Here Joseph Haydn's music is revealed as the perfect expression of truth. And the Auryn's performance of his string quartets is exactly as it should be: vigorous, beautiful to listen to, and full of feeling. A rediscovery both of sheer beauty and intellectual development.'
Composer: Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)
Performers: Matthias Lingenfelder, violin Jens Oppermann, violin Stewart Eaton, viola Andreas Arndt, violoncello
Track Listing: 1. String quartet op. 17 no. 1, Hob. III:25 in E major Moderato 2. Menuet 3. Adagio 4. Finale. Presto 5. String quartet op. 17 no. 2, Hob. III:26 in F major Moderato 6. Menuet. Poco allegretto 7. Adagio 8. Finale. Allegro di molto 9. String quartet op. 17 no. 3, Hob. III:27 in E flat major Andante grazioso 10. Menuet. Allegretto 11. Adagio 12. (Finale). Allegro di molto 13. String quartet op. 17 no. 4, Hob. III:28 in C minor Moderato 14. Menuet. Allegretto 15. Adagio. Cantabile 16. Finale. Allegro 17. String quartet op. 17 no. 5, Hob. III:29 in G major Moderato 18. Menuet. Allegretto 19. Adagio 20. Finale. Presto 21. String quartet op. 17 no. 6, Hob. III:30 in D major Presto 22. Menuet 23. Largo 24. Finale. Allegro
Here Joseph Haydn's music is revealed as the perfect expression of truth. And the Auryn's performance of his string quartets is exactly as it should be: vigorous, beautiful to listen to, and full of feeling. A rediscovery both of sheer beauty and intellectual development.'
Composer: Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)
Performers: Matthias Lingenfelder, violin Jens Oppermann, violin Stewart Eaton, viola Andreas Arndt, violoncello
Track Listing: 1. String quartet op. 33 No. 5, Hoboken III: 41 in G major: Vivace assai 2. String quartet op. 33 No. 5, Hoboken III: 41 in G major:Largo e cantabile 3. String quartet op. 33 No. 5, Hoboken III: 41 in G major:Scherzo. Allegro 4. String quartet op. 33 No. 5, Hoboken III: 41 in G major:Finale. Allegretto 5. String quartet op. 33 No. 2, Hoboken III:38 in E flat major: Allegro moderato 6. String quartet op. 33 No. 2, Hoboken III:38 in E flat major: Scherzo. Allegro 7. String quartet op. 33 No. 2, Hoboken III:38 in E flat major: Largo e sostenuto 8. String quartet op. 33 No. 2, Hoboken III:38 in E flat major: Finale. Presto 9. String quartet op. 33 No. 1, Hoboken III:37 in B minor: Allegro moderato 10. String quartet op. 33 No. 1, Hoboken III:37 in B minor: Scherzo. Allegro di molto 11. String quartet op. 33 No. 1, Hoboken III:37 in B minor: Andante 12. String quartet op. 33 No. 1, Hoboken III:37 in B minor: Finale. Presto 13. String quartet op. 33 No. 3, Hoboken III:39 in C major: Allegro moderato 14. String quartet op. 33 No. 3, Hoboken III:39 in C major: Scherzo. Allegretto 15. String quartet op. 33 No. 3, Hoboken III:39 in C major: Adagio ma non troppo 16. String quartet op. 33 No. 3, Hoboken III:39 in C major: (Finale) Rondo. Presto 17. String quartet op. 33 No. 6, Hoboken III:42 in D major: Vivace assai 18. String quartet op. 33 No. 6, Hoboken III:42 in D major: Andante 19. String quartet op. 33 No. 6, Hoboken III:42 in D major: Scherzo. Allegretto 20. String quartet op. 33 No. 6, Hoboken III:42 in D major: Finale. Allegretto 21. String quartet op. 33 No. 4, Hoboken III:40 in B flat major: Allegro moderato 22. String quartet op. 33 No. 4, Hoboken III:40 in B flat major: Scherzo. Allegretto 23. String quartet op. 33 No. 4, Hoboken III:40 in B flat major: Largo 24. String quartet op. 33 No. 4, Hoboken III:40 in B flat major: (Finale). Presto
For the first time ever, a Chinese symphony orchestra is performing at Lucerne Festival. If yet more evidence that classical music has long since become a global language were needed, it would be this appearance by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under music director Long Yu. These musicians from Asia have planned a program of three Russian composers. Aaron Avshalomov, who was born in 1894, served as a professor at the Shanghai Conservatory, where he taught from 1919 on; he was one of the founders of China’s Western musical tradition. His tone poem Hutongs of Peking captures the sounds and voices that once echoed through the narrow alleys of the Chinese capital. Tchaikovsky’s immortal Violin Concerto will be performed by one of the leading virtuosos of our time, Maxim Vengerov. And the orchestra will demonstrate the degree to which a composer under Stalin had to wrestle with his own identity with Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. Here the composer reacts to the political demand to be popular and monumental – which leads to an absurdly overstated “jubilant” conclusion.
