Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

"My commitment to the present new recording is not only important because of advanced ensemble techniques, but also because I believe that with a cast of soloists, as in the sixteen-part Hora est, transparency of the polyphonic movement can be achieved that is not so readily feasible with larger forces. A prerequisite here is the existence of ensemble capabilities among vocal soloists, as we also need it for earlier music. In any case, the vocal works which are also particularly interesting to me among those Mendelssohn composed for the Sing-Akademie are those of stylistically ambiguous definition, in which the composer, inspired by the example of the old masters, looks for - and finds - his own path. Our conception of being able to cast soloists from a chorus, as in the Te Deum, is also influenced by this model." (Frieder Bernius)

Engelbert Humperdinck (1854–1921) was a student at the Conservatory in Cologne from the spring of 1872; it was at this time that he got to know the Siegburg district judge and arbitrator Johannes Degen (1826–1902), an excellent singer and violinist, who gave regular chamber concerts in Siegburg at which he played in his own string quartet. Humperdinck, whose talent he had astutely spotted, was the pianist and composer he had been looking for. For his part, the young music student saw his admission to Degen’s chamber-music circle as an opportunity for regular performance; in return, he wrote whatever Degen requested. Humperdinck’s tally of 13 chamber compositions represents a relatively small part of his oeuvre (beside his six operas and about 80 Lieder, along with stage music and choral works). Brief album-leaves for violin or cello and piano contrast with works for the major Classical genres of string quartet, piano quintet, piano trio, sonata and sonatina – most of which were never finished and sometimes survive only in the form of short sketches. His finished pieces include two major works, an early piano quintet (1875) and a late string quartet (1920); the other completed movements include some tailored to Degen’s domestic music-making.

To make the dream come true and record the music for the album, Kaczka and Nadrzycki had to conquer thousands of kilometres and overcome numerous obstacles. The mental barrier turned out to be the hardest: if they wanted to focus strictly on the music, they had to forget about cancelled flights and restrictions, not to mention all the disturbing news regarding the global spread of SARS-Co-V 2 or the insecure artistic and professional prospects for the future in face of the lockdown and closed concert halls. But they succeeded. They managed to devote themselves to the music entirely, the result being an exquisite album that for listeners will prove to be a welcome respite from the pandemic and a space to breathe freely.

Moritz Benjamin Kolb writes: “We first placed the sheet music of Purcell´s fantasias on our music stands at a time when we were principally working on Mendelssohn's last quartet, immersed in his dark spiritual mood. We played the first bars of one of the fantasias on a whim, perhaps subconsciously wishing to find a light-hearted contrast to what we were working on. The incredible beauty and clarity of the music took hold of us straight away, in a way that no other music had affected us till then. Our faces brightened up and we knew that these gems would stay with us. From then on, we began each rehearsal with one of the fantasias. This new light was rather like an awakening for us. We began to include the fantasias in our concert programmes. As a result of the enthusiastic audience reaction and our collaboration with the wonderful Richard Gwilt we decided, over time, that we would take possession of these works. As a result, the contrast between light and dark on this recording is something very personal. We are very happy about this and grateful.”

Following his extraordinary, critically acclaimed recording of concertos by Martinu, Hindemith, and Honegger, the charismatic Johannes Moser returns with a stunning new release, featuring two of the most distinguished 20th century cello concertos. Both works were originally composed for the great Mstislav Rostropovich. Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 was premiered in October 1959, and is characterized by vitality, humor and virtuosity. Britten's "Symphony for Cello and Orchestra" op 68 was premiered in 1964, with Rostropovich once again as soloist. This new recording continues Moser's stunning exploration of 20th century cello concertos while at the same time building upon his masterful interpretations of cello sonatas by the same featured composers, Shostakovich and Britten.

Adam Falckenhagen (1697-1754) could very well have produced a great deal of compositions. Unfortunately, these six sonatas are the only works left intact. In these works, the flute and the lute are treated equally, performing a dialogue that is rarely seen in music from this period. Performers on this album include John Schneiderman on the baroque lute, Jeffrey Cohan on the baroque flute, and William Skeen on the baroque cello.

East West explores musical landscapes from the European and American parts of the globe, resulting in a kind of travel journal that begins in Eastern Europe and then travels westward Duo Aliada is known for their creative approach to adapting classical repertoire for their own instruments. Polish saxophonist Michal Knot and Serbian accordionist Bogdan Laketic formed the duo in 2013 in Vienna, a city whose rich musical tradition reflects its history as a crossroads between Eastern and Western Europe. The following years brought Michal and Bogdan to performances around the world, and into contact with various cultures and musical traditions. This wide range of experiences, beginning all the way back with their childhoods in Eastern Europe, is a major source of inspiration for their music making and for this album.

