FÜR ELISE My first recital

A piano recital has just ended. The pianist is taking a bow, the audience is clapping frantically, some are shouting "Bravo!", and (if the concert hall is in Germany, Austria or certain other places on the Continent) a few enthusiasts even scramble down to the front and start clapping together rhythmically. This is the moment everyone has been waiting for. The official part of the programme is over, and now everyone is hoping for an encore. What will he or she play? Something by Beethoven or Mozart? A Chopin waltz? One of Schumann's "Scenes from childhood"? Or something Russian? This moment is made for virtuosos, the magicians of the keyboard who can cast a spell on the audience with just a few bars. These little pieces play as important a part in a big piano recital as dessert does at the end of a good dinner: like petits fours, dainty morsels in which deft fingers, creative refinement and presentational flair combines to make a small work of art. The room is completely silent, the whole audience listens entranced to the yearning melodies, the perfectly carved miniatures which tell of childhood and love. Then a storm of applause. The audience simply cannot have enough of these pieces. Perhaps the pianist will play another, and then another.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Bagatelle in A minor, WoO 59 -"Für Elise"
1) Poco moto [4:03]
Anatol Ugorski
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
2) Prelude and Fugue in C (WTK, Book I, No.1), BWV 846 [3:26]
Wilhelm Kempff
Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847)
Lieder ohne Worte, Op.62
3) No. 6 Andante grazioso in A "Spring Song" [2:08]
Daniel Barenboim
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Piano Sonata No.14 in C sharp minor, Op.27 No.2 -"Moonlight"
4) 1. Adagio sostenuto [6:01]
Wilhelm Kempff
Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856)
Kinderszenen, Op.15
5) 1. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen [1:51]
6) 7. Träumerei [2:59]
Martha Argerich
Waldszenen, Op.82
7) 7. Vogel als Prophet [2:57]
Maria João Pires
Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918)
Suite bergamasque
8) 3. Clair de lune [5:08] $ 1.29
Alexis Weissenberg
Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849)
12 Etudes, Op.10
9) No. 3 in E "Tristesse" [3:59]
Tamás Vásáry
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Piano Sonata No.11 in A, K.331 -"Alla Turca"
10) 3. Alla Turca (Allegretto) [3:41]
Maria João Pires
Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886)
Liebestraum No.3 in A flat, S.541 No.3
nach einem Gedicht von Ferdinand Freiligrath
11) Notturno III: O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst Poco Allegro, con affetto [4:35]
Daniel Barenboim
Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875)
Jeux d'enfants, Op.22
12) 6. Trompette et tambour [2:07]
13) 2. La toupie [0:57]
14) 12. Le bal [1:39]
Alfons Kontarsky, Aloys Kontarsky
Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)
16 Waltzes, Op.39
15) 15. in A flat [1:41]
Aloys Kontarsky, Alfons Kontarsky
Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918)
Children's Corner
16) 1. Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum [1:49]
Alexis Weissenberg
Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)
4 Impromptus, Op.90, D.899
17) No.2 in E flat: Allegro [4:39]
Daniel Barenboim
Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849)
18) Waltz No.6 in D flat, Op.64 No.1 -"Minute" [1:53]
Jean-Marc Luisada
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
19) 12 Variations in C, K.265 on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman" [7:47]
Clara Haskil
Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907)
Lyric Pieces, op.57
20) 6. Heimweh [4:19]
Emil Gilels

1998 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
1 CD 459 1352 GH

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J. S. Bach SONATAS Viktoria Mullova - Ottavio Dantone

Violinist Viktoria Mullova made two great decisions before she made this record. First, she decided to record not only Bach's canonical six sonatas for violin and harpsichord, but also his Sonata in G major for violin and continuo and his Trio Sonata in C major for violin and continuo — the continuo in question being organ and viola da gamba and the third instrument in the trio being a flute. This decision not only more generously filled the discs and more amply expanded the range and color of the ensemble, it added new players for Mullova and harpsichordist/organist Ottavio Dantone to play with, to wit, gambist Vittorio Ghielmi and flutist Luca Pianca. Second, she decided to be herself, the self trained under Leonid Kogan in the Moscow Conservatoire, and defected from the USSR when she was 24, and can play anything from the Beatles to Shostakovich. She can instantly change from cool and serene to fiery and passionate depending on the mood and the music. Thus when Mullova actually came to make the record, she had superb repertoire, a terrific ensemble, and a tone, a technique, and and a temperament primed and ready to take on Bach's magnificent music.
The results are breathtaking. In the six sonatas, Mullova and Dantone play together with intimacy and expressivity, phrasing together, shaping together, and bending and molding together so that the performance becomes far more than the sum of its parts. In the two additional works, Mullova and Dantone with Ghielmi and Pianca play with a tight but relaxed ensemble that weaves in and out and around and through each other with supreme skill and effortless elegance. Recorded in the Alte Grieser Marienkirche in Bolzano, Italy, in 2007 and produced, engineered, and mastered in rich, lustrous, and deep sound by Michael Seberich, this record belongs on the same shelf with the best recordings of Bach's violin sonatas ever made. (James Leonard)

