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Comparing two styles, this album features charming works by little-known composers Radu Paladi and Zdenek Fibich. The first work, a string quartet written by Paladi in 1956, shows the composer’s neoclassical style, combining classical forms with elements of traditional Romanian folk music. The second work is a string quartet by Czech composer Fibich. Written in 1878, one can clearly hear the influences of German romanticism. Performing these works is the Martfeld Quartet, consisting of violinists Liviu Neagu-Gruber and Axel Hess, violist Antje Kaufmann, and cellist Katharina Apel.

This new release from Coviello features two violin concertos; both works have been recorded in an intimate chamber music atmosphere with a direct dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra. Neither of these compositions is a standard work within their genre and both were created by composers for whom the concerto played a peripheral role in their creative activities. Leonard Bernstein would never have utilized the title Concerto for any of his surviving works and concertos make up a negligible proportion of the compositional output of Joseph Haydn. Nevertheless, the Serenade by the former composer and the C major Concerto by the latter reveal a great deal about their creators and their relative historical position as is frequently the case with musical treasures off the beaten track of the musical world.

Classical Music

Classical Music

"She is more than an excellent and perfect pianist, she is always on the lookout for the essence in music", Gyorgy Sebok praised the emerging artist Tomoko Ogasawara. On this record she focuses on works by Mozart and Haydn. After studying at the State University of the Arts in Tokyo, where she was born, the pianist Tomoko Ogasawara continued her studies in Germany at the University of the Arts in Berlin and the University of Music in Freiburg in Breisgau. In Freiburg she received the solo diploma with honors and went on to win first prize in the Competition for German Conservatories. Her teachers include Georg Sava, Tibor Hazay and Georgy Sebok; all of whom influenced her artistic development and led her to early successes in international competitions such as “Maria Canals” (Barcelona) and “Ciara Haskil” (Montreux). Since then concert engagements have taken her to all of the major concert halls around the world.

Dvorák's Ninth Symphony with the nickname “From the New World” is one of the most popular of all time, due to its emotional fore. It is one of the highlights of the complete recording of symphonic works of the Czech by Marcus Bosch and the Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg (State Philharmonic Orchestra Nuremberg). The unfortunately little-known symphonic poem, “The Noon Witch”, is added to the musical program and convinces with musical drama.

Classical Music

Although Paul Juon was a contemporary of modernist composers Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, and Anton Webern, his music is stylistically aligned to the flowing emotional style of late Romanticism. Juon utilizes Russian and Nordic folk tunes, to which he adds sophisticated harmony and irregular beats. Once, a critic described his music as the missing link between Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky. Maria Riccarda Wesselin and pianist Clau Scherrer deliver these works in a way that will ensure their induction into the repertoire.

The innovative changes that characterize musical instrument making at the beginning of the 19th century reflect the increasing technical demands of composers as well as the needs of musicians striving for perfection and the audiences’ insatiable thirst for novelty. The harpsichord, which had definitely fallen out of favor because of its limited musical expression, was now superseded by the pianoforte. The range of the new instrument was expanded and in order to enhance its expressive possibilities, pedals were added to modify its tone color and timbre. Another instrument also underwent a rapid evolution: the transverse flute. The famous flute-maker Johann Georg Tromlitz developed a new key system that allowed flute players to perform with greater velocity, produce a pleasant, even tone and optimize intonation across the full range of the instrument. As to the cello, innovation affected not so much its construction as its role: the instrument gradually freed itself from playing a supporting role to the piano and became an equal partner in the ensemble, engaging in dialogue with the other instruments in its own right. And so this combination of instruments – flute, cello and piano – was now ready to establish itself in the chamber music genre. This release explores those first chamber works, and includes pieces by Carl-Maria von Weber, Friedrich Kuhlau, and Carl Czerny.

Classical Music

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music