The main purpose of this edition is to assist those "desirous of learning" with some suggestions and information that might be helpful in the process of learning, understanding and performing the works of Bach. These suggestions should not be taken as a "must" to follow, but are simply meant to assist in the comprehension and practical execution of The Well-Tempered Clavier (WTC) and to encourage further exploration. This Edition is available in 2 Books, or as 48 separate 'Preludes and Fugues' scores.

Leo Ornstein is as well known for his extraordinary longevity as for his music: he was born in Ukraine in 1893 and died in Wisconsin in 2002, aged at least 108. His generous output of music, much of it for the piano, his own instrument, remains poorly known, although it can stand shoulder to shoulder with that of many better-known names. Many of the pieces here – which cover a span of over 60 years – have their roots in Debussy, Skryabin and Szymanowski, but Ornstein welds those influences into an edgy, energetic language very much his own. The Three Moods of c. 1914 are anger, grief and joy, but there is strength of feeling in all the music to be heard here. Indeed, the Nine Vignettes bear a misleading title: they are substantial and powerful virtuoso essays which can flare up into moments of startling power and violence; hitherto unknown, they constitute a major contribution to the piano literature.

In her new album, Maria Lettberg takes a musical journey through the countries of the European Union. She has curated a selected work for piano from each of the respective countries, regardless of the period or style. All the major styles of classical music are represented in this collection: from the Renaissance, Baroque and Viennese classical periods to Romanticism, Late Romanticism, Impressionism, 20th-century music, minimalism and neoclassicism. Each piece from the 27 countries has it's own fascinating characteristics, and together they paint a multi-layered picture of the European Union.

In 1775 Leopold Mozart made an offer to publisher Breitkopf in Leipzig: to print an opus of keyboard sonatas by his son mit veranderten Reprisen, following the famous example set by C. P. E. Bach. Breitkopf declined, but after 250 years the idea still resonates: what might Wolfgang Amade´ Mozart's Sonatas with Varied Reprises have sounded like? Played on a highly responsive Stein fortepiano, Tom Beghin's reconstituted score of K. 279-284 (Munich, 1775) provides a captivating answer-one that challenges our familiarity with six classics of the repertoire, while also paying tribute to Mozart's supreme improvisational skills.

The early death of award-winning pianist and conductor Lars Vogt on September 5, 2022 shocked profoundly the international music world. Some 16 months earlier, already aware of his diagnosis and in the middle of his treatment sessions, the artist had an urgent desire to record a Mozart piano concerto album together with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris. He believed that performing these fantastic works that he so much admired would also be the best medicine for his condition. For this Mozart album Lars Vogt coupled two concertos: the early, exuberant Piano Concerto No. 9, nicknamed ‘Jeunehomme’ and written by Mozart in his early 20s; together with the melancholic and nostalgic Piano Concerto No. 24, which is considered by many to be Mozart’s greatest piano concerto – a perfect closure to Vogt’s final concerto album.

REVIEWS:

The slow movements, deeply felt, inevitably emerge with extra poignancy, but elsewhere Vogt revels in Mozart’s playful wit. The album is a fitting memorial to Vogt’s musicianship, courage and humanity.

-- The Times of London

Vogt was particularly distinguished by his remarkable interpretations of Brahms which earned him numerous laudatory reviews. Former musical director of the Paris Chamber Orchestra, with whom he collaborated for the last time on this disc, he also assumed the role of professor at the prestigious Hochschule für Musik in Hanover. Despite being diagnosed with cancer in 2021, he decided to immerse himself in recording Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos. 9 and 24 with unwavering determination. This is reminiscent of the context in which the Requiem in D minor was written, which, according to some accounts, was composed in anticipation of the Austrian composer's own funeral.

As for Vogt, he unfortunately never had the opportunity to hear the finished disc. From his entrance [in Concerto no. 9], Lars Vogt uses a slightly shy sound, dictated by a delicate restraint, thus creating an intimate atmosphere conducive to the sonic development of the piece. A form of mutual respect between musicians and conductor emerges, at the same time creating a virtuous circle which, through the minutes that pass, gradually contributes to strengthening the emotional depth of the interpretation.

