There is terrific atmosphere to this marvelous seasonal celebration of Praetorius works.

The Sony Vivarte box is a marvellous seasonal celebration heard through the works of the too-neglected German composer Michael Praetorius.

His polychoral ‘In dulci jubilo’ is magnificent here, and his astonishing variety takes us from the showy, echoing duets of ‘Ach mein Herre’ to the tender reverence of ‘Verleih uns Frieden’. Just occasionally the singers are overwhelmed by the busy instruments and by the acoustic (as in ‘Gelobt seist du’), but there is a terrific atmosphere to these performances.

-- Anthony Pryer, BBC Music Magazine

*** This title is a reissue of a Japanese release with liner notes in Japanese. The vocal texts are printed in Latin and Japanese.***

MONTEVERDI: SELVA MORALE E SPI

These quintets come from a set of six in a Madrid manuscript with an attribution to Boccherini: they are not in Boccherini’s own catalogue of his works, which doesn’t necessarily exclude their authenticity (he noted in it most of his true chamber music, though not the cello sonatas or the keyboard ones); they sound as if they date from the 1780s, and the presence of an obbligato cello part does of course imply at least some link with him. This is claimed as their world premiere recording.

They are very agreeable and on the whole deftly written pieces, but to my mind don’t quite have the ring of his style: their formal regularity, their sometimes motivic writing (the first movement of the G major work, for example), and the frequent spells of rather routine invention argue against his authorship, as does the three-movement form (he preferred, oddly, two-movement opere piccole or four-movement opere grande), the absence of minuets (a movement type he patently relished) and the presence of three very schematic variation finales (a type he avoided). The compiler of the Boccherini thematic catalogue thought that they had “formulas and turns of style which are characteristic of him”, on reading through the parts, but since he evidently didn’t notice that they were for flute, violin, viola and two cellos (as opposed to flute and string quartet) I am inclined to think the reading-through wasn’t too rigorous.

By Boccherini or not, they make pleasant listening. They don’t demand that special affection for detail or feeling for texture that the most characteristic Boccherini needs, and respond well to these direct, modern performances, neatly phrased, the dialogues gracefully executed. The first cellist, who has several flights into the upper reaches of his instrument, is very assured, and there is also the particular pleasure of Jean-Pierre Rampal’s flute playing, as urbane as ever.

-- Stanley Sadie. Gramophone [8/1998]

Classical Music

Classical Music

Torleif Thedéen and Roland Pöntinen, who with this disc give us the larger part of Schnittke's chamber music for the cello, are long-time partners whose first joint recording for BIS was made in 1986 - entitled 'The Russian Cello', it incidentally included a performance of the first of Schnittke's cello sonatas. Since then the two have appeared on a number of discs together, performing works by Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Hindemith and Anton Webern among others. Their recording of the Chopin Sonata, coupled with works by Robert Schumann, was highly acclaimed in The Gramophone, whose critic found that the team gave 'this wonderful music a sweep and gradeur that's immensely satisfying'.

This final disc in our trilogy of the chamber music of Schoenberg and his disciples is dedicated to the works for piano solo. Covering almost all of Schoenberg's output in his genre - including two fragments never previously recorded - the programme also includes Alban Berg's Sonata No.1, composed at the age of 23 under the influence of his teacher's Chamber Symphony. There is also a first recording of a fragment by Berg, originally intended for a sonata but later used almost unchanged in his opera Wozzeck. The previous two instalments in this series have received great acclaim. 'An impeccable balance between precision and expressivity' the critic in Le Monde de la musique wrote in reviewing 'Schoenberg: Works for Violin and Piano' (CD1407) and Klassik Heute gave 'Schoenberg/Webern Chamber Music (CD1467) top marks: 10/10/10. Eminent pianist Roland Pöntinen participated on both of these discs, and now he closes the trilogy with this solo programme.

Classical Music

You can have too much of a good thing, but Mendelssohn wrote a lot of music that deserves to be better known, and if you’re a hard core Mendelssohnian or are just curious to learn what you’ve been missing, this attractively priced 11-disc set deserves your consideration. The performances of the five standard symphonies with Litton and the Bergen Philharmonic are uniformly fine: very well played, and intelligently paced. Once example that all fans of the composer will appreciate is the ideal tempo that Litton chooses for the coda of the Scottish Symphony (sound clip)–grand but fluid, so that the music never sounds as though it should have stopped a few minutes before it actually does.

The twelve string symphonies, early though they are, contain a great deal of masterful music, and the later ones are in fact quite substantial. This set is both the most complete, as well as on balance the most desirable yet recorded. You get both versions of No. 8 (with and without winds), plus the single movement No. 13, and also the scherzo from the Octet in its string orchestra arrangement (later on in the box). Lev Markiz leads the Amsterdam Sinfonietta in performances that respect the music’s classical roots without sacrificing warmth or beauty of tone. Rhythms are sharp, tempos lively, and the string ensemble consistently well balanced.

There are four discs of concertos here, including Isabelle van Keulen’s excellent original version of the famous E minor Violin Concerto (second sample). Everyone will have favorite performances of this music, or at least the more famous works, but with Markiz once again in charge of the accompaniments, these versions with chamber orchestra are all of a piece. There’s a welcome intimacy between solo(s) and orchestra that makes these recordings quite distinctive and appealing. The solo piano concertos have plenty of sparkle in Brautigam’s hands, while Roland Pöntinen and Love Derwinger play the two double piano concertos with unaffected brilliance.

