Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Polish pianist Alicja Fiderkiewicz has appeared with number of major orchestras, including the Hallé, Da Camera, Manchester Camerata, La Scala in Milan, Warsaw National Philharmonic, Polish Radio & TV Orchestra, and many others. + She has also given recitals for BBC Radio 3 and BBC TV. + This live recording of her 2007 Schumann recital demonstrates her affinity with the Romantic music of the late 19th century. + “... a pianist of rare quality ... she plays with the kind of old-fashioned simplicity associated with… Mieczyslaw Horszowski and Artur Rubinstein ... ” – Piano Magazine

Classical Music

Schumann at Pier2 is not a usual concert film; it shows the 4 Symphonies of Schumann from a new perspective. Stars of the film are the conductor Paavo Jarvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and it's filmed at Pier2 a former dockyard in the harbor of Bremen.

The new release from Nils Anders Mortensen and the Engegård Quartet is devoted to Schumann’s quartet and quintet for piano and strings. The works were composed at the same time, side by side, and the listener can hear definite similarities in both structure and mood, but also distinct differences. Both works contain vigorous and expressive outer movements, in which inspiration from Mozart’s vitality and Bach’s counterpoint is combined with Schumann’s own imaginative signature in both dreamy and dramatic sections that follow each other in rapid succession. The scherzos in both works are virtuosic, with sharply contrasting middle sections. But the quintet contains a movement “in modo d’una marcia”, in march style, solemn enough to be a funeral march, and both poetic and fiery in nature. As for the quartet, it has a cantabile movement with an immortal cello melody. The piano quartet and the piano quintet are cornerstones of the Romantic chamber music literature and contain some of Schumann’s most deeply personal musical moods. With his critically acclaimed record releases and concerts as soloist with the principal Norwegian orchestras, Nils Anders Mortensen has distinguished himself as one of Norway’s leading pianists. He is employed as state musician in Finnmark County and is active as freelancer. Formed under the midnight sun in Lofoten in 2006, the Engegård Quartet has rapidly become one of Norway’s most sought after ensembles, known for its bold and fresh interpretations of the classical repertoire. The quartet has attracted international acclaim and performs regularly in Norway and abroad.

Classical Music

"The term 'fantasia', in music, mainly refers to a free type of structure. Throughout history, the genre has allosed composers to jot down their musical ideas directly, like an improvisation, just as they first spring to mind. The fantasia became a popular instrumental genre in the 1800's, when it started to feature the dreamy, 'phantastic' element even more prominently; the piano and its universe of polyphony likewise played an essential role. The fantasia was thus an ideal genre for Scumann, whose music I view as the quintessence of German High Romanticism. Schumann's music is full of expression and driven by passion; at the same time it is disarmingly honest and private. Its textural sonority is full of variety, yet it always remains decent and straightforward, never attempting to posture with easy, flashy, superficial effects or by adding purely virtuosic embellishments. In my imagination, this music often evokes placid romantic scenes imbued with good-naturedness and a certain vulnerability: people of the simple classes, courtly settings, flowery childish joys, or the secretly shared yearnings of two lovers. It is as if such figures or allegories were placed in the midst of mysterious landscapes, lovingly painted with an eye for detail, and impressively set to music. Schumann often used teh word "Fantasy" in the titles of his works - frequently as part of a compound noun, Fantasiestüc, or also sporadically Fantasietanz (dance). The music in such pieces is often of choice quality and profoundly expressive... (Eckardstein)

Robert Schumann has always played a special part in the life of Cyprien Katsaris. The enormous sincerity radiating from his work moves Cyprien profoundly and explains the affinity he feels for Schumann. The passion that attends Cyprien’s approach to the scores created by this great romantic at the tender age of 10 is clearly apparent in the recordings of this CD, taken at various concerts: Papillons (Butterflies) and Blumenstück (Floral piece) at Paris 2 University, Pantheon-Assas (1977), Kinderszenen (Scenes from childhood) in Tokyo (1989), Fantasy in Tallinn (1998) and Arabeske in the Clara Wieck Auditorium in Heidelberg (2003).

Jakob Gimpel at Ambassador Auditorium, Vol. 3 (1979, 1977)

Schumann, R.: Carnaval / Chopin, F.: Mazurkas - Nos. 6, 16,

Classical Music

Classical Music