This is the complete video release of Brahms' chamber music with several reference recordings. Moreover, the 16 hours of SD-quality video materials presented here on a single Blu-ray disc are equivalent to about eight standard DVD releases. This edition features great performances by today's most outstanding artists showcasing their thrilling artistry in inimitable performances. A must for any Brahms aficionado!
Polymath Sir Stephen Hough has a growing reputation as a composer of chamber, choral and above all solo piano music with four sonatas and a constellation of dazzling arrangements to his name. This album presents the premiere recording of his first piano concerto, recorded by the pianist with The Halle under Sir Mark Elder. It's subtitle 'The world of yesterday' deliberately places the work in a broader context of the pianist-virtuosi of yesteryear who composed and performed their own piano concertos as they toured the world.
CD + DVD. Jonas Kaufmann's latest album brings together two of Schumann's most profound song cycles-Dichterliebe and Kerner-Lieder-performed with exceptional sensitivity and vocal finesse. Accompanied by pianist and long-term collaborator Helmut Deutsch, Kaufmann explores the emotional and poetic nuances of these Romantic masterpieces. These works are complemented by "Doppelganger", a strikingly original stage adaptation of Schubert's Schwanengesang (Swan Songs), directed by Claus Guth. This production reimagines the cycle through a contemporary theatrical lens, adding a powerful visual and narrative dimension to Schubert's final songs. As a special bonus, the release includes six previously unreleased recordings from Kaufmann's private archive: selections from Dichterliebe recorded in 1994 during his student years. The DVD features the acclaimed theatrical production of Doppelganger, directed by Claus Guth and staged at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. Taking it's name from the final song, "Der Doppelganger"-in which a soldier confronts the haunting realization that he did not survive the war-this Armory commission poignantly explores the longing for life's beauty and the idea that death is not an abrupt end, but a final, reflective journey.
CHOPIN ORBIT The eagerly anticipated second album by celebrated Japanese pianist and composer Hayato Sumino (aka 'Cateen') Available on CD & Vinyl. - Following the success of his acclaimed Sony debut Human Universe, Hayato Sumino-known globally as 'Cateen'-returns with Chopin Orbit, a conceptually rich and emotionally resonant album that places the music of Frederic Chopin at it's center. - Chopin, Sumino's favorite composer, has long been a gravitational force in his artistic life. That connection was first spotlighted during his standout performances at the 2021 International Chopin Competition and now takes full flight in Chopin Orbit. This unique collection features Sumino's original compositions inspired by Chopin's masterpieces, not as imitations but as creative echoes-melodies and motifs reimagined through the lens of a 21st century classical artist. - Included are pieces such as Chopin's Polonaise-Fantasie op. 61, Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Berceuse, and Raindrop Prelude, alongside Hayato's original works White Keys and Post Rain. Also featured are works by Thomas Ades, Leopold Godowsky, and Leos Janacek-highlighting Chopin's influence across generations.
Isata has a longstanding love for the music of Prokofiev and performed his Piano Concerto No. 3 for her solo debut at the BBC Proms in 2023. Now she explores the music of this great composer further, on this electrifying new album. As with her last solo album, celebrating Mendelssohn, here Isata offers a rounded portrait of Prokofiev: original solo piano compositions, piano transcriptions by the composer of his most beloved ballets scores - Romeo & Juliet and Cinderella - as well as the opera 'The Love for Three Oranges' with it's famous March.
Since 1822 the Royal Academy of Music has inspired generations of musicians to connect; collaborate and create. This recording of Bach Partitas continues this mission; reuniting renowned harpsichordist and conductor Trevor Pinnock with students from the Royal Academy of Music and The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory in Toronto. Following the success of Goldberg Variations (arr. for small orchestra by Józef Koffler); the Principal of the Academy; Jonathan Freeman-Attwood commissioned ‘re-imaginings’ of three of Bach’s most celebrated keyboard Partitas for the same scoring; by alumnus composer Thomas Oehler. The creative challenge – to bring a fresh perspective to some of Bach’s most elegant resourceful and refined keyboard writing – pays off in the hands of wonderfully talented musicians; and reveals how Oehler’s faithful response to Bach’s score allows the music to glow as brightly as ever.
