Works For Cello And Piano

Two of the most original contemporary composers Gubaidulina and Górecki wrote a number of intriguing pieces which evolve around organ. Denmark’s leading organist Jens E. Christensen has quite a few releases on Kontrapunkt including highly acclaimed “Iberian Organ Music” (32035) and “J.S. Bach/Orgelbüchlein” (32136/7).

Chamber music was a crucial element in Enescu’s output and these two works, separated by seven years, represent very different phases of his compositional development. The large-scale Piano Quartet No.1 marks the climax of his early maturity. The Piano Trio in A minor, however, was unknown until 1965 and represents a more transitional stage – a compact but intricately expressive work with an animated and compelling sequence of variations at its heart.

"This evocative and powerful music has certainly been given its deserved attention through the beautiful and dedicated playing on this excellent album." -Gramophone

Piano Trios, Sicilienne, Berce

Piano Concertos No. 11, 12 & 1

Songs

Entr'acte

ORFF: CARMINA BURANA

Petite Messe Solennelle

Symphony 1

Complete Trios

Complete Violin Sonatas

Clarinet Quintet, Horn Quintet

Quintet Op. 8, Sextet Op. 44

Eroica Variations, 32 Variatio

Jean Francaux In Concert

Music of the Sephardim & Renaissance Spain

Louise Farrenc was one of the most respected pianists and composers in the 19th-century Parisian music scene, and her four sets of Études are her most important compositions for piano. Beautiful melodies and distinctiveness of character have made the Études, Op. 26 the most popular set, but all of these pieces are full of grace and charm alongside their didactic usefulness in their references to the styles both of Farrenc’s musical ancestors and her contemporaries. The Greek pianist Maria Stratigou is one of Louise Farrenc’s greatest exponents and makes her Grand Piano debut with these exquisite rarities.

REVIEWS:

I am very impressed with Maria Stratigou’s playing here. Technically she is absolutely on top of these études but she has the lyrical expertise to bring out the necessary lightness of touch and shading even in the most exacting moments; her delicacy in the figuration of op.26 no.10 is delicious. I hope she is the pianist who will continue this valuable and enjoyable series.

-- MusicWeb International

Stratigou has a full mastery of Farrenc’s romantic style and a technique to match. I can only hope that she continues on this journey. This is a quite auspicious beginning to what I expect to be a very enjoyable exploration of piano music that deserves to be better known.

-- American Record Guide

Bach: Cello Suites

The fact that Bernhard Lewkovitch turned 85 in May this year defies the real picture of a vital and prolific composer. Upbringing and educational background in Roman Catholic environment gave Lewkovitch a unique insight to the liturgy and its music. Combined with his interest and experiment in contemporary music both his sacred and secular works brought him considerable fame. This album is the squeal of “All My Springs” Kontrapunkt 32283 (1998).

Michiyo Honma is one of the leading performers of modern harpsichord on the international scene. She has commissioned several works with the Danish composers during the last few years and has compiled here a collection of world premier recordings. The composers involved in this project unanimously praise Honma’s performance as outstanding.

Rued Langgaard and Otto Mortensen are the two intriguing names in the early 20th century of Danish music, where the new current of modern approach to the music is apparent. Both composers show however strong attachment to the Danish romanticism. While Langgaard in the recent years has gained international recognition Mortensen is largely unknown outside of Denmark.

Born in 1963, Bo Andersen belongs to that generation of Danish composers whose formative years coincided with a period of far-reaching artistic reconsideration on the part of many of his older compatriots. Although several composers, such as Holmboe, retained their loyalty to a conservative tradition, many of those who were then the younger generation had in the 60s and early 70s embraced the ideals of the post-war avant-garde, only to become disillusioned with its more extreme, and ultimately anti-communicative manifestations. The result was a new search for a compositional – and expressive – rhetoric which would achieve a balanced synthesis of tradition and innovation. Like his teacher Ib Nørholm, Bo Andersen adopts an approach which aims at accessibility without any compromise in originality. Andersen studied composition with Nørholm at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, where his teachers also included Yngve Trede and Erik Norby, and like so many Danish composers, he also studied the organ. Andersen is also a graduate of the University of Copenhagen, where he read Musicology and Nordic philology.

Daphnis et Chl覇

The third volume of Chamber Music series by Denmark’s leading composer Ib Nørholm features his works for clarinet trio.