Bruckner: Symphony No. 8

Multiple award-winners Holger Falk & Steffen Schleiermacher are the ideal duo for this multifaceted selection of songs by Georges Auric, an impressive addition to their Les Six anthology series.

Classical Music

Already during his lifetime George Onslow was known as the "French Beethoven." This extraordinary distinction earned above all for his manifold chamber music does not do complete justice to his special rank. On this release, Markus Becker teams up with the Ma'alot Quintet for a closer look at Onslow's virtuoso side. Functioning as virtuoso concertos for the salon, both the Wind Quintet op. 81 and the Sextet op. 30 fully satisfied the discriminating taste of Parisian high society. Onslow began his occupation with wind instruments relatively late. The flute and other members of the wind family first inspired his interest when innovations like the ring-keyed technique developed by the inventive Theobald Bohm enormously expanded the range of possibilities for their use. Especially the late wind quintet op. 81 shows a wide scope: as for the musical substance Onslow puts the airy, serenade-like genre on the same level as the alleged graver chamber music for strings. In this respect the Sextet op. 30 is a singular exception and even a double one: certainly more out of business considerations than for artistic reasons, Onslow also published the salon concerto in a version with string quintet. The Ma'alot Quintet and Markus Becker present the wind version with captivating verve. The fine resolution of the instrumental colors and the room sound registered with filigree precision of course come across especially well on this recording.

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It is one of the tragic losses of music history that not a single note of Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Mark Passion is of certain transmission. Attempts to reconstruct it have usually not advanced beyond the halfway point, but Andreas Fischer has now carried this task through to completion. This version of the St. Mark Passion consists exclusively of music by Bach - which is perhaps why it creates an especially authentic impression in this performance with his St. Catharinen - Cantorey of Hamburg. The text of the St. Mark Passion, like that of the St. Matthew Passion, penned by Picander, is extant in full and when compared with it's two sister works displays a most highly concentrated design. There are considerably fewer arias but clearly more chorales- which offers every ambitious choral society a truly welcome task. During the past decades precision musicological research has identified some pieces of music from Bach's cantatas that originally could have been composed for the St. Mark Passion. After all, the recycling of one's own music for new works was a customary practice. Andreas Fischer has now also thoroughly investigated the recitatives and found suitable music by the Leipzig master. The result is convincing: from the opening chorus to the concluding chorus a dramaturgical plot unfolds and optimally conveys this Passion's purposeful construction. Andreas Fischer was able to obtain the services of the renowned Bell'arte Salzburg ensemble for his version of the St. Mark Passion- which is also a great stroke of luck for the solo parts featuring the gamba. Together with an agile quintet of soloists, the St. Catharinen- Cantorey performs at it's best and produces a most highly welcome addition to the repertoire with this unexpected recording premiere.

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Sensational organ transcriptions have made Jean Guillou famous far beyond his native France. His command not only of organ playing but also of the piano and composition is demonstrated by the absolutely boundless technical and intellectual demands posed by his oeuvre. In Zuzana Ferjencikov� Guillou now has found more than just a worthy heir: the first volume in our series featuring Guillou's organ works includes a recording premiere and reveals the profound emotional affinity uniting these two exceptional artists. Guillou's op. 1 "Fantaisie" rightfully forms the beginning. Dedicated to his teacher Marcel Dupre, this first work by the young composer promised great things. Independence in spirit and a pronounced sense of sound along with fascinating virtuosity would also distinguish his later works: "Saya ou l'oiseau bleu," born of an improvisation on a simple Korean motif, and "Hymnus" for the gigantic Cologne Cathedral exhibit other facets of this multifaceted composer. However, this time the focus is on Pictures at an Exhibition after Mussorgsky. It is not least through Ravel's genial orchestral version that this cycle has continued to enjoy the greatest popularity over the years. Guillou far transcends Ravel, and now and again he allows himself compositional interventions: a linking piece here, a counterpoint there. In this way a completely new work is produced that also tonally is a virtuosic tour de force.

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Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

“My, this is attractive stuff!” This is what the American Record Guide wrote about the world premiere recording of Friedrich Kiel’s complete works for violoncello. These interpretations by Hans Zentgraf and Christoph Ullrich disappeared from the catalogue long ago, but both albums are now once again available, like a package with a pretty ribbon. The richly varied pieces by this Brahms contemporary, whom the Berliner Nationalzeitung numbered among the best of his times, sound as fresh as they did on the very first day. Hans Zentgraf was born in 1954 and received his training as a cellist at the Academy of Music in Frankfurt and at the Juilliard School in New York (Master’s Degree). He was a member of the Lower Saxony State Orchestra in Hanover for ten years (1983-1993) and today is a freelance soloist based in Munich. Christoph Ullrich has a multi-facetted repertoire comprising all epochs and styles since J.S. Bach. His search for a vital and unconventional confrontation with the public has led him to the development of new forms of programmes. These include the very thema­tically rich musical-literary programmes with the Ensemble BonaNox, the concepts for children's concerts within the framework of the Ohrwurm-Projekt (Catchy Tune Project) with their proximity to music theatre, and his concert idea "Alchemy of Sound."

Classical Music