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Gilles Apap & Ensemble Raro – Impressions d‘enfance

Gilles Apap & Ensemble Raro
Impressions d’enfance
Katalog Nr.: SM 396
Veröffentlichung: 13.05.2022


Impressions d’enfance, die neue CD-Einspielung des Ensemble Raro mit Gilles Apap, ist den Kammermusikwerken von George Enescu gewidmet. Das Klavierquintett in D ist eine seiner frühesten Kompositionen. Es wurde 1896 im Alter von fünfzehn Jahren während seines Studiums am Pariser Konservatorium geschrieben und ist sicherlich von Brahms‘ Kammermusikwerken inspiriert.
Enescu selbst gestand über den enormen Einfluss von Brahms auf seine Entwicklung: „Der Gott meiner jugendlichen Verehrung ist Brahms, und ich habe meine frühen Werke in fast schamloser Weise im Stil des unsterblichen Johannes geschrieben“.

Das Quintett wurde 1897 uraufgeführt, bei Enescus erstem Konzert eigener Werke in Paris im Alter von sechzehn Jahren; Massenet und Cortot saßen im Publikum. Die beiden bezaubernden Werke für Klavier und Streichtrio, Aubade und Serenade Lointaine, veranschaulichen, was Enescus geliebter Lehrer Gabriel Fauré sehr schön ausgedrückt hat: „Das größte technische Können ist ohne Poesie nichts wert“. Selbst in dem raffiniert konstruierten kurzen Stück Hommage für Klavier, das auf einem Motiv basiert, das die Buchstaben von Faurés Namen darstellt, überwiegt die poetische, verträumte Qualität. Enescus spätes Meisterwerk Impressions d’enfance für Violine und Klavier versetzt uns in die Zeit zurück, als der dreijährige George zum ersten Mal einen Straßenfiedler hörte. „Impressions“ ist eine Beschwörung einer Kindheit durch eine Abfolge von Träumen, Erinnerungen, unmerklichen Empfindungen und Klängen. Das Ergebnis ist einer der glorreichsten Höhepunkte von Enescus Werk, in dem die Melodie des alten Fiedlers mit kosmischer Klavierharmonie verschmilzt und die edle, heilende Kraft der Musik über alles triumphiert. In Enescus eigenen Worten: Der Mensch „trägt die Musik immer in sich. In der Einsamkeit der Berge und Ebenen ist sie sein Gefährte; sie beruhigt seine Ängste, sie hilft ihm, sein dor zu singen, diese unaussprechliche Sehnsucht, die seine Seele bricht“.


Backcover & Playlist


Ensemble Raro – Rhapsodie Roumaine

Artists: Ensemble Raro

Title: Rhapsodie Roumaine

Catalogue No.: SM277

Release: 26.01.2018

Description

Rhapsodie Roumaine is a musical canvas for the imagination.

This recording features two emblematic works by the Romanian Grandmaster George Enescu. The Romanian Rhapsody No.1 is presented in a new Piano Quartet arrangement by Thomas Wally, commissioned by the Ensemble Raro. The enigmatic violinist Gilles Apap together with the pianist Diana Ketler perform arguably Enescu’s greatest masterpiece, the Third Sonata for Violin and Piano „dans le caractère populaire roumain“, a work of extreme beauty and intensity.

Béla Bartók’s ever popular Six Romanian Dances for Violin and Piano and a selection from his Violin Duos, performed here on two violas, capture the unique and compelling spirit of the Romanian traditional folk music.
Enescu’s recently rediscovered Nocturne Ville d’Avrayen for Piano Quartet is a souvenir of the composer’s lifelong friendship with his student, the great Yehudy Menuhin.

The violinists Gilles Apap and Alexander Sitkovetsky, the violists Razvan Popovici and Christian Nas, the cellist Bernhard Naoki Hedenborg and the pianist Diana Ketler transport the listener to the multi-layered world of the Romanian musical landscape, where joy and melancholy are inseparable and heaven is to be found both under the feet and over the head.

