Brahms, J.: Clarinet Sonata No. 1 / Holst, G.: The Planets

Bach, J.S.: Was Mir Behagt, Ist Nur Die Muntre Jagd, "Hunt C

During the course of the nineteenth century, national tendencies evolved in the area of music in many European countries. Examples of this are the national operas by Smetana, Mussorgsky, and Tchaikovsky, which are substantially informed by folksong-like melodies, regional dance rhythms, and local color in scene and plot. In Spain, the composer and musicologist Felipe Pedrell (1851–1922) was greatly active in the treatment and inclusion of Iberian folk music and traditional Spanish song material in art music. Although his compositions are today largely forgotten, he nevertheless laid the cornerstone for an independent development in Spanish music. All renowned composers who were important for the concept of the Spanish national school were Pedrell’s pupils, including Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909), Enrique Granados (1867–1916), and Manuel de Falla (1876–1948). However, they also received an important part of their artistic inspiration and training in Paris, and through their acquaintance with Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy were likewise influenced by contemporary French music. Since the beginning of the century, the French capital was a magnet for many Spanish authors, painters, and musicians. Therefore, both elements – the folklore partly influenced by the centuries-long Moorish dominion over Andalusia and French impressionistic music – belonged to the significant characteristics of the Spanish national school. The compositions selected for this recording also let these influences be clearly recognized. Maximilian Mangold is regarded “as one of today’s artistically most interesting German guitarists” (Fono Forum). Mangold has an extraordinarily extensive repertoire that is also documented on twenty-two recordings that have been enthusiastically acclaimed by critics and praised as reference recordings.

During the fourteen years in which he worked on his First Symphony, Brahms was under a high pressure of expectation: in the shadow cast by Beethoven, he was forced to take a compositionally convincing position both with respect to the dominant father figure as well as the “New German School.” Moreover, he saw himself associated with friends who pressed him for a first symphony. And, finally, in the 1850s the scrupulous, hard working but at times insecure Brahms suffered setbacks in at least two attempts to form a symphony out of already extensively developed compositional material. Among all these obstacles, Beethoven’s “model” was undoubtedly the greatest. Concerning this, the following remarks by Brahms have come down to us: he explained to his friend Carl Bargheer of Detmold: “If one still attempts to write symphonies after Beethoven, then they have to look entirely different.” Some ten years later, after he had already composed a first version of the opening movement of his First Symphony, he admitted to the conductor Hermann Levi: “I will never compose a symphony! You have no idea how I feel when I always hear such a giant marching behind me” – meaning Beethoven. Strauss’ tone poem Death and Transfiguration “is an example of a poetic idea that was retrospectively assigned. Alexander Ritter, poet-musician in Meiningen also gave the new composition the title and program: Ritter initially thought of the title “Seraphic Fantasy“ - thus a first hint of a metaphysical program - but then decided on “Death and Transfiguration“. But that‘s not all: Strauss had a poem by Ritters that existed in two versions preceded the printed score, combining music and poetry. This dedicated program came into being only after the composition had been completed - whether Strauss was creatively guided by a “poetic idea” remains to be seen.

Associative music- live in the (big) city. “You never know… what’s round the corner,” “Blue Hour,” “Eleven past midnight”… the sisters Rossel build an exciting, stimulating, sometimes melancholy or meditative cityscape, partly through arrangements of well-known works such as “I got rhythm” or “Summertime” by George Gershwin. Angela and Ruth Maria Rossel studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg at the conservatories in Stuttgart, Cologne and St. Petersburg. They completed their studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with the Magistra Artium. Angela Rossel and Ruth Maria Rossel are winners of various competitions and were fellows of the OAAD. In addition to their Europe-wide concert activity they make repeated radio and television recordings for ARD, ORF and Sat 1.

The viola seems to be tailor-made for British music. The instrument has a somewhat melancholy character allied to a mildly phlegmatic temperament, and is relatively modest in regard to its sound, certainly in comparison with the violin or the cello. The viola can however also be virtuoso and extremely passionate, and these different aspects are highlighted with a great deal of verve in many a British score for viola. This is demonstrated by the selection of works on this album. The development of the viola repertoire in Great Britain in the twentieth century is largely due to just one person, the viola player Lionel Tertis (1876-1975). Arthur Bliss had good reason to write in his memoire As I Remember that it was Tertis who turned the viola, the Cinderella of instruments, into a Princess. To start with, Tertis systematically commissioned composers to write for his instrument, and it is thanks to him that the viola repertoire was enriched with works by Arthur Bliss, William Walton, Arnold Bax, Frank Bridge and Gustav Holst. Following on from Tertis, performers William Primrose (1904-1982) and Cecil Aronowitz (1916-1978) also intensively supported British music, for instance both being involved in the creation of the two versions of Benjamin Britten’s Lachrymae. Primrose moved to the United States in 1937, where he also commissioned a viola concerto from Bartók in 1944.