What follows is one of the most painful pages that Mozart has written, the opening of the second movement of this concerto. Tragically reflecting the condition in which Vogt found himself, the first chords in C minor resonate like a death knell, the darkest and most poignant moment of this record. Finally, after a clarification brought by the modulation in E flat major, this concerto closes with a rondo overflowing with hope.

The Piano Concerto No. 24, completed in 1786 in Vienna, is introduced by an orchestral overture lasting more than two minutes which, it should be noted, is performed masterfully by the Paris Chamber Orchestra. Directed by Vogt himself, together they succeed in perfectly capturing the overall dramatic color of this work, thereby creating the most favorable terrain for the musical development of the solo that follows. By breaking through the silence left by the orchestra, Vogt transports us, while reassuring us with his simple and charming playing. The second movement, for its part, does not seem to deviate from the very essence of this disc, namely unequaled finesse.

The soft moments are played like a caress on the keyboard, evoking emotions which unfold with a more than captivating sweetness. Each note seems to be enveloped in a veil of tenderness, creating a significant intimate atmosphere. Finally, this concerto closes with a lively allegretto in apotheosis which brings a final touch of vitality to the whole work. Despite his state of health, Lars Vogt leaves us with this record a testimony of perseverance and unwavering optimism. He succeeds with flying colors in captivating us in the space of an hour while ultimately retracing a life journey. A touching album to discover this September.

-- Crescendo

Pianist Sophia Weidemann and actress Tinka Kleffner present a musical-literary encounter with the exceptional composer Fanny Hensel in their new GENUIN album, "Das Jahr" (The Year). The album includes a remarkable piano cycle along with letters and diary entries to and by Hensel. Through their interpretation, these two highly acclaimed artists offer a high-level, intimate glimpse into the life and work of one of the most significant 19th-century female composers and enlightened thinkers, Fanny Hensel. Hensel's piano cycle covers a whole year, and the chosen and thoughtfully read excerpts mirror the emotionally rich and skillfully constructed music in the most delightful way!

The duo formed by Valentina Vanini (mezzo-soprano) and Giuseppina Coni (piano) is the protagonist of this recording dedicated to the Florentine composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, including chamber lyrics and piano pieces. All the compositions collected in this double CD saw the light in the early twentieth century, more precisely between 1913 and 1928. A kaleidoscopic panorama of impressions and emotions – from the evocation of the childhood world, to the poetic themes of great breadth up, to the pictorial evocations of the great Italian schools of the past – unravels in the succession of pieces, characterized by a very refined musical style, often not simple but incredibly fascinating and evocative. Not conventionally counted as part of the “Generazione dell’ottanta”, in reality Castelnuovo-Tedesco pursues the same ideals and intentions (because of his studies with Ildebrando Pizzetti), which are fully manifested in these compositions, superbly interpreted by the Vanini-Coni duo.

Daniel Rieppel, a native of Minnesota of Austro-Hungarian descent, performs Mozart’s Fantasy and Sonata in C minor, the Piano Variations of Aaron Copland and Symphonic Etudes by Robert Schumann. Dr. Rieppel performs widely in North and South America and Europe (most recently in Iceland) and has been Professor of Music at Southwest Minnesota State University for over a quarter century. He has international recognition for his research into Schubert’s incomplete sonatas, finishing several that will be the subject of his next recording.

The internationally acclaimed pianist Adriana von Franqué takes a musical journey through Paris on her GENUIN debut album. The world-concerting musician, known for innovative concert formats and unusual program selections, focuses on the delicate and poetic aspects of the "City of Lights". With a sensitivity for sound and clarity, she plays music by Lili Boulanger, César Franck, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and Simon Laks from Warsaw. The result is floating, atmospheric, finely crafted music that seems to incorporate the Tuileries Garden, the banks of the Seine, or the intricate lacework of the Eiffel Tower…

The supreme work of the most extraordinary man: this is what the composer Johann Adam Hiller called Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Requiem", which is now being released by GENUIN in an unusual arrangement. The piano duo Kerstin Straßburg and Jurgen Appell have recorded for the first time the astonishing four-hand piano version of the Mozart Requiem by Carl Czerny, a pupil of Beethoven and teacher of Liszt. The choral parts, vocal solos, and all the orchestral parts have been incorporated into the piano part, allowing the polyphonic beauty of Mozart's work to emerge in a kind of concentration with unimaginable clarity. The world premiere recording of this version on CD also contains the moving Amen fugue to the "Lacrymosa", which the New York pianist Robert D. Levin reconstructed from fourteen bars of Mozart's handwriting discovered several years ago.

