Classical Music

Classical Music

Much has been written about the contrasting Italian and French musical styles at the beginning of the 18th century, but Telemann was among the first composers who attempted to fuse these contrasting styles into an expressive, emotionally rich church music. The three cantatas featured on this recording are all festive works written by Telemann for performance variously during 1716/17 and 1720 church years, and exhibit the composer's ingenuity at adapting the Italianate style for use in the Lutheran church. The music is easy-going, tuneful with moments of virtuosity and characteristic tone painting.

Gerhard Oppitz is recognized as being one of the top pianists performing internationally today. His series of Schubert’s piano works, based on his long experience with the works, showcases his superior technical control, deep intellectual pervasion, and sweeping musical realization. This ninth installment includes dances, marches, and sonata fragments.

On this fourth release of the “Transfigured” series, South African pianist Petronel Malan takes us an excursion through the songs of Tchaikovsky, transfigured by several of his distinguished compatriots. Hearing these songs in this new virtuoso setting will no doubt introduce many listeners to the hidden beauties of Tchaikovsky's songs and provide further evidence of Ms. Malan's creative and adventurous programming. Ms. Malan received a Grammy nomination for the first CD of the series: "Transfigured Bach".

With 3600 works to his credit, Georg Philipp Telemann is rightly regarded as of one of the most prolific composers of all time. This superlative however has brought him less honor than one may have hoped, because with so many works came the suspicion that quality may have been sacrificed in the process, a view that prevailed especially throughout the 19th century. As a result, the objective study of Telemann and his protean work only began in earnest in the late 20th century, resulting in many discoveries and first performances that show the seriousness and depth of the composer's genius. The present CD features a trio of cantatas from the so-called "Engel-Jahrgang" (lit. "Angel cycle" named for the image of an angel that appears on the cover of the printed scores) dating from 1748/49. In these works, Telemann has already begun to explore the Rococo style, which had just begun to take root and demonstrates his compositional skill and originality at every turn. Three festive cantatas ring out in glorious tones: "Der Herr lebet" for the first day of Easter, "Ehr und Dank sey Dir gesungen" for the Feast of St, Michael and "Der Geist giebt Zeugnis" for the Day of Pentecost. The Bach-Chor Siegen, the Hannoversche Hofkapelle, singers Miriam Feuersinger, Franz Vitzthum and Klaus Mertens and director Ulrich St�tzel are in their element with Telemann - having previously released several Telemann albums with h�nssler CLASSIC - and present another installment of enchanting and accomplished performances of rarely heard music from one of the greatest masters of the Baroque.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

A musical sensation from Austria wrote the Berlin Tagesspiegel of the young Minetti Quartet's debut at the Berlin Philharmonie in 2009. The name "Minetti Quartet" refers to a play by famous Austrian author Thomas Bernhard (1939-1989), who lived in Ohlsdorf, the birthplace of the quartet's two female members. The "European Rising Star Series" presented the Minetti Quartet during the 2008-09 season on the stages of prestigious European concert halls. Die Presse in Vienna summed it up after one of those concerts: "The youthful freshness of the quartet's interpretations charms audiences since 2003. There are top musicians with spirit and dedication at work who charge the music of the classic and romantic periods with energy for the new millennium".

Mikhail Glinka is called the "father of the Russian school and opera". His operas "A Live for the Tsar" and "Ruslan and Lyudmila" are now considered outstanding staple works in opera houses not just in Russia but all over the world. Glinka's romances and songs reflect the composer's own feelings in respect of contemporary events and his life. The recording of this recital by the Russian-born German soprano Julia Sukmanova is her way of immersing listeners in the special world of the Russian musical soul. The German soprano Julia Sukmanova, who lives in Bochum, received a comprehensive musical education on the initiative of her parents. First in the Music College for Highly Gifted Children in Ufa and then in the Music High School for Children of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg. There she continued to learn piano and composition. After graduating from high school, she studied at the NA Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in Saint Petersburg from 1993 to 1998, graduated as a concert pianist, as a chamber musician and as a concertmaster.

In celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven's anniversary year, Helmuth Rilling, alongside the Gachinger Kantorei Stuttgart and the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, present these brilliant recordings of the composer's sacred works- the Missa Solemnis, the Mass in C major, and the Christus am Olberge op. 85. The recordings are some of Rilling's finest interpretations, recorded during the 1990s in Liederhalle Stuttgart, one of the most acoustically pleasing venues in Europe. These individual releases garnered worldwide acclaim and are now available in this special-issue triple album set. Helmuth Rilling, born in 1933 in Stuttgart, is a conductor, teacher and ambassador for Bach's music throughout the world. In 1954 Helmuth Rilling founded the G�chinger Kantorei, followed in 1965 by the Bach Collegium Stuttgart as it's instrumental partner. His intensive study of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach dates from this period. He has also contributed to the rediscovery of Romantic choral music and promotes contemporary music by regularly commissioning compositions.

Classical Music

Classical Music

On this new four-album release, Violinist Dmitry Sitkovetsky and pianists Antonio Pappano and Konstantin Lifschitz present the complete sonatas for piano and violin by W.A. Mozart. A renaissance man and a magnetic creative force, Dmitry Sitkovetsky has made a considerable impact on every aspect of musical life and has been successful as a performer, creator and facilitator for over four decades. His enviable career as a violin soloist is documented in several dozen recordings of all major concertos and a wide selection of chamber repertoire. Recent career highlights include the inauguration a new chamber music series in New York City, presented at Columbia University by the Aspect Foundation for Music and Arts; a month-long tour of Japan; the debut TED talk on the power of curiosity; and the sold-out world premiere of his multimedia performance inspired by Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale at the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, featuring live music, street dance, physical theater, poetry, and animation.