Classical Music

Classical Music

The latest release (Vol. 2) of Andreas Bach’s recording of the complete piano works of Béla Bartók focuses on Bartók’s romantic roots; early period pieces based largely on the German Romantic tradition. Andreas Bach has quickly established himself as a masterful interpreter of Bartók‘s music, garnering enthusiastic reviews praising the edition‘s success: “Of all the recordings… of these furious, earth-shattering, primitive works known to me, only Philips recording with Zoltán Kocsis offers these fantastic keyboard scenes with comparable nuance, and sense of drama.” (Klassik Heute)

Classical Music

Classical Music

• Mostly premiere recordings of Baroque Recorder Sonatas from the collection of Viceroy of Naples • The greatest discovery of the collection is certainly the sonata by Adolf Hasse, then Europe's leading opera composer • These works are among the highlights of late Baroque music

The prizewinning international vocal ensemble LAL� has become famous for it's uniquely homogeneous sound. Whether ancient music, pop or Viennese songs, the unmistakable interpretations and distinctive timbre of the four singers from Upper Austria delight us right through music history. LALA is Ilia Vierlinger, Mathias Kaineder, Julia Kaineder, and Peter Chalupar- four young musicians who display a passion for bringing new interpretations of works both new and old. Their previous albums have been received with glowing critical reviews. On this new release, they present a mix of music old and new, sacred and secular, including compositions by Eric Whitacre, Bobby McFerrin, Francis Poulenc, and even Billy Joel.

The amalgamation of cultures in a potpourri of musical exchange is what “Mantra Meets Classic” is all about. The pinnacle of a journey of five years has been reached, and what is about to unfold, is a dream, of offering a Divine work, “Shanmuga Kavacham,” to the whole world. It was written in the Tamil language by the saint/poet Srimath Pamban Swamigal in 1891. The saint had prophesized, that after 100 years, this sublime work would reach a Global audience, and here we are today, bearing testimony to this miraculous prophecy, through an Indo-German Collaboration.

This new album is released in celebration of the 70th birthday of cellist David Geringas. The artist writes: “It was drilled into me from an early age that at every concert the music must sound the same as it does the first time. Initially, while learning with my teacher, I could not understand that because I was playing all the pieces for the first time. But later, having frequently played many pieces, I saw the truth behind this idea. Unlike other forms of art, such as painting and literature, music itself cannot be enjoyed as an object, as books and paintings can. A piece of music exists only when it is being played and can be heard. You must be able to play the piece as if you have only just discovered it. It will then sound particularly convincing…Whenever a listener sits before me, it is important to intrigue him so that he gets the most out of my performance to him. I think it’s important to embrace the moment, which I believe can never be the same again.”

Never did ''classical music'' and ''jazz'' come so close as during the 1920's. The first sounds from this period bear witness to the vitality of th epartnership: long before the concepts of ''popular'' and ''serious'' music existed, there had been contacts between the kind of music which demands structured listening, whose laws are those of the ears alone, and the kind which works physically, whose meaning is not exclusively to be found in what can be heard. This polarisation makes itself felt in the twentieth century by virtue fo the fact that European composers begin to take an interest in jazz, a variant form which brought powerful consequences.

Ana-Marija Markovina is an authentic and unconventional artist. The classical music industry has become a hard business, but she never lost sight of the fact that music needs freedom, the desire for the unpredictable and sometimes the courage to take a risk. Her guide and her motivation is always the human being behind the music. From the very beginning her musical career was accompanied by important teachers. Ana studied in Detmold, Weimar and Berlin. She was furthermore educated in the tradition of the "Viennese School" being a pupil of the legendary Paul Badura- Skoda. During this time she broadened her knowledge not only in piano playing but also in the history of art, literature, culture and music. Ana-Marija Markovina is an exceptional musician who brings to light hidden facets of music with great passion and skill. Her specialty is to study and to record complete works of composers. Only by doing so, she says, she understands the composer's intention. Especially Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach is of great importance to her: In 2014, on the occasion of the composer's 300th birthday, Hanssler Classic released a recording of the complete works for piano solo on 26 albums, generating a huge national and international media response. The recording was enthusiastically acclaimed worldwide as a discographic milestone and received the German Record Critics' Award in 2014. An important aspect of her career is her talent of free speech. In the lecture concerts she presents the cultural-psychological significance of piano works in the spirit of their time, thus opening up a completely new perspective on musical interpretation. On this new release she presents a program of Nordic music.

Margret Bahr studied singing privately under Professor Adele Stolte. She is currently working with soprano Doerthe Maria Sanmann. The singer was already nurtured as a soloist by Gabirele Tschache in the Singakademie Potsdam Children’s Choir. She attended a special music class and studied school music at the University of Greifswald, specializing in singing under Armgart Gruner. She also obtained a degree in German studies from Freie Universitat Berlin and worked as a literary theorist. Margret Bahr is a freelance soprano based in Berlin and a soloist in concerts and oratorios. She performs with chamber music ensembles in Germany and abroad, compiling exceptional programmes for these concerts.

Classical Music

This fifth and final CD in her “transfigured” series finds the South African born, New York based pianist Petronel Malan dedicating herself to works of Johannes Brahms as transformed by such figures as Lowell Liebermann, Eduard Schütt and the immortal Ignaz Friedman. Ludwig Stark’s modification of Brahms’s Haydn variations Op 56a here receives its world-premiere recording. Lauded as an unmistakably creative force in the classical music industry, Ms. Malan is a thrice-nominated Grammy® artist, including “Best Instrumental Solo Album” for her debut disc Transfigured Bach.

Jochen Klepper was a German writer, poet, and journalist who lived during the early 20th century. The son of a Lutheran minister, he initially studied theology at the University of Breslau, but dropped out to become a radio journalist in Berlin before being ostracized by the Nazis for his marriage to a Jewish woman. His writings were largely Christian. His works are the focus of this new release, as well as writings by other Christian authors including Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Guillaume Franc, Siegfried Rams, and others.