Some of this music (the lesser known concertos) is not always easy to find in top-knotch performances, so even if you wind up duplicating the standard pieces, this may well be worth considering. With fabulous sonics, you really can’t go wrong at mid to budget price.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

A calendar filled with orchestral concerts and chamber recitals in many of the world’s most prestigious venues has given the clarinettist Martin Fröst ample opportunity to develop a wide range of encores, for every occasion. Known for the imaginatively themed concert programmes he devises with various musician friends, he has also explored a number of musical genres. These aspects of his artistry are both demonstrated on this constantly engaging disc, which includes immortal gems such as Rachmaninov’s Vocalise and Kreisler’s Liebeslied as well as pieces rather less usual in a classical context: Charlie Chaplin’s Smile and the klezmer traditional Let’s Be Happy rubbing shoulders with an improvisation over the Nat King Cole standard Nature Boy. Throughout the programme Fröst receives the expert support of the pianist Roland Pöntinen, a chamber music partner of long standing who has also been involved in devising many of the imaginative arrangements, for instance of Vittorio Monti’s Csárdás. Three other musical companions of Fröst’s make cameo appearances, with mezzo-soprano Malena Ernman joining the clarinet in the head-long flight of not one, but two bumble-bees. Torleif Thedéen’s cello sings a heartfelt Ave Maria above the gyrating accompaniment of Fröst’s clarinet, while Svante Henryson, also a cellist, plays in his own duo piece Off Pist, in which the clarinet and cello chase each other up and down alpine slopes. Martin Fröst’s spectacular career on disc began in 1995, with one of his first CD reviews, in In Tune Magazine, describing him as ‘A Swedish Clarinet Star’, and continuing ‘Fröst has everything – including genius’. More than 10 discs later his recording of Bernard Crusell’s three clarinet concertos caused the reviewer in French Classica-Répertoire to remark that ‘in every movement his playing hits upon the appropriate elegance, the perfect phrasing, the true colour, the required virtuosity, the necessary playfulness ... as he pursues his musical intentions all the way’ – a description that could equally well be applied to the present disc!.

Robert Schumann's three Sonatas for violin and piano were all composed between 1851 and 1853. They - especially No.3 - have to some extent suffered from the same neglect and incomprehension that has been the fate of other works from this period in the composer's life, only a few years before he died in a mental institution. During the same years a number of other works for the violin saw the light, including the Violin Concerto and the Fantasy for violin and orchestra. The concertante works were written for the violinist Joseph Joachim, but it may have been a letter from Ferdinand David, concert master of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, that provided the initial impulse to compose chamber works for the violin: 'I am uncommonly fond of your Fantasiestücke for piano and clarinet; why don't you write something for violin and piano? ... How splendid it would be if you could write something of that kind, that your wife and I could play for you.' Here the performers are Ulf Wallin and Roland Pöntinen, a team who recorded their first disc for BIS in 1991, and whose partnership has been described as 'masterfully cultivated ensemble playing' on website ClassicsToday.com. Wallin's credentials in Schumann must also be regarded as firmly established, after his recently released recording of the violin concerto, the Fantasy and the arrangement for violin of the cello concerto. The reviewer in Daily Telegraph found it 'hard to imagine more sympathetic and insightful performances of these wonderful pieces', and his colleague on the German website Klassik-Heute agreed, describing Wallin as 'violinistically brilliant and musically perceptive'

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Here's an imaginative and effective recital of piano music inspired by Christmas images and all manner of bells. The program's centerpiece is Liszt's Weinachtsbaum cycle, whose 12 movements interweave gentle musical portraits and paraphrases of traditional carols. From the frisky Scherzoso and tangy Ungarisch to the sparsely lyrical O Holy Night and Old Provençal Christmas Song, Roland Pöntinen's rich tone and patrician fingerwork perfectly points up the music's wistful sentiments and contrasting moods. Compare, for instance, Pöntinen's swagger in the Polnisch to Leslie Howard's old gray tread, and you'll almost be fooled into thinking that you're hearing a major Liszt work. Two contrasting movements from Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus are lovingly served up with ravishing color and rock-solid rhythmic poise: I hope Pöntinen will record the entire cycle in due course.


For sheer gorgeousness and harmonic allure, you won't easily resist Reger's Mariä Wiegenlied and Busoni's Nuit de Noël. Funny how these two composers are best known for their prickly upholstered large works, yet not many pianists take on their exquisite miniatures. Stefan Pöntinen, the pianist's brother, composed his three-minute Carillon for this recording. It recalls Messiaen's chordal asymmetry, but with leaner, less sensual sonorities. Two Wilhelm Kempff transcriptions of Bach chorale preludes, In dulci jubilo and Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, provide this program's introduction and coda. If you seek a holiday disc appropriate for any day of the year, look no further.
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Originally released in 1983 with pianist Roland Hanna joined by bassist George Mraz and drummer Ben Riley.

Roland Kirk - The Classic 1960s Albums / American jazz multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk played tenor saxophone, flute, and many other instruments. He was renowned for his onstage vitality, during which virtuoso improvisation was accompanied by comic banter, political ranting, and the ability to play several instruments simultaneously. This magnificent set of eight classic albums is an ideal starting point for students new to Roland Kirk's music, as well as the ideal go-to-collection for jazz fans of all vintage, covering the great man's most prestigious, challenging and magnificent music that he would ever make.

PERUGIA: LIVE AT MONTREUX 74

PERUGIA: LIVE AT MONTREUX 74

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music