Classical Music

Following on her Piano Classics recording of Schubert's Impromptus, Hungarian-born Klora Wurtz turns to her compatriot Bela Bartok, presenting a representative selection of his piano works. Her reading of the Sonata is powerful and rhythmically vital, the Suite colorful and vibrant and the Allegro Barbaro uncompromising in it's power. The disc also includes a selection of pieces from Mikrokosmos and for Children. In these latter pieces, one can appreciate her innate feeling for the (musical) language of the Hungarian children's songs and nursery rhymes. Klera Wortz studied at the Liszt Ferenc Academy in Budapest, imbibing the rich musical culture and knowledge of such teachers as Gyergy Kurtog, Ferenc Rados, and Zolton Kocsis.

Born in Kiev in 1925, Igor Shamo studied with the elder statesman of modern Ukrainian art music, Boris Lyatoshinsky. Schumann, Mussorgsky and Rachmaninov were the giants of the past who seized the young Shamo's attention, and traces of their impassioned, lyrically centered idioms may be discerned throughout the early works on the first portion of this new recording such as the Ukrainian Suite, Classical Suite and Shamo's own take on Pictures at an Exhibition in his suite of Pictures by Russian Painters. The second portion is occupied by two more substantial cycles, of 12 Preludes from 1962 and six impressionistic Aquarelles from a decade later - both the appreciation and execution of painting was important to Shamo throughout his life. The final portion gathers up piano pieces throughout Shamo's career, from the Marche fantastique, which so impressed the professors of the Kiev Conservatoire when the composer elected at the last minute to play it for his entrance exam, to three dances composed in 1972 and inspired by the folk culture of nearby Soviet republics, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. A counterpoint to their uncomplicated charms may be found in the three Songs of Friendship from 1954, in which Shamo treats melodies from Poland, Romania and what was then Czechoslovakia. Though jazz and minimalist techniques periodically surface in Shamo's music, it bears the stamp of it's Soviet times in it's generally sunny character and clearly laid-out forms - though the serenity of the Ninth Prelude is answered by the machine-gun-fire Tenth, and Bart�k casts a shadow over this music almost as often as Prokofiev. Dmitri Tchesnokov is, like Shamo, a native of Kiev, born in 1982 and long resident in France, where he pursues a career as both composer and pianist, as well as founding a directing a well-established festival of contemporary piano music in Paris.

Composed in the early 19th century, the four grand piano sonatas by Carl Maria von Weber round out the Classical age and herald in the Romantic style. All four of these sonatas are featured on this two-disc set, as well as Weber’s Rondo brilliante in E flat major, Op. 62, and Aufforderung zum Tanz, Op 65. +Pianist Michelangelo Carbonara studied at Lake Como Academy under such pianists as Dimitri Bashkirov, Leon Fleisher, Claude Frank, and Alicia de Larrocha. He has won several international competitions, including the Schubert International Piano Competition.

Fanny Mendelssohn, Vol. 2

Young pianist Philipp Kopachevsky has already gained an audience of admiration in his short career. As a soloist of the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic, he regularly appears in recital under the finest conductors and in the most renowned concert halls across the globe. For this recording Kopachevsky has chosen Alexander Scriabin’s Preludes Op. 11, as well as works by Franz Liszt. These recordings were taken in October of 2015 in the beautiful acoustics of the Westvest Church, Shiedam, The Netherlands.

'Domenico Codispoti plays with a warmth and fervor worthy of Cortot himself,' according to the veteran Gramophone piano critic Bryce Morrison. 'His sonority, too, has an Arrau-like fullness and richness.' Born in 1975, Codispoti has a growing discography of Romantic-era music including the piano works of Cesar Franck on Piano Classics (PCL0052): a 'most distinguished and enterprising recital' according to Gramophone, in which 'Codispoti gives us an impetus and virtuosity to set pulses racing.' Now he turns his attention to music from the other end of the Romantic era, composed by a figure even more significant in the history of the piano and pianists, Clara Wieck Schumann. A leading pianist of her day, the wife of one great composer and the intimate friend of another, Clara was also mother to eight children, a serious composer and a hugely influential teacher during the course of a career in the public eye spanning over 60 years. We may view Clara now as a strikingly independent woman, a woman of her time yet one who worked tirelessly against the grain of assumption and prejudice. It is right, therefore, that her art should be so celebrated 200 years after her birth in Leipzig. Her gifts as a creator that were much admired at the time, not only by her husband but by Franz Liszt, the greatest virtuoso of his day. It was Liszt who had created the modern concept of the solo piano recital in 1840, but he retired from performance soon afterwards, and Clara was the one who created the image of the modern pianist. On this new album, Codispoti performs a prodigiously accomplished set of Soirees Musicales, Op.6, published while Clara was still a teenager; the strikingly mature trio of Romances written before she turned 20; a G minor Sonata dating from the time just before and after her marriage to Robert; and finally the Variations on a theme by Robert which she composed to celebrate her husband's 42nd birthday in 1853. Thus, unlike many previous compilations of her music, Codispoti surveys her output in the round, and allows us to hear it mature even as she found herself given fewer and fewer opportunities to exercise her own creative gifts. With performances of tremendous sweep and conviction it makes for a highly persuasive introduction to Clara's music.