With this album, fittingly entitled Traum der Jugend, the young musicians of Kebyart see a longstanding dream come true. Drawn by its eagerness to reveal new soundworlds, the saxophone quartet has interwoven works from different epochs and given them a new, unconventional guise through its own arrangements. Taking Jörg Widmann’s 7 Capricci as a starting point – a work specially written for the quartet which sparked the idea of this recording – Kebyart draws a myriad of musical connections that journey from Felix Mendelssohn, one of Widmann’s favourite composers, to Johann Sebastian Bach, himself a source of inspiration to Mendelssohn. The programme culminates with a tribute to Fanny Mendelssohn, whose skilful compositions played a key role in developing the musical personality of her brother Felix.
The American critic Robert Reilly described the music on Volume One of this cycle of the complete string quartets of David Matthews (b. 1943) as 'some of the most concentrated, penetrating writing for this medium in the past 30 years or more. It is musical thinking of the highest order and quartet writing in the great tradition of Beethoven, Bartok, Britten, and Tippett'. The three works in this sixth volume of Matthews' complete string quartets cover a quarter of a century but share the same basic features, not least a mastery of counterpoint, an impassioned lyricism, a sublimated hint of folksong and occasionally a sly sense of humour, all deployed to touch something essential in the listener. Matthews begins his booklet note with this release by saluting 'my now nearly 30-year relationship with the Kreutzer Quartet, which has been as invaluable to me as Shostakovich's with the Beethoven Quartet, or Beethoven's with the Schuppanzigh Quartet'.
Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 17, Po
DUX
CD
$19.99May 16, 2025
Paderewski Orchestra plays Paderewski - youth and energy on a new DUX album The album features recordings of two compositions by Ignacy Jan Paderewski, both willingly played by pianists and both Polish to the core - the Concerto in A minor and the Polish Fantasy. The album features recordings of two compositions by Ignacy Jan Paderewski, both willingly played by pianists - the Concerto in A minor and the Polish Fantasy. They were created in the youthful period of the composer's oeuvre, but they are still characterized by a mature compositional technique, rich melodies and bold instrumentation. Both the Fantasy and the Concerto ooze the spirit of Polish music, which can be seen in the structure of motifs, harmony and vital rhythms of mazur and krakowiak. The pompous orchestral fragments intertwine with the lyrical ones. Particularly noteworthy are the beautiful piano solos accompanied by the solo violin and cello in the second movement of the concerto. Both compositions are distinguished by a clear virtuoso feature; however, it is subordinated to the musical contents. The young performers perfectly feel the character of Paderewski's music; in their interpretation, it is full of passion, pride, nostalgia, but also wit, expressing the unchanging qualities of the Polish soul.
The Second Symphony of the Swiss composer Richard Flury (1896-1967) is deeply bound up with his personal life. In 1932 his first marriage broke up, and his wife and four children left Solothurn in the north to settle in Ticino, in the south. Through visits to his family in Lugano Flury grew to know the area well, so much so that he decided to celebrate their new surroundings in his Second Symphony, the movements of which are based on the carillon of the Flury family's local church and three Ticino folksongs. Structurally, the work belongs to the Brucknerian tradition, but it also has points of contact with the orchestral nature-painting of Flury's good friend Joseph Marx. The landscape of the Poeme nocturne is an interior one: it is an expansive dream-fantasy of occasionally violent passions, a worthy cousin of Richard Strauss' tone-poems.
A unique achievement in Jean-Philippe Collard's discography, this piano programme devoted to Busoni's transcriptions of Bach's organ works is the result of a deep desire and represents a great accomplishment. Jean-Philippe Collard has been driven by three objectives : to immerse himself in Bach's organ music, to which he has always been attached; to reconnect this passion back to a youth nourished by the great sacred works of the Cantor; and to pay tribute to his musician father, who instilled this culture in him and continues to inspire him today. There is also the ambition of creating an innovative project, outside of the repertoires that have established his talent, following some sixty recordings, and at the height of an artistic career that calls for a form of synthesis, not of his career, but of a family history with the piano, of which Bach seems to him to be the greatest common denominator. The accomplishment is therefore multifaceted. Firstly, it is a sound that fully satisfies the performer, whose memories of organ works are enhanced by the breadth they acquire on the piano thanks to Busoni. It also embodies the very idea of recording itself, to which this extraordinary pianistic material gives, more than anything else, it's justification, according to Jean-Philippe Collard. For him, it is still a matter of perfecting the pianistic gesture, through an almost physiological notion of harmony between the writing and the music that is etched into the hand. Finally, it is the pianistic skill that this programme displays, serving the pleasure of a sound craftsman who feels that he has come full circle. What more could one ask for, he ponders. Borrowing from organ terminology, the expression 'full organ' here symbolically expresses the notion of plenitude and the magnitude of a total pianistic undertaking.