What does it mean for Schumann's Kreisleriana to be Romantic? Is it the violent contrasts, the mercurial shifts in mood, the fragmentary architecture, the raw and unfiltered expression? Is it the breathtaking lyricism? Or is it the spectre of the tormented kapellmeister Kreisler haunting this work that dissolves the boundaries between music, literature, and psychological portraiture? Acclaimed virtuoso Paolo Giacometti brings both poetry and psychoanalysis to Kreisleriana and Kinderszenen, performing them on a resplendent 1838 E´rard born in the very year these works first saw the light.

Extase is the new concept album by pianist Mario Haring. It is an unusual piano program with special guests that captures the energetic format of a party weekend in Berlin. It draws parallels and reconciles romantic indulgence with the mechanics of the modern age. Virtuosity meets sensitivity and makes for a fantastic and diverse musical journey. This album inspires. It offers the opportunity to open up to complex compositions and to unleash new levels of consciousness, far removed from the mundane, through devotion to music.

Etsuko Hirose is an extraordinary sensitive and very brilliant young musician. She is an outstanding pianist. Her virtuosity is really exceptional. - Martha Argerich First complete release of the early DENON recordings of Etsuko Hirose from 2003-2007. Produced for the domestic market, now available worldwide.

The famous Rarities of Piano Music from Husum: When Peter Froundjian conceived a festival devoted exclusively to unknown and rarely played piano music, some might have thought the idea too ambitious or even foolhardy. It proved to be a stroke of genius, and since 1987 the strong support of audiences from many countries has been consistent. It has kept it's intimate atmosphere, with a maximum of 130 listeners in the Rittersaal of Husum castle, and 40 more beyond an open door, with a TV screen to keep in touch. It's influence around the world has been considerable, with more ambitious concert programmes in evidence and record companies willing to take on a wider repertoire. This disc contains a particularly large number of short pieces by fourteen different composers. However, the producers have arranged them thoughtfully into groups and sequences which should make for a coherent listening experience. If these examples encourage listeners to seek out other examples of music by the composers, then they have surely served their purpose. As usual Peter Froundjian made the initial choice of music, with the agreement of the performers. His co-producer Jesper Buhl and the team at Danacord took care of the technicalside, including the final order of tracks and the maximum duration to suit most CD players - about 80 minutes these days. The recordings are all taken from live performances with no editing. If the very occasional "noises off" can be heard, they only serve to show how quiet and concentrated the Husum audie ces are most of the time.

A mystic realm tinged with the scent of foreign spices, bewitching music, vivid color and sensual delights... Orientalism sparked a new wave of romanticism in Western art in the 19th century, which had a profound influence on artists. At the time, The Arabian Nights had long been popular in Russia, in a French translation by Antoine Galland that indulged the Francophile passion for all things Arabic. For Rimsky-Korsakov who had a life-long fascination with fairytales especially those from the exotic setting of the mythical Orient,"Scheherazade"was an ideal theme. Born into a family of Russian naval officers, music and the sea became his passion since childhood and he graduated from the Naval Academy of St. Petersburg to become a naval officer himself. While pursuing his musical studies, he embarked on numerous ocean voyages, visiting Brazil, America, Europe etc The Oriental Ballet Suite "Thousand and One Nights" was originally conceived as an orchestral work, first published for piano solo in 1927, and then arranged for orchestra by the composer himself. It gained popularity immediately after it's release and was broadcast on several radio stations.

The University of York is very fortunate to own this exquisite 1856 Erard London concert grand piano, lovingly restored by Nigel Scaife and tuned to the Bach-Lehman temperament by Aidan Delacey-Simms. The piano is straight strung allowing greater separation of registers compared to it's more homogenised modern counterpart. The strings are damped from below, rather than above as in a modern piano, a less efficient design that results in pleasing result is a wash of colour and a ring of complex overtones that was surely an aesthetic choice. Pianos were likely not tuned in equal temperament in the mid-19th century and my choice of unequal temperament brings extra resonance to the instrument as well as colour to the music. Daniel Grimwood is best known as a world-leading exponent of 19th century virtuosic piano repertoire. Received with critical acclaim, Grimwood's recordings and performances of the music of Adolph von Henselt ensure his international reputation as a groundbreaking, inspirational musician, making him out as a unique voice amongst his generation of pianists. His recording of Henselt's Complete Etudes garnered "instant classic status" by Gramophone Magazine, which also named it piano release of 2023.