Enrico Pace has a special affinity for the music of Liszt. First Prize winner of the first International Liszt Competition 1989 in Utrecht, he dazzled both jury and audience with playing of immense power of imagination, subtlety and devilry (here his own appearance worked to his advantage). This event marked the beginning of an impressive international career. For a long time, Pace considered recordings to be lacking the inspiration and excitement of a live concert. Thankfully, he reconsidered this position and this release from Piano Classics marks his long-awaited recording debut. It features a selection of works near to Pace's heart that are sure to touch the hearts of his many admirers and fans.

Misha Dacic's concerts at the Miami Piano Festival in recent years made a sensational impact, as is evidenced on YouTube. They show that appearances do not deceive: he is as much of a wizard as he appears. A true artist, with limitless technique, he has the ability to conjure up unheard-of tonal effects from the piano, evoking the most amazing timbres and sonorities. Dacic's affinity with Liszt shows in the selection of music on this new recording, which is centered around three masterpieces: The epic B-A-C-H Variations, the seldom heard Grosses Konzertsolo and the Dante Sonata, in which Dacic incorporates elements from all three versions Liszt made (prepare for some surprises). As a suitable conclusion to this tribute, Dacic ends with the late masterpiece La Lugubre Gondola.

New recordings of large-scale but little-known works by one of Beethoven's most influential students. Born like his teacher-to-be in the German city of Bonn, Ferdinand Ries studied with Beethoven in Vienna for several years during the first decade of the 19th century. He also worked for Beethoven as a copyist and secretary, and in 1838, shortly before his own death at the age of 53, published the first authoritative account of his master's life. But Ries was far more than a mere amanuensis, as a series of releases on Brilliant Classics has documented, with valuable modern recordings of solo, chamber and instrumental music. Ries's own instrument was naturally the piano, and his catalogue of works for the instrument spans light-hearted miniatures and ambitiously scaled, dramatic sonatas, much as Beethoven's did. In the latter category falls the Grande Sonata Fantasia which Ries composed in 1811 (the same year as Beethoven's Seventh Symphony). It is easy enough to hear the turbulent textures and melodic shapes of his teacher's famous 'Pathetique' Sonata in the background, but Ries could exercise his own imagination, which in any case was shaped by travel far beyond the lands around Vienna, unlike Beethoven. The weight of the sonata's singular form falls on the huge Presto finale, making considerable demands on the artist, which Gianluca Faragli conquers with the aid of a superbly conditioned modern Fazioli piano. The sonata's designation as a 'fantasia' indicates that Ries was anticipating the Romantic era's preoccupation with personal expression as the over-riding concern of creative art, and Faragli has coupled Op.26 with three more fantasies. Two of them are based on themes from Mozart's 'Marriage of Figaro': display pieces, but by no means frivolous, any more than the darker subject of Schiller's poem 'Resignation' which inspired Ries to compose one of his most inwardly affecting works, written in the south London suburb of Clapham in 1821. In a lighter vein, Faragli adds the gypsy-style Introduction and Rondo composed once Ries had returned to Vienna with his English wife and three children. Thus the album surveys the course of Ries's creative life, as the pianist Alessandro Taverna elucidates in a detailed booklet essay. - Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) was born in Bonn and moved to Vienna in 1801, where his life became closely related to that of Ludwig van Beethoven (also a native of Bonn.). Ries studied piano with him, copied his scores and was the interpreter of several new works, notably the premiere of the Third Piano Concerto. Ries also wrote the first biography of Beethoven, an invaluable source of first-hand information. - Ries' style inevitably is modeled on that of his master Beethoven, he was however strong enough to stand on his own. Ries also enjoyed a brilliant career as a virtuoso pianist. "Ries is rightly celebrated as one of the finest piano performers of the present day", a London reviewer declared. "His hand is powerful and his manner confident and often surprising. But it is his way of playing that makes him stand out from all the others, above all for his romantic wildness". - This new recording presents original piano works by Ries: the substantial "Grande Sonata Fantasia "L'Infortunee", Op.26, a Fantasia on Schiller's pem Resignation, a Fantasia on Mozart's Nozze Di Figaro and an exciting Introduction and Rondo Zingaresco. Music of great pianistic invention and instrumental brilliance! - Played by the young Italian pianist Gianluca Faragli on a modern instrument.

