with his colleagues from Florilegium. This new release, Spohr Collection, Vol. 2, features six flute concertos from the 18th century on six unique flutes; some made of ivory, various woods (boxwood and ebony), and one of porcelain and gold. Each instrument is matched with repertoire from the same period it was initially made and played in. This offers a unique insight into the world of the flute virtuoso in the 18th century. These concertos by Vivaldi, C.P.E. Bach, Quantz, Leclair, Blavet and Woodcock invite the listener to experience and enjoy the rich sound world that each of these original flutes conveys.

Gathered here are Rachel Podger’s award-winning recordings from 2003-18 of Vivaldi’s Concerti for Violin: La Cetra, La Stravaganza, Le Quattro Stagioni, and L’Estro Armonico. La Stravaganza (with Arte dei Suonatori) won Gramophone’s 2003 Baroque Album of the Year. “the performances by Rachel Podger are crackling with vitality and executed with consistent brilliance, a performance to leave you breathless”. La Cetra (with Holland Baroque) was awarded a Diapason d’Or: “Superb orchestral image, rich, large and profound”. The Times on 2015’s L’Estro Armonico (with Brecon Baroque): “as her fingers fly through the concerto 12-pack, your feet tap and your pulse quickens without the music being pushed to extremes. A scintillating album.”

Producer Jonathan Freeman-Attwood on 2018’s Le Quattro Stagioni (with Brecon Baroque): “Virtuosity is non-negotiable here and Rachel has it in abundance. But it’s the colour, poetry, vibrancy and evocative characterisation of weather, human warmth and fragility, captured by the dynamic flux of Rachel interlocking with her colleagues in Brecon Baroque, that deliver near-unimaginable qualities in this music.”

Performances originally recorded 2002-2010. Recordings originally released 2007-2011. - ArkivMusic

An outstanding collection of J.S. Bach’s greatest large scale works are presented on this 10-CD set. Conductor Jos van Veldhoven and the Netherlands Bach Society perform the St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, Magnificat, Christmas Oratorio and the Mass in B Minor. Jos van Veldhoven was the artistic director of the Netherlands Bach Society from 1983 until 2018. The recordings of the present box set were originally released separately on Channel Classics Records between 2007 and 2011. Each release received rave reviews, celebrating both the performances and recording quality. International Record Review praised their St. Matthew Passion for being “An absolute must-have for lovers of this music (…) as a glorious, life-affirming and utterly irresistible piece of music-making, this is in a league of its own. If any recording warrants the 'Outstanding' tag, this does.”

Violinist Ning Feng is recognised internationally as an artist of great lyricism, innate musicality and stunning virtuosity. Together with pianist Zee Zee he presents the Sonatas for Violin and Piano by Johannes Brahms: Sonata No. 1 in G, Op. 78, Sonata No. 2 in A, Op. 100, and Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108. Ning Feng believes these sonatas for piano and violin to be the crown jewels of the repertoire, stating: "Ever since I first heard them on a recording, I fell in love with them. And after performing them myself many, many times over the past 20 years, I have learned to appreciate the beauty of the lyrical melodies even more and more deeply understand the musical philosophy of this great composer.”

Celebrated Dutch violinist Maria Milstein performs Prokofiev’s Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 together with Otto Tausk and PHION, Orchestra of Gelderland & Overijssel.

Maria Milstein: “Prokofiev’s music contains boundless fantasy and richness. The first time I heard Oistrakh’s recording of the First Concerto it made an indelible impression on me. The two concertos are extremely different and represent separate stages in Prokofiev’s life. The poetic, heavenly mood of the First Concerto is an invitation to a land of dreams. The second concerto sets an earnest and somber tone from the opening melody.”

She won the prestigious Dutch Music Prize in 2018 and released the critically acclaimed album 'Ravel Voyageur' in 2019. She plays a violin by Michele Angelo Bergonzi and a bow by Nicolas Léonard & François Xavier Tourte, on loan from the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.

REVIEW:

Maria Milstein has enjoyed a quietly successful career largely out of the limelight and with this pairing of works she is making a decisive move away from the more esoteric chamber works that make up the bulk of her discography, a very fine Ravel disc recorded with her pianist sister Nathalia excepted.

There is an earthiness to her view of both works often missing from more cosmopolitan accounts and I think they are all the better for it...the end of the first movement of the D major concerto is as balletically poised as could be dreamt of but this ballet, Dutch orchestra notwithstanding, is being staged at the Bolshoi.

By balletic, I also mean a groundedness in the Prokofievian rhythms that still beat through these more lyrical scores. I should imagine every movement of these concertos as performed here could actually be danced with little adjustment by ballet dancers.

In the unjustly neglected second concerto, this connection brings to my mind the composer’s roughly contemporaneous Romeo and Juliet. Much recorded though it is, this concerto has never enjoyed the popular success of the first. Listen to the swooning second subject of the opening movement in Milstein’s hands and we are eavesdropping on a bashful Romeo making declarations to his Juliet – and features Prokofiev’s dazzling talent for orchestration at its best. Personally, I have always preferred rough hewn Russian recordings of his great ballet score to more perfumed Western outings. The same is true here. Too many recordings seek to round out the corners where Milstein and Tausk seem to delight in the tangy scents of the Steppes that waft through the writing.

This approach is certainly advanced by Milstein’s rich, ripe tone which is like a throwback to older Russian fiddlers such as Heifetz and Oistrakh. It is as solid as it is fulsome. Milstein really comes into her own in this regard in the glorious melody of the slow movement of second concerto. Forget all fussy critical appraisals – this is violin fanciers’ heaven.

The little known Phion Orchestra, formed in 2019 after a merger between the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra and the Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra, provide nimble and empathetic support and clearly enjoyed their week in the studio.

