Rediscovered sound documents of one of the most popular opera singers of the former GDR.

Symphony No. 40 in G minor KV 550 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Symphony No. 5 in B flat major D 485 by Franz Schubert – two symphonies with a comparable four-part form, identical prescribed instrumentation and minuets that seem to be each other’s relatives in key signature and characteristics. The Apollo Ensemble did a close examination of these works to see if there is a deeper relationship than just the symphonic form and character of the minuets. Looking back on this process, violinist and artistic leader of Apollo Ensemble, David Rabinovich, was “glad we did that research, because we found out that these symphonies are practically each other’s brothers. It was intriguing to discover how Schubert read Mozart’s score with his musical genius and then put it to work in his own Fifth Symphony. In some passages you can see how Schubert sometimes quotes Mozart measure by measure and that a new musical edifice forms around that quote. [...] The beginning of Schubert’s Fifth Symphony. Those chords for the horns. Suddenly I saw that this is exactly what Mozart was trying to do when reintroducing the theme in the first movement of his symphony. And how about Schubert’s string theme, which seems to flow directly from Mozart’s opening.”

After the research, the performance followed which can be heard on the CD at hand. The Apollo Ensemble is a large chamber music ensemble. For Rabinovich, the difference between playing Schubert’s Octet and his Fifth Symphony is very small. The musicians don’t try to play as a large instrument group, or to melt together into a section sound – they really approach these symphonies as chamber music pieces. Therefore, the balance between strings and winds is completely different and new which allows insights into this music which hardly can be recognized when it is played by a large orchestra. So we get a very interesting new sound without any changed note in the score.

"Keyboard exercises, consisting of an ARIA with diverse variations, for two-manual harpsichord. Prepared for the enjoyment of music lovers by Johann Sebastian Bach, composer for the Royal court of Poland and the Electoral court of Saxony, Kapellmeister and Director of Choral Music in Leipzig." These are the words which can be read on the title page of Bach’s one and only large variation work which was published in Nuremberg in 1741.

In Johann Nikolaus Forkel’s Bach biography, published in 1802, we find the anecdote which led to the name “Goldberg Variations” under which this work is still known today: “Once, the Count [Hermann Carl von Keyserlingk] expressed to Bach that he would like to have some keyboard pieces for his [private musician Johann Gottlieb] Goldberg, which would be of such a gentle and lively character that he would be cheered up a little in his sleepless nights. Bach believed that he could best fulfill this wish by writing variations, which he had hitherto considered a thankless task because the basic harmony was always the same. But, in the same way all of his works were already artistic models at this time, these variations also turned into such under his hand. Yet, he only produced one single model of this kind. The Count subsequently called them his variations. He never tired of them, and for a long time, whenever he had sleepless nights, he would say: Dear Goldberg, play me one of my variations.”

Mechthild Winter, specialist for Early Music and living in “Bach City” Leipzig, has chosen this large variation work for her second solo CD and plays with her usual mastery. She uses a copy of a Ruckers harpsichord built in 1624 and enlarged in 1720.

Whether actual or imagined, good or bad, our childhood memories are a world of their own that shapes our personality. They show us how multifaceted our lives are – like a collage that, over time, gradually fills with new colors, lights, and shadows. Relatively inconspicuous and straightforward incidents become special events through the magic of childlike perception. They show us what matters.But the fragments of our memories are not just misty souvenirs of the past. They reflect the environment and the time in which they were created. They are parts of the puzzle of human history, not only with their most beautiful but also gloomiest sides.

Numerous poets and composers have dealt with the task to set childhood memories into lyrics and music. On their debut CD, soprano Anna Graf and pianist Han-Lin Yun – active as a duo since 2018 – perform a selection of such songs. The first part contains examples from the 19th century, among them a full recording of the cycle “Nursery” by Modest Mussorgski. The songs selected for the second part of this CD are by 20th-century ostracized composers and a female composer, also featuring a full recording of a cycle: Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s Jewish Songs op. 13. It is Anna Graf’s and Han-Lin Yun‘s desire to honor the work of these composers with this CD and not to consign their names to oblivion. The booklet features some very personal childhood memories of the artists and contains new research results regarding the authorship of Ammenlied D 122 which in the past had been attributed to Franz Schubert.