Gramophone considered Oleg Marshev's first album of Prokofiev on Danacord (DACOCD391) as featuring 'one of the most authoritative and impassioned performances [of the First Sonata] on disc so far'. His interpretation of the 'War' Sonata trilogy was awarded a 'Classic CD Choice' and compared with pillars of the gramophone such as Richter, Berman and Ashkenazy. Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, Oleg Marshev trained with Valentina Aristova at the Gnessin State Musical College and with Mikhail Voskresensky at the Moscow Conservatoire. He is numbered among the fifth generation of Russian pianism since Liszt, through he lineage of Alexander Siloti, Konstantin Igumnov and Voskresensky's teacher, Lev Oborin. Resident in Italy since 1991, Marshev received awards in several international piano competitions in Canada, Italy, Portugal, Spain, USA, including four first prizes. He is now widely acknowledged as one of the most talented Russian pianists of his generation.

The Italian composer and pianist Mario Tarenghi (1870 - 1938) is part of the great romantic music tradition of Lombardy, where the piano occupies a favoured place. At first glance, his piano roduction would seem to be characterised by collections consisting of short pieces with a strong melodic vein and a deliberately morose virtuosity intended for domestic use, sometimes almost pedagogical, rather than for large concert halls; for this reason, the few piano scores reissued in the present day are only included in a few anthologies for beginner pianists. Despite the publishing success of his music during his lifetime, Mario Tarenghi is still a little-known figure on the Italian and international music scene and, a hundred years later, even recordings of his music are still virtually non-existent.

Composers are often tasked with creating from a void, an emptiness. The blank page is an easel. The parts of a structure of a piece of music – melody, accompaniment, line, harmony, tension, and release – must take shape to reach the listener’s ear. Sometimes, instead of starting with an empty sheet of staff paper, a composer creates something which is pollinated by another source. Perhaps it is a folk song, a poem, a melody, or an even larger work, such as a full-length opera. New works are then realized. In the case of this two-cd set, an East South African folk tune receives new life as a romantic piano ballade. A sonnet of Petrarch resurfaces centuries later as a dramatic declaration of love, through a solo piano work. The repertoire on these discs traces Kristin Ditlow’s own growth as a pianist and musician. Each work marks a chapter of her development and artistry to the present. The song transcriptions are pieces that have been played countless times with vocal partners: the operatic works are works that she has coached or conducted. Her passionate pursuit of travel is also a thread which weaves throughout the discs: the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor spiritual arrangements are works that she became acquainted with as a high school choral accompanist: meeting her husband while on tour in China in 2012: the Mongolian Shepherd Song is her arrangement of a traditional folksong from the Chinese Mongolian community, a work introduced to her by her husband in China originally for erhu and pipa (traditional Chinese instruments) accompaniment but transcribed for violin and piano. Kristin Ditlow has spent five summers performing, teaching, and coaching in Hungary and the Bartók selections all harken back to those times in the Hungarian countryside. Pianist, coach and conductor Dr. Kristin Ditlow dedicates her musical career to collaboration and connection. She has been seen in concert throughout North America, Mainland China, and Western Europe as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and conductor. The set of music pieces in this album is representative of her “Passages” in her career.

The main purpose of this edition is to assist those "desirous of learning" with some suggestions and information that might be helpful in the process of learning, understanding and performing the works of Bach. These suggestions should not be taken as a "must" to follow, but are simply meant to assist in the comprehension and practical execution of The Well-Tempered Clavier (WTC) and to encourage further exploration. This Edition is available in 2 Books, or as 48 separate 'Preludes and Fugues' scores

The internationally renowned pianist Caroline Fischer has put together an evocative holiday gift with her new GENUIN CD. For the recording, she sought out old and new Christmas melodies, well-known and unknown, and combined them to form a harmonious whole. Included are treasures such as Otto von Walden’s tender fantasy on “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” and Gustav Lange’s enchanting version of “Silent Night” – some of these windfalls have been recorded on CD for the first time. Thoughtfully curated and recorded to the highest standard, the only thing really missing is the wrapping paper!