CD 1:
Sonata in B minor, BWV 1014 for violin and harpsichord
1) I Adagio 3.11
2) II Allegro 3.00
3) III Andante 2.55
4) IV Allegro 3.22

Sonata in A, BWV 1015 for violin and harpsichord
5) I Dolce 2.46
6) II Allegro 3.03
7) III Andante un poco 3.05
8) IV Presto 4.40

Sonata in E, BWV 1016 for violin and harpsichord
9) I Adagio 3.50
10) II Allegro 2.56
11) III Adagio ma non tanto 4.21
12) IV Allegro 3.48

Trio Sonata no 5 for violin and continuo in C, BWV529
13) I Allegro 4.24
14) IILargo 5.05
15) III Allegro 3.08

CD2:
Sonata in C minor, BWV 1017 for violin and harpsichord
1) I Largo 4.24
2) II Allegro 4.32
3) III Adagio 3.07
4) IV Allegro 4.44

Sonata in F minor, BWV 1018 for violin and harpsichord
5) I Largo 7.44
6) II Allegro 4.36
7) III Adagio 3.03
8) IV Vivace 2.32

Sonata in G, BWV 1019 for violin and harpsichord
9) I Allegro 3.29
10) II Largo 1.36
11) III Allegro 4.37
12) IV Adagio 2.38
13) V Allegro 3.18

Sonata in G, BWV 1021 for violin and continuo
14) I Adagio 3.40
15) II Vivace 0.57
16) III. Largo 2.13
17) IV Presto 1.27

Viktoria Mullova (violin)
Ottavio Dantone (harpsichord; organ BWV1021,529)
Vittorio Ghielmi (viola da gamba) BWV1021, BWV529
Luca Pianca (lute BWV1021, BWV529)

2007 ONYX 4020

2 CD DDD

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Beethoven DIE STREICHTRIOS Mutter - Giuranna - Rostropovich

Beethoven’s Op. 9 String Trios are often put down as practice works – the Master limbering up for his first serious assault on the Quartet. As any composer will tell you, that’s rather an odd way of going about things: the string trio is a particularly difficult medium to get to grips with (it keeps trying to be a quartet). In Op. 9 Beethoven mastered it thoroughly, and the inclusion in this set of the Op. 3 Trio shows us how – by modelling some of his textures on those of another great trio, Mozart’s Divertimento in E flat, K563. In perfect contrast, there’s a good example, in the Serenade, Op. 8, of a trio that isn’t really a trio; the scoring for three strings often sounds merely fortuitous, as though those were the instruments to hand – not surprising that some of its movements could have been easily arranged for other combinations (including flute and guitar!).
So, an ‘educational’ set? No – the three Op. 9 Trios are splendid works: alive, ingenious and full of poetry. And apart from a few minor blemishes, these performances are more than adequate. Anne-Sophie Mutter can be a little fierce at times, especially at the opening of Op. 3, and there’s what seems to be a tiny misreading in the first movement coda of Op. 9 No. 3 (bar 199, at 7'46''), where one of the violin’s quaver figures is mysteriously turned upside down. More disturbingly, there’s some horribly bad tuning (lower strings) on one sustained fp chord in the following Adagio (bar 13, at 1'23''). Generally though, moods and tempos are well judged. Despite the prevailing seriousness, Mutter, Giuranna and Rostropovich are also sensitive to the young Beethoven’s Puckish sense of humour – even in Op. 9 No. 3 (C minor doesn’t always mean tragedy with Beethoven). (Stephen Johnson)

