Description

The songs of Astor Piazzolla

The great argentine composer changed forever the sound of Buenos Aires and brought a contemporary tango with jazz’s elements to the world.
The songs he wrote, mostly inspired by literary luminaries like Jorge Luis Borges, Pablo Neruda or Julio Cortázar; represent a genuine treasure of the XX Century song writing. The argentines Marcela Arroyo (voice) and Julio Azcano (guitar) pick up these hidden jewels and give the timeless dialogue between voice and guitar a new light. Fine and precise arrangements meet a sensual repertoire.

Julio Azcano Different paths converge in the acoustic palette of Julio Azcano: the refining of his classic technique at his homeland Argentina, an intense activity in improvisation and composition projects in Europe and a nourished performing activity that includes concerts through Argentina, Europa and the USA. Julio’s playing was registered in several opportunities on Radio and TV broadcastings and CDs recordings, including the album from South America renowned Guitar Festival “Guitarras del Mundo” and the international broadcasting of an acclaimed concert by “Guitar City 2008” in Poland.

Buenos Aires-born tango singer Marcela Arroyo’s unique voice – sensuous and warm – is utterly captivating. A student of the Manuel de Falla Conservatory and Julio Bocca School of Musical Theater, she went on to perfect her skills under greats such as Anibal Arias, Leda Valladares, Hilda Herrera and Juan Manuel Miró.

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“It has always been my dream to present the two great ‘Golds’, two of my favorite composers together on a CD.

The light, fragrant classic sounds of Vienna from Goldmark, and the refined, ‘Oscar’ winning Hollywood melodies of Korngold have something in common – they unfold together is an almost magical effect. I was fascinated as a child, when I heard the name Carl Goldmark. The hall of the Jewish community in Budapest where I did my first gigs bears his name, the greatest of Hungarian-Jewish romantic Goldmark. I wanted to play his music. During his lifetime, he was highly respected by Johann Strauss, Brahms and Mahler – now today his works are, unfortunately, very rarely played. (Orsolya Korcsolan)

Korcsolan violinist Orsolya was born into a Jewish family in Budapest. She has completed her studies after Sir Georg Solti’s recommendation in New York on the Juilliard School with honors. Korcsolan woman currently lives in Vienna, has performed worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician, and dedicated to their next concert performances of Jewish composers and research topics in the classical music literature.

Description

J. S. Bach’s creative potential as a composer was so all-embracing that there is hardly a single musical genre to which he did not repeatedly return. The great instrumental cycles and the monumental choral works are those most closely associated with his illustrious name. One of these cycles, the Six Partitas for Clavier solo, was designated as his opus 1. Bach wrote it at the age of 46 and had it published himself. One suspects he must have taken special care in selecting a work for the accolade of “opus 1”, especially since his catalogue of works to that date already contained many of his unique masterpieces.
Johannes Brahms’ piano works can be divided into two periods: The early, largescale piano works alternate between symphonic and song-like conception. Their suitability for the concert hall lies in the highly virtuosic writing, for instance in the Paganini Variations. Then there are the late works, the summation of an individual journey, the unifying of personal will with spiritual potential.

Miku Nishimoto-Neubert has performed widely in Europe, Japan and North America as soloist, chamber-musician and as accompanist, concentrating on the music of Bach, German Romantic composers and the modern classics. There she finds the figurative and formal clarity, which, besides the sensitive qualities of touch, characterise the playing of Miku Nishimoto-Neubert. A critic writing about her recent CD of works by Bach spoke of “a capricious sophistication of the spirit” and “a meditative introspection”. Notwithstanding all her technical proficiency, it is the intensity with which she seeks the inner spirit of the music which marks the uniqueness of her interpretations and makes them memorable experiences.

Description

In my opinion, an opera singer has a rightful claim to recognition as an artist only when it can be said that he has personalized the original composition by placing his own stamp on it.

I look back with fondness and warmest appreciation at the moments when the live-recordings which form this collection were created during the period from 1978 to 2007.

The aura of being a Mozart-Tenor accompanied me from the beginning of my career and was a pre-requisite to my eventual crowning achievements as observed in my performance in the roles of Tamino and Belmonte, to entering artistic knighthood as bestowed upon me by Herbert von Karajan and Karl Böhm and finally, to reaching the apex of my career for the celebrity year of Mozart 1991 with highlight performances of Idomeneo and Tito.

