Complete Tonadas and other works for piano - Joaqin Nin- Culmell.

Mompou: Música callada, Vols. 1-4

FANTASIA SONATA

S�bastien �rard (1752-1831) came to Paris as an eager boy of sixteen. In 1777 he built the first ever French piano. He became a brilliant instrument maker (pianos, harps, organs), and patented numerous improvements for the piano which are still in use. It wasn't long before he had factories in both Paris and London: �rard became one of the biggest brands of the 19th century. Famous �rard owners included Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Heller, Chopin, Liszt, Alkan, Franck, Faur�, Chausson, and Ravel. This release is recorded on a London Grand �rard from 1863. "I thought it would be fun to put together a labyrinthine programme, in which you could always take a different path after each piece and create new stories. This [album] is just one example, and everything takes place within the ranges of �rard." (Ksenia Kouzmenko)

Alle Registers Open

Some classical compositions are at a first hearing not always so easy to comprehend. In the case of the 33 Diabelli Variations it may be a challenge for some listeners. The connections with Diabelli's waltz theme are always present, but at times well hidden behind the surface. Beethoven began working on the composition in 1819 and completed it in 1823. The work was published by Diabelli's new publishing firm in 1824. It is without doubt one of his greatest achievements. This masterpiece that without difficulty can stand next to any of Beethoven's later works, or masterpieces like Bach's Goldberg variations, was so original for it's time that even Anton Diabelli must have been quite bewildered by what was possible with his rather simple, even may we say, banal theme. The work, like most of Beethoven's compositions, such as his string quartets and piano sonatas, is a monumental addition to the solo piano variations repertoire. Master pianist Geoffrey Madge returns after lots of contemporary world premieres (fe Xenakis, Skalkottas, Krenek and the integral performances of the monumental Opus Clavicembalisticumby K. Sorabji, back to the classics: Beethoven's Diabelli Variations!

This CD includes music by the composer Franz Liszt from the performance 'Tom & Jerry in the Garden of Earthly Delights'. For this performance, pianist Martin Oei commissioned animations and videos to illustrate the life of Franz Liszt. Martin's aim is to introduce a younger audience to classical piano music and the remarkable role that Liszt played in the 19th century. The CD consist of original works, the monumental ‘Sonata in B’ (a very typical Liszt piece, one in which the musical themes characterize the characters Mephisto, Gretchen and Faust), the eighth Transcendental Etude 'Wilde Jagd' (Wild Hunt), Liebestraum, the Dante sonata and some arrangements. With the arrangements Liszt contributed to the fame of other composers. An original Erard grand piano from 1846 was used for the recording of this CD. In the 19th century Erard was the leading manufacturer of grand pianos and Liszt's favourite instrument.

This second CD in the Project Paloma series focuses on Russia, with two composers who were particularly affected by the rising political tension in Europe. Prokofiev depicted the violence and tragedy of his country's wartime experience in three great piano sonatas, before turning to an older, simpler Russia as inspiration for his Flute Sonata (1942-3). The musicians have always felt that this work inhabits a similar world to the paintings of Marc Chagall, rooted in village life, fairy tale and fantasy. Weinberg's compositions also drew on elements of folklore from his Polish and Jewish background. His life, however, was full of suffering. In 1939 he fled east from Warsaw, and members of his family were later killed by both Nazis and Soviets. By 1943 he had settled in Moscow, where Shostakovich became his patron.
The Twelve Miniatures (1945) appear almost naive in their clarity, but their surface innocence is deceptive, and their mood elusive, often undercut by a current of unease.

Leen de Broekert plays on the fortepiano, a copy after Walter, Haydn.

Ne m'oubliez pas! This new release features music for piano and for piano and violin by the Cura�ao composers Jan Gerard Palm (1831-1906), Jules Blasini (1847-1887), Joseph Sickman Corsen (1853-1911) and Miguel Senior (1877-1975). Pianist Ketevan Sharumashvili and violinist Jeroen Dupont are both young and exceptionally talented musicians who have won several first prizes at international music competitions. The title of the album is a piece composed by Jules Fran�ois Blasini. Born to Maria Elizabeth Leon of Cura�ao and the Corsican Jean Blasini. His father was then serving as the French consul to Cura�ao. Blasini's adagio, Ne m'oubliez pas! (Do not forget me!), has a classical, touching and tender beauty.