Commanding a vast repertoire of more than 100 concertos for piano and orchestra by Spanish composers (Granados, Malats, Albeniz, Blancafort, Falla, Cassado, J. Gomez, E. Serrano, Molleda, etc), and others (including Astor Piazzolla, Xaver Scharwenka, Nikolai Medtner and Ignaz Paderewsky), Melani tenaciously champions the little known and often neglected hidden treasures of Spanish and International Classical Music repertoire, showcasing them in his performances as a solo pianist, in Chamber Music, and as an orchestral conductor. Now he releases unknown Spanish Piano Concertos. Recognized as “one of the world’s elite virtuous musicians” by international critics (“The Daily Telegraph” – 1997, London), Melani Mestre studied music at the Superior Municipal Conservatory of Music of Barcelona, They give London the renowned Russian pedagogue Sulamita Aronovsky (piano) and Sir Colin Davis (orchestra conductor). Since his debut with the Dortmund Festival Orchestra in 1998, many have collaborated with some of the best orchestras in the world, both in his role as solo pianist and conductor director.

Two of the greatest practitioners of High Romantic art song were, not surprisingly, also exceptional opera composers: Richard Wagner (1813-1883) and Richard Strauss (1864-1949). While the former cultivated all-encompassing music dramas to the near exclusion of everything else, the latter worked successfully in genres ranging from chamber music to grand symphonies. German lieder attained a relative highpoint in the work of Franz Schubert, whose 600+ individual songs and organic song cycles deserve pride of place. However, that achievement must not overshadow the later evolution of the genre in generations from Mendelssohn to Schoenberg. Great lieder are distinguished by psychological commentary provided by purely musical means, whereby details of range, harmony and chromaticism, and the role of the accompaniment provide deeper reflection on (often) quite superficial love poetry. Such opportunities for richer exploration increased in the late 19th century as poets—along with philosophers and psychologists—probed deeper into the human psyche.

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.

“I see the future of Baroque orchestral music in the hands of modern ensembles – the fetish of the ‘original instrument’ has had its day, but not the profoundly trained professional who guides an orchestra into the deeper dimensions of the composition. For it isn’t the instrument that makes the music, but the head!“ (Reinhard Goebel) The Süddeutsche Zeitung reveres him as an ‘icon of early music’, and the New York Times applauds him as a ‘light in a sea of mediocrity’. Reinhard Goebel specializes in the repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries; As an expounder of period performance practice for both early music ensembles and modern orchestras, and as an endless fount of knowledge about gems of the repertoire, he is a world-renowned specialist. In May 2018 he was named artistic director of the Berliner Barock Solisten with whom he pursued an intensive artistic collaboration for years.

Morten Lauridsen has been very fortunate in his treatment by choirs and record labels. Part of the reason is because his music is just so sonorous, singable, and sellable. But, sticking with the alliteration, it's also "serious" in the sense that his style seems to come from a genuine and personal conviction rather than from some external, commercial or image-driven influence. His music is functional, if you want it to be, but it also serves very well as pure concert material, and the three choral cycles Lux Aeterna, Les Chansons des Roses, and Madrigali have achieved a degree of success in that role. I've commented in detail regarding Lauridsen's style in previous reviews, and you can find such a description by typing Q8554 in Search Reviews, which refers to a Hyperion recording by Stephen Layton and Polyphony that duplicates two-thirds of the program presented here.


It takes only a few minutes of listening to discern some of the primary features--some would say "formulaic traits"--characteristic of Lauridsen's more popular works, exemplified in O magnum mysterium and the Lux aeterna cycle. But it's hard not to luxuriate along with the choir in the rich-textured sound and affectingly simple melodic phrases. The work here that's not on the Polyphony recording is the choral cycle Les Chansons des Roses. Premiered in 1993, the five songs are set to poems about roses by Rainer Maria Rilke. The final one, Dirait-on (here with the composer at the piano), has become a concert favorite, but the others are equally worthy of attention by accomplished choirs. The Lux Aeterna cycle is a masterpiece of Lauridsen's kind of choral sonority and word-setting, the organ accompaniment a perfect complement to the singers' "organ-like" textures and timbres.


