The one hundredth anniversary marking the death of Max Reger (1873-1916) is to be commemorated in 2016. In response to this occasion, OehmsClassics has presented and will continue to present yearly a single four-disc box set of Reger's extensive output of organ music during the years 2013-2016 in a co-production with the Bavarian Broadcasting Company (BR Klassik) in order to pay tribute to this magnificent Bavarian composer. Bernhard Buttmann, director of church music at N�rnberg's St. Sebald cathedral knows and plays the works of Reger to a degree paralleled by few contemporary organists.

Classical Music

Classical Music

In addition to Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin is most frequently associated with individual songs. It is less well known that Gershwin himself arranged the most popular of these for piano. At first, they were published under the title “George Gershwin at the Keyboard” and later known as the "Songbook".

This new recording, presents 18 piano pieces from his songbook in fantastic interpretations by Michael Endres. The Rhapsody in Blue is also included and is almost more impressive in the arrangement for piano solo as it is with piano and orchestra. - Oehms

KRENEK Piano Sonatas: No. 2, op. 59; No. 3, op. 94/2; No. 7, op. 240; Little Suite, op.13a; Fünf Klavierstücke, op. 39; Echoes from Austria, op.166 • Stanislav Khristenko (pn) • OEHMS CLASSICS OC 422 (74:16)


As much as I enjoy his music, I should start by saying that Ernst Krenek (1900-1991) will never be a popular composer with most listeners. That is a shame because there is such a variety of styles present in his compositions that there always seems to be at least a few works by the composer that would appeal to just about everyone’s tastes: some moments inspired by jazz, other moments inspired by past composers or by folk-music, passages of simplicity and tunefulness, others of complex atonal counterpoint. Throughout, however, no matter the composition, there always seems to be a vital recognition of the listener. From the obvious traditional idiom of Echoes from Austria , op. 166 (miniature piano works inspired by Austrian folk-tunes, lasting anywhere from a little under a minute to a little over two) to the more complex and densely written third piano sonata (1943), Stanislav Khristenko proves to be an invaluable guide. His acute sense of rhythm in the second piano sonata (1928)—though seen by the composer as a confusing mixture of different styles, a student work of sorts—helps to bring a sense of not only propulsion and movement, but also a sense of the dance to it. This contrasts greatly in his interpretation of the third piano sonata. In Khristenko’s hands it is a rather mellow composition, from its improvisatory-like opening to its sublime and muted closing pages. The Little Suite of 1922 is a strange work: While most of its six movements (Allemande, Sarabande, Gavotte, Waltz, Fugue, Foxtrot) inhabit quite different sound worlds, they come together admirably to form a cohesive whole. It should not be lost on the listener that Krenek wrote the work as a birthday gift for Irene Erdmann (wife of the pianist Eduard Erdmann) in a single night. Above all else, Krenek said that “the suite was meant to be funny.” Khristenko certainly brings that light-hearted character to the fore. The seventh and final piano sonata (1988), written at the ripe old age of 88, shows Krenek to still be an explorer of musical possibilities. I miss the sense of improvisation in the composition’s opening pages—Krenek is careful to notate his intentions through his use of curved arrows, showing the interpreter where to push the tempo and where to pull it back. It is odd that the same pianist who brought a sense of the improvisatory to the aforementioned third sonata, here seems to lack just that quality. It is, however, a rather remarkable performance of a late and austere work. Though it may pose obstacles to the listener, its rewards are numerous. With very fine performances in detailed and spacious sound, this makes a very fine addition to those looking to expand their horizons, or to those who relish this music already. In addition, I would not want to be without Glenn Gould’s inspired performance of the third sonata (available on Sony 52661 along with the Berg Sonata, the Webern Concerto and Variations, and works by Debussy and Ravel). Recommended.


FANFARE: Scott Noriega

This Jitka Hosprová homage honors Paul Hindemith (1895-1963); a composer and virtuoso violist who wrote all his viola works within twenty years or so and then abandoned composing for the instrument for good. The pieces featured here also bear witness to Hindemith’s journey from reverberations of Romanticism and Impressionism to attaining his own singular musical language, already evident in Sonata Op. 25. This music remains profound and colorful, as is the viola itself.

Classical Music

Chopin, F.: Polonaises and the Mazurkas without Opus Numbers

Bach & Rameau

By the time Bach relocated to Leipzig, he had already composed a number of masterpiece works. During his pivotal years at Köthen, he composed his Inventions and Sinfonias. These pieces, although typically overshadowed by his larger works such as The Well-Tempered Clavier, show Bach’s maturity as they serve as a fundamental tool for learning the piano.On this album, recorded in Leipzig, pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei does an extraordinary job of bringing out the musical density in these pieces.

Classical Music

Donka Angatschewa presents this album of Beethoven’s solo piano works. This recording features Beethoven’s Appassionata, Op. 57, 11 Bagatellen, Op. 119, Sonata, Op. 90, and Rondo a capriccio, Op. 129. Donka Angatcheva debuted with the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra when she was only ten years old. She has won numerous awards at international piano competitions, and frequently performs internationally.

When recording Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Anastasia Voltchok was keen to play right through the work only twice on one and the same day, the advantages of avoiding short takes self-evident. She prefers avoiding long pauses between variation groups, though feels it advisable to take time before starting the work’s second half. She believes it vital to have studied as many of Bach’s works as possible. Ms. Voltchok, who studied with, among others, Rudolf Buchbinder in Basel and Santiago Rodriguez in Maryland, prefers to allow herself to be guided by the spirit of the moment.

The three works selected for this recording by pianist Caspar Frantz – Davidsbündlertänze, op. 6, his first great piano cycle; Nachtstücke, op. 23, and Gesänge der Frühe, op. 123 –are quite dissimilar in some ways and yet closely related in others. • Typical of the arch-Romantics, all have as their inspiration a literary source, and all three differently represent Schumann’s early creative burst and his somewhat ill-considered latterly decline. +Mr. Frantz is an internationally recognized concert and recording artist, with two acclaimed previous recordings for the Ars Produktion label.

The selection of works on this recording is intended to provide no more than a brief introduction to and not a comprehensive overview of this late 20th c. period.The repertoire is too broad and too multi-faceted to be presented here in all its diversity, so the selection was limited to works for ‘normal’ flute, played by the Netherlands-born Mirjam Nastasi, a noted contemporary music specialist and also transverse flautist, who recorded the series’ preceding four volumes.All volumes present a broad spectrum of both well-known and rarely-heard, as well as entertaining and demanding pieces.

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Since Marianna Shirinyan won 5 prizes at the 2006 ARD International Music Competition in Munich her career as a soloist and chamber musician has really taken off. In 2010 she received Danish Radio's P2 Artist Prize for her contributions to the musical and artistic life of Denmark, and 2012 sees Shirinyan as the Carl Nielsen Artist at the competition and festival of that name in Odense, Denmark.

It is Vincent Larderet's passion and artistic goal to achieve such musical and pianistic accuracy through a close reading of the annotations in Perlemuter's own edition of Ravel's works. Larderet focuses on two critical aspects of Ravel's musical language: firstly, the composer's engagement with various traditions of virtuosity and secondly, Ravel's specific ideas regarding orchestration and the orchestral character of his piano style.

Classical Music

XXV Cuadros Magicos de Julio César Oliva

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Includes work(s) for org by Johann Pachelbel. Soloist: Joseph Payne.