“Even little things can delight us, Even little things can be precious.” The first words of the first song in Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch are both manifesto and Credo. Wolf (1860 – 1903) felt keenly the sting of being labelled a Lieder-Komponist (song composer). He could recognize when composing his songs that “what I write now, I write for posterity too.” A passionate advocate of Wagner’s music, he brought to song the tonal innovations of the world post-Bayreuth: “Wölferl’s own howl,” he dubbed his unique style. Wolf’s textual source for his songbook was the Italienisches Liederbuch, published in Berlin in 1860 and containing translations by Paul Heyse (1830 – 1914) of Italian folk poetry. He wrote the compositions during three working phases: Part I with 22 songs in autumn 1890 and in late 1891, Part II with 24 songs in spring 1896.

Throughout the 46 pieces, we hear a man and a woman trace the chronicle of a love-affair, from initial ardor to rupture and ending. An encyclopedic panoply of the moods and faces of love ensues, complete with quarrels, mockery, nocturnal serenades, distress, masochism, suffering, rage, and finally, a parting of the ways. Wolf had a genius for the piano accompaniment regarding sensibility for the text and colorful, even illustrative composing: commenting, caricaturing, sometimes warm-hearted, sometimes quipping and full of humor. Pianist Frank-Immo Zichner uses this as multi-layered basis for Mirella Hagen and Tobias Berndt who vividly play their parts.

For this album, the musicians of the Apollo Ensemble withdrew to their homes, and in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic they came together to play Bach, Handel and Telemann composers they know like the back of their own hands. The new release "German Delight" by the Apollo Ensemble contains six examples of 'music for Kenner und Liebhaber'. Much of the German musical canon was written not for large and extravagant occasions such as weddings, coronations and opera, but be to played at home among small groups of friends and families. This genre of music was noted by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach as being music for 'Kenner und Liebhaber' (professionals and amateurs), and it is known to many through the 19th century German Beidermier tradition. Since this music was never intended for large audiences, and often performed by capable colleagues, the composers could let off steam and pull out all the stops.

This album celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Association of Friends of the Baroque Organ and demonstrates Langenbogen's rich musical life. Up to now, the Association has organized more than 100 events. This release presents mainly organ works played by Thomas Ennenbach. In addition, we hear the Association's Chairman Ralf Mielke (solo flautist in Halle Staatskapelle), and members of the Ensemble Arco Lungo. Considering the age of St. Magdalenen in Langenbogen near Halle, one would not expect to find a Baroque organ inside. The church was rebuilt in 1826 replacing a Gothic predecessor, but surprisingly, still holds an 18th century organ, the history of which had been unclear for a long time. When the Association of Friends of the Baroque Organ was founded in 2001, the organ was in a deplorable state. On 31 October 2003, the instrument was dismantled by master organ builder Ekkehart Gro and transported to his workshop in Waditz near Bautzen for restoration. During the restoration period, the history of the organ was discovered. An inscription found in the wind chest said that Weienfels court organ builder Georg Theodor Klo built this organ in 1735, though it remains unclear for which church it was built. The Halle organ builder Johann Gottfried Kurtze then transferred the organ to the new Langenbogen church in 1826. For the Klo Organ with its 529 sounding pipes, intensive and varied use began on 31 May 2004 and continues to this day.

Andreas Willscher is counted among the most valued German composers of his time. Here we hear some quite unusual organ works that are easy and enjoyable to listen to. Jürgen RIEGER first studied musicology, German and education in Freiburg im Breisgau, then Protestant and Catholic church music and organ concerts at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. From 1983-1996 he was organist and choir director at the Evangelical Lutheran St. John's Church in Baden-Baden, and from 1988-1992 organist at the Lutheran City Church in Vienna-Innere Stadt. In 1996/1997 he served as cantor at the Altstadtkirche Gelsenkirchen. He has been a freelance artist since 1998. In addition to his concert activities at home and abroad, Jürgen Rieger is also a composer, lyricist and author and teaches internationally (master classes, interpretation and improvisation courses).

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Includes work(s) by Franz Schmidt. Ensemble: Middle German Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Fabio Luisi. Soloist: Carlo Grante.

Despite differing stylistic and geographical backgrounds, Constantin Homilius, Gioachino Rossini, Antonio Richter, Wilhelm Albrecht L�tgen, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Jacques-Fran�ois Gallay set their unique sound worlds dealing with the technical possibilities of the French horn of their times, thus challenging and furthering the development of it's technical standard. This kind of literature represents a great opportunity for the Leipzig Horn Quartet to once again prove it's unique and celebrated musical quality!

Classical Music

This CD opens a series of recordings by Cora Irsen, exploring the huge oeuvre of Marie Ja�ll's piano works. This first part contrasts early works with late compositions created under the influence of Franz Liszt.