Concerto Köln DREAM OF THE ORIENT

Dream of the Orient explores the 18th-century European fascination with all things Turkish by mingling Eastern-tinged music by Mozart, Gluck, and other Enlightenment-era composers with traditional music from Turkey. While the tactic highlights the radical contrasts in style more than it reveals shared traits, it's an intriguing concept that certainly makes for lively listening. Spawned by a collaboration between the period-instrument orchestra Concerto Köln and the group Sarband, who play traditional Turkish instruments, the program typically takes the form of an improvised introduction performed by Sarband followed by a piece of alla turca music from Concerto Köln. Sarband's percussionists also join with Concerto Köln in several of the European pieces -- which is entirely fitting, as Western composers' self-styled "Turkish" music rarely ventured deeper than mimicking the clatter and clang of percussion-heavy janissary bands (Turkish military ensembles). Concerto Köln return the favor by appearing alongside Sarband in a traditional janissaries' march; Sarband also offer several stand-alone pieces; and the program concludes with the spirited Sinfonia Turchesca by Süssmayer (the composer who completed Mozart's Requiem). The allure of Turkish music is an intriguing theme in 18th-century music that lived on well into the 19th century (think of the "Turkish March" in the Finale to Beethoven's Ninth), and Dream of the Orient is an imaginative investigation of that tradition. It's not the first head-turning project from Concerto Köln, though: The orchestra teamed up with jazz pianist Uri Caine for a wholly original take on Beethoven's "Diabelli" Variations and appeared on Lost Objects, from the maverick new-music collective Bang on a Can. Here's another in that mold that, while it looks back in history, charts a vibrant cultural exchange that remains a focal point in our own time. (EJ Johnson)

Sarband
1. Improvised Introduction to the Overture of Mozart's "Entführung aus dem Serail" [1:20]
Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Die Entführung aus dem Serail, K.384
reconstructed and edited with authentic concert ending after the "Harmoniemusik" by Bastiaan Blomhert
2. Overture [4:39]
Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt, Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
Sarband
3. Improvised Introduction to Toderini's "Concerto turco" [1:22]
Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
Traditional
4. Concerto turco nominato izia semaisi [4:16]
Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt, Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
5. Hicaz Son yürük sema'i (Arranged by Vladimir Ivanoff) [0:55]
Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714 - 1787)
La Rencontre imprévue
6. Overture [2:28]
Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt, Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
Sarband
7. Improvised Introduction to the Pesrev "Zurnazem Ibrahim Aga" [0:59]
Zurnazen Ibrahim Aga
Ussak pesrevi
8. Notated by Dimitrie Cantemir (1673-1723) [2:31]
Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
Gazi Giray Han, "Tatar" (1554 - 1607)
Mahur Pesrevi
9. Notated by Dimitrie Cantemir (1673-1723) [3:02]
Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff, Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt
Joseph Martin Kraus (1756 - 1792)
Soliman den andra
10. Allegro (Ballet) [3:40]
Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt, Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
Sarband
11. Improvised Introduction to "Hunkar pesrevi" [2:16]
Anonymous
12. Hünkär pesrevi [2:31]
Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
Joseph Martin Kraus (1756 - 1792)
Soliman den andra
13. Marcia del Sultano [0:58]
Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt, Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
14. Marcia degli schiavi [1:32]
15. Danza di Elmira [1:07]
Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt
16. Marcia degli Giannizari [1:25]
Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt, Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
Traditional
Neva Ilahi
17. with improvisation as middle part [5:58]
Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff, Mustafa Dogen Dikmen
Joseph Martin Kraus (1756 - 1792)
Soliman den andra
18. Marcia di Roxelana [1:09]
Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt
Sarband
19. Improvised Introduction to "La conorazione" from Kraus' "Soliman den andra" [1:15]
Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
Joseph Martin Kraus (1756 - 1792)
Soliman den andra
20. La Coronazione [1:34]
Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt, Volkan Yilmaz (Sarband)
Traditional
21. Hüseyni Ilahi (Arranged by Vladimir Ivanoff) [1:59]
Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
Joseph Martin Kraus (1756 - 1792)
Soliman den andra
22. Marcia degli dervisci [1:12]
Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt
Franz Xaver