I was always clear that my voice would be located in the lyric fach only for a limited time, since the dark colouring of its timbre, the explosiveness of the higher notes and not least its volume were clear early signs that those aspects would become stronger and that I would be advised to go for suitable, heavyweight repertoire. Progressing from the romantic heroes of French opera to the spinto roles of the Italian opera world, I set myself the goal of achieving Lohengrin. Though there were some doubters when I debuted in the role in 1990, it was one of my greatest triumphs. The Swan Knight offered me an opportunity that remains unique in my singing career spanning over forty years – Dimensions thatwereunique. (Francisco Araiza)

FranciscoAraiza.com

Description

The 1989, Baroque ensemble of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra since then presented a series of concerts with sophisticated Baroque music in the context of the Bregenz Festival includes 13 musicians. These concerts over the years, evolved into a real “audience hit” and continued to the present. This was followed by invitations to the Schubertiade to Schwarzenberg, Fiori Musicali Triberg and other festivals.
The special feature of the ensemble is to combine the style and phrasing of the Baroque with the sonic possibilities of today’s instruments and to develop as a unique sound culture.

The six recordings where produced at the “Pilgrimage Church – “Wallfahrtskirche Maria in der Tanne” at Triberg. The roots of the pilgrimage in Triberg go back to the year 1644. This was the year, where little Barbara Francis was healed by the water of a nearby spring of her eye complaint. Only a year later happened another miracle: the tailor Friedrich Schwab was released of his leprosy, by water of the source.
In gratitude, he placed a small statue of “Mary” into the hollow of a pine tree – hence the name of the church: “Maria in der Tanne”.

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Solo Musica presents the Rodrieg Ensemble on an album that explores the dawn of modern classical music and its continuing legacy – with three late works of Claude Debussy as the point of departure.  The album begins with Syrinx 2 (Mark Rodrieg’s flute-duo arrangement of Debussy’s original work for solo flute), Feux d’artifice (Fireworks – Debussy’s last piano Prelude) and Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano.  The album then explores the ongoing influence of the early modern period by presenting Bohuslav Martinu’s Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano, Harold Laudenslager’s Evocation for Solo Flute and finally Mark Rodrieg’s 2011 triptychHoly War X, which is performed by the Rodrieg Ensemble and guest artists, including the Intercontemporain Quartet and female singers from Egypt, Italy, and Japan.  The first two works of the Holy War X triptych (Jihad and Bacio), blur the lines between classical music and popular music by utilizing various elements that are either taken from or associated with popular music.  In the final work, however (Syrinx 21), Mark Rodrieg abandons the hybrid form, by among other things, abandoning the most common “safety net” element found in most popular music (repetitive percussion), and presents a work as pure art music that incorporates compositional elements from multiple periods, including quotations from Debussy’s Syrinx.

The Paris based Rodrieg Ensemble was established by three award-winning artists in order to explore the relationship between contemporary classical music and established repertoire through reference performances of thematically selected chamber music.  Although part of the Rodrieg Ensemble’s artistic vision is to expand the range and context of its core flute/cello/piano trio, its repertoire is not limited to or even predominantly based upon this configuration.  Rather, the Rodrieg Ensemble pursues programming projects in which repertoire selections are made in order to effectively elucidate a given idea or theme.  Thus, performances include works for solo, duo, trio and larger ensemble with guest artists.  This album, which could be succinctly described as ‘Debussy and After,’ is a perfect example of the Rodrieg Ensemble’s multi-faceted artistic vision.

Description

An important feature of the ensemble CelloPassionato is its regular cooperation with composers. Its close ties with the composer create proximity to the work, inspire the interpretation and generate the feeling of being able to “read between the lines”. All the compositions recorded on this CD are a product of this cooperation. The works by Ali-Sade and Gubaidulina are released here as premiere recordings, whereas the works by Bonato and Kerer were written for the ensemble, premiered and subsequently recorded.

For over 15 years, Prof. Julius Berger has been running an ensemble made up of his finest students. Originally intended as an educational initiative, the ensemble soon started to catch the eye of organizers, festivals, radio stations and record companies. CelloPassionato, which is now directed by Hyun-Jung and Julius Berger, has guested at venues such as the Kronberg Cello Festival, the A·DEvantgarde Festival in Munich, the Asiago Festival in Italy, the Konzerthaus in Berlin and on the stages of Seoul in South Korea. The ensemble has also made numerous appearances in France, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Austria and, of course, in its hometown of Augsburg. Composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Wolfgang Rihm, Wilhelm Killmayer, Franghiz Ali-Sade, Giovanni Bonato, Manuela Kerer and Eduard Putz have trusted the ensemble with performances of their works or written new works for the ensemble. Commissioned works are currently being written by the composers Markus Schmitt and Oscar Strasnoy. Recordings of performances have been broadcast by various radio stations in Germany and Austria, by the Seoul Broadcasting System in South Korea and the Franco-German television network Arte. A number of CD releases are also available.