Five classically trained musicians – four singers and a pianist – with a passion for Yiddish music. They spent the past four years on our project of Yiddish folk song arrangements by “classical” composers and recorded the album Akh, nit gut! last summer with the Dutch label Zefir Records. Point of departure is Dmitri Shostakovich’s song cycle “From Jewish Folk Poetry” for soprano, mezzo-soprano and tenor – but there is a twist to it: We sing the songs with the original Yiddish texts! The album further consists of songs by the father of the New Jewish School: Joel Engel. Engel’s songs have been arranged by British composer / singer Tyrone Landau who also sings the tenor parts.

Geoffrey Madge started performing the Goldberg Variations approximately 40 years ago. From then on he has experienced every performance as a new event. Each time is a re-discovery of the infinite possibilities that are contained in the score. It’s impossible to include all in one performance. Because of this in each of his concerts he has concentrated on different aspects. Sometimes he plays passages strictly in tempo, other moments introducing a little more freedom while trying to keep a sensible middle balance. This remains for every performer one of the most difficult achievements. For instance, how to retain a strictness and at the same time keep an emotional freedom that reflects the meaning behind the notes. This, in combination with the enormous contrasts that occur from one variation to another. One moment it is music that could be taken from one of the passions of Bach and the next moment it is a completely different expression!

The Second World War left an enormous void in the European Jewish community. This naturally was also true of Jewish musical life: many performing musicians and composers became victims of the Holocaust. The only thing that connects these composers to each other is their Jewish origin. Specific Jewish elements in their music are usually not to be found. The music they composed was quite diverse. With their deaths, frequently their music also disappeared from the public interest and the collective memory. Now Marcel Worms thought it time to record a number of piano works by Jewish composers from the interbellum. The approaching 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands in 2020 gave extra urgency to this wish. The repertoire from which he could choose is extensive, and new works are still surfacing.

During 2021's lockdown, pianist Maurice Lammerts van Bueren and Jakko van der Heijden from Zefir Records joined forces in a special project: for more than a year, they posted one mazurka by Fr�d�ric Chopin on their YouTube channel 'The Mazurki Project' every week. Now that the project has come to an end, all 57 mazurkas are released in a double album. Maurice Lammerts van Bueren about his passion for this particular genre: "Since my childhood, I heard Chopin's mazurkas: live, when my mother played them on our piano in the living room, and through the speakers, when Artur Rubinstein's 1967 recording enchanted my eardrums. It made me fall in love not only with Rubinstein's playing, but also with Chopin's music and the sound of a Steinway grand piano. At the age of eleven, I won my first competition with a mazurka and now, almost forty years later, the mazurkas keep fascinating me. The genre accompanied Chopin all his life: he wrote his first mazurkas as a teenager, while his last mazurka was his ultimate piece."

Manneke's intention and motivation to write a substantial piano work were partly inspired by six eminent musicians, to each of whom he dedicated a part: Ralph van Raat [I], Geoffrey Madge [II], Kelvin Grout [III], Hannes Minnaar [IV], Jelena Bazova [V] and Dani�l Kramer [VI]. Over time, Daan Manneke has designed a composition concept that has fascinated and inspired him for many years. The Archipel concept: 'islands' located close to each other, each with their individual manner of existence. Through exchanges and connections, they sometimes more or less lose their individuality and acquire a hybrid character. This osmosis can generate new properties and dynamics. Conversely, islands can become isolated, decay or disappear entirely. Grote Archipel consists of six parts, which can also be performed separately. Rather than a decorative-illustrative atmospheric drawing, it is an abstract work based on universal situations. Meaningful metaphors include approaching-disappearing, disintegrating-connecting, status quo, variety and, always, the iso-rhythmic clock loops. Manneke's key motto is s p a c e. Grote Archipel is a tribute to the Province of Zeeland: Luctor et Emergo!