Mao Fujita follows up his 'acclaimed' debut album on Sony Classical, the complete Mozart Piano Sonatas, with a similarly ambitious recording project, 'Preludes'; three complete sets of 24 preludes by Chopin, Scriabin, and 20th century Japanese composer Akio Yashiro. This album represents a fascinating exploration of three different but intricately connected worlds, each full of poetic diversity, volcanic energy and atmospheric stillness. Each of these three sets are in perfect symmetry with each other, each containing 24 short preludes, one for each major and minor key. But it is Chopin's preludes that form the axis around which these other two sets of preludes orbit. Chopin's Preludes, Op. 28 (1839) broke all expectations of the term 'prelude', elevating the form from small, often-improvised, introductory pieces to singular works in their own right, and in this Op. 28 set, presented as a spinning constellation of self-contained ideas and emotions, and some of the most enduring and loved piano pieces in the repertoire. Scriabin's Preludes, Op. 11 (1888-96) echo Chopin's set in so many ways - the number of preludes, the ordering of the keys, the concept of the prelude as a short, but significant work - but is certainly no copy, rather more a descendant, an extension, hyper expressive, each prelude an intricate miniature world of it's own. The third set of preludes is perhaps the most intriguing. A world premier recording of the 24 Preludes (1945) by Japanese composer Akio Yashiro. Taking Chopin's model even further, Yashiro creates a highly idiomatic and original work, written when only 15 years old. This is the most personal work on the album for Mao Fujita, with a relationship to the composer's widow, and presenting the work for the first time as a commercial studio recording. Or as Mao puts it, "the Chopin and the Scriabin are the fish and the rice, the base, but the Yashiro is the wasabi, just as vital, and that special kick to create something delicious."

CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Krakowiak

Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1, Fantasia on Polish Airs & Anda

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Piano Recital: Gimpel, Jakob - Chopin, F. / Liszt, F. / Debu

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A luxury LP transfer of a superb new Chopin recording, on revolutionary new biovinyl: high-fidelity analogue sound with an environmental conscience. Piano Classics has a fast-growing library of LP releases which are pressed at the leading LP manufacturer in Europe, Optimal Media in Hamburg. Whereas vinyl records have relied upon the petroleum industry until now for their raw materials, the new Biovinyl records are made from bio-based PVC (polyvinyl chloride) which derives from recycled cooking oil or industrial waste gases. CO2 emissions are thus also significantly reduced in the manufacture of Biovinyl records. The records themselves are identical in quality and weight to standard audiophile, petroleum-based vinyl records. Piano Classics has won a longstanding reputation for the warmth and clarity of it's recordings which transfers well to the analogue LP format even when the original source is digital, as it is here. Vincenzo Maltempo's new recording of the Nocturnes will attract the attention of pianophiles old and new, whether listening on CD or LP. Close study of the Chopin performing tradition has resulted in a freedom rather than constriction to his playing, and the recording captures all the lower-bass resonance of his piano, which is essential for bestowing the kind of stillness and gently vibrating atmosphere that Chopin writes into his Nocturnes. The gatefold sleeve of this 2LP issue includes detailed booklet notes by the Chopin scholar Ates Orga, plus an illuminating introduction from Maltempo himself. With the special intimacy that analogue LPs afford, this set allows the listener to get closer than ever to the heart of Chopin's Nocturnes. - The LP version of a new recording of Chopin's Complete Nocturnes by Vincenzo Maltempo. - Any new recording of the complete Nocturnes by Frederic Chopin rouses the interest: in the field of countless existing recordings, does the pianist have something new to say? Inspired by but not imitating the great masters of the Golden Piano Age, Vincenzo Maltempo presents the Nocturnes as dramatic tone poems with a strong narrative, based on the art of rhetoric and Belcanto. As a means to the expression of his ideas, he found an 1888 Steinway grand with an exceptionally wide dynamic range and singing tone. The result is an enervating and moving journey through these eternal masterpieces! - Italian pianist Vincenzo Maltempo, one of the most interesting pianists of the young generation, made his name in his staggering recordings of unjustly forgotten romantic repertoire: Transcendental Studies by Lyapunov (Piano Classics, PCL0124) received 5 stars in several classical magazines (a. o. The French Diapason). His recording of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies received rave reviews, a Gramophone Editor's Choice: "extraordinary breadth and nobility... little short of perfection... ", "9/9, close to ideal" (Jed Distler Classicstoday. Com). His recordings of Alkan have "confirmed his place in the restricted circle of Alkan's best performers, 5 stars" (Diapason), "Exhilarating, thrillingly demonic, 5 Stars" (Andrew Clement in The Guardian).

Chopin's beloved waltzes present a creative challenge for pianists, on the one hand presenting the option to stay on the surface where the light glimmers bathed in the beautiful melodies that Chopin wrote, or to delve into the still accessible sophistication and exquisite piano-isms that bubble underneath the surfaces of these waltzes written throughout Chopin's brief life. The Italian pianist Alessandro Deljavan's artistry and eloquence lead him to the deeper depths of Chopin in these compelling performances that add to his already wide ranging and still young discography.

