The piano duo of Anna Christiane Neumann and Anja Kleinmichel bring Bach Without Words their Genuin debut containing transcriptions of chorales, chorus and arias taken from Johann Sebastian Bach's cantatas and passions. In arrangements for both two and four hands, as well as transcriptions by Neumann; this is a unique opportunity to hear these masterpieces in a radically different musical configuration.

Once again, the collaboration between Geniun and the German Music Council has resulted in a true dream release: Katharina Konradi, the winner of the 2016 German Music Competition, has chosen songs from the Romantic period to the modern age for the Primavera Edition. They are set between day and dream, between moonlight and midnight, and their spectrum ranges from Schubert's Faith in Spring to Lori Laitman's tragic songs from Theresienstadt. The flexible soprano voice of the young singer is ideally suited for this literature, nestling in perfect harmony with the lost dreamlike sounds from Schubert to Trojahn - a magnificent debut album!

To his audience back then, Beethoven must have been radical, stormy, piercing - overwhelming! Even the smallest loudspeaker jumps to the Aris Quartet, grabbing the listener and not letting go – pretty amazing for an ensemble whose members’ combined age is not yet 100! The multiple prizewinners of the 2016 International ARD Competition are among the absolute shooting stars of the quartet scene and, with their GENUIN album, they show why: cutting edge middle and late Beethoven – definitely worth listening to! The Aris Quartett was founded in 2009 on the initiative of Hubert Buchberger, Professor of Chamber Music at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. At the time, Anna Katharina Wildermuth (violin), Noemi Zipperling (violin), Caspar Vinzens (viola), and Lukas Sieber (cello), were still high school students, but already studying their respective instruments as junior students at the music university. Begun as an experiment, this meeting between the four young musicians proved to be a genuine stroke of luck. Zipperling writes: “It was truly a wonderful accident that he chose us in particular. Otherwise it probably never would have occurrec to us to play chamber music in this combination, since at the time we didn’t know each other at all.” Eight years later, the Aris Quartett is one of the most striking quartets of the younger generation.

Genuin presents the second release of the Saxon Wind Philharmonic, this time featuring for the first time, festive wind music. Director and conductor Thomas Clamor leads the group through Bernstein and Gershwin classics such as Candide, Summertime, and Strike up the Band.

This symphonic wind ensemble is a product of the "El Sistema" system, the Venezuelan music education project of José Antonio Abreu. This CD testifies to the versatility and unbridled joy in playing of the 100 plus young wind instrumentalists. Valdemar Rodríguez, founder of Banda Sinfónica, and young Víctor Mendoza are featured as soloists.

Classical Music

When we hear Trombone Unit Hannover’s second GENUIN release, we’re reminded of King Arthur and his round table: a dozen or so internationally award-winning young men with glistening metal and flaming audacity. But when the first notes of Handel’s Royal Fireworks overture blaze forth from the speakers, all we can think is “The world is sound!” Whether we’re fans of brass or ballet or orchestra: the virtuosity, drive, and glorious sound of these young knights of the trombone practically sweep us off our feet. Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and Handel’s Fireworks music: who would ever want to hear these works again in a different version?

Jewish Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg is associated with the expressionist movement and is touted as the leader of the Second Viennese School. This new release features Schoenberg’s four numbered string quartets. Even inside this single genre, these works are extraordinarily diverse. The Asasello Quartet has released two previous albums, both of which have been well-reviewed. They are known for their unconventional concerts, and are now making a name for themselves by winning international competitions.

This third release on Genuin marks the Quintessenz 20th anniversary. The program chosen for this album includes works by Rossini, Debussy, Doppler, Saint-Saens, and more. Incantations also includes two world premiere recordings: Anze Rozman’s Medusa, and Ian Clarke’s Spells.

For the first time, star tenor Daniel Behle sings in a GENUIN production: Together with the Orchestra of the Munich Chamber Opera, he interprets two of the most beautiful song cycles ever, namely Franz Schubert's Schwanengesang and Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe. In both cycles, Alexander Krampe transforms the original piano accompaniment into an exciting orchestral arrangement. This is supported by the tonally rich and supple voice of Daniel Behle in the most fortunate manner: from the delicate textures of Schubert's Liebesbotschaft to the pale expanses of his Doppelgänger to the cutting rhythms of Schumann's Die alten, bösen Lieder.

