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Couperin: The Complete Pieces de Clavecin, Vol. 4 / Kroll
This is Volume 4 in Centaur's integral edition of the Complete Pieces de Clavecin of Francois Couperin, performed on harpsichord by Mark Kroll. Mark Kroll has made a specialty of Couperin throughout his long and distinguished career. Mark Kroll has performed on four continents as a harpsichordist and fortepianist, in both solo recital and as a collaborative chamber musician. Highlights include an appearance as the official guest of the city of Barcelona; featured soloist in Germany’s Regensburg Early Music Festival, France’s Festival Ambronay and the Bordeaux Hummel Festival; two concerts for the Czech Republic’s Prague Spring Festival; and recitals at Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Foundation, Rome’s Conservatorio Santa Caecilia and Associazione Musicale Romana, Poland’s Dni Bachowski, and Slovenija’s Radovljica Festival. This recording was made on a 1974 William Dowd harpsichord at Brooks Concert Hall, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts, and a 1769 Pascal Taskin harpsichord in the private instrument collection of Marlowe A. Sigal, Newton Centre, Massachusetts.
Schocker: Sonatas for Flute & Piano / Odell, Stroud
Gary Schocker has composed some of the greatest works for flute of the past half-century. Included on this new release are his Sonatas for Flute and Piano Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9, performed by Leslie Neighbor Stroud. Leslie Neighbor Stroud, flute, received her Bachelor’s degree in Flute Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music where she was a student of Britton Johnson (National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra) and Timothy Day (San Francisco Symphony Orchestra). She has also studied with Lois Schaefer (Boston Symphony Orchestra), Walfrid Kujala (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and Mark Sparks (St. Louis Symphony Orchestra) and baroque flute with Suzanne Stumpf (Musicians of the Old Post Road), as well as participating in the master classes of Gary Schocker, Julius Baker, Bonita Boyd and William Bennett. Leslie currently performs with the Pentangle Arts Orchestra, BarnArts Festival Orchestra, Pro Musica Vermont, Guilford Music Festival Orchestra, Cameo Baroque (a period instrument ensemble), Buttonwood Wind Quintet, the Richard Faith Ensemble, and the Sterling String Quartet. She has performed with New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, The Plymouth Philharmonic, New Bedford Festival Theater, the Tri-County Symphonic Band, the Buzzards Bay Musicfest, the Savannah Symphony Orchestra, the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Peabody Wind Quintet, the Bellemore Ensemble of Baltimore, the Mozart Festival of Alameda, and the Trinity Chamber Concerts of California.
Ravel: Complete Solo Piano Works / Dedova
Noted for her wonderful integral recording of the complete Debussy works for solo piano, Larissa Dedova now brings us an equally wonderful recording of the complete solo piano works of Maurice Ravel. For over 30 years Larissa Dedova has appeared in solo and chamber recitals in concert halls throughout the world at such venues as Carnegie, New York, Kennedy Center, Washington DC, Great Hall of St. Petersburg Philharmonic, St. Petersburg, Sumida Triphony Hall, Tokyo, Teatro Ghione, Rome, and many more. As a soloist, she has played with famous orchestras, including St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Dresden Philharmonic, Kiev Philharmonic, Orchestre de Chambre de Budapest, Moscow Philharmonic and Estonian State Symphony Orchestra, among many others. The lyricism, romanticism, and virtuosity of Ms. Dedova’s performances have brought her love and affection of audience and critical acclaim. Commenting on Ms. Dedova’s performance of the D-minor Brahms Concerto with Fairfax Symphony, the Washington Post described it as “performance that went straight to the heart of the music.” Larissa Dedova holds both Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts Degrees in Piano Performance from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory where she studied with Lev Oborin and Evgeny Malinin.
Schubert: Wanderer / Schuen, Heide
If you take stock of all the lieder composed by Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler, Strauss, Debussy, and of course, Schubert, you will note that the majority are slow, meditative, contemplative. Virtuosity is not an essential part of the equation in the lied genre, at least not in the sense of rapid vocal coloraturas or thundering piano passages. The song automatically comes with a text included, and this opens up another world entirely. This has musical implications as well. In Schubert’s case, a great poem whose verses convey a striking message is provided with a magnificently sensual musical frame that allows the text to exude a powerful influence on the listener. “Wandering,” or, better yet, “strolling” through nature is part of the very essence of the Romantic poet, with all his loneliness and longing. He contemplates nature, he listens to the silence, he describes inner emotional states. “Wandering” could also imply a sort of movement, but in Schubert’s lieder we are actually dealing with an individual subject who is moving, “wandering” through the time allotted to him on this earth. We are confronted with a series of snapshots, doubts, and fears. Whenever Schubert depicts the inner emotional state of the soul, he is always honest and truthful. This is Andre Schuen’s third album. His first two have been rave-reviewed all over the globe. Schuen counts as one of the young stars in the world of vocalists, and not only participates in the highest level of festivals, but also in the world’s biggest opera houses.
