In order to lend its own face to the numerous and varied projects and productions by the Eos Guitar Quartet [Marcel Ege, Julio Azcano, David Sautter, Michael Winkler] not only in concert, but also on recordings, the eos guitar edition was founded.

The wide stylistic spectrum of the Eos Guitar Quartet is based on the personal musical passions and preferences of its members. The ensemble acts as a forum, which further develops the guitaristic inventiveness of its contributors to quartet music. In this way, the EGQ succeeds in representing all its musical facets equally competently. Thus it is logical that the eos guitar edition not only presents productions of the quartet, but also enables the individual Eos guitarists to publish their own projects. The eos guitar edition sees itself therefore as a specialized label, which offers space for high-quality guitar music with an open stylistic direction and specifically addresses the guitar audience with selected program concepts.

Small but nice – the EGQ with its steadily growing collection penetrates into a high-quality musical segment in the CD market, which the big labels do not cover. Starting in 2018, the eos guitar edition will be represented worldwide by the label Solo Musica and distributed in Germany / Austria / Switzerland via Sony Music, as well as in the rest of the world via Naxos.

Discography

Born in Reims in 1934, Philippe Entremont is one of the most famous pianists and French orchestra conductors. The exceptional career of Philippe Entremont began at the age of eighteen when he came to the international attention with his great success at New York’s Carnegie Hall playing Jolivet’s piano concerto and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Since then, he has pursued a top international career as a pianist, and for the last 40 years on the podium as a conductor as well.

Mr. Entremont has guest conducted European and American orchestras as well as performing numerous piano and chamber music concerts. He has toured all over the world with many orchestras including the Wiener Kammer Orchestra, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, the Israel Festival Orchestra, the Munich Symphony Orchestra and the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie.Mr. Entremont is renown as an orchestral conductor and with his dedication to developing orchestras’ artistic potential has led to numerous international tours, playing before full houses all over the world with the Wiener Chamber Orchestra – Europe, USA, South America, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand. An eleven concert tour with the Orquestra de Cadaqués in the city capitals of various countries in Asia.

As principal guest conductor of the Munich Symphony Orchestra, he has led tours internationally, including in the US in 2005 & 2006, conducting from the piano as well as the podium. He returned in both capacities for the Munich Symphony’s highly successful 15-concert US tour in February of 2009. Mr. Entremont is currently a lifetime laureate conductor of the Munich Symphony Orchestra. In 1997, Philippe Entremont founded the biennal Santo Domingo Music Festival, of which he was the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Festival Orchestra. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquestra de Cadaqués, and has also conducted the Tokyo-based Super World Orchestra.

He was also among the 10 world-class pianists chosen to perform in the “Piano Extravaganza of the Century” at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Mr. Entremont was Music Director of the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra between 1981 & 1986, after which he became Music Director of the Denver Symphony. He was also Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra until 2002. After having served as Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra for almost thirty years with which he has performed in more than 800 concerts, he is now Conductor Laureate for Life. He was also Music Director of the Israel Chamber Orchestra and is also their Conductor Laureate as well.

Mr. Entremont has directed the greatest symphony orchestras of Europe, Asia and America in the cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, Minnesota, Seattle, St. Louis, Houston, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Montreal, The Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orquestra Nacional de España, the Academy of Santa Cecilia of Rome, l’Orchestre National de France, the orchestras of Göteborg, Stockholm, Oslo and Warsaw, the NHK of Tokyo, the KBS Orchestra of Seoul, the Vienna Symphony and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bergen, to name a few.

Mr. Entremont has worked with the world’s greatest soloists, both instrumental and vocal. One of the most recorded artists of all time, Philippe Entremont has appeared on many labels, including CBS, Sony, Teldec and Harmonia Mundi, and has garnered all of the leading prizes and awards in the industry.