CD 1:
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
String Trio in E flat, Op.3
1) 1. Allegro con brio [11:23]
2) 2. Andante [5:51]
3) 3. Menuetto (Allegretto) [3:18]
4) 4. Adagio [8:05]
5) 5. Menuetto (Moderato) [3:36]
6) 6. Finale (Allegro) [6:35]
Serenade for String Trio in D, Op.8
7) 1. Marcia (Allegro - Adagio) [7:28]
8) 2. Menuetto (Allegretto) [2:24]
9) 3. Adagio - Scherzo (Allegro molto) - Adagio (Tempo I) - Allegro molto [4:55]
10) 4. Allegretto alla Polacca [3:18]
11) 5. Thema con Variazioni: Andante quasi Allegretto - Variations I -IV - Marcia. Allegro [9:19]

CD 2:
String Trio in G major, Op.9, no.1
1) 1. Adagio - Allegro con brio [10:02]
2) 2. Adagio, ma non tanto, e cantabile [7:18]
3) 3. Scherzo (Allegro) [3:05]
4) 4. Presto [4:57]
String Trio in D major, Op.9, no.2
5) 1. Allegretto [7:59]
6) 2. Andante quasi allegretto [5:43]
7) 3. Menuetto (Allegro) [3:43]
8) 4. Rondo (Allegro) [6:16]
String Trio in C minor, Op.9, no.3
9) 1. Allegro con spirito [8:28]
10) 2. Adagio con espressione [6:35]
11) 3. Scherzo (Allegro molto e vivace) [3:09]
12) 4. Finale (Presto) [5:37]

Anne-Sophie Mutter
Bruno Giuranna
Mstislav Rostropovich

1989 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
2 CD DDD
427 6872 GH 2

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Mahler SYMPHONIE No. 3

This is Mahler's longest symphony, in six movements and lasting nearly two hours. Mahler's concept of the symphony as a world unto itself finds its complete exposition here in the highly diverse styles and elements, creating problems of continuity and coherence that he did not completely solve. The primary theme of the Third is Nature and Man's place therein, and its principal literary inspirations are Das Knaben Wunderhorn (as in the previous symphony) and Nietzsche. As in the Second Symphony, Mahler added words and voices to expand his means of expression and used material from one of his earlier Wunderhorn Songs. The original program ran like this: "The Joyful Knowledge: A Summer Morning's Dream." I. Pan Awakes: Summer Marches In; II. What the Meadow Flowers Tell Me; III. What the Creatures of the Forest Tell Me; IV. What Night Tells Me (Mankind); V. What the Morning Bells Tell Me (the Angels); VI. What Love Tells Me; and VII. The Heavenly Life (What the Child Tells Me). Ultimately, Mahler dropped the seventh movement and used it as the core around which he built the Fourth Symphony. The sum of this program represents Mahler's cosmological hierarchy at this point in his life and the Third Symphony as a whole is his most specific example of "world building" in artistic terms. (Steven Coburn)

Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911)
Symphony No.3 in D minor
1) 1. Kräftig. Entscheiden [33:34]
2) 2. Tempo di minuetto. Sehr mäßig [9:27]
3) 3. Comodo. Scherzando. Ohne Hast [16:38]

1) 4. Sehr langsam. Misterioso: "O Mensch! Gib acht!" 'O Mensch! Gib acht' [9:17]
2) 5. Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck: "Bimm Bamm. Es sungen drei Engel" [4:05]
3) 6. Langsam. Ruhevoll. Empfunden [22:22]

Anne Sofie von Otter
Wiener Philharmoniker
Pierre Boulez
Women Chorus of Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde
Johannes Prinz
Wiener Sängerknaben
Gerald Wirth

2003 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
CD DDD
474 0382 GH 2
2 Compact Discs

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Mahler DES KNABEN WUNDERHORN