This fun DVD time capsule captures all of the sights and sounds of 1948, including noteworthy news footage, fashion, fads, comedy, dance and musical performances, commercials, sports, science and lifestyle commentary, interwoven into a charming, nostalgia-inducing collage, guaranteed to evoke familiar, perhaps forgotten memories of simpler times. Perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, retirement parties, and retro slumber parties.
This fun DVD time capsule captures all of the sights and sounds of 1950, including noteworthy news footage, fashion, fads, comedy, dance and musical performances, commercials, sports, science and lifestyle commentary, interwoven into a charming, nostalgia-inducing collage, guaranteed to evoke familiar, perhaps forgotten memories of simpler times. Perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, retirement parties, and retro slumber parties
This fun DVD time capsule captures all of the sights and sounds of 1952 including noteworthy news footage fashion fads comedy dance and musical performances commercials sports science and lifestyle commentary interwoven into a charming nostalgia-inducing collage guaranteed to evoke familiar perhaps forgotten memories of simpler times. Perfect for birthdays anniversaries reunions retirement parties and retro slumber parties.
These fun DVD time capsules capture all of the sights and sounds of the respective years they represent, including noteworthy news footage, fashion, fads, comedy, dance and musical performances, commercials, sports, science and lifestyle commentary, interwoven into a charming, nostalgia-inducing collage, guaranteed to evoke familiar, perhaps forgotten memories of simpler times. Perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, retirement parties, and retro slumber parties.
This fun DVD time capsule captures all of the sights and sounds of 1955, including noteworthy news footage, fashion, fads, comedy, dance and musical performances, commercials, sports, science and lifestyle commentary, interwoven into a charming, nostalgia-inducing collage, guaranteed to evoke familiar, perhaps forgotten memories of simpler times. Perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, retirement parties, and retro slumber parties.
This fun DVD time capsule captures all of the sights and sounds of 1956, including noteworthy news footage, fashion, fads, comedy, dance and musical performances, commercials, sports, science and lifestyle commentary, interwoven into a charming, nostalgia-inducing collage, guaranteed to evoke familiar, perhaps forgotten memories of simpler times. Perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, retirement parties, and retro slumber parties.
This fun DVD time capsule captures all of the sights and sounds of 1958, including noteworthy news footage, fashion, fads, comedy, dance and musical performances, commercials, sports, science and lifestyle commentary, interwoven into a charming, nostalgia-inducing collage, guaranteed to evoke familiar, perhaps forgotten memories of simpler times. Perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, retirement parties, and retro slumber parties.
This fun DVD time capsule captures all of the sights and sounds of 1959 including noteworthy news footage, fashion fads, comedy, dance and musical performances commercials sports science and lifestyle commentary interwoven into a charming nostalgia-inducing collage guaranteed to evoke familiar perhaps forgotten memories of simpler times. Perfect for birthdays anniversaries, reunions, retirement parties and retro slumber parties.