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In previous issues I've praised the Abegg Trio's radiant performances of Beethoven's piano trios. This convenient set of the Mendelssohn's works in this form - two by Felix and one by Fanny, composed the year after her brother's second trio - elicits comparable enthusiasm, thanks to the brilliance of the renditions, individually and collectively... The recorded sound is first-rate therein and throughout the two more familiar scores as well. As previously noted, too, a B�sendorfer Imperial piano, played with some restraint by Gerrit Zitterbart and admirably balanced in this CD, adds a measure of richness not often encountered among other practitioners of the art of piano-trio playing. That said, this Tacet CD sports an attractive lineup as well, and although there are many fine recorded performances of both of Felix's piano trios, these merit inclusion among the very best, due to the Abegg's superior playing, seasoned interpretations, and the splendid recorded sound. High. 4009850008101 TCET81.2 19542409 .00 23.99 .24 TACET RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/01/1999 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/5/2/7/1997250.jpg 0 1 N MUSICKE / MIRTH / LAWES / BALTZAR / BEYER DIVISION-MUSICK: ART OF DIMINUTION IN ENGLAND 4250128512046 RMEE1204.2 16968646 .00 20.99 .19 RAMEE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 08/14/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/1/0/1/1991014.jpg 4 1 N BACH,J.S. / ELGAR / ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC / MEHTA VIOLIN CONCERTO Pinchas Zuckerman is the featured soloist on this disc of live recordings from the archives of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Zubin Mehta leads the orchestra in performances of violin concertos by Bach and Elgar, recorded in 1986 and 2006. 7293627965521 HLCO9655.2 16792777 .00 18.99 .22 HELICON COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 06/12/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/9/9/1/2001995.jpg 56 1 N STRAUSS I / SLOVAK SINFONIETTA / ZILINA / POLLACK STRAUSS EDITION 22 The year 1847 witnessed a rich variety of scores from Johann Strauss (the Elder). in May he wrote the Swallows, sparkling avian waltzes, soon after which he unveiled his dramatic Austrian March-Past to great acclaim. His quadrille on themes from Auber's opera the Devil's Due is an ingenious composition, whilst the Meadow Flowers drew from him fragrant lyricism in the L�ndler style. As the New Year dawned he revealed the luscious Dance-Signals, a waltz fit for the Carnival season. Since September 2002 Christian Pollack has been principal guest conductor of the Slovak Sinfonietta �ilina. For the Naxos and Marco Polo labels he has made a number of recordings of classical Viennese music, notably the work of the Strauss family, Ziehrer, Supp� and Komz�k. 636943534229 MAP8225342.2 16794122 .00 19.99 .20 MARCO POLO COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 06/26/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/5/8/2/2002859.jpg 11 1 N BURLADOR / LA GRANDE CHAPELLE / RECASENS GREAT SEDUCER: MUSIC FOR THE MYTH 5412690051135 LADA6.2 20505790 .00 20.99 .33 LAUDA COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 10/30/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/4/4/0/2050443.jpg 25 1 N LISZT / SHIRINYAN II VIAGGIO Since Marianna Shirinyan won 5 prizes at the 2006 ARD International Music Competition in Munich her career as a soloist and chamber musician has really taken off. In 2010 she received Danish Radio's P2 Artist Prize for her contributions to the musical and artistic life of Denmark, and 2012 sees Shirinyan as the Carl Nielsen Artist at the competition and festival of that name in Odense, Denmark. 4260123641733 SLMS173.2 19088181 .00 20.99 .17 SOLO MUSICA COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 09/25/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/4/8/2/2042848.jpg 7 1 N STRAVINSKY / BERNSTEIN / LSO LEGACY: LEONARD BERNSTEIN The ICA Classics Legacy series presents a collection of historical performances by some of the world's greatest artists. These performances are released on DVD for the first time, incorporating rare archive footage that has been expertly and lovingly restored. 'Luckily for all of us, it wasn't enough for Leonard Bernstein to compose music and conduct orchestras. He felt equally compelled to talk about music - to try and explain what made it tick, what made it good, and what made it affect US in all the ways that music does. The other piece of good luck was that Leonard Bernstein and television came along at the same time. They were born for each other.' (Jamie Bernstein), the films on this DVD are taken from the 'Symphonic Twilight' series of TV programs made in the mid-Sixties that were the brainchild of Humphrey Burton, then the newly appointed Head of Music and Arts Programs for the BBC. In his booklet notes for this DVD, Burton reveals himself to have been instrumental in bringing Bernstein the conductor to the wider British public, who knew him foremost as the composer of West Side Story. In 1965 Burton persuaded Bernstein to conduct the LSO at the Royal Albert Hall and the resulting Mahler 8 was a spectacular occasion, broadcast to the nation. The following year, they put together these programs, filmed specifically for the new television audience. The works Bernstein chose to record are twentieth-century orchestral masterpieces, for which he is known to be a champion. His recordings of Sibelius's Fifth Symphony for CBS Records and Deutsche Grammophon were acclaimed by critics worldwide, and his interpretation of the Rite of Spring in 1959 elicited an enthusiastic 'Wow!' from Stravinsky himself! They are accompanied on this DVD by an in-depth interview, given here as a bonus and subtitled in French and German. 5060244550827 ICAS5082DVD 19087634 .00 26.99 .22 ICA CLASSICS DIGITAL VIDEO DISC CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 09/25/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/6/8/2/2042869.jpg 1 1 N MOZART / VEREBICS KOMM LIEBER MAI: MOZART LIEDER With bright jubilation, with polished lines and wonderfully formed; elegant and yet with warm expression; the intonation is a clear as a bell; or to put it in a nutshell: Ibolya Verebics sings the Mozart lieder in perfectly natural way and is thus the ideal performer.... She is accompanied discreetly and competently by her fellow Hungarian Csaba Vegve�ri. (Neue Westfe�lische) 4009850001607 TCET16.2 07217395 .00 23.99 .25 TACET RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 05/23/2000 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/6/2/7/1997262.jpg 8 1 N CHOPIN WELTE-MIGNON MYSTERY 4 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 - so unadulterated that it need not fear comparison with a living pianist! (See detailed text in the enclosed booklet. Can you tell the difference: dead or alive?)

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