Classical Music

Charles Munch conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Classical Music

A period of twenty-one years separates Brahms' two Cello Sonatas. Suffused with lyricism and expressive ardor, the First has become one of his most popular chamber works. The Second is more sober and succinct than the earlier work, yet strikingly original not least for the wide range required of the cellist to reach unusually high notes from the very low register. Chosen to suit the cello's particular color and articulation, the six songs are heard in idiomatic and sensitive arrangements which stay as close as possible to the originals.

Among the major 19th c. choral/orchestral works Sir Roger Norrington and his former Orchestra, the Radio. Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, have tackled over the years, now finally comes Brahms' "German Requiem." one of the most beautiful and popular sacred music works in the repertoire. Although Biblical texts are used, the piece is not in the standard church liturgical tradition. World class soloists/soprano Christina Landshamer and basso Florian Boesch are acompanied by the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart and the NDR lend their full artistic support to Mr. Norrington's interpretation of this work.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Two years before the end of World War II, Wilhelm Furtwangler conducted a memorable and touching performance of Brahm's German Requiem in Switzerland. After careful and complex digital remastering, that performance is now available on CD.

Johannes Brahms’ compositions for clarinet, among the most poignant in his oeuvre, were inspired by his propitious encounter with the famed clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld. Three Belgian virtuosi, the late clarinetist Walter Boeykens, noted pianist Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden and modern and baroque cello master Roel Dieltiens, came together in 1989 to record these late-Brahms clarinet-centered chamber music masterpieces.

Peter Frankl made his name on the international circuit as a young pianist in the 1960's and, since that time, he has appeared many world renowned conductors. Following his London debut in 1962 and his New York debut with the Cleveland Orchestra, he has been performing with many orchestras in the USA and Europe including all the London orchestras and has given master classes all over the world, including the Royal Academy and Royal College in London, Liszt Academy in Budapest and the Van Cliburn Institute in Texas. He lives in London and is visiting professor at Yale University in the USA. Founded in Vienna in 1980, the Artist-Quartett launched an international career with regular performances in the world's most important music centres including New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Berlin, Vienna and Amsterdam. In Vienna they have performed an annual cycle of concerts at the Wiener Musikverein since 1988. Performances of complete quartets of composers included Schubert, Mendelssohn, Webern, Mozart, Zemlinsky and G. von Einem. The Quartet teaches at teh Universities in Vienna and Graz and has held masterclasses around the world.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Johannes Brahms (1833-1896) absorbed and integrated the musical legacy of his time, as did J.S. Bach before him. The music of Brahms is intimately connected to and rooted in the German-Austrian tradition that he inherited. For Brahms, this tradition was very much alive and relevant; he constantly measured his own efforts against the achievements of Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, trying to live up to and continue their legacy. He was not looking back to the past, but "progressing" (to use the terminology of Schoenberg's essay "Brahms the Progressive") towards a past that was yet to be fulfilled. There is a precious sense of inevitability in great art, as if every masterpiece was meant to be created exactly as it is. The works of Brahms are amazingly organic, meticulously calculated and very human at the same time. This fusion of intellect and feeling, sincerity and reserve, heartfelt emotion and impeccable taste is unique to Brahms. It makes his music inevitable and indispensable. Pianist and conductor Vladimir Feltsman is one of the most versatile and constantly interesting musicians of our time. His vast repertoire encompasses music from the Baroque to 20th century composers. A regular guest soloist with leading symphony orchestras in the United States and abroad, he appears in the most prestigious concert series and music festivals all over the world.