Music of Alexander Krein & Mieczyslaw Weinberg
The Orchestral Organ / Jan Kraybill
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REVIEWS:
Kraybill's performance has a nice balance of verve and control. The overall impression is of joy and pleasure in the music, which flows from her understanding and touch. Her selections allow her to explore various moods and emotions, which is always quite pleasant. The progression of the album shows a sound sense of movement.
– Poaitive Feedback (David W. Robinson)
The recorded sound is thrilling. The Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant 102-rank organ at the Kauffman Center’s Helzberg Hall is big and brawny, the performances precise and committed, and the label has done their usual audiophile magic. The lower pipes of the organ are very deep, and will test your system.
– Audaud.com (Audiophile Audition)
Claudio Abbado: The Last Concert / Berlin Philharmonic
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REVIEW:
The Symphonie Fantastique is dark and youthfully overwrought in general, and it's marvelous. There are also many fine moments in the Mendelssohn, where Abbado did not let the work's overfamiliarity worry him in the least; the gossamer overture got the concert off to a strong start, and it never really declined. Strongly recommended.
– All Music Guide
Debussy Centenary
The Great Book of Flute Sonatas, Vol. 1
Reimann: L'Invisible / Runnicles, Deutsches Opera Berlin
For L’Invisible, like his other two most recent operas Bernarda Alba’s House and Medea, Aribert Reimann has turned to a text of world literature, adapting it himself as his own librettist. With it, he returns to his “home” opera house the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Four of his stage works were commissioned by that opera house and the world premiere of his new, ninth opera was also given there. It was staged by Vasily Barkhatov, one of the most interesting Russian directors of his generation, who made his debut at the opera house on Bismarckstraße after having worked at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre and the Mariinski Theater in St. Petersburg. The premiere was conducted by the Principal Conductor himself, Donald Runnicles.
Berg: Wozzeck / Weigle, Frankfurt Opera and Museum
Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, which premiered at Lindenoper/ Berlin in 1925, is regarded as one of the key music compositions of the 20th century and an essential work in any connoisseur’s collection. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck, which was left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's play on May 5, 1914, and knew at once that he wanted to base an opera on it. From the fragments of unordered scenes left by Büchner, Berg selected fifteen to form a compact structure of three acts with five scenes each. He adapted the libretto himself. On this release, the Frankfurt Opera, under the baton of Sebastian Weigle, delivers a razor-sharp and exciting interpretation. With Audun Iversen and Claudia Mahnke in the main roles the recording shows an ideal cast.
Flotow: Martha (Live)
ORCHESTRAL WORKS
Reminiscence of the Future
Pour le tombeau de Debussy: Live from Vienna / Jauregui
Meyer: New Chamber Music
A recording of the series devoted to Krzysztof Meyer 's works includes his latest chamber music. Born in 1943, the composer has worked out the original style of 56 years of creative work, combining modern means of expression and intellectualism with a traditionally understood narrative of music influencing the emotions of the listeners. Three sound performances on this album are excellent examples of this. The virtuoso piano quartet abounds in contrasts and changes, the atmospheric String Quartet falls on its background in a much quieter, expressive climax brings the Quintet to four saxophones and piano , unexpectedly reminiscent of the last Bach to chant. These works are, of course, performed by some of the finest ensembles and chamber musicians in Poland.
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 14 & 17
Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine
Chopin: Ballades & Impromptus
Chopin: 24 Etudes / Chernichka
Tatiana Chernichka writes of her new release: “The 24 Etudes of Frederic Chopin have a special place in the literature for the piano. These concert etudes are among the most difficult and most original of all works for the piano, and no pianist can resist coming to terms with at least several of them. The foundation of my journey as a pianist, as well as to my connection to the 24 etudes, was laid already before my birth. Born into a family of musicians from Novosibirsk, I represent the fifth generation of pianists. My mother, Olga Volchkova, was an outstanding pianist who studied under Heinrich Neuhaus and Yakov Zak at the Moscow Conservatory. Upon graduation, she was appointed to the faculty of the Conservatory in Novosibirsk, where she taught, lived, and became a mother. My mother was the first person in Novosibirsk to perform all 24 etudes in concert. In November 2014, I repeated this with a performance in the same concert hall, thus becoming the second person in my home town to play the etudes in concert. The recording of my [album] coincided with the 70th anniversary of my mother’s birth, and I wish to dedicate this recording to her memory.”
Schubertiade on Piano / Rinderle
Dvorak - Rostropovich - (Lp)