Are 'hits' exclusively associated with modern pop music? Popular successes have roots much deeper in the history of music, spanning various genres and contexts, including music created and shared in private settings, such as homes, as well as in street performances. Certain compositions' extraordinary popularity is attested by widely distributed, copied, and repeatedly republished scores. The innumerable arrangements for other instruments also attest to the extent of the phenomenon. Following the success of their 2002 album Dvorak (LDV101), and once again in association with the Czech instrumental arranger Jiri Kabat, the Talich Quartet invites us to explore Mitteleuropa's folk repertoire. An invitation to dance. Irresistible!
Gustav Mahler's Sixth Symphony is perhaps the darkest work he ever wrote-it's nickname is "The Tragic." And there is something almost destructive about the final movement. "But strangely enough," says Simon Rattle, "it is also a very classical symphony. Yes, it is extreme, but for long stretches it is less wild than other works of his-although of course it does convey a harrowing message. But it's like a lot of great works: there are always different ways of reading them. I've been conducting the Sixth for forty years now, and over time I've come to realise that it also contains hope." Mahler composed his Sixth Symphony during the summers of 1903 and 1904 at his "composer's cottage" in Maiernigg, near Klagenfurt. At the Vienna performance in 1907 (the third under his baton), he called it the "Tragic Symphony"-a nickname that soon became the stuff of legend. In particular, the darkness and devastating hopelessness of the finale-written at a time when he was at the high point of his life, both professionally and personally-are puzzling. Even his wife Alma could not quite explain the contradiction. As always, it was in and through music that Mahler came to terms with his experiences, exploring themes such as farewell, the meaning of existence, death, redemption, the afterlife, and love. More than other Mahler works, the Sixth Symphony is committed to "classical" symphonic form: it is in four movements and has no vocal parts. Despite all the liberties it takes, the opening movement follows sonata form. The Andante draws on the rondo form, as do the Scherzo and the Finale. Very unusually, even the Scherzo has march-like features and seems like a parodistic paraphrase of the opening, with a change of perspective. The march, which sets the tone from the very first note of the first movement, plays a major role.
The unsuspected summits of virtuosity Playing fast and loud... Letting the rapidity of your fingers go to your head... Is this really the definition of virtuosity? Virtuosity has it's origins in 'virtue'; a set of moral qualities, before evolving into something purely technical. By choosing works by Brahms, Mozart, and Liszt, Michel Dalberto will take us on the lengthy journey towards an increased understanding of these pieces. The difficulty of performing them is just one of the ways in which the texts take on their full meaning. So that the scores can reveal the full genius of their creator. Their humanity.
Although it has been clearly established for which instruments the Musical Offering and the Art of Fugue were intended, the Musical Offering has continued to be the object of realisations for other instruments, such as Anton Webern's orchestrated version of the Ricercar a 6. Here Cindy Castillo marks the completion of a new organ in the German baroque style by Dominique Thomas in the church of Saint-Loup in Namur with her own realisation of this work, a monument to the late Baroque style.
The album provides a unique opportunity to get to know the oeuvre of forgotten masters of the mature Baroque era and to admire their talent and compositional craftsmanship. Thanks to it's exuberant production, the Altberg Ensemble, specializing in historically informed performance on period instruments, transfers listeners to the world of emotions, intrigue and entertainment of sixteenth-century European courts.
Their names were Laura, Livia, and Anna. Together, they were known in the late 1500's as the Tre Donne di Ferrara - the three ladies of Ferrara. Their ensemble was praised by contemporary poets and won highest renown throughout Italy and Germany. However, women were not supposed to become famous for their professional achievements. And so, one of them was murdered by her husband - a count - who went unpunished. Thus, this is a tale of revolutionary women ahead of their time, living in an era when women had no protections. In this album, it has been my pleasure to collaborate with three extraordinary ladies of today - named Amanda, Amanda, and Amanda. The Amandas and I are proud to offer this homage to the unstoppable Italian women who broke the glass ceiling in 1580. We hope that their brilliance and boldness resound through this recording.
