Fondamenta
16 products
Grieg & Medtner: 3rd Sonatas
Rachmaninov: Heritage, Works for Two Pianos
Russian Recital
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos & Other Works for Solo Piano
From Couperin to Schumann
Le Violon de Rothschild (Rothschild's Fiddle)
Muller: Chopin Recital
Odyssey
Liszt Recital
Fire & Ice
Pierrots Lunaires: Violin & Cello Duos
Ella Fitzgerald Live at the Concertgebouw 1961
The year was 1961, the venue the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. After a memorable performance in Berlin a year earlier, Fitzgerald was once again singing to a packed concert hall. This release has captured that performance, and has been remastered for crystal-clear sound quality. It’s the closest thing to being right there in the audience those five decades ago. (Fondamenta)
Live at Singer Concert Hall 1973 / Dizzy Gillespie
Strauss, Schubert, Mendelssohn: Cello Sonatas / Bellom, Levionnois
Yan Levionnois made a name for himself with his very first album, Cello Sollo, released by Fondamenta in 2013, garnering the prestigious “ffff” label awarded by Télérama magazine. This was followed by Pierrots Lunaires, with violinist Mélanie Clapiès, also brought out by Fondamenta. Guillaume Bellom has taken an unconventional path, training as both a pianist and a violinist, and was also awarded Télérama magazine’s esteemed “ffff” label for an album dedicated to Schubert in 2013. In 2017 he was nominated in the Instrumental Revelation category at the French Victoires de la Musique. Cello Sonatas is devoted to the German romantic repertoire and features Schubert’s Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano in A Minor D. 821, Mendelssohn’s Sonata No. 2 for Cello and Piano in D Major, Op. 58 and the more rarely recorded Sonata for Cello and Piano in F Major, Op. 6, by Richard Strauss. Schubert is honored with a performance of his Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano. Don’t try looking out for an arpeggione – only about a dozen of these instruments have survived to the present day. It was a hybrid of a guitar and cello, played with a bow, but which never gained popularity. The eponymous sonata, on the other hand, is still considered as one of Schubert’s major works. Mendelssohn composed the Sonata Number 2 for Cello and Piano in 1843, almost 20 years after Schubert’s composition. Mendelssohn made an early start: at the age of 12, he composed an opera, and his famous octet was written when he was 16. This sonata is classical in both its form and musical inspiration, a real gem. Mendelssohn was not only a great composer, but he also revived the music of J.S. Bach
Scarlatti: Piano Sonatas / D'Oria-Nicolas
| Frédéric D’oria-Nicolas writes: “Over nearly twenty years, I have given hundreds of concerts as both a soloist and with chamber ensembles. I was lucky enough to fulfil many dreams: studying with Tatiana Zelikman in Moscow; discovering and performing true masterpieces; playing on extraordinary instruments in fabulous acoustic settings; and sharing the stage with many first-rate musicians who have left me with lasting memories, including pianist Alexander Kobrin, baritone Laurent Naouri, violinists Svetlin Roussev and Alena Baeva, and cellists François Salque and Boris Andrianov. But complete mastery of a concert program for any given performance means playing it time and time again in public. And to do that, one must accept a certain lifestyle, one that leaves little time for family and for exploring other passions. Now that I am the father of two little boys, I often play hide and seek. I also regularly don an Indiana Jones outfit of a new type, and I set off to track down forgotten recordings of legendary artists. Discovering these treasure chests that have remained unopened for decades, sharing such special times with the descendants of Navarra, Gilels and Peterson, hearing these gems for the first time and then restoring them – all these joys cannot be described. At this point in time, I have no doubt that my choices, the new emotions I experience and my demands on myself mean that I cannot round out my life more fully as a concert performer, at least for the moment.” |
Couperin: Pieces de Clavecin / Chalmeau
| For the first time ever in the history of piano recording, Pierre Chalmeau immersed himself into the fascinating world of Louis Couperin, François’ uncle. Louis Couperin is considered as a key figure and the founder of the French school of harpsichord. His Pièces de clavecin constitute the gem of 17th century French music. Introduced to the piano by his pianist and conductor father, Pierre Chalmeau began his training at the CNR in Paris where he obtained a first prize in piano and chamber music in 2002. In addition to his solo work, he performs in the Notamo Duo alongside clarinetist Carjez Gerretsen, wherein they explore the great German cycles. |