Tracklist

Rhapsodie Roumaine No. 1 in A major, Op.11 Ensemble Raro
1 Rhapsodie Roumaine No. 1 in A major, Op.11 12:51
An Evening in the Village for Violin and Piano Diana Ketler, Gilles Apap
2 An Evening in the Village for Violin and Piano 2:42
Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano in A minor, Op.25 “dans le caractère populaire roumain” Diana Ketler, Gilles Apap
3 Moderato malinconico 8:10
4 Andante sostenuto e misterioso 8:01
5 Allegro con brio, ma non troppo mosso 7:54
From 44 Duos for Two Violins, Sz.98, arranged for two Violas by Peter Bartók Ensemble Raro
6 21. Colinda I / New Year’s Greeting I 2:07
7 44. Ardeleana / Transylvanian Dance 1:46
8 7. Dans Valah I / Walachian Dance I 0:46
9 40. Dans Valah II / Walachian Dance II 0:45
10 32. Dans maramuresean / Dance from Maramures 0:39
11 38. Invârtita batrânilor / Romanian Whirling Dance 0:42
12 29. Colinda II / New Year’s Greeting II 0:42
13 31. Colinda III / New Year’s Greeting III 0:41
Romanian Folk Dances, Sz.56  arranged for Violin and Piano Diana Ketler, Gilles Apap
14 I. Joc cu bata. Allegro moderato 1:28
15 II. Braul. Allegro 0:40
16 III. Pê-loc. Andante 1:31
17 IV. Buciumeana. Moderato 1:39
18 V. Poarga romaneasca. Allegro 0:28
19 VI. Maruntel. Allegro 0:56
Nocturne Ville d’Avrayen for Piano Quartet Ensemble Raro
20 Nocturne Ville d’Avrayen for Piano Quartet 5:56

Ensemble Raro – Being EaRNeST

being-earnest

Artists: Ensemble Raro

Title: Being EaRNeST

Catalogue No.: SM 250

Release: 11.11.2016

Description

There are always artistswho stay true to a specific language, imagery and ideals. Their tone might seem modest and their gaze gives an impression to be turned backwards. From William Morris to Brahms, Handel to Goethe, this view has strangely provided them with an endless vitality. Then there are others who search for the Holy Grail only to never find it, for new horizons and new harmonies, burning everything that has preceded them. The divide between the two types, in the musical and cultural world, has never been deeper than in the first half of the 20th century.
Ensemble Raro’s new recording of two rarely performed chamber music gems by Ernő Dohnányi – the Second Piano Quintet in E-flat Minor  Op.26 (1914) and the Sextet Op. 37 in C Major (1935) for piano, violin, viola, cello, clarinet and horn – proposes to reassess these works, which are imbued with idealism, and to reflect upon the values encoded in them. It may communicate to the receptive listener something new about the world that surrounds us, since “it is the present that polarises the events into fore- and after-history” (W. Benjamin).

Tracklist

2. Klavierquintett es-Moll op. 26
Ernst von Dohnányí
1 I Allegro non troppo 9’50
2 II (Intermezzo). Allegretto 4’52
3 III Moderato 10’20
Sextett in C-Dur für Klavier, Violine, Viola, Violoncello, Klarinette und Horn op. 37 Ernst von Dohnányí
4 I Allegro appassionato 11’00
5 II Intermezzo. Adagio 5’36
6 III Allegro con sentimento 6’50
7 IV Finale. Allegro vivace, giocoso 5’38

Ensemble Raro – Lived & Dreamed – Erlebtes & Erträumtes

Artists: Ensemble Raro

Title: Lived & Dreamed – Erlebtes & Ertraeumtes

Catalogue No.: SM222

Release: 30.10.2015

Description

“Dreaming and wishing hold the finer matter of life,” wrote Franz Kafka. It is no accident that he came from Prague, the city that is the home of the sinister, where dreams are taken more seriously than in the world’s brighter places. It is easy for those who mistrust the spoken language and the verbal articulation of thoughts. Among them were composers like the three great Czechs Antonín Dvorák, born in Nelahozeves in Bohemia in 1841, Leos Janácek, who came into the world in Hukváldy in Moravia in 1854, and Josef Suk, who came from Krecovice in the vicinity of Prague in 1874.
The three of them also shared an enthusiastic interest in old national traditions, among them the great treasure trove of fairy tales and the wealth of folk melodies and rhythms. Perhaps fairy tales and dreams can help us to endure reality, because they place it in a vast continuum and because individual suffering then becomes part of a greater whole from which no-one is excluded. If that is true, then the music presented here really ought to be available on prescription.
Ensemble Raro was formed in 2004 by four extraordinary young musicians: pianist Diana Ketler, violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky, violist Razvan Popovici and cellist Bernhard Naoki Hedenborg. Their goal is to create unforgettable musical moments and to combine innovative approach with rich European tradition of intimate and sincere chamber music making. In 2011 the Ensemble Raro welcomed new members: violinists Alina Pogostkina and Erik Schumann, clarinetist Thorsten Johanns, hornist Olivier Darbellay and cellist Julian Arp.