At a time when castrati reigned on Europe's stages, a few composers dared to write for female voices. Vivaldi, Porpora, and Porta explored the subtleties of this repertoire to create some of the finest sacred music scores of their era. Marina Viotti revives this forgotten heritage, placing the power of her voice at the service of the rich and moving melodies gathered here. Accompanied by Andres Gabetta and the Orchestre de l'Opera Royal, between theatricality and sacredness, Marina Viotti accomplishes the feat of bringing back to life the golden age of 18th-century sacred music, while paying tribute to all the women who, through their art, embodied the soul of the masters.
The album features archival recordings of an outstanding Polish violinist and teacher associated for years with Hanover, Adam Kostecki, a musical heir of such great violinists as David Oistrakh, Isaac Stern and Nathan Milstein. There are also new recordings, showing two versions of Johann Sebastian Bach's famous Chaconne - traditional, for solo violin, and in the artist's own arrangement, with the accompanying viola acting as a harmonic basis. The remaining compositions on the album are well-known virtuoso pieces, in which the violinist is partnered by chamber orchestras from Sopot and Hanover, as well as by guitarist Carsten Petermann. The CD's leitmotif is the phenomenon of Bach's Chaconne, a timeless that can still be interpreted anew. The album takes the listener into the world of slightly forgotten performance aesthetics; it also allows us to admire the sound of an old Italian instrument and a mature interpretation of the Bach masterpiece, although full of passion and fresh.
Conductor Simon Crawford-Phillips leads the Västerås Sinfonietta on their new concept album; 'Scotland'. The principal work is Mendelssohn's famous 3rd Symphony; the 'Scottish'; coupled with two interesting contemporary works with strong bonds to Scotland: Helen Grime's "Elegiac Inflections"; and Peter Maxwell Davies' 'Strathclyde Concerto No. 10'.
Maciej Skrzeczkowski, the winner of the MA Competition in Bruges in 2023, devotes his new album to John Bull (1562 - 1628), an English composer who fled his country to take refuge in the Netherlands not only because of his Roman Catholic faith but also because of charges of immorality. There could be nothing more logical in this context than to use copies of English virginals as well as of a typical Dutch adaptation of the instrument known as the moeder en kind (mother and child). This association between English style and Dutch musical practice is clearly evident in John Bull's works, as he had also been in contact with the Amsterdam organist Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck.
Bach: Harpsichord Concertos (25th Anniversary Edition) / Sorrell, Apollo's Fire
Avie Records
CD
$19.99Oct 18, 2024
Jeannette Sorrell, the celebrated founder-director of Cleveland-based Baroque orchestra Apollo's Fire, first fell in love with the harpsichord upon hearing three masterpieces by Johann Sebastian Bach: the composer's concertos in D Minor, BWV1052 and F Minor, BWV1056, and his Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (for Harpsichord, flute & violin). Jeannette and Apollo's Fire recorded these works between 1999-2004, with the subsequent 2010 album release debuting on the Top 10 of Billboard's Traditional Classical Albums Chart. This 25th anniversary reissue brings together a new programme of Jeannette's favourite Bach harpsichord concertos.
The Art of Fugue, Bach’s final and most quintessential work, while a monument, is far from being a monolith! Here, Les Récréations present a new version using different combinations of instruments that best suit each individual movement, from the piccolo violin to the cello with a detour via the violoncello piccolo; such revelations of the work’s extraordinary variety, from the Stile antico to the beginnings of the Empfindsamer Stil, refresh our perception of this masterpiece.
Marked by a profound dramatic and spiritual intensity, the St John Passion was composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1724. Based on the Gospel according to St John, it recounts the last moments of Christ's life, from his arrest to his burial in the tomb. The Cantor's Passion is one of the most sublime works in his repertoire, drawing the listener into a mystical and contemplative reflection. Gaétan Jarry conducts the Orchestre de l'Opéra Royal and the child singers of the Tölzer Knabenchor, to restore this treasure of sacred music to it's rightful place.
