Classical Music

On this recording, the essence of these works has been understood and realized in exemplary fashion. (Der Schallattenmann)

• Karl-Heinz Steffens conducts the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz in the complete symphonies of Robert Schumann. Mr. Steffens, until 2007 Principal Clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic, has been Music Director of the Rheinland-Pfalz Staatsphilharmonie since the 2009/10 concert season. Complete on 2 SACD's.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Green is the third of the highly praised color series by the award-winning Amaryllis Quartet. White received the ECHO Klassik in 2012.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

The courtship and marriage of Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck is one of the great love stories in the history of music. Their relationship, embodying all the requisite elements of Romantic fiction, has taken on mythic proportions through it's frequent depiction in novels and movies.

Classical Music

Norwegian violinist Arvid Engegard and pianist Nils Anders Mortensen present Schumann’s Violin Sonatas Op. 105 and 121, and “Funf Stucke im Volkston” Op. 102. Schumann’s Violin Sonata Op. 105 was the first in the genre that the composer wrote. While he wasn’t necessarily pleased with the work, it was pleasantly received by audiences after its premiere by Clara Schumann and Ferdinand David in 1852, and remains a favorite of performers. His Violin Sonata Op. 121 was his second attempt at a vioin sonata, and was dedicated to violinist Ferdinand David. Norwegian musician Arvid Engegard performs worldwide as a violinist, a pianist, and a conductor. Engegard was educated in Norway, Austria, and in the US, and was strongly influenced by Sandor Vegh, director of “Camerata Academia” in Salzburg, where Arvid long served as soloist and concertmaster.

Free but lonely is the romantic life's motto of the violinist Joseph Joachim, who was sponsored by Mendelssohn and Schumann and through his friendship with Clara Schumann and Brahms matured into one of the most influential musicians of the 19th century. - F - a - E, a series of notes derived from this motto, was also the title of a violin sonata, composed jointly for him in 1853 by Schumann, Brahms and Albert Dietrich. - Free but lonely is the title of a series of CDs presenting music by the composers close to Joseph Joachim, and by Joachim himself (including some works published for the first time). This opens up a fascinating panorama of romantic music, born from the fruitful exchange of ideas between famous and little known composers whose works deserve to be discovered.

The Abegg Trio, hitherto distinguished for recordings of Beethoven and Brahms Trios, returns - as far as the name is concerned - to itself" with this recording; this judgment is not just a play on words. Far more, it refers to the recording itself: whereas the Beethoven and Brahms recordings were highly remarkable in themselves, the Schumann interpretation by the three musicians is utterly charming: With it's natural flow, musical elan where Schumann intended it, and analytically delicate detail work where the structure requires it. And whereas there is other high-standard competition to the D Minor Trio to which the Abegg Trio is supremely equal, the atmospherically dense and 'characteristic' recording of the Fantasy Pieces is unrivalled. The recording is beautifully transparent and faithful to the score. A thoroughly worthwhile recording." (stereoplay)

Classical Music