Tracklist

Quartett für Klavier, Violine, Viola und
Violoncello a-moll op. 1
21’37
I. Allegro appassionato 6’44
II. Adagio 7’25
III. Allegro con fuco 7’22
Quartett Nr. 1 D-Dur, op. 23 für
Violine, Viola, Violoncello und Klavier
35’39
Allegro moderato 15’29
Andantino e Variazioni 12’17
Finale. Allegretto scherzando 7’47
“Märchen” (Pohádka) für Violoncello und
Klavier
12’45
I. Con moto 5’21
II. Con moto 4’23
III. Allegro 2’57
aus “Erlebtes und Erträumtes” für Klavier op. 6’16
“Den vergessenen Grabhügeln auf unserem Dorffriedhofe” 6’16
Total 76:43:00

Ensemble Raro – Dohnanyi Dvorak Suk

Artists: Ensemble Raro

Title: Dohnanyi Dvorak Suk

Catalogue No.: SM 187

Release: 01.07.2013

Description

Ensemble Raro joined forces with the violinist Andrej Bielow to record three jewels of the Romantic chamber repertoire – Antonin Dvorak’s Piano Quartet in E Flat Major, Erno Dohnanyi’s First Piano Quintet and Joseph Suk’s Elegie. The result leaves a singular impression on the listener. An unaffected sincerity of the five performers takes it’s roots from the profound respect they had developed for each other’s musical identity. Complete identification with the musical material coupled with truly Romantic imagination makes for a very fine listening experience.
Ensemble Raro was formed in 2004 by four extraordinary young musicians. Ensemble Raro is constantly looking for creative programme forms, in which they aim to establish new cultural, musical and literary connections. Raro is the ensemble in residence at the Chiemgauer Musikfrühling Festival in Traunstein, SoNoRo Festival in Bucharest, Kobe International Music Festival, Pelerinages in Munich and Mozartiade in Augsburg. They are actively involved in performing contemporary chamber music repertoire. They gave a British and German premieres of Peteris Vasks’s Piano Quartet. Their performances of Walter Braunfels’ and George Enescu’s works in Pelerinages series in Munich received a high critical acclaim.
When a new musician is being considered for the ensemble, personal compatibility is the criterion, not technique. That was the case with the Ukrainian violinist Andrej Bielow. “It was clear from the first note that we would play together,” says Diana Ketler, “because he can completely open himself emotionally – to his colleagues, to the audience, to the music.”

Tracklist

ERNST VON DOHNÁNYI
Piano Quintet in C minor, Op. 1 [28:56]
1. Allegro (8:19)
2. Scherzo. Allegro vivace (4:36)
3. Adagio, quasi andante (7:43)
4. Finale. Allegro animato (8:07)

ANTONÍN DVOØÁK
Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 87 [36:35]
5. Allegro con fuoco (8:41)
6. Lento (10:09)
7. Allegro moderato, grazioso (7:41)
8. Finale. Allegro ma non troppo (9:52)

JOSEF SUK
9. Elegie Op. 23 for Piano trio
Adagio [5:56]

TT 71:45

Ensemble Raro – Canti Drammatici

Artists: Ensemble Raro

Title: Canti Drammatici

Catalogue No.: SM 119

Release: 01.06.2008

Description

Yearning is a constant in life and in music. Peteris Vasks’s music is always tinged with sorrow and melancholy, but hope is always there as well. “The beauty of nature seizes us like a promise of something,” wrote the philosopher Ernst Bloch, and that promise might be seen as Peteris Vasks’s point of departure.

Although the Third Piano Quartet was not published or premiered until 1875, Brahms had begun working on it in 1855/56. Even for Brahms, who spent a lot of time revising works until he arrived at the final form, twenty years to complete a composition was exceptional.