The variations on Franz Schubert‘s Sehnsuchtswalzer (op. 9/2, D 365), app. F 24 (1831 / 32-34), originally titled Scènes musicales sur un thème connu de Franz Schubert belong to the fragments from Schumann‘s early creative phase; they were intended to be part of a variation cycle. These were variation themes penned by six composers with whom Schumann had a special relationship at that time because he had received decisive suggestions for his own compositional work from their music. However, none of these variations have ever been completed. That planned cycle was designed as follows: Variations on four hands on a theme by Prince Luis Ferdinand of Prussia (1828) / Variations on the march from Carl Maria von Weber‘s opera Preziosa (1831) / Variations on the Campanella theme by Niccolò Paganini (1831) / Variations on Franz Schubert‘s Sehnsuchtswalzer (1831 / 31-34) / Variations on a Nocturne by Frédéric Chopin (1835-36) / Studies in the form of free variations on a theme by Beethoven (1831-35)After all, Schumann has worked out the last three fragmentary pieces to such an extent that thanks to the Editions that were only published a few years ago they are available for performances. Since they are part of a joint work project, the recording that is offered here for the first time is obvious.

Felix Mendelssohn, the famous composer, has a burn out. His work as a composer, conductor and pianist is too much. He urgently needs vacation! A trip that would be great! He decides to jump into his beloved carriage and to turn his back on Leipzig for a while. But a trip without his musicians? No, Felix can’t bare that. And his sister Fanny wants to go with him, too. But where do you want to go? An old travel guide doesn’t seem to be of much help there either. And so Felix, his sister Fanny and his string quartet experience an adventurous journey through many countries and cities until they finally arrive in Leipzig again. There is a lot of music on the way, because wherever you go, Felix remembers his compositions. And his sister Fanny can sing so adorable ...The music theater play by Jörg Schade and Franz-Georg Stähling leads the young and old through the diverse music world of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and his sister Fanny. Performed in German.

Hermann Behn (1859-1927) was one of Mahler‘s close friends in Hamburg. The doctor of law also studied composition with Anton Bruckner in Vienna and Joseph Rhein-berger in Munich. His compositional work includes no less than nine song books and a piano sonata. He became an important sponsor for Mahler, because Behn valued Mahler‘s music and supported its distribution - especially with financial means - as much as possible. Together with the industrialist Wilhelm Berkhan from Hamburg, he also assumed the considerable costs for the premiere of the Second Symphony on December 13, 1895 in Berlin. Mahler, in turn, was very impressed by Behn‘s compositions, especially by his songs. After Mahler had completed his Second Symphony, he handed the manuscript to his friend Behn, because he wanted to know it in safe hands. Without informing Mahler about it, Behn arranged the work for two pianos. When Mahler came back from a trip and Behn surprised him with this arrangement, he was thrilled. He called it “excellent” and played the first three movements together with Behn four hands in his house. The manuscript has only just been discovered by Behn‘s great-grand niece, the pianist Christiane Behn, and was premiered in Hamburg on November 17th, 2008 in the small hall of the Laeiszhalle. This album is a recording of this performance.

All of the sonatas for oboe and basso continuo recorded on this album were probably composed in the first half of the 18th century; we do not have the exact dates of origin. The composers of the works worked and lived in Germany and England; many of them were more or less closely connected to one another at the time. We find three of the sonatas recorded here in the famous Brussels collective manuscript 15.115, a 250-page volume of sonatas, the most extensive collection of solo sonatas from the 18th century. These are the works of Förster, Weiss and Handel. In terms of style, the sonatas by Linike, Weiss and Homilius clearly show the beginning phase of transition from the Baroque to the Early Classical period; they can be partially or completely assigned to the Sensitive Style. Christoph Förster also shows clear characteristics of the early classical period in many of his works. The album is a compilation of various albums and composer portraits created by and with Karla Schröter.