This fun DVD time capsule captures all of the sights and sounds of 1960, including noteworthy news footage, fashion, fads, comedy, dance and musical performances, commercials, sports, science and lifestyle commentary, interwoven into a charming, nostalgia-inducing collage, guaranteed to evoke familiar, perhaps forgotten memories of simpler times. Perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, retirement parties, and retro slumber parties.
Bach: Concerto for 2 Violins - Mozart: Sinfonia concertante
ICA Classics
DVD
$26.99Feb 22, 2011
David Oistrakh and Igor Oistrakh perform in this 1961 recording of the Bach. Sir Colin Davis conducts the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra with Yehudi Menuhin and Kirill Kondrashin in these works by Bach, Mozart, and Brahms recorded in 1961 and 1963.
The music of J.S. Bach's "St. John Passion", which the composer wrote for Holy Week in 1724, immediately after his appointment as cantor of St. Thomas's Church in Leipzig, still retains all its freshness and vitality nearly 300 years later, and is a true Baroque delight. The two main choruses "Herr, unser Herrscher" and "Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine" form the beginning and culmination of a large-scale orchestral and vocal structure in which Bach reveals his absolute mastery of polyphony. Inwardly reflective chorales are as much interwoven into the events of the Passion as the haunting arias which comment on the biblical texts of the Gospel of St. John. Throughout this solemn Passion oratorio, there is a constant emphasis on Baroque musical magnificence. What makes this live recording of the concert version in March, 2015 so special? The fresh voices of the young and excellent vocal soloists, the regularly praised "astonishing three-dimensionality" and "crystalline clarity" of the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks under the direction of Peter Dijkstra and, of course, the renowned period instrument ensemble Concerto Köln.
Bach: Magnificat / Minkowski, Orchestra La Scintilla Zurich
BelAir Classiques
DVD
$29.99Mar 26, 2013
The starting point and destination of Heinz Spoerli's new ballet is the "Magnificat" by Johann Sebastian Bach. From the beginning of the "Allemande mouvement" of the "Partita in A minor for solo flute" through the joy of living of "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major", this is the the question of faith, which sparked Heinz Spoerli's interest in this piece. Heinz Spoerli intensifies the wealth of expanded emotions here, by inserting the two arias from the cantatas "Wo soll ich fliehen hin" ("Where shall I flee") and "Ich habe genug" ("I have enough"). This is an important aspect for Heinz Spoerli in his discourse with the text of the "Magnificat", in which his deep respect for all religions, or rather every faith, for him is not about the worship of a certain creator-figure, but more about the conditions and prerequisites of this for the expression of a profound devoutness, which also involves rejection, exlusion, uncertainty and separation. Images coming out of the silence and returning back to it, which Heinz Spoerli would like his audience to take with them, images which create individual stories and references. The Orchestra La Scintilla is conducted by Marc Minkoswki.
Choreography: Heinz Spoerli Set design: Peter Schmidt Format: NTSC 16:9 HD Region Code: 0 (All Region) Recorded: live from the Zurich Opera House February, 2012
Nothing else that he wrote is as all-encompassing as the Mass in B minor, not even the great Passions,” says Herbert Blomstedt about Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Opus summum”. The Dresdner Kammerchor and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under the musical direction of Herbert Blomstedt have merged ingeniously to conclude the Bachfest Leipzig with this unrivaled work – a work that bears close connections to choir and orchestra, as well as to Herbert Blomstedt himself. J. S. Bach Mass in B minor, BWV 232 Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Performing this monumental work is the ever-capable Dresdner Kammerchor conducted by Herbert Blomstedt. Featured soloists include Christina Landshamer, soprano, Elisabeth Kulman, alto, Wolfram Lattke, tenor, and Luca Pisaroni, bass.