A finely balanced recording places the voices in ideal relationship with the orchestra which itself is given a well-aired, clean sound (although the Amsterdam sound of 13 years ago for Bernstein is no less truthful). It supports a performance that is predictably – given the BPO/Abbado partnership – shipshape in execution, nothing in Mahler’s highly original scoring overlooked. As is customary with this conductor’s Mahler, the approach tends to be objective and disciplined. In that respect it is at the opposite pole to the concept of Bernstein who, in my favourite version among many available, is more yielding and, to my ears, more idiomatically Mahlerian in mood and in subtlety of rubato, those little lingerings that mean so much in interpreting the composer – yet Bernstein is no slower as a whole.
Quasthoff comes very near the top of baritones who have essayed the military songs, his tone compact, well-ordered, responsive to verbal nuance, and he’s as successful with the lighter and ever-delightful ‘Lob des hohen Verstandes’, nightingale, cuckoo and donkey nicely characterized. Yet Andreas Schmidt, for Bernstein, benefiting from his slightly lighter, slimmer voice, is marginally preferable to Quasthoff in flexibility and varied tone. Von Otter, her intelligent self throughout, is a little too knowing in her approach to the comic songs assigned to her; by contrast she brings a Wagnerian intensity to that mini-tragedy ‘Das irdische Leben’. Her tone sometimes loses colour, but not in ‘Wo die schonen Trompeten’, where her acuity with the text and feeling for the evocation of the distanced trumpets is second only to Popp’s on the Bernstein. Popp is as moving, if not more so, in this song, with some pianissimo singing von Otter cannot match, and unequalled in her easier traversal of the lighter songs.
Where two characters are involved, Abbado opts for a single voice, Bernstein for two. Although Abbado may be following what Mahler wanted, ‘Trost im Ungluck’ and the delicious ‘Verlor’ne Muh’, for instance, are so much more pointed with the combined voices of Popp and Schmidt. So DG hasn’t quite managed to trump its own ace. ' (Alan Blyth)


Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911)
Songs from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn"
1) Revelge [7:13]
2) Rheinlegendchen [3:21]
3) Trost im Unglück [2:22]
4) Verlor'ne Müh [2:42]
5) Der Schildwache Nachtlied [6:10]
6) Das irdische Leben [2:52]
7) Lied des Verfolgten im Turm [3:56]
8) Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht? [2:05]
9) Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt [4:03]
10) Lob des hohen Verstandes [2:32]
11) Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen [7:11]
12) Der Tamboursg'sell [6:53]
13) Urlicht [5:44]

Anne Sofie von Otter
Thomas Quasthoff
Berliner Philharmoniker
Claudio Abbado

1999 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
1 CD DDD
459 6462 GH

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BOULEZ: Répons / Dialogue de l'ombre double

Répons was commissioned by the Southwest German Radio (SWR) for the Donaueschingen Music Festival and was first performed on 18 October 1981 by the Ensemble InterContemporain. Like many other of Boulez's compositions, Répons is a "work in progress". For the most part, this recording corresponds to the third version of the piece premièred in 1984 in Turin. About the idea behind Répons Pierre Boulez says:
"I take the title in the first place because it's vague. When you use words like sonata and symphony you are tied. Répons can mean many things - but not nothing! In its original sense it means responsorial singing, between a soloist and the chorus, in alternation, as in Gregorian chant. And this notion can be enlarged: for me, that's important, to go back to notions and to go further, to go beyond the idea of a dialogue between one and several, one instrument and many instruments. There are many conjunctions and dialogues in this piece: between soloists (there are six) and a central group, certainly, but not just in alternation. There are all sorts of ways in which the material can be proposed by the central group and taken up by the soloists, or vice versa, or the same music played by different groups of instruments and in different rhythmic patterns. But, above all, there's a dialogue between the instruments and the technology: a solo instrument plays and what it plays can be enlarged, expanded. Not only the sound itself can be transformed but what happens to it in time and space. The technology acts on the sound according to the programs I have established. No question of chance operations!" (Gramophone, March 1999)

Pierre Boulez (1925 - )
Répons (1981 - 1984)
1) Introduction [6:26]
2) Section 1 [2:58]
3) Section 2 [2:04]
4) Section 3 [2:23]
5) Section 4 [5:40]
6) Section 5 [3:58]
7) Section 6 [5:23]
8) Section 7 [5:52]
9) Section 8 [3:12]
10) Coda [4:34]
Ensemble Intercontemporain
Pierre Boulez
Andrew Gerzso

Dialogue de l'ombre double (1985)
11) Sigle initial [1:05]
12) Strophe I [2:03]
13) Transition I à II [1:01]
14) Strophe II [1:26]
15) Transition II à III [1:43]
16) Strophe III [1:23]
17) Transition III à IV [0:51]
18) Strophe IV [1:55]
19) Transition IV à V [0:26]
20) Strophe V [1:07]
21) Transition V à VI [0:43]
22) Strophe VI [1:36]
23) Sigle final [2:54]
Alain Damiens
Andrew Gerzso