The name Hitchcock not only stands for the most famous of all British film directors, but for an important family of English instrument makers from England as well. Only a few of these sonorous and extravagant keyboard instruments have survived. The multi-stringed spinet No. 1379 from the Telemann Museum in Hamburg, with its black keys elaborately set in white ivory, can now be heard for the first time in a recording. The Hitchcock Trio invites you to a typical middle-class salon concert as was customary throughout Europe at the end of the 18th century. Selected London compositions by Burney, Geminiani, Abel, and Loeillet (a celebrated harpsichordist of his time), as well as works by the famous Hamburg composers Telemann and Mattheson, are featured. The trio, whose members include Anke Dennert (London spinet from 1730), Gabriele Steinfeld (South German baroque violin), and Simone Eckert (Hamburg Tielke gamba from 1685), allow the expressive sounding Hitchcock spinet to shine, both as a solo instrument and in a chamber music setting.

Bassoonist Theo Plath is currently the talk of the town: After winning the 2018 German Music Competition, which awarded him this Primavera Edition prizewinner album, he also impressed audiences at the 2019 ARD Music Competition. Be it as a soloist, chamber musician, or solo bassoonist with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Theo Plath simply thrills his audiences. On his solo debut recording, he combines Romantic bassoon concertos by Carl Maria von Weber and Bernhard Crusell with modern French compositions by Marcel Bitsch and André Jolivet. Accompanied by the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie under the baton of Leo McFall, he lets the broad spectrum of the bassoon's expressive possibilities resound, from melancholic lyricism to witty charm.

Johann Sebastian Bach composed timeless music for solo instruments and invented his own musical worlds for violin, violoncello, flute – wonderful, pure architectural beauty. For his GENUIN album, the saxophonist Arno Bornkamp has arranged solo sonatas by Bach, choosing a different register for each work by using the baritone, soprano and alto saxophones. The symbiosis between instrument and music seems ideal, and, guided by the principles of historical performance practice, the co-founder of the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet plays with great ease and flow. Classical saxophonist Arno Bornkamp is a unique figure in both the saxophone world and the Classical music world in general. In his career, now spanning nearly 40 years, he has amazed the music world of his energetic and stylish interpretations, full of lyricism and passion. He believes in the saxophone as an instrument with an infinite amount of nuance and colors, reflecting the human soul with all its shadings of light and dark. Bornkamp is a natural storyteller on his instrument, and offers a highly personal take in his interpretations of all the music he plays.

Pianist Yorck Kronenberg’s second GENUIN CD in the Movimentos Edition finds the German pianist, author and novelist performing the entirety of the piano concerti of J.S. Bach together with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. + Aside his activities as a concert pianist and competition jurist, Mr. Kronenberg has recorded seven CDs to date, featuring works by the Bach, the German Romantics and contemporary music by, amongst others, Karl Amadeus Hartmann. + "Master of pianistic art of storytelling" - Hamburger Abendblatt

Other musicians of her age are still regarded as insider’s tips. The young German-Korean concert pianist Caroline Fischer, however, has already proven herself on international concert stages for years and has many awards to her name. Her talent and musical maturity also stand out in this, her third GENUIN release, completely devoted to repertoire that some people dismiss as “virtuoso.” Fischer brings out the enormous musical richness and sensual sound in these brilliant works by Lyapunov and Moszkowski, von Weber and Saint-Saëns – not to mention Liszt, Chopin, and Beethoven – with precision and charm. Great piano playing in miniature gems!

The violinist Julia Fischer pays tribute to her musical godchild Matthias Well, the 2017 winner of the Fanny Mendelssohn Sponsorship Prize, in the preface to his GENUIN debut album: She writes about his cheerfulness, his artistic seriousness, and his inquiring mind – all characteristics that breathe in Wells' album "Funeralissimo" from the very first moment to the very end. And it is a release that tells the story of the cessation of breath, bringing together funeral music from all epochs and continents. Music that is always at the edge of the unspeakable, unplayable, incomprehensible – and therefore comes across as being so alive. An album that goes beyond all norms in every respect - absolutely worth listening to! German violinist Julia Fischer is recognized worldwide for possessing a talent of uncommon ability. Her “pure and fine-spun tone, blessed with seemingly infinite shadings” (The Chicago Tribune) combined with rare “technical brilliance” (The Guardian) make her one of the most-sought after soloist before the public today.

