Чайковский Пётр

We are indeed fortunate that Fritz Kreisler was still at the peak of his powers when electrical recording arrived in 1925. He was as busy as ever in the year covered by these recordings, using Vuillaume and Guarneri del Gesù violins that he said ‘breathe and pulsate with a million vibrations’. On one of his many successful charity concerts in 1927 The Times commented that Kreisler’s ‘fine-drawn phrases have the delicacy of a spider’s thread, the suppleness of elastic, and the strength of steel’. With wonderful examples of parlando bowing, many demonstrations of beautiful double-stopping, lovely staccato and myriad other subtleties such as delicate rhythmic changes, harmonics and variations in dynamics, these New York and Berlin sessions include classic versions of Kreisler’s best works and a rare unaccompanied movement by Bach

The festive series of concerts to celebrate the inauguration of Andris Nelsons and the 275th anniversary of the Gewandhausorchester concluded with a riveting performance of two of music history’s great symphonic works. Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 is one of only two that Mozart wrote in a minor key, which only adds to its singular reception in his canon of symphonies. Tchaikovsky was an admirer of Mozart’s music and paired the premiere of his Sixth Symphony, which he himself conducted, with dances from Mozart’s 'Idomeneo'. The 'Pathétique' would become his legacy as Tchaikovsky died only a few days after its premiere.

The legendary Vienna Mozart Ensemble which came into being in the early years after World War II will forever be associated with the name of the Austrian conductor Josef Krips (1902–1974). Born in Vienna, he had studied music there under Felix Weingartner, was principal violinist in the Volksoper orchestra, then Weingartner's assistant. He took posts as concert master in Aussig (now Ústí nad Labem in the Czech Republic), then Dortmund and Karlsruhe, where he was appointed General Music Director in 1926 before returning to Vienna, where in 1933 he was given the post of conductor at the Vienna State Opera. He left the country of his birth again in 1938 after the Anschluss, but in Belgrade he was prohibited from working after intervention by the Nazis. At the end of the war, Krips returned to Vienna and immediately became actively involved in the reconstruction of cultural life in the city on the Danube. His artistic and organisational skills were in demand in post-war Austria when it came to re-establishing the Salzburg Festival.

The festive series of concerts to celebrate the inauguration of Andris Nelsons and the 275th anniversary of the Gewandhausorchester concluded with a riveting performance of two of music history’s great symphonic works. Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 is one of only two that Mozart wrote in a minor key, which only adds to its singular reception in his canon of symphonies. Tchaikovsky was an admirer of Mozart’s music and paired the premiere of his Sixth Symphony, which he himself conducted, with dances from Mozart’s 'Idomeneo'. The 'Pathétique' would become his legacy as Tchaikovsky died only a few days after its premiere.

Третий квартет отражает тему жизни и смерти – магистральную для многих поздних произведений Чайковского. Совсем иной по характеру секстет «Воспоминание о Флоренции», созданный на рубеже 1880–90-х годов. Разработка партии каждого инструмента в нем настолько искусна, а ансамблевое сочетание голосов столь богато, что кажется, будто звучит целый струнный оркестр. В обаятельной музыке слышны народнопесенные и танцевальные истоки – итальянские и русские. Несмотря на лирико-драматическую концепцию, общий колорит произведения – необычайно светлый, а финал – жизнеутверждающий. «Rusquartet» уже пятнадцать лет ведет концертную и просветительскую деятельность. Сегодня «Rusquartet» – один из лучших камерных ансамблей России. В его составе солисты, ранее выпускники, а ныне преподаватели Московской консерватории имени П.И.Чайковского. «Rusquartet» – лауреат международных конкурсов и постоянный участник международных фестивалей. В 2006 г. Одержал свою первую победу на Международном конкурсе в Германии (г.Райсберг); годом позже вошел в десятку квартетов со всего мира, отобранных специальным жюри для участия в Международном конкурсе струнных квартетов Банфф (Канада), став первым струнным квартетом из России. С этого же года «Rusquartet» является постоянным участником фестивалей в Канаде. В 2008 г. Победитель одного из престижнейших конкурсов мира - VIII Международного конкурса струнных квартетов им. Д.Д.Шостаковича, в том же году Международный союз музыкальных деятелей и Ассоциация камерной музыки присвоили квартету стипендию-грант им. Т. А. Гайдамович «За достижения в области камерно-ансамблевого исполнительства».

Russian composers have made a significant contribution to the repertoire of music for cello and orchestra. Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, deftly scored for an 18th-century orchestra, reveals his admiration for Mozart whereas the Pezzo capriccioso is full of ripe charm. In the year of Tchaikovsky’s death, Rimsky-Korsakov composed the attractive Serenade, Op. 37 and his student, Glazunov, both absorbed and continued the great Romantic lineage with his own sonorous and beautiful Concerto ballata, the poignant Chant du ménestrel, and the Iberian evocations of the Sérénade espagnole from Deux Morceaux.