In 2014 Sony Music issued a boxset of 19 CDs of all piano concerts he played under the direction of Eugene Ormandy, Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Charles Dutoit, Jean Martinon to name a few…

Mr. Entremont is the Commander of the French Legion of Honor, Commander of the Order of Merit, Commander of the Order of Arts et Lettres. He has also been awarded the Great Cross of the Austrian Order of Merit. He was for 20 years the Director of the famed American Conservatory of Fontainebleau, a function formerly held by the legendary Nadia Boulanger.

Discography

Islam Manafov was born in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, and studied at the Baku Music School during the years 1977-1981.  In 1979 he won 1st prize in the “Azerbaijan Young Pianists Competition”, attracting the attention of the musical scene.  Following this achievement, at the age of 17,  he performed S. Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 under the world famous Maestro Niyazi Tagizade, to great acclaim.  In 1981 the famous pianist and pedagogue A. A. Nasedkin, Professor at the Moscow State Conservatory of P. I. Tchaikovsky and “People’s Artist” of the Russian Federation and former USSR, came to Baku for give a concert and after listening to Islam Manafov invited him to continue his education at the Moscow State Conservatory of P. I. Tchaikovsky, in his own class.  After this, Manafov went to Moscow and completed his studies under Professors A. A. Nasedkin and M. A. Fiodorova with great success. While studying at the Moscow Conservatory and after his graduation Manafov gave concerts in almost all the important cities of the former USSR and was invited to major festivals.  His performance of works by S. Prokofiev, M. Mussorgsky, A. Scriabin and S. Rachmaninoff in particular were received by critics and famous musicians with the descriptions “ingenious” and “frenzied”.

Until now, Manafov has performed in the countries of the former Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, Turkey and many countries of Europe and has also attended master-classes in Orchestral Conducting in St. Petersburg.  He has founded and conducted several orchestras, composed pieces in various forms, realized projects in connection especially with introducing music to children and young people and has won much praise in musical circles.  As a “People’s Artist” of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Manafov continues his artistic life as a pianist, conductor and composer, while working as a Professor at Baku Music Academy and Yeditepe University in Istanbul.

With this first CD, Manafov connects with his listeners through the works of the Romantic genius Chopin, with whom he has felt a close emotional tie since his childhood.  Using his immense palette of nuances he takes his listeners on a journey beyond time with Chopin’s works that may be considered his most difficult, both technically and musically, with their differing moods, at times wild, at times childish, at times rebellious and at times full of longing.

The Munich Symphony Orchestra – The Sound of Our City

Discography

Reiner Ginzel

Reiner Ginzel studied with the distinguished cello teacher Prof. Karl Grosch, a pupil of the legendary cellist Julius Klengel, making him a direct descendant in the German cello teaching tradition initiated by Bernhard Romberg and passed on by Justus Johann F. Dotzauer and Friedrich Grützmacher. Ginzel subsequently refined his skills in master classes with teachers including Natalia Shakhovskaya, assistant to Mstislav Rostropovich. He was also a prizewinner at that time in a range of German and international competitions.
REINER GINZEL gained valuable musical inspiration from his collaborations with such outstanding musicians as composers Krzysztof Penderecki, Hans-Werner Henze and Pierre Boulez, and singers Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Peter Schreier.
For some years he was solo cellist with several top-flight German orchestras before being offered a professorship at Munich’s University of Music and Performing Arts. Reiner Ginzel is also a member of the renowned GERMAN STRING TRIO, an ensemble with which he has recorded well over thirty CDs.
In addition to his work as an international adjudicator (e.g. ARD Competition Munich), Reiner Ginzel is an editor for the publishers PETERS (Frankfurt/Leipzig) and HENLE (Munich), producing many new editions of diverse cello works by composers ranging from Bach, Haydn, Beethoven and Boccherini to Schubert, Schumann and Dvořák and on to Debussy and Reger.
Reiner Ginzel particularly enjoys creating programmes that combine music and literature, taking his inspiration from actors Gerd Westphal and Christian Quadflieg. In recent times he has appeared increasingly as a conductor in musical centres such as Munich, Prague, Budapest and Tokyo. Tours have taken him to almost every European country, America, Africa and south-east Asia. His varied musical activities are documented by many radio and TV recordings as well as on CD.