1998 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
1 CD DDD
457 6052 GH 20/21 Series

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Rolando Villazón HANDEL

For those who associate Rolando Villazón with the lyric tenor heroes of 19th-century operas - and who doesn't? - the notion of him singing Handel may come as a bit of a shock. Since when has the 36-year-old Mexican been interested in early 18th-century music? "I can tell you exactly", he replies. "I was in Paris, at the start of my career, and I bought a CD of Cecilia Bartoli singing Vivaldi. I became obsessed by it. So did my wife. Any excuse - if we had something to celebrate, or needed cheering up - and we would listen to it over and over again. Of course, that was BC: before children! Ever since then I have sought out recordings of Baroque music. And I dreamed of singing it myself, although I knew that the way I was singing at that time didn't suit this repertoire."
His chance came when he met the conductor and harpsichordist Emmanuelle Haïm. She persuaded him to make a CD of Monteverdi. "And I must say that it was one of the most spiritually fulfilling experiences of my career. Another door opened in my inner life. I loved the discovery of new colours in my voice, of learning how to use the words, of searching for the right edition. It was around this time that I also said to myself: 'I can do lieder'. But that's another subject!" (Richard Morrison)


George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759)
Tamerlano HWV 17
1) Aria: Ciel e terra armi di sdegno [3:22]
Rodelinda
2) Accompagnato: Fatto inferno [2:45]
3) Aria: Pastorello d'un povero armento [4:46]
Serse
4) Accompagnato: Frondi tenere [0:42]
5) Arioso: Ombra mai fù [2:42]
6) Aria: Più che penso alle fiamme del core [6:52]
7) Aria: Crude furie degl' orridi [3:42]
Ariodante HWV 33
8) Aria: Scherza infida in grembo al drudo [9:44]
9) Aria: Dopo notte, atra e funesta [6:42]
Tamerlano HWV 17
10) Rec.: Oh, perme lieto - Accompagnato e Rec.: Fremi, minaccia [3:43]
11) Arioso: Figlia mia [2:08]
12) Accompagnato: Tu, spietato, il vedrai [3:25]
La Resurrezione (1708)
13) Aria: "Così la tortorella" (S. Giovanni) [4:19]
14) Aria: "Caro Figlio!" (S. Giovanni) [4:34]

Rolando Villazon
Gabrieli Players
Paul McCreesh

2009 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
1 CD DDD
477 8056

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Brahms VIOLIN CONCERTO / DOUBLE CONCERTO Vadim Repin

Following his critically acclaimed debut album for Deutsche Grammophon - a coupling of Beethoven's Violin Concerto and "Kreutzer" Sonata - Vadim Repin has now turned his attention to Brahms. "Brahms's music moves me to the very depths of my being," says the Russian violinist. In concert he has often performed the Violin Concerto, one of the series of great 19th century works in this medium that also includes those by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky. For his recording of this important repertoire piece, Repin chose the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and its principal conductor, Riccardo Chailly. The two musicians have benn friends and given concerts together for may years. "The last time I performed the Brahms Violin Concerto with Vadim was almost ten years ago on a North American tour with the Concertgebouw Orchestra," recalls the conductor. "Since then he has performed it with other conductors and I have conducted it with other soloists. We have now met up again to rediscover the piece together." (Melina Gehring)

Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)

Violin Concerto in D, Op.77
1) 1. Allegro non troppo [22:51]
2) 2. Adagio [9:11]
3) 3. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace - Poco più presto [7:56]
Vadim Repin
Riccardo Chailly
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Op.102
4) 1. Allegro [16:43]
5) 2. Andante [7:40]
6) 3. Vivace non troppo - Poco meno allegro - Tempo I [8:29]
Vadim Repin
Truls Mörk
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Riccardo Chailly


2009 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
1 CD DDD
477 7470GH

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Catrin Finch GOLDBERG

Catrin Finch, former Harpist to the Prince of Wales, has become one of her instrument's foremost exponents. On this, her Deutsche Grammophon debut, Catrin tackles brand new arrangements of JS Bach's Goldberg Variations, for solo harp. The clear sound of the harp brings this intricate and beautiful music to life in a delicate and unique fashion.

“The Goldberg Variations is an icon in the classical music world. It was the challenge more than anything that first appealed to me, not knowing whether it would work or not.