My only real criticism of Polyphony's performances (that disc also includes Ave Maria and Ubi caritas et amor) was its dreadfully slow reading of Lauridsen's now-ubiquitous O magnum mysterium, which retained the resonance of the harmonies but sapped the energy from the long, flowing phrases. Well, if I thought that version was slow, Nicol Matt and his Chamber Choir of Europe--unquestionably one of the world's top-tier ensembles--had a surprise in store: this one is nearly a quarter of a minute longer! Aside from some sort of odd competition (the score clearly, wisely, indicates a much faster tempo), I can't understand the purpose for the snail's pace, notwithstanding the fact that it's effortlessly sung. At any rate, this is another excellent Lauridsen program that will please choral enthusiasts and hopefully will expand this composer's reach to listeners who still haven't made his acquaintance. The sound, from two different church venues in Germany, is very good if a touch bright and weighted toward treble at louder volume on some tracks. [11/9/2006]
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

A highly fashionable instrument in the 18th c., C.P.E. Bach used the flute in his compositions throughout his life. His works for the instrument, including the complete sonatas for flute featured on this 2CD set, frequently betray the influence of Friedrich II (Frederick the Great), yet the distinctive traits – surprising twists, sensitivity, expressiveness and new compositional approaches – of a composer as great as C.P.E. Bach often surface. Dorothea Seel plays a copy of a late-Baroque Transverse flute; Keyboardist Christoph Hammer on period fortepiano provides the accompaniment.

Garrick Ohlsson scales the heights in this 1996 recording of the Grieg concerto, his prodigious technique more than a match for the demands of the solo part. Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields provide a suitably grand accompaniment, and it’s all brought home on a warm, spacious recording with impressive weight and presence. The main coupling, an exuberant account of the Symphonic Dances, makes an attractive companion piece to the concerto. – Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection.

Classical Music

Isabelle Faust is today considered to be one of the most fascinating artists of the younger generation in Europe. Her technical brilliance and the special sensitivity and maturity of her artistry have met with acclaim from audiences and reviewers alike. Isabelle Faust plays the "Sleeping Beauty" Stradivarius of 1704, loaned to her by the Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg. Christoph Poppen has made a name for himself in the world of international music as conductor, soloist and chamber musician, as well as being a respected teacher. For this artist, who was born in 1956 in Muenster, music is one of the most intense ways to experience life. He has won a great number of international violin competitions.

Classical Music

Heinrich von Herzogenberg (1843-1900) was a singular composer for the 19th Century. He found inspiration in the music of Wagner and Schumann, but was also the founder of the Bach Society and championed works of older composers such as Schütz as well as a personal friend of Brahms. While attracted to the music of the Lutheran church, he was a devout, life-long Catholic.

Herzogenberg's oratorio "The Birth of Christ" was quite extraordinary for its time. Large-scale religious music was no longer fashionable, and even most "Masses" were written for the concert hall rather than the Church. Herzongenberg's Die Geburt Christi is scored for a large orchestra, choir, children's chorus, soloists and organ and deftly combines the countrapuntal textures of Bach with the late Romantic harmonic language of Brahms. The result is a serene and oddly moving score, achieving some of its most touching moments with the simplest of forces (a lovely setting of Jesu, Lieber Jesu Mein" for solo voice and cello is just one highlight).

All Tchaikovsky's works for piano and orchestra exist, as do Bruckner's symphonies for instance, in multiple versions. Traditionally, these works have been played without commentary, mostly in versions shortened in one way or another. The aim of this Edition is to present the unabridged versions of Tchaikovsky's works for piano and orchestra as a box set. Sincere thanks are due to Dr. Polina Vaidman (Tchaikovsky Archive, Klin) and Prof. Lyudmila Korabelnikova, and to Dr. Marina Rakhmanova and Dr. Irina Medvedeva (Moscow). Extended conversations and and teamwork in the archives and on original manuscripts have been a great help. "In the making of these recordings, we have followed the composer's interpretative observations and annotations and his tempo markings, as shown in his manuscripts and his personal conducting scores." (Andrej Hoteev)

Classical Music

“The few documents I had collected gave me the feeling that I was standing on the threshold of a wonderful cave, like that of Ali Baba, which I had the opportunity to explore at will. Since that time I must confess that I cannot remember how many people I have contacted, nor communities and towns visited, nor how often I have stayed, for short or longer periods, in five countries of the eastern Mediterranean. My investigations were in no way limited to poetry and song. Folklore constitutes a whole world, and I was anxious in particular to know that of my people.” Alberto Hemsi wrote these words just two years before he died, in a retrospective as a foreword to the last and tenth volume of his opus magnum, the collection of works for voice and piano known as Coplas Sefardies. More than fifty years earlier, at the beginning of the 1920s, he had begun to collect examples of the folklore of the Sephardi Jews – “his people” – and to arrange them for concert performance. The present release features the world premiere recording of the original version