It is often said that Elliott Carter is the most European of all American composers. Without a doubt, the New York-born composer is one of the most interesting personalities of the New Music scene in the USA. His wide-ranging compositional output is complex, filled with philosophical and poetic allusions that range from orchestral and chamber music, solo instrumental and vocal pieces to his first opera, which he first wrote at the age of 90. He wrote his compositions from his head, without using any instruments, and many of his works were only heard at the premiere. For his 100th birthday, the Sonatina for oboe and harpsichord was premiered by Heinz Holliger and Peter Salomon and has now been recorded for the first time on GENUIN. With this recording, the Swiss Chamber Soloists honors the rich oeuvre of Elliot Carter – music that is full of elegance and transparency.

REVIEW:

This is a very pleasing recital of miscellaneous works from throughout Carter's career, with one significant discographic gain. This is the elegant and utterly charming extant movement of the 1947 Sonatina for Oboe and Harpsichord, a cheerful and genial piece full of neoclassical poise and melodious invention, and romantic warmth. The Études and Fantasy give the lie to the notion of Carter as an unapproachably complex composer. Expressive little character pieces, each addressing a different compositional and technical issue, they are remarkable for their clarity and charm. Carter was 103 when he wrote his concentrated little String Trio, featuring the viola in an unusually prominent rôle. Like most of the composer's late music it is brief and relatively easygoing, while still compressing many ideas into a brief span and exhibiting no diminution whatsoever of his imaginative or technical powers. The vocal pieces demonstrate Carter's natural sense of writing for the voice, reminding us that in his youth he had considerable experience as a choral tenor. The Zukovsky songs in particular are especially tender and expressive, the two "voices" duetting in affectionate dialogue. Nine by Five is the composer’s second wind quintet, written six decades after the neoclassical brass quintet. All but one of the players double their instruments, hence the title, producing a wide range of timbral possibilities in various combinations. The work has a strong pull towards tonality in some sections.

– Records Intenraional

World premiere recordings are brought together on this new GENUIN album featuring works by the composer Christian Ridil: Renowned musicians from the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others, play in formations ranging from brass quintet to flute and percussion to the exquisite combination of (chromatic) harmonica and harpsichord. The works of the Goethe University Frankfurt‘s former university music director are characterized by stylistic diversity, wit, charm, and virtuosity and yet bear Ridil's clear signature. Absolutely worth discovering!

Johann Sebastian Bach is commonly understood as the starting point of the violin repertoire. But there was unaccompanied violin music before him, too—and it is truly exciting! The renowned baroque violinist Nadja Zwiener presents this music with her solo debut album on GENUIN. Her inspired recording shows that Bach was able to build his repertoire on a great foundation: Composers such as Johann Georg Pisendel, Johann Westhoff, and even Arcangelo Corelli and Giuseppe Tartini wrote highly challenging works for the incredibly versatile instrument. The concertmistress of the English Concert and the Gaechinger Cantorey takes us on a fascinating journey.

Following two releases featuring Schubert, Shostakovich, and Beethoven, the Aris Quartet, one of the leading award-winning chamber music ensembles of recent years, has put Johannes Brahms on the program of its third GENUIN album. Included are two key works of the chamber music literature of the 19th century: The String Quartet in C minor, dating from the early period of maturity, is characterized by how the composer dealt with personal losses and how he overcame great doubts. The Clarinet Quintet is one of Brahms' last works ever. A swan song to his oeuvre, perhaps even to Romanticism in general. Enchantingly beautiful playing by a magnificent ensemble!

The wings of fantasy, paired with a sense of tonal color, keen dramaturgy and a sense of style: All this distinguishes the new GENUIN release by flutist Anna Garzuly-Wahlgren, on which she has compiled Baroque solo works for her instrument. There are not only well-known works of great Baroque composers, but also a "Suite imaginaire" composed in the spirit of the times with rarely performed works by Johann Martin Blochwitz, a friend of Johann Sebastian Bach. This production by the associate principal flute of the Gewandhaus cannot be praised enough: highest marks for repertoire and performance! Hungarian flutist Anna Garzuly-Wahlgren studied in Budapest, Munich and New York, completing her studies with highest honors. While still a student, she won numerous prizes at renowned music competitions in Geneva, Scheveningen, Kobe, Markneukirchen and Budapest. Anna Garzuly-Wahlgren has been Associate Principal Flute with the Gwandhausorchester since 1995 and was acting Principal Flute from 2006-2017. In 2017 she was appointed professor of woodwind chamber music at Leipzig's Univeristy of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy."