Bach: Mass In B Minor / Biller, Krumbiegel, Lattke, Langner
Accentus Music
DVD
$31.99Mar 25, 2014
BACH Mass in b • Georg Christoph Biller, cond; Reglint Bühler (sop); Susanne Krumbiegel (mez); Susanne Langner (alt); Martin Lattke (ten); Markus Flaig (bs); Thomanerchor Leipzig; Freiburg Baroque O • ACCENTUS 20281 (DVD: 114:07) Live: Leipzig 6/23/2013
Quite apart from the fact that it was probably never performed in Bach’s lifetime, it is hard for us in our day to see just how strange Bach’s Mass was in its own time. In is structured in four parts instead of the traditional five, it is highly demanding of both voices and instruments—itself not automatically a negative characteristic—and it is so massive as to be liturgically impractical. Strictly speaking, the “Mass” applies only to the Kyrie and the Gloria, required elements in any Lutheran main service, but also similarly used in some Roman Catholic services of the time. Though there are other, earlier large liturgical pieces—Monteverdi’s Vespers, for example—I cannot think of another concert Mass before it (but there likely is one somewhere). In hopes of getting a title, Bach sent the Missa, the first two sections, to the Roman Catholic Elector of Saxony on July 27, 1733, but its final, expanded, form comes from 1748–49. It was probably performed in Berlin in 1811 or 1812, but the first recorded performance was not before 1835, also in Berlin.
Little can be said of this piece that has not already been said hundreds of times. It is a monument that, like all great monuments, does not yield all its secrets at once. It is also one for which no recording, however sophisticated, can ever replace the experience of being there when it is sung, and I can further attest that nothing at all can surpass the experience of actually singing it. This said, it must also be noted that there is no lack of fine recordings: ArkivMusic currently lists 114, of which there seem to be about 8 DVD performances, with the present one also available in Blu-ray.
Georg Christoph Biller is in the no-longer curious position of competing with himself in the same place and in the same context, the Bach Festival in Leipzig, then in 2000 (DVD, Euroarts, rev. 30: 5), now in 2013. Though his sense of the timing of each section has not much changed over those years, there is a considerable difference in his overall approach.
First, while he is certainly up-to-date on all the current issues of historically-informed performance practice, he has properly felt free to adapt them to the forces at his command. Though the Thomanerchor as a whole counts just under 100 boys, aged 10 to 19, the choir on both recordings consists of something over 50. However fine the soloists are, this piece lives or dies by the quality of the choral singing. The Thomanerchor is not an amateur choir of cute children but, rather, a serious musical organization which makes a spectacular noise. Their sheer joy and complete technical proficiency leave no doubt that they know everything they need to know in order to project the ultimately exuberant spirit of this piece.
The first and most obvious difference between the two performances is the sound of the choir itself. Partly due to the bright recording and partly due to their articulation, the sound in 2000 was rather aggressive and deliberately heavily aspirated (E-le-he-he-he-he-he-he-he-i-son), which certainly makes each note in the run easier to sing but is choppy and not particularly graceful. The great pleasure of the new recording is that the choir has discovered that it can make a legato line that still articulates each note, and the result is a clarity of line that allows Biller to make each line go somewhere itself and not just be a sequence of notes. Then, too, here Biller uses a smaller group for certain quiet sections, such as Et incarnatus est/Crucifixus (And he was born/Crucified), in the Creed, for instance, to gain greater contrast with the following section, Et resurrexit (And he arose). In the Sanctus, he physically rearranges the choir, to set it up for the double-choir conclusion from the Osanna to the end.
The second difference is the orchestra. In 2000, Biller had the services of players from the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, whose modern instruments added brightness to the whole sound. In 2013, he used the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Now, in addition to playing at the lower, so-called “Baroque,” pitch of around A=415 instead of at modern pitch of around A=440, the fewer overtones and resultant milder quality of these older instruments actually support rather than overwhelm the choir and soloists. For their solos, the instrumentalists stand.
Third, the five vocal soloists in the later recording sing from amidst the choir rather than, as earlier, at the front of the church balcony on which everything is performed. While we certainly hear them clearly, they are, as a group, inherently less powerful and less characterful than the quartet used in 2000. This may partly be a recording strategy, but they are well balanced with respect to the orchestra.