The album “Neoteric” unites two musical worlds, which seem to be not very connected externally, but still have an inner connection, which this album wants to show. The idea for this compilation came from the very personal fascination of the performer Andreas Hermanski. He has a soft spot for the Nordic-Scandinavian clarinet literature as well as for the French tradition between the end of the 19th century and the middle of the 20th century. However much may seem to separate the French and Nordic works presented on this album, the two parts of the album are linked by numerous internal references. Just as Poulenc’s sonata was written for clarinetist Benny Goodman, who was also the performer at the premiere, Rolf Martinsson worked closely with Martin Fröst in the composition of his Suite, and his newly developed playing techniques and extraordinary musical personality have a palpable and audible influence on the work. Chausson’s “Andante et Allegro” and Debussy’s “Première Rhapsodie” are, how could it be otherwise with works commissioned for a competition, written in a format typical for this: this calls for both a lyrical, singing finale and a highly virtuosic, fast finale. This structure can be found in Lindberg’s “Acequia Madre” and Martinsson’s “Suite Fantastique”. In contrast, the works of Debussy and Pärt meet in their tonally spherical language and their content that almost evaporates into the transcendent. The quasi-symmetrical internal structure of both parts, the French as well as the Nordic block, is intended to depict these analogies and inner references and make them audible.

The duo Evers / tom Dieck is always interested in extraordinary compilations of song programs, in which not only the musical but also the content of the songs is recognizable. For several years, Silke Evers and Wiebke tom Dieck have repeatedly engaged with settings of those poems that Goethe assigns to the figure Mignon in his novel “Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre“. He lets the girl appear so multifaceted, almost mystical that it is easy to see how much the composers of different eras felt inspired by it. Here, the settings differ not only in the treatment of the text, but also in the representation of Mignon‘s emotional profile. In the settings presented here a multi-layered character image of Mignon is presented. Between the song blocks are readings from the literary context in which the songs are included in the novel. This gives an even more plastic impression of who and how Mignon could be.

This new release showcases the stylistic similarities and differences between two powerhouse composers- Gustav Mahler, and Dmitri Shostakovich. Mahler’s Symphony No. 10 (Adagio) is paired with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. The National Philharmonic Minsk was founded in 1930 and is one of Russia’s most renowned orchestras. As one of only three orchestras the National Philharmonic Minsk beared the honorary title “Academic Orchestra” during the Soviet Government. The repertoire of the 120 musicians includes not only important works of the Classic and Romantic periods, but also compositions by contemporary Russian composers and, in collaboration with the Philharmonic Chorus, the great works of the chorale literature.

Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, who appeared as “W. A. Mozart Son” or “W. A. Mozart fils”, possibly was trained as a pianist from 1795 on, but at the latest from 1798. In addition, he received composition lessons from Haydn’s favorite student Sigismund Neukomm and from Johann Georg Vogler. In 1803 his mother wrote to the Offenbach publisher André: “He composes small sonatas and variations for my festive days.“ Following his public debut on April 8, 1805, Mozart‘s youngest son perfected his piano playing with Johann Nepomuk Hummel and learned about composition with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri. He left Vienna, the city of his birth, in 1808 and went to Galicia, which at that time belonged to the Habsburg Empire (today the region is divided between the territories of Poland and Ukraine). After two jobs as a piano teacher for Polish aristocrats in the Galician province, he moved to the state capital Lviv (now Lviv) in 1813. Here he stayed - apart from a concert tour of several years and a few short trips in 1818 - until 1838, devoted himself to extensive teaching and conducted a choir between 1826 and 1829. Mozart spent his last years in Vienna, where he increasingly appeared as a pianist. Mozart’s work primarily includes piano solo music and piano-accompanied vocal music. The works gathered on this album and on the two previous albums in this series provide an overview of the former. It is interesting to see how in one of the main works in this recording, the Sonata op.10, which was composed in 1807, he did not deal with the sonata form that his father had further developed, but with the thematic and harmonious construction principles of the Mannheim School.

Lutz-Werner Hesse studied School Music and Composition with Günter Fork and Jürg Baur at the Cologne Academy of Music as well as Musicology, Latin Philology and Ancient History at the University of Cologne. Since 1984 he has been a full-time lecturer, now Professor and Managing Director at the Wuppertal campus of the HfMT Cologne. From 1997 to 2011 he was chairman of the “Bergische Gesellschaft für Neue Musik“, and since 2004 he has been chairman of the “Konzertgesellschaft Wuppertal“, the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra sponsorship association. The main focus of Hesse‘s compositional work is on chamber music and orchestral works. Hesse has received numerous commissions for various orchestras in Germany and has worked for important soloists (including Marie-Luise Neunecker, horn and Ulrike-Anima Mathé, violin). His most successful work to date is the composition “Vita di San Francesco – eleven stations from the life of Saint Francis of Assisi” for organ and thirteen gongs, which has now been performed well over eighty times. Hesse‘s works have been performed in many European countries, but also in the United States of America and Japan. The WDR, SR and SWR radio stations produced his works or recorded them at concerts. Albums with works by the composer have been released on the labels “col legno“, EMG classical, Musicaphon and Ars Produktion.