The works by Georg Philipp Telemann and his north German colleagues presented on this Genuin release, featuring Baroque violinist Gabriele Steinfeld and harpsichordist Anke Dennert, reveal no hint of the coolness associated with the Hanseatic city. The full rnage of passion from an epoch overflowing with artistic energy is captured by teh two musicians, on instruments that were already being played on the Elbe when the young Telemann was demonstrating his almost southern temperament in the city. What's more, their violin from 1680 and harpsichord from 1716 tell us gripping musical tales by Johann Schop, Matthias Weckmann, and Thomas Baltzar. In Telemann's own words: let us come forth and be joyful!

Everything is possible on stage. At least that’s our impression upon hearing the members of the young, award-winning brass ensemble 10forBrass. On their new (third) GENUIN release, no woodwind run is too fast for them and no string pianissimo too soft: they are both witches and kings, mermaids and jesters, angels and huntsmen. From Carl Maria von Weber to Sergei Prokofiev, no music theater work is safe from the brass virtuosi – whatever isn’t bolted to the floor is fair game for the sizeable brass ensemble. Each opera scene is more beautiful than the next: simply ravishing! The brass ensemble 10forBrass was founded in 2010 by young musicians from across Germany. They have all been members of highly regarded international orchestras such as the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and the Festival Orchestra of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival.

LE BEAU 3 Klavierstücke. Original Theme with Variations . Sonata. 8 Preludes. Improvisata . Gavotte. Ballade. 3 Old Dances. Deutscher Reigen. Trauermarsch. Klavierstücke . Barcarole. Abendklaänge • Ana-Marija Markovina (pn) • GENUIN 10177 (79:48)


We often mourn the great music we have missed because of a handful of composers that died prematurely (Mozart, Schubert) or before a major breakthrough (Wagner). A far greater tragedy was the de facto removal of women from the compositional profession for most of the history of Western music, a state of affairs that has improved radically in recent decades.


Luise Adolphe Le Beau may seem like a mere historical footnote for those not familiar with her music (that included me until recently), but if this disc is any indication, this is one composer whose reappraisal is not happening quickly enough. She wrote in most of the major genres of the day, but not surprisingly it is her piano and chamber works that are getting the first modern glances. More often than not I’m skeptical about these revivals, but this fine recording by Marija Markovina of Le Beau’s complete piano works should spark renewed interest.


Biographical information isn’t easy to come by for the German composer, even with notes that are otherwise substantial. Her primary fame seemed to spring from her concertizing, though her compositions did make a minor splash with other composers of the day (Clara Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, and critic Hanslick) and in at least one contest. The demands on the pianist are significant, though by no means on the same level of virtuosity of Liszt or even Brahms. Some of these bear the hallmarks of parlor pieces, but others are substantial enough to take pride of place on a concert stage. The Improvisata has more meat than the name might imply, with a suggestion of a barcarolle in the rolling melody in triplets. The Ballade has some Chopin in its DNA, but there are also touches of Schumann and Brahms here as well as in most of the other works. The central tune is a thing of beauty, and the bravura final pages are stirring.


Her gift for spinning simple and memorable tunes is nowhere more apparent than in the sweetly pastoral Three Old Dances . The most extended work, Original Theme with Variations, dates from her early years, but the skills seem already fully developed. Here the mark of Schumann is most pronounced, with concentrated, inventive variations that reach well beyond the clichés of the Classical or early Romantic era.


I don’t often highly recommend obscure works beyond a pool of dedicated specialists. Here is a happy exception, a generous helping of engaging piano works performed in captivating style by a perceptive pianist. As a bonus for the collector, this is one recording that is sure to stump any competitors in a game of “guess that composer.”


FANFARE: Michael Cameron

Nicolas Altstaedt presents Bach's gamba sonatas on his fifth Genuin CD with harpsichordist Jonathan Cohen.