The production work in this DVD is exemplary. The concentration is all on the performers: There are no side trips to interesting corners of the church and only occasionally to the audience. The only timing glitch is in that given for the Dona nobis pacem (Grant us peace) at the very end: The music actually takes 3:02 and the rest of the 6:11 claimed is given over to applause and bows. It is a real mistake that none of the members of the orchestra nor the fine instrumental soloists is named anywhere in the material or on the DVD, and the web site of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra is no help in trying to identify who they are. And who are the two boys also given a separate bow at the end?
The smiles on the faces of the boys afterwards tells us that they had a good time. I had a good time too, and wanted nothing so much as to get up there and sing with them. This is a fine performance: Bach is well-served by everyone, and it goes on my next Want List. Much recommended.
This set contains 2 DVDs, 1 Blu-ray Video Disc, and a 7-day Digital Concert Hall pass.
Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle was one of the outstanding events of the past season.
As before with the St. Matthew Passion, star director Peter Sellars succeeded in creating a staging which made the spiritual and dramatic content of the Passion story even more intensive. The New York Times also praised the “brilliant and energetic” playing of the orchestra, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung the “haunting, almost unsurpassable singing of all those involved.”
The top-class ensemble of singers was led by Mark Padmore, one of the leading Evangelist interpreters of our day.
The edition features both a DVD and a Blu-ray version, making it playable on all popular video players. Added to this, it is exclusively presented with a linen hardcover, a comprehensive booklet and numerous photos. The extensive bonus material includes an interview with Simon Rattle and Peter Sellars, an introduction to the work by chorus master Simon Halsey, and a voucher for the Berliner Philharmoniker’s Digital Concert Hall.
"The follow-up [to the St. Matthew Passion], Mr. Sellars’s “St. John Passion,” has been eagerly anticipated. Granted a luxurious amount of rehearsal and a nearly intact cast from the “Matthew” performances … the simmering performance lives up to the high expectations. ... The Philharmonic was lucky to have once more the tenor Mark Padmore, one of the great Evangelists of our time, and superb here." – The New York Times
2 DVDs [NTSC 16:9 / PCM Stereo • DTS 5.1]
Blu-ray Disc in high definition video [1080i Full HD 16:9 / 2.0 PCM Stereo • DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1]
Playing time - Concert: 135 mins • Bonus: 52 mins
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean
Region: 0 (All region)
7- day pass to the BPO's Digital Concert Hall video streaming service
In its choreographed version of the St. Matthew Passion, the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart offers new dimensions to Bach‘s musical drama. And, for the one hundred schoolchildren who delved into Bach‘s monumental work and learned to dance as an artistic form of self-expression, it was an opportunity to experience the power of his music first hand. The interplay of professional musicians and young amateurs turned into a creative bridge for all involved. By deciding to have its own baroque orchestra and a choir formed of singers with practical, performing criteria in mind, the Bachakademie is forging a new path. The basic kind of sound, and at the same time the unique international selling point of this new approach underlies the Bachakademie’s decision to commission a historical replica of a chamber organ by the legendary organ builder and contemporary of Bach, Gottfried Silbermann. An original instrument by him has recently been discovered in Seerhausen, Saxony. As an example of the baroque sound, true to the original, this replica embodies the approach at the very heart of a Bachakademie of the future. The newly-founded baroque orchestra and the newly-constituted choir of the Bachakademie will perform under the joint name GAECHINGER CANTOREY from now onwards. Based on the historic foundations of the Bach era, and with roots in the living performance history of the choir founded by Helmuth Rilling, this name represents an integrated musical approach and the aesthetic sound ideal of the baroque.
Bach: St. Matthew Passion / Kozena, Padmore, Rattle
Berlin Philharmoniker
DVD
$80.99Sep 01, 2014
This set contains 2 DVDs, 1 Blu-ray Video Disc, and a 7-day Digital Concert Hall pass.