Hans-Henning Ginzel
He won several instrumental competitions and received numerous scholarships (eg Deutschlandstipendium) and sponsorship fees, among others from the City of Munich. He completed his studies (diploma / master) with Prof. Helmar Stiehler in Munich and Prof. Iagoba Fanlo in Madrid with top grades. He completed master classes, among others with Wolfgang Boettcher, Wen Sinn-Yang and Anner Bylsma. Ginzel is the founder of the Arcis Cello Quartet. His first tour to Asia took him to Taiwan in 2015. In the same year, Ginzel made his debut at the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts and was part of the important musica viva (BR) and Münchner Biennale series in 2016. He was involved in recordings in TV and radio broadcasts, among others from BR-Klassik as well as ARD-alpha.
Ginzel studied composition with Prof. Jan Müller-Wieland and Prof. Moritz Eggert (master), and master classes with Wolfgang Rihm, Hans Zender and Jörg Widmann completed his compositional training.
Hans-Henning Ginzel has received several international awards, including the the first prize of the Harald-Genzmer composition competition. Ginzel’s works are published by C.F. Peters and M Music Publishing and are performed at international festivals.
As a composer, cellist and conductor he worked among others with Steve Reich, the Arditti Quartet, the Carmina Quartet, the Tonkünstlerorchester Niederösterreich as well as with Wolfgang Meyer (clarinet) and Markus Bellheim (piano).
In 2016 Ginzel wrote the music for the film “Putin’s Secret Network” (ZDF-frontal21), which was nominated for the German TV Prize (“Best Documentary Film”).
Ginzel’s works were broadcast, among others, at BR Klassik, DRadio, ORF as well as SWR. His CDs received overall top ratings (klassik-heute, CD-tip of the week etc.).

Im Jahr 2002 wurde das ZÜRCHER BAROCKORCHESTER von einer Gruppe junger Musikerinnen und Musiker ins Leben gerufen. Die ersten Projekte fanden in kammermusikalischer Besetzung statt – diese überschaubare Größe wie auch die Neugierde der Mitglieder schaffte einen idealen Rahmen zum Experimentieren und Ausprobieren. Nach dieser Aufbauphase wurde die Besetzung laufend vergrößert, so dass heute neben den weiterhin präsenten Kammermusikprojekten vor allem Orchesterkonzerte veranstaltet werden.
Das damalige Gründungsmotto musica inaudita prägt auch heute noch das künstlerische Selbstverständnis des Orchesters: Seine Programme präsentieren sich ungehört, teilweise gar unerhört und ungehörig. Es werden Stücke aufgeführt, die trotz hoher kompositorischer Qualität nur sehr selten im Konzertsaal zu hören sind. Aber auch die Hauptwerke der Barockliteratur sind ein wichtiger Bestandteil der Orchesterarbeit. Allerdings werden sie in einer Programmdramaturgie präsentiert, welche diese Meisterwerke in einem neuen Licht erscheinen lässt, sei es durch die Zusammenstellung der Werke unter einem thematischen Motto, durch die Kombination mit Texten oder in Verbindung mit Neuer Musik. Gespielt wird dabei auf historischen Instrumenten, wie sie der Komponist gekannt hat und für deren klangliche Eigenschaften er seine Musik konzipiert hat.
So holt das ZÜRCHER BAROCKORCHESTER die sogenannt Alte Musik aufgrund aktueller musikwissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse in ihrer Entstehungszeit ab, präsentiert sie aber dem Publikum in einer Weise, welche die Musik zeitlos und erfrischend neu erscheinen lässt.