Sueye Park introduced herself to the general public in 2017 with no less a calling-card than Paganini's 24 Caprices for solo violin. On the present disc, the South-Korean violinist (born in 2000) has a pianist at her side, namely Love Derwinger, himself known from a number of recordings. The repertoire is also a more varied offering this time, with violin favourites such as Elgar's tender Salut d'amour and Tchaikovsky's Mélodie, as well as more virtuosic fare, for instance in the fireworks of Wieniawski's Scherzo-Tarantelle. Sueye also includes two solo works on the disc: Ernst's much-loved Last Rose and in a nod to her previous disc Paganiniana, Nathan Milstein's fantasy on themes by Paganini. Performed with equal measures of poetic sensitivity and effortless virtuosity, this is a recital to dip into as well as to listen to from start to finish from the fiery passion of Pablo de Sarasate's Introduction et Tarantelle to Contemplation, Heifetz transcription of Brahms's song Wie Melodien zieht es mir.

On Christmas Eve, a young girl has a dream... Emotional awakening, physical transformation, childhood that slowly merges into adulthood... behind what seems to be a tale for children slowly emerges a danced initiatory journey. And while children revel in Drosselmeyer’s magic tricks and enjoy a good scare with the apparition of the Mouse King, the adults notice all the finesse that pervades this narrative and admire the virtuosity of the choreography. A first class company, the Ballet Company of the National Opera of Ukraine has toured all around the world: from the United States to Europe and Asia. Thanks to its rich classical heritage, the Company has managed to win the hearts of its audience thanks to its amazing technique and artistic maestria, and as in every good dance company, the whole is equal to the sum of its parts.

Following the huge success of the 2017 release, “Cinema per archi”, featuring the music of Rota, Morricone and Piovani, the Arcana label is back with another recording by the Archidi Santa Cecilia conducted by Luigi Piovano, the eminent cellist whose duo performances with Antonio Pappano have met with widespread acclaim among chamber music aficionados. Composed of players from the excellent Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the ensemble here interprets two of the best loved works of the entire string repertoire: the Serenata in C major op. 48 by Tchaikovsky, and the Serenata in E major op. 22 by Dvorák. Both of these works have been special attractions in concert programs at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome and in other prominent concert venues throughout Italy (Ravello Festival, Naples, Ravenna, Reggio Emilia, L’Aquila, Piacenza). The Ensemble’s enormously successful first recording of music by Schubert, including Mahler’s arrangement of Death and the Maiden, was described by Ralph Moore on “MusicWeb International”as «mesmerising, Intense, thrilling and liberated in away too few recordings are these days» and elicited David Vernier to declare in “Classics Today” that «the concluding fourth movement Presto is an impressive display of ensemble virtuosity».

On Christmas Eve, a young girl has a dream... Emotional awakening, physical transformation, childhood that slowly merges into adulthood... behind what seems to be a tale for children slowly emerges a danced initiatory journey. And while children revel in Drosselmeyer’s magic tricks and enjoy a good scare with the apparition of the Mouse King, the adults notice all the finesse that pervades this narrative and admire the virtuosity of the choreography. A first class company, the Ballet Company of the National Opera of Ukraine has toured all around the world: from the United States to Europe and Asia. Thanks to its rich classical heritage, the Company has managed to win the hearts of its audience thanks to its amazing technique and artistic maestria, and as in every good dance company, the whole is equal to the sum of its parts.

Artist: Seiji Ozawa Label: Deutsche Grammophon

Kirill Petrovich Kondrashin was born in Moscow on March 6, 1914, just before the fateful start of the First Word War. Little Kirill grew up in a musical family: his Jewish mother was a violinist from Riga, his father played the viola. The boy’s piano lessons began at an early age. We know little of the family’s fortunes in the period after the Bolshevik Revolution, but the teenage Kondrashin was able to study music theory with Nikolay Zhilyoyev (1881-1938).The Russian composer, musicologist and educator had learnt his trade from Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859-1935) and Sergey Taneyev (1856-1915) and was a strong formative influence on his talented pupil. This is Kondrashin’s laconic summing-up of his “art of conducting”: 'Ultimately conducting is simply about making one’s own intentions intelligible to a hundred musicians and letting them play their part in them'. How much tragedy, drama, joy or fulfilment lay behind that aspiration was known only to Kirill Kondrashin himself.

Artist: P. I. TSCHAIKOWSKY Label: PROFIL

Compositore: Yoncheva/Barbeau/Paris Opera Corps de Ballet Label: Bel Air Classiques

● From the original masters of Universal Music ● Audiophile analogue mastering by Rainer Maillard at Emil Berliner Studios. ● 180g audiophile virgin vinyl pressed by Pallas GmbH in Germany RECORDING INFORMATION Recorded : 28.11 - 4.12 1972 & 12-16. 2. 1973

Compositore: Yoncheva/Barbeau/Paris Opera Corps de Ballet Label: Bel Air Classiques

Camilla Wicks, who was born in 1928, was one of the first female American violinists to pursue an international career. She was hailed as a child prodigy and was giving concerts by the age of seven. She gave her debut with the New York Philharmonic at the age of 13. Wicks played under the most prestigious conductors of her day, including Bruno Walter and Fritz Reiner, and she undertook several concert tours of Europe. Her recording of the Sibelius Violin Concerto is legendary, greatly admired by the composer himself. Camilla Wicks married in 1951, had five children and interrupted her career in order to bring them up. In later years she began to give concerts again and she was a popular lecturer, though she never again achieved the global success of her earlier career. She ceased teaching in 2005. Camilla Wicks possessed phenomenal technique and achieved her greatest accolades for performances of nineteenth-century repertoire. In addition, Wicks was a champion of contemporary music and she premiered numerous modern compositions. (Excerpt from the booklet)