Sir Simon Rattle was in no doubt: the performance of the St. Matthew Passion which he realized together with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Rundfunkchor Berlin in 2010 was for him “the single most important thing we ever did here.” Critics around the world agreed. They praised the semi-staged “ritualization” by American star-director Peter Sellars, as well as the outstanding musical performances by the soloists, including Magdalena Kozená, Christian Gerhaher, Thomas Quasthoff, and Mark Padmore as the Evangelist. Now the performance is published as a hardcover linen edition with a comprehensive booklet and a voucher for the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall.
"Sellars' surprisingly simple ideas draw us deeply into the drama and prove enormously moving." – NPR
"The female singers are very good – the soprano Camilla Tilling ethereal and the mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena impassioned – but the men are tremendous, including the pure-toned tenor Topi Lehtipuu. The bass-baritone Christian Gerhaher, singing from far above the other performers, is a resonant, otherworldly Jesus. Mr. Padmore is one of the major Evangelists of our time, and he is heartbreakingly eloquent here, less a biblical narrator than a guide through a dark night of the soul. And if it’s possible for this deeply moving recording to take on any more poignancy, it is probably the final major video release featuring Mr. Quasthoff." – The New York Times
2 DVDs [NTSC 16:9 / PCM Stereo • DTS 5.1]
Blu-ray Disc in high definition video [1080i Full HD 16:9 / 2.0 PCM Stereo • DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1]
Playing time - Concert: 195 mins • Bonus: 51 mins
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean
Region: 0 (All region)
7- day pass to the BPO's Digital Concert Hall video streaming service
The St. Thomas Boys Choir, whose history dates back to the year 1212, is the oldest cultural establishment in the city of Leipzig. Outliving all political, municipal, religious, and educational controversy for 800 years, musica sacra has shaped the choir's past. Through the influence of the many St. Thomas Cantors, including the most famous- Johann Sebastian Bach (Thomas Cantor 1723-1750)- the city of Leipzig and the St. Thomas Church became the center of Protestant church music. The St. Thomas Church is home to the Boys Choir. A choir rich in tradition, they are committed to continuing this musical legacy. This release contains the award-winning two-hour documentary “Die Thomaner – A Year in the Life of the St. Thomas Boys Choir Leipzig” by Paul Smaczny and Günter Atteln as well as the breathtaking recordings of two of Johann Sebastian Bach’s major choral works: the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor.
Distinguished Bach specialist Sir András Schiff returned to the BBC Proms in 2018 to present Book II of The Well-Tempered Clavier. Extending the variety already evident in Book I (available on 2.110653), Bach's effortless brilliance and new-found sonorities push harmony and counterpoint further than ever with a combination of ancient and modern styles, church austerity and gallant lightness. Schiff has said that 'no-one combines the sacred and the secular as Bach does', and this is comprehensively demonstrated in Bach's fascinating and challenging sequence. This performance in the Royal Albert Hall was described as 'a musical meditation for our troubled times' by the Independent.
Johann Sebastian Bach was undoubtedly the greatest musical thinker of his age. Dubbed ‘the Old Testament of music’ by the conductor and pianist Hans von Bülow, the Well-Tempered Clavier is acknowledged to be one of the most significant works ever written for the keyboard. Each of these 24 preludes and fugues encapsulates its own mood, and Bach’s delight in mixing technical strictness with freedom of expression has made this work an indispensable element of Western culture for centuries. Sir András Schiff is heralded as one of the finest Bach interpreters today, and this first complete performance at the prestigious BBC Proms was summed up as ‘stupendous’ by The Independent.
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REVIEW:
That he played the one hundred and ten minutes of the First Book from The Well-Tempered Clavier from memory was a feat in itself; that he played it without a blemish was remarkable, and that he imbued it with such happiness was something to remember. Played without an interval, and with both feet firmly planted on the stage, we come as near to Bach’s harpsichord as you can get from a modern Steinway concert grand piano.