From the Earth to the stars, from darkness to light: the young, award-winning pianist Andrey Denisenko, acclaimed in Germany and Russia, has compiled significant works of literature for his new GENUIN CD. The creators of Robert Schumann's "Kreisleriana", Johannes Brahms' late Fantasies, and the master Johann Sebastian Bach's magnificent "Chaconne" for the violin (arranged by Brahms) transformed suffering and deprivation into musical gems. These works demand not only a technically outstanding pianist but also an artist who thinks and breathes in grand structures. Andrey Denisenko possesses both qualities and plays these masterpieces with verve and excellent clarity.

Volume 6 of the complete piano music by the leading Danish Romantic composer Hartmann. He was born 1805 and lived nearly to be 100 years. During his time he was the most influential composer in Denmark and wrote beautiful music for solo piano. Here Danish pianist Thomas Trondhjem has reached the sixth volume in this enterprising series.

Olivier Messiaen’s two-and-a-half-hour piano cycle Vingt Regards sur l’enfant-Jesus is one of the most extraordinary and ground-breaking works in twentieth-century piano repertoire, joining such musical Mount Everests as Bach’s Goldberg Variations and the late Sonatas of Beethoven. That such a work was created in 1944 during the German occupation of France, and yet expresses such joy, conviction, love, and hope makes it all the more remarkable.

At more than two hours in length, the work is rarely performed in full. It takes a special kind of performer who has the physical and emotional stamina and focus to undertake such a task for it places immense technical and musical demands on the pianist.
One such musicians is Kristoffer Hyldig. KRISTOFFER HYLDIG is one of Denmark‘s leading pianists, recognized for his musicality and highly personal, sensitive approach. Known for his versatility, he is in demand as a soloist, as well as chamber musician and lied accompanist, and his concerts are often broadcasted on Danish Radio. He is a founding member of Messiaen Quartet Copenhagen, where his work comprises artistic programming as well as closely working with composers, commissioning, and premiering pieces.

Recorded in Vor Frelser’s Church, Copenhagen during one of the most severe periods of the lock down by producer, recording & balance engineer extraordinaire, Preben Iwan. The album is recorded in the immersive DXD format.

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli’s piano playing is highly praised for its tremendous reflectiveness. He could spend decades immersing himself in a piece in order to get to know it inside out. His art of touch, his wealth of overtones and his highly refined sense of sound are just as praiseworthy – qualities that came in especially useful for playing Chopin and Debussy. Michelangeli is, however, less known as a Mozart interpreter which makes these 1956 recordings with the orchestra of Süddeutscher Rundfunk conducted by Anton von Bavier so fascinating. Here, Michelangeli presents a life-affirming, even vigorous Mozart with almost Olympian pride. His manner of playing is always forward-pushing, at times boisterously passionate. In his interpretation there is no exaggerated sensitivity, no fiddling with sound, no over-reflectiveness and, in particular, no sentimentality in the slow movements.

REVIEW:

SWR has brought out Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli’s 1956 Ludwigsburg Festival Mozart K. 450 and 466 performances that ICA originally released back in 2013. Reviewing Michelangeli’s EMI 1950 studio recording of K. 450, I wrote how the pianist “subjects each phrase to finely-tuned gradations of touch and dynamic scaling, leaving not one note unscrutinized and unaccounted for.” That’s equally true here, albeit with faster tempos in the outer movements, plus additional vigor and continuity on the soloist’s part, and a better (if not particularly distinctive) orchestra.

Michelangeli’s astonishing command of the D minor concerto’s decorous figurations and strenuous left-hand broken octaves will keep most mortal pianists humble. If Michelangeli’s slow-movement dynamic taperings are decidedly “old-school” in the context of today’s leading Mozart practitioners, at least they’re not so caricatured as in his 1989 DG recording.

The slightly dry and drab-sounding SWR source tape seems to have been reproduced with relatively little intervention, in contrast to ICA’s boosted midrange and hint of added reverberation. Notwithstanding this release’s sonic and stylistic limitations, pianophiles will want to hear Michelangeli on prime form.

-- ClassicsToday.com (Jed Distler)