“It was quite exciting in a way, like piecing a puzzle together. You finally get to the last piece and figure out it can all be done, so then you have the process of actually learning the piece as a piece.”

While it’s a traditional piece, she believes it will appeal to most people.
“There are already thousands of people around the world who are just crazy about the piece,” she says.
“I’m hoping it will open doors to other people as well. The aria is very famous. People will know it as the theme tune to (the film) Hannibal.
She adds: “It’s just an amazing piece of music really – it’s one of those pieces you go on to develop throughout your life.
“I’m very happy with everything about it. It’s the most important thing I’ve done so far in my career. It’s been quite a turning point for me.”
That’s quite an admission from someone who’s already enjoyed an international career – and she’s not yet reached her 30th birthday.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Aria mit 30 Veränderungen, BWV 988 "Goldberg Variations"
Arranged for Harp by Catrin Finch
1 Aria [3:33]
2 Var. 1 a 1 Clav. [1:27]
3 Var. 2 a 1 Clav. [1:59]
4 Var. 3 Canone all'Unisono a 1 Clav. [1:26]
5 Var. 4 a 1 Clav. [1:17]
6 Var. 5 a 1 ovvero 2 Clav. [0:48]
7 Var. 6 Canone alla Seconda a 1 Clav. [1:25]
8 Var. 7 a 1 ovvero 2 Clav. [2:19]
9 Var. 8 a 2 Clav. [1:00]
10 Var. 9 Canone alla Terza a 1 Clav. [1:34]
11 Var. 10 Fughetta a 1 Clav. [1:01]
12 Var. 11 a 2 Clav. [0:58]
13 Var. 12 Canone alla Quarta [2:11]
14 Var. 13 a 2 Clav. [2:47]
15 Var. 14 a 2 Clav. [1:12]
16 Var. 15 Canone alla Quinta in moto contrario [3:48]
17 Var. 16 Ouverture a 1 Clav. [3:38]
18 Var. 17 a 2 Clav. [1:35]
19 Var. 18 Canone alla Sesta a 1 Clav. [1:19]
20 Var. 19 a 1 Clav. [1:17]
21 Var. 20 a 2 Clav. [1:19]
22 Var. 21 Canone alla Settima [2:12]
23 Var. 22 Alla breve a 1 Clav. [1:31]
24 Var. 23 a 2 Clav. [1:13]
25 Var. 24 Canone all'Ottava a 1 Clav. [3:12]
26 Var. 25 a 2 Clav. [7:13]
27 Var. 26 a 2 Clav. [1:24]
28 Var. 27 Canone alla Nona [1:54]
29 Var. 28 a 2 Clav. [1:10]
30 Var. 29 a 1 ovvero 2 Clav. [1:09]
31 Var. 30 Quodlibet a 1 Clav. [2:06]
32 Aria [2:53]

Catrin Finch

2009 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg

1 CD DDD

477 8165 GH

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FIRST ANNIVERSARY!! (ONE YEAR SHARING MUSIC)