The Wiener Symphoniker handle the lion’s share of symphonic activity that makes up the musical life of the Austrian capital. The preservation of the traditional, Viennese orchestral sound occupies a central place in the orchestra’s various artistic pursuits. The end of the 19th century was precisely the right time to establish a new Viennese orchestra for the purpose of presenting orchestral concerts with broad appeal, on the one hand, and to meet the need for fi rst performances and premieres of contemporary works, on the other. In October 1900, the newly formed Wiener Concertverein, as it was called back then, gave its first public performance at the Vienna Musikverein with Ferdinand Löwe on the podium. The Wiener Symphoniker has premiered works that are now undisputed staples of the orchestral repertoire, including Anton Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony, Arnold Schönberg’s Gurre-Lieder, Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, and Franz Schmidt’s The Book with Seven Seals. Over the course of its history, conducting greats like Bruno Walter, Richard Strauss, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Oswald Kabasta, George Szell and Hans Knappertsbusch have left an indelible mark on the orchestra. In later decades, Herbert von Karajan (1950–1960) and Wolfgang Sawallisch (1960 –1970) were the Chief Conductors who moulded the sound of the orchestra most signify cantly. After the brief return of Josef Krips, the position of Chief Conductor was filled by Carlo Maria Giulini and Gennadij Roshdestvensky. Georges Prêtre was Chief Conductor from 1986 to 1991. Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Vladimir Fedoseyev then assumed leadership of the orchestra. Fabio Luisi accepted the position of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director at the start of the 2005– 06 season, his successor in 2014–15 will be Philippe Jordan. Leading lights who have enjoyed notable success as guests on the podium of the Wiener Symphoniker include Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Claudio Abbado and Sergiu Celibidache. The Wiener Symphoniker appears in more than 150 concerts and operatic performances per season, the vast majority of which take place in Vienna’s well-known concert venues, the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus. Since 1946, the Wiener Symphoniker has been the orchestra in residence at the Bregenzer Festspiele, where it also plays the majority of operatic and symphonic performances. The orchestra also took on a new challenge at the beginning of 2006: That’s when the Theater an der Wien became a functioning opera house again, and the orchestra has been responsible for a signficant number of productions ever since.

Discography

Growing up in a musical family, Markus Wagner discovered the cello at the age of seven. He had his first lessons with Walter Reiser in Augsburg. After junior studies with Fritz Moscher at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich, he studied with Walter Nothas at the city’s College of Music. There he received his artist diploma with distinction, later studying further with Zara Nelsova at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. He went on to attend the master classes of Paul Tortelier (Diploma di Merito from the Accademia Chigiana in Siena), Heinrich Schiff, Natalia Gutman, William Pleeth and Yo-Yo Ma (New York Violoncello Society). Markus Wagner has won prizes at several national and international competitions, including first prize at the Felix Mottl Competition in Munich in 1989, the Arts Bursary of the city of Augsburg in 1991, a medal at the Maria Canals Concours International de Musique in Barcelona in 1991 and a diploma at the Concours International d’Exécution musicale in Viña del Mar, Chile in 1991.
In 1991 Markus Wagner became one of the youngest lecturers in Germany to be appointed to hold a cello major class at the Leopold Mozart Conservatory in Augsburg. After his appointment as professor in 2001, he moved to the Nürnberg College of Music in 2007. His wide-ranging repertoire includes Baroque, Classical, Romantic and contemporary works. He often departs from the standard repertoire and tackles less familiar composers and works. He has premiered some of them, notably Heinrich Kaspar Schmid’s Cello Concerto. Markus Wagner has undertaken concert tours of most European countries, Israel, China and the USA, and has performed at music festivals in Athens, Bucharest and New York as well as at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Ansbach Bach Festival. His manifold activities as a cellist include radio, TV and CD recordings.

Markus Wagner plays an instrument built by Romeo Antoniazzi in Cremona in 1924.