Classical Music

Biret grasps the size of Beethoven' style. The polyphony is laid out in a relaxed way with little indulgence in point making. She keeps the big line and yet is thankfully sparing in her use of fortissimos. The piano tone is sumptuous.

William Steinberg (1899–1978), a native of Cologne who spent almost all his career in the USA, was known principally as Music Director of the Pittsburg Symphony and also as the distinguished Music Director of the Boston Symphony at the end of his career. He was celebrated as an orchestra builder, co-founding the Palestine Orchestra which became the Israel Philharmonic as well as helping one of his mentors, Arturo Toscanini, to form the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Steinberg’s recording of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis has never been issued before on CD and is in excellent stereo.

•Duo Stephanie and Saar’s Beethoven Dialogues, the second New Focusrelease, contains three 4-hand piano transcriptions of Beethoven’s iconic op. 18 set of string quartets. It is fascinating to hear this timeless material lifted out of itsoriginal context and instrumentation and placed onto a keyboard, revealing much about the core strength and malleability of Beethoven’s writing. These transcriptions by Hugo Ulrich and Robert Wittman skillfully adapted the famous op. 18 set forfour hand play.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Starring Jir� Zigmund, Jan Schulmeister, Ales Kaspr�k.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music