Mozart DON GIOVANNIWhile in Prague from January to February 1787, attending and conducting performances of his most recently completed opera Le nozze di Figaro and concerts of several of his instrumental works, Mozart received a commission from Prague impresario Pasquale Bondini for a new opera, which was to be produced in Prague during October 1787. Mozart returned to Vienna and asked Lorenzo Da Ponte, the librettist for Figaro, for another opera libretto. Don Giovanni became the second of three opere buffe Mozart would compose to a libretto by Da Ponte, the third of which, Così fan tutte, Mozart would complete in early 1790. Da Ponte's libretto shows the influence of Bertati's libretto for Gazzaniga's opera Convitato di pietra. The premiere of Don Giovanni took place to great public and critical acclaim in Prague on October 29, 1787. The Prague reception of Don Giovanni was more positive than that of the opera's first Vienna performances in 1788, for which reviews suggested mild dissatisfaction with the work's extended length and unnecessary plot elaborations.
Mozart creates levels of dramatic expression through recitativo secco, recitative accompagnato, and aria styles. Through recitativo secco, Mozart reveals large amounts of plot information with utmost musical economy. Recitativo accompagnato is reserved for moments of great emotion, in which the accompanying orchestra virtually assumes a dramatic role. In Act Two, Scene Ten (d), the orchestra virtually speaks for the conflicted Donna Elvira, emphatic dotted rhythms in the orchestra conveying her rage and slurred couplets giving musical voice to her sighs. The dramatically stagnant da capo aria that was the mainstay of the operas of George Friedrich Handel is virtually absent from Don Giovanni. Leporello's so-called "catalog aria" ("Madamina, il catalogo è questo") in Act One, Scene Five, for example, suggests both through-composed and bi-partite formal elements. Some arias in Don Giovanni, however, such as Don Ottavio's Act One, Scene Fourteen aria ("Dalla sue pace"), contain traces of the ternary form idea of returning to beginning material after a section of contrasting music. Donna Elvira's aria in Act Two, Scene Ten(d) ("Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata") juxtaposes ternary and rondo form ideas, reinforcing through musical form Donna Elvira's returning to the same position of pity and longing for Don Giovanni. In keeping with the function of the opera overture to introduce the opera's important themes, the music that begins the overture, marked by alternations between the D minor tonic and its dominant, returns in the Commendatore's scene in Act Two, Scene Fifteen. The drama of this scene is set in relief by the light use popular music in the preceding party scene, where the on-stage musicians play melodies from arias by Martín y Soler, Sarti, and even Mozart's own Le nozze di Figaro during Don Giovanni's party. Don Giovanni's canzonetta ("Deh, vieni alla fenestra, o mio tesoro") in Act Two, Scene Three, an airy strophic song scored for pizzicato strings and mandolin, is a similarly witty musical juxtaposition of planes of realism. (Jennifer Hambrick)



Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Don Giovanni
Dramma giocoso in two acts
Libreto: Lorenzo da Ponte

Samuel Ramey: DON GIOVANNI
Anna Tomowa-Sintow: DONNA ANNA
Agnes Baltsa: DONNA ELVIRA
Kathleen Battle: ZERLINA
Gösta Winbergh: DON OTTAVIO
Ferruccio Furlanetto: LEPORELLO
Alexander Malta: MASETTO
Paata Burchuladze: IL COMMENDATORE
Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Berliner Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan

1986 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
3 CD DDD
419 1792 GH 3

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MAHLER LIEDER Quasthoff / Urmana / von Otter / BOULEZ

Without question, this is the best disc of Mahler songs to come along in many a moon. All three singers have a lot to offer the music, and Boulez conducts with typical clarity, leading the orchestra with great discipline as well as an usually high level of what sounds suspiciously like emotional commitment. You can hear this immediately in the Songs of a Wayfarer, where "Ich hab ein glühend Messer" has real Sturm und Drang angst, with Thomas Quasthoff typically marvelous in his ability to put across the sense of the text without stooping to tasteless histrionics. His world-weariness in the final song, coupled with his innate beauty of tone, makes the cycle's conclusion exceptionally moving. In the orchestral department, note how effectively Boulez touches in all of those marvelous orchestral details--the harp in the second song, for instance.
Violeta Urmana's lighter soprano (compared to Otter) suits the chamber-music delicacy of the Rückert songs well, and it's good to hear her in excellent form after her disappointing contribution to Boulez's dullest-in-history Das Lied von der Erde. The three shortest songs come first, followed by "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen", and finally "Um Mitternacht". Urmana catches the inward quality of the former extremely well, if perhaps not quite with Janet Baker's or Christa Ludwig's almost supernatural purity of timbre and intonation, and she's just terrific in the final song, with Boulez giving the piano and harp plenty of exposure and controlling the brass as effectively as anyone ever has. It's a stunning piece of conducting in a song that usually winds up defeating the singer.
Anne Sofie von Otter's contribution to the Kindertotenlieder finds her on the same high level as her colleagues. Temperamentally, she seems ideally suited to the suffocating sorrow of the opening song, and she understands the need to avoid any trace of preciosity in "Wenn dein Mütterlein". Both she and Boulez really but loose in the final song: this has to be one of its finest performances on disc, not just for Otter's barely controlled fury in the opening verses and her exquisite legato in the final lullaby, but also for Boulez's ability to bring out the violence of the writing at all dynamic levels. The Vienna winds really do themselves proud here, and this isn't a group about which that can be said very often. This is also one of the very few recordings that permits you to hear the low, marimba-like tones of the celesta at the very end--and how important they are to Mahler's sound palette!
The recording, as you may have gleaned from the above commentary, captures a great deal of orchestral detail very faithfully. I also like the natural balances, with the voices not too close but rather cushioned in the orchestral fabric as they would be in live performance. At times this means that the orchestra necessarily dominates, but then this is Mahler after all, and if you want to hear voice, and nothing but voice, there's always Bellini. My only quibble is a slight lack of body to the instrumental textures at the lowest dynamic levels, but otherwise this is first class. God knows how many recordings I have of this music, but when I feel like listing to any of these songs, it will be difficult not to reach for this disc first. [2/14/2005] (David Hurwitz)

Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911)
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
1) Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht [4:12]
2) Ging heut' morgen übers Feld [3:53]
3) Ich hab' ein glühend Messer [3:09]
4) Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz [5:37]
Thomas Quasthoff

Wiener Philharmoniker

Pierre Boulez

Rückert-Lieder
5) Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder [1:18]
6) Ich atmet' einen linden Duft [2:37]
7) Liebst du um Schönheit [2:45]
8) Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen [7:02]
9) Um Mitternacht [5:54]
Violeta Urmana

Wiener Philharmoniker

Pierre Boulez
Kindertotenlieder
10) Nun will die Sonn' so hell aufgeh'n [5:44]
11) Nun seh' ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen [4:51]
12) Wenn dein Mütterlein [4:57]
13) Oft denk' ich, sie sind nur ausgegangen [3:01]
14) In diesem Wetter [6:08]
Anne Sofie von Otter

Wiener Philharmoniker

Pierre Boulez

2005 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg

1 CD DDD

477 5329 GH

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THE OPERA GALA

The “Gala of the Opera Stars" captured on this CD belongs to a cherished tradition of exclusive events designed to showcase the talents of the world's leading singers, concerts that have been held to huge acclaim in international opera houses from Sydney to New York. Baden-Baden's Festival Theatre was the setting for the present encounter between two of the most exciting and beautiful young operatic voices currently before the public: the Russian soprano Anna Netrebko and the Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča. A programme featuring only these two singers would still have guaranteed the greatest possible musical enjoyment, to say nothing of the occasion's visual rewards. But a true gala demands the four classic types of operatic voice: soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and baritone. And so the lovely duo became an imposing quartet with the addition of the Mexican star tenor Ramón Vargas and his no less famous baritone colleague from France, Ludovic Tézier.
The programme was performed three times, all performances being sold out within three hours. And the resultant atmosphere entirely reflected the occasion's significance. “Anna and I met some years ago in Riga," recalled Elīna Garanča, “and since then we've also sung together - but only for recordings. This is the first time we've appeared together onstage." “In order for an evening like this to succeed," adds Anna Netrebko, “you have to show more than just professional respect for each other. You have to like one another. And the four of us are really fond of one another." The two men were naturally unwilling to be outdone here. Ramón Vargas and Ludovic Tézier have worked together professionally in the past: “Ramón and I appeared together on stage in Lucerne about ten years ago. It's a joy to be able to revive our fond memories of that occasion through this new encounter - and, on top of everything else, in a place as special as Baden-Baden!"

Léo Delibes (1836 - 1891)
Lakmé
1) Viens, Mallika, ... Dôme épais (Flower Duet) [6:43]
Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848)
L'elisir d'amore
2) "Una furtiva lagrima" [5:08]
Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875)
Les pêcheurs de perles
3) Au fond du temple saint [6:19]
Vincenzo Bellini (1801 - 1835)
Norma
4) Casta Diva [9:31]
Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)
Don Carlo
5) Per me giunto ... Io morrò [7:39]
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921)
Samson et Dalila
6) "Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix" [6:15]
Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)
Rigoletto
7) Bella figlia dell'amore [5:52]
Luisa Miller
8) "Oh! fede negar potessi" - "Quando le sere al placido"[5:32]
Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924)
La Bohème
9) "O soave fanciulla" [4:35]
Ruperto Chapi y Lorente (1851 - 1909)
Las Hijas del Zebedeo
10) Carceleras [4:54]
Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875)
Carmen
11) Couplets: "Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre" [4:36]
Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)
La traviata
12) "Libiamo ne'lieti calici (Brindisi) [3:36]

Anna Netrebko
Elina Garanca
Ramón Vargas
Ludovic Tézier
SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg
Marco Armiliato

2007 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
1 CD DDD
477 7177 GH

You can buy it on Amazon.com
You can download here