Classical Music

“This set is essential” concluded Gramophone of the Ring cycle when this 2008 production was issued complete. Christian Thielemann leads a performance of masterful pacing and burning conviction that features detailed interpretations from many of today’s most experienced interpreters of their complex and glorious roles.

In search of the fulfillment of their desires, a runaway chicken and a runaway dog realize more and more that the greatest happiness lies in their friendship. Charlotte Perrey and Rudolph Schacher have set the charming story of Lorenz Pauli's Fed und Feder to children's music for large orchestra, soprano and tenor - the Argovia Philharmonic thus begins a new series for young listeners aged five and upwards. The Swiss ensemble Argovia Philharmonic was founded in 1963. Since then they have grown into a nationally established professional orchestra. In addition to it's own concert series at home, the Argovia Philharmonic also regularly performs abroad, including in the Tonhalle Zurich. It is also the home orchestra at the Schloss Hallwyl Opera House, which occurs every three years.

The Hallé completes its highly regarded Ring cycle, with the live recording of its acclaimed Bridgewater Hall performance under Sir Mark Elder. “Roaring jubilation and radiant beauty from Elder and the Halle…. Elder is a superb Wagnerian, acutely conscious of the complex relationship between tempo and pace, and immaculate in his judgment both of the span of each act and the ebb and flow of detail within it. Thrilling climaxes alternated with moments of astonishing beauty and quiet, almost exquisite terror.” (The Guardian on the Halle’s performance of Siegfried) The third element of Wagner’s Ring cycle contains humor, drama and a concluding ecstasy as the eponymous hero meets his heroine Brünnhilde, setting up the explosive finale of the concluding opera. With enormous orchestral forces and dramatic use of leitmotiv themes the music portrays the full gamut of emotions and provides a perfect vehicle to display the heights of the Hallé’s powers under Elder. This production was recorded at the Bridgewater Hall, capturing all the drama of the acclaimed live performance.

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.