A luxury LP transfer of a superb new Chopin recording, on revolutionary new biovinyl: high-fidelity analogue sound with an environmental conscience. Piano Classics has a fast-growing library of LP releases which are pressed at the leading LP manufacturer in Europe, Optimal Media in Hamburg. Whereas vinyl records have relied upon the petroleum industry until now for their raw materials, the new Biovinyl records are made from bio-based PVC (polyvinyl chloride) which derives from recycled cooking oil or industrial waste gases. CO2 emissions are thus also significantly reduced in the manufacture of Biovinyl records. The records themselves are identical in quality and weight to standard audiophile, petroleum-based vinyl records. Piano Classics has won a longstanding reputation for the warmth and clarity of it's recordings which transfers well to the analogue LP format even when the original source is digital, as it is here. Vincenzo Maltempo's new recording of the Nocturnes will attract the attention of pianophiles old and new, whether listening on CD or LP. Close study of the Chopin performing tradition has resulted in a freedom rather than constriction to his playing, and the recording captures all the lower-bass resonance of his piano, which is essential for bestowing the kind of stillness and gently vibrating atmosphere that Chopin writes into his Nocturnes. The gatefold sleeve of this 2LP issue includes detailed booklet notes by the Chopin scholar Ates Orga, plus an illuminating introduction from Maltempo himself. With the special intimacy that analogue LPs afford, this set allows the listener to get closer than ever to the heart of Chopin's Nocturnes. - The LP version of a new recording of Chopin's Complete Nocturnes by Vincenzo Maltempo. - Any new recording of the complete Nocturnes by Frederic Chopin rouses the interest: in the field of countless existing recordings, does the pianist have something new to say? Inspired by but not imitating the great masters of the Golden Piano Age, Vincenzo Maltempo presents the Nocturnes as dramatic tone poems with a strong narrative, based on the art of rhetoric and Belcanto. As a means to the expression of his ideas, he found an 1888 Steinway grand with an exceptionally wide dynamic range and singing tone. The result is an enervating and moving journey through these eternal masterpieces! - Italian pianist Vincenzo Maltempo, one of the most interesting pianists of the young generation, made his name in his staggering recordings of unjustly forgotten romantic repertoire: Transcendental Studies by Lyapunov (Piano Classics, PCL0124) received 5 stars in several classical magazines (a. o. The French Diapason). His recording of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies received rave reviews, a Gramophone Editor's Choice: "extraordinary breadth and nobility... little short of perfection... ", "9/9, close to ideal" (Jed Distler Classicstoday. Com). His recordings of Alkan have "confirmed his place in the restricted circle of Alkan's best performers, 5 stars" (Diapason), "Exhilarating, thrillingly demonic, 5 Stars" (Andrew Clement in The Guardian).

Vincenzo Maltempo's previous Alkan CD (PCL0038) received the highest praise from international critics. On his new recording Maltempo plays the famous Le Festin d'Esope, the seldom played Trois Morceaux dans le genre pathetique, the Overture in grand quasi-orchestral style, and the fiendishly difficult Sonatine. An exciting release for all lovers of transcendent pianism!

A unique collection of American romantic piano music, written largely in the last third of the 19th century, by Foote, Whiting, Paine, Chadwick and Nevin. In a period where in Europe piano music was in the hands of towering virtuosos like Liszt, Anton Rubinstein and later Rachmaninoff, the American scene was notably less tormented, focusing on tone painting idyllic landscapes, rural scenes and charming dance forms. These genre pieces share the same delightful characteristics as their European pendants by Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Grieg, Gade, Sinding and others. Young pianist Artem Belogurov (born in Latvia, grew up in Odessa/Ukraine and now lives in Boston) is a former student of Peter Serkin. For this recording he plays a beautiful period instrument, a 1873 Chickering piano. Chickering was one of the most respected and successful piano builders of the 19th century; Hans von B�low premiered Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto in Boston on a Chickering, and Franz Liszt owned two of their instruments. The booklet contains extensive liner notes on the music and composers, an artist biography and information and photos of the instrument.

This new recording contains a selection of piano works by Alexandre Scriabin, the Russian Romantic/mystic, from the different stages of his creative life: from the Chopin-inspired early Etudes and monumental Fantasy Op. 28 to the 7th(“White Mass”) and 10th Piano Sonata, expressions of Scriabin’s philosophical ideas, dealing with his personal demons and quest for cosmic illumination. Serbian pianist Misha Dacic has a special affinity to Scriabin, “he knows how to make the piano sound not like a piano” (as Nikolai Sverev said about the young Scriabin). Dacic’ previous Liszt recording for Piano Classics (PCL0048) received glowing reviews: “What a Liszt player!, a formidable Lisztian reputation is completely born out of the stunning virtuosity and passionate, fearless embrace of the composer’s idiom, (performance-10 Classicstoday.com), “Startling temperamental force and mastery” (Bryce Morrison in Gramophone). Misha Dacic is a regular guest at the prestigious Miami Piano Festival. He studied with Lazar Berman, and participated in the Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano. Misha Dacic holds his present posts as piano professor at Mersin State Conservatory in Turkey, and at the University of Arts in Niš, Serbia.

Classical Music