Ensemble Raro was formed in 2004 by four extraordinary young musicians. Ensemble Raro is constantly looking for creative programme forms, in which they aim to establish new cultural, musical and literary connections. Raro is the ensemble in residence at the Chiemgauer Musikfrühling Festival in Traunstein, SoNoRo Festival in Bucharest, Kobe International Music Festival, Pelerinages in Munich and Mozartiade in Augsburg. They are actively involved in performing contemporary chamber music repertoire. They gave a British and German premieres of Peteris Vasks’s Piano Quartet. Their performances of Walter Braunfels’ and George Enescu’s works in Pelerinages series in Munich received a high critical acclaim.

Tracklist

Quartett für Violine, Viola, Violoncello und Klavier

01 I Preludio. Moderato – Vasks, Pēteris
02 II Danze. Allegro – Vasks, Pēteris
03 III Canti drammatici. Andante – Vasks, Pēteris
04 IV Quasi una passacaglia. Allegro – Vasks, Pēteris
05 V Canto principale. Cantabile – Vasks, Pēteris
06 VI Postludio. Adagio – Vasks, Pēteris

Quartett für Violine, Viola, Violoncello und Klavier c-moll, op.60

07 Allegro non troppo – Brahms, Johannes
08 Scherzo. Allegro – Brahms, Johannes
09 Andante – Brahms, Johannes
10 Finale. Allegro commodo – Brahms, Johannes

Diana Ketler – Ensemble Raro: Songs and Dances of Life

Title: Songs and Dances of Life

Catalogue No.: SM 113

Release: 21.08.2007

Description

Members of the Ensemble RaRo are playing Romanian Songs and Dances of BARTÓK, SCHUBERT, MARTINU and other composers

The ensemble Raro was created 2004 by four outstanding musicians, whose goal is it to create unusual chamber-musical moments. In order to realize this as consistently as possible, the ensemble prefers the position „Ensemble in Residence “, which has it in Munich, Traunstein, Augsburg, Germany, Bucharest and Kobe, Japan. Diana Ketler, who’s been ask to became in 2001 a professor for piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and being a Soloist with considerable Orchestras in nearly all countries in the world, uses themselves passionately for the music of the Baltic countries and works closely together with composers such as Peteris Vasks and Arvo Pärt. Razvan Popovici plays as soloist in several European countries. Its participation as a viola player under Abbado, Harnoncourt, Maazel and Wand coined its career. He created the Ensemble Raro and is Initiator of several important Music Festivals.

After this release a new Co-Produktion with the “Bayerische Rundfunk” with works of Peteris Vasks and Johannes Brahms follows this autumn on the Solo Musica Label.

Tracklist

01- 03 44 Duos für zwei Violen SZ 98 (Auswahl 1) – Béla Bartók
04 Colo pe din sus de sat für Klavier Solo – Liviu Comes
05 Sarbatoarea recoltei für Klavier Solo – Dumitru Marinescu
06 Sus din varful muntelui für Klavier Solo – Liviu Comes
07 Noapte für Klavier Solo – Anatol Vieru
08-11 44 Duos für zwei Violen SZ 98 (Auswahl 2) – Béla Bartók
12-15 Vier kleine Klavierstücke – Franz Liszt
16 44 Duos für zwei Violen SZ 98 (Auswahl 3) – Béla Bartók
17 Hungarische Melodie D871 für Klavier solo – Franz Schubert
18 Balada si joc für zwei Violinen – György Ligeti
19-21 44 Duos für zwei Violen SZ 98 (Auswahl 4) – Béla Bartók
22-23 Rumänische Volkstänze für Klavier SZ 56 (Auswahl) – Béla Bartók
24-32 44 Duos für zwei Violen SZ 98 (Auswahl 5) – Béla Bartók
33 Märchen aus Loutky für Klavier Solo – Bohuslav Martinu
34-41 44 Duos für zwei Violen SZ 98 (Auswahl 6) – Béla Bartók
42 Madonna von Frydek from Auf dem verwachsenen Pfad für Klavier Solo – Leos Janácek
43-46 44 Duos für zwei Violen SZ 98 (Auswahl 7) – Béla Bartók
47-56 Rumänische Weihnachtslieder(Heft I) für Klavier Solo – Béla Bartók