But of course the violin needs to be the center of attention and Milstein pulls off her moment in the sun with aplomb. She has everything she needs to be another star in the violin firmament- gorgeous tone, finely honed musicality and plenty of charisma – maybe this recording will be the one to take her out of the wings onto center stage?

-- MusicWeb International

Winner of BBC Music Magazine's Instrumental Award and Recording of the Year in 2023!

On her new album entitled Tutta Sola, violinist Rachel Podger plays solo repertoire from five European composers who all lived to celebrate new year’s eve in 1700. It is a wonderful baroque program of selected solo violin pieces, preludes, dances and fugal movements. One person, at least with regards to the repertoire for Baroque violin, springs immediately to mind: Johann Sebastian Bach. But the German composer was not the only composer to experiment with ‘senza basso’ – music without accompanying bass – and neither was he the first. In addition to Johann Sebastian Bach, this recording features solo violin music from Johann Joseph Vilsmayr, Nicola Matteis Jr., Johann Paul von Westhoff, and Giuseppe Tartini. Each of them were remarkable violinists in their own right, too.

Rachel Podger’s previous solo album was hailed by BBC Music Magazine as “A breathtaking interpretation of Bach’s Cello Suites. A spellbinding set that is arguably Podger's finest recorded achievement to date". It was included in The Guardian’s Top 10 Best Classical CDs of the Year 2019.

Recorded in St John's Church West Norwood, London in March 2022, Florilegium release their 31st Channel Classics album: Haydn Symphonies Nos. 6, 7 and 8. This recording involves 18 members of Florilegium, the exact same number Haydn had at his disposal when he composed these symphonies shortly after arriving at Esterhazy in 1761. Haydn’s first symphonies for his new employer, Prince Paul Anton Esterházy, form a group of three entitled Morning, Noon and Night. Perhaps these were a result of the Prince’s suggestion that Haydn write something programmatic along the lines of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

As symphonies for a small chamber orchestra, all three exploit the solo skills of each of Florilegium’s principals, from flute to double bass, not to mention heroic horns as well as spectacular violin and cello solos, each vividly characterized in an almost operatic way. Florilegium's previous Haydn London Symphonies recording was hailed as "first rate" by BBC Music Magazine. Florilegium is one of Britain's most outstanding period instrument groups specializing in music from the 17th and 18th centuries. Many of their recordings have garnered international awards over the years.

With over 35 million views, Anna Fedorova's live performance of Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto is the most viewed classical concerto video on YouTube. We are proud to release the long-awaited studio recording of this beloved concerto, together with Rachmaninoff's 4th Piano Concerto. "Rachmaninoff wrote his 4th Piano Concerto nine years after emigrating, afterwards it was twice revised by the composer. It represents the change of the era, a farewell to the past and a dive into a quite terrifying future. The 2nd Concerto, however, represents rebirth and resurrection of the spirit, hope and light. Something we all need so much nowadays. I am very grateful to the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen, conductor Modestas Pitrenas and recording engineer Jared Sacks for the most inspiring days spent together in St. Gallen recording this album!" (Anna Fedorova) This album is the follow-up to Anna's 2020 release of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.1 with the same orchestra and conductor. Anna will complete her Rachmaninoff cycle with the release of the 3rd Piano Concerto in the spring of 2023.

Following his critically acclaimed interpretation of Bruckner's 7th Symphony, Iván Fischer leads his Budapest Festival Orchestration to the summit of 19th century symphonic music, with this new recording of the monumental, enigmatic, unfinished and deeply religious 9th Symphony of Anton Bruckner. The three completed movements are pervaded with angst and awareness of death. As in Mozart’s unfinished Requiem, the first movement is dominated by a dark D minor. The pounding rhythms of the scherzo seem to anticipate Stravinsky and Bartók, while the large leaps and piercing dissonances point towards the Second Viennese School of Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg and Anton Webern. The Adagio is Bruckner’s heartrending farewell to the world and to life. Although Bruckner died before he could write the huge fourth movement he had in mind, there is something satisfying and comforting in concluding with the Adagio.

Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra released Symphonies Nos. 1-4 and a large variety of other works by Johannes Brahms between 2009 and 2021. On this box set you will find all of these highly acclaimed Channel Classics recordings. Brahms worked on his First Symphony for many years, a long process driven by extremely diverse musical impulses. The Guardian reviewed Fischer’s recording as “monumental in every sense of the word”. In the Second Symphony, which took him only a summer to compose, Brahms shows us his masterful skill in developing large-scale architecture from the simplest motifs. Iván Fischer refers to the beginning of Brahms’ Third Symphony as being “A life’s story in ten bars – there is no more magnificent opening of a symphony than the first 34 seconds of Brahms’ Third.” Many consider the Fourth Symphony to be the finest of all romantic symphonies. And what a wonderful start: a fragmented melody like a hovering leaf blown up and down by the wind. Iván Fischer: “Never has tenderness been composed more movingly.” BBC Music Magazine gave this recording a Double 5-Star review, noting that “This is an orchestra whose players listen to each other intently.”

On this recording, Dutch violinist Niek Baar returns to the pieces that inspired him to become a violinist. Together with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, he has recorded some of the most wonderful violin repertoire ever written! Niek and the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra perform music by Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Tartini, Dvorák and Kreisler. The connection between the musicians is palpable. Niek says that “The Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra played every moment as if we were playing the most intimate chamber music repertoire, and that inspired me to take risks, to go outside of my comfort zone, and perform as a whole with each other.” Niek plays a magnificent and rare violin made in Cremona in 1729 by Carlo Bergonzi. On this recording produced by Jared Sacks, you hear the ‘core’ of the instrument, including all of the gritty elements that accompany the sweet, soprano tones that the violin is most famous for.