Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Mauricio Kagel directs a surreal story about the return of Beethoven. We are in the year 1970 and Beethoven returns to see his hometown and his house in the year of his 200th birthday. A wondrous 35mm B&W film tells of Beethoven's experiences in the 20th century.

Directed by Nicolas Humbert. Starring Tom Walker, Robert Frank, Ted Milton.

The Brandenburg Concertos by Bach count among his most well-known works, composed before 1721. At that time when he did not know about his subsequent engagement as Thomaskantor in Leipzig. In this year, 1721, Bach fell in love with the young Anna Magdalena. All doors seemed to be open for the 36 year old Bach, who have had great plans. He was full of energy and has had a real zest for life. This release opens beautifully effervescent with the first Allegro from the VI. Concerto, followed by the Andante, which could be seen as an imagination and a homage to Vivaldi’s lagoon city Venice and after that sounds the almost excessive Presto of the IV. Concerto. The first part of this release ends with the celebratory closing Allegro, again from the VI. Concerto. The second half of the album starts with the brilliant compositions of the Allegro from the II. Concerto. The Adagio from the I. Concerto gives a miraculous rest. Then follows — between wild dance and sensual rapture – the Allegro from the III. Concerto.  Contemplative calm brings the Affetuoso from the V. Concerto, and the album ends with the vigorous Allegro from the same Concerto.Bach probably didn't expect that his life will end in Leipzig, however it was him granted not to find a career like George Friedrich Handel. The album breaks all previous limits. The selection is sassy, fun, extremely distinct and hopefully not too crazy. Also the recording procedure is unusual: no overdubs, no complex editing procedure, no use of a multi-microphone system.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Some composers identify early on with a particular genre. A quick glance at a list of works by the Dane Hans Abrahamsen seems to indicate a very different attitude. The profusion of titles suggests a mind that picks up a form, engages with it for the duration of the work itself, and then moves on to something fresh. There has been one significant exception however- the string quartet. Abrahamsen's four quartets span almost the whole of his composing career: Quartet No. 1 was composed in 1973, when Abrahamsen was in his early twenties; Quartet No. 4 appeared in 2012, as he entered his sixties. Not only so, but the quartets also draw a vital thread across the chasm at the heart of his life's work. This new release presents the aforementioned works as well as the two quartets that appeared between them, brilliantly performed by the Arditti String Quartet.

Classical Music

Classical Music

This oddly named recording does not contain any bagpipe music. What we do have is a collection of pieces for lute and viola da gamba featuring music by a host of baroque composers both familiar and obscure. The title was probably inspired by the opening tune, "The Brown Haired Maiden," a staple for Scottish bagpipe players. Two more arrangements of anonymous bagpipe tunes, "Bagpipes" and "Lancashire Pipes" round out the pipe connection.
Vittorio Ghielmi is clearly having fun when he imitates the droning sound of the bagpipes on his viola da gamba. When Ghielmi is joined by lutenist Luca Pianca, the result is inspired. The soloists also excel in the more introverted music of such composers as Marin Marais, Antoine Forqueray, Leopold Weiss and others. Pianca is magnificent in the solo lute pieces of Weiss, especially the expansive Praeludium et Fuga in E minor. Equally impressive is the gritty playing the duo brings to Marais's "La Paraza." Sumptuous sound quality and lavish packaging makes this recording a real treasure.
Includes division(s) on a ground by Christopher Simpson. Soloists: Vittorio Ghielmi, Luca Pianca.

Christophe Desjardins writes of this Italian journey: "On a journey from Palermo to Taormina I am accompanied by the sounds of Domenico Gabrielli's "Ricercari," the oldest composition for cello solo, and I experience the Sicilian landscape, fascinated by the genius of this music. Soon afterwards I begin to transcribe and to interpret them for viola and the wish arises to ask my Italian artist friend Ivan Fedele to compose reflections to these Baroque works. He explores Gabrieli's gestures and figures and imagines a further journey between "Ricercari" (from ricercare 'to seek') and "Ritrovari" (from ritrovare 'to find again') by creating the sensations of an inner journey through his creative power."

This album was nominated for the 2008 Grammy Award for "Best Small Ensemble Performance."

The French poet and writer, Francis Ponge wrote a book called "La fabrique du Pre' (the meadow factory). Stefano Gervasoni gives a double interpretation to this title - constructing from zero, creating a story starting from the beginning of life or working on the preliminaries of existence, trying to give consistency to this magic zone where childhood starts it's long process of becoming adult, magic starts to separate from reality, infancy from adult life and the reverse. Adult life feels deprived and nsotalgic of a purely emotional relationship with the world, later replaced by an aesthetic, by faith, by love, or by drugs, meditation, extreme sports or any artificial method to go beyond this present, heavy, concrete world. Gervasoni considers these things the leading thread in his works throughout this entire album.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Vittorio Ghielmi and his ensembles of violas interpret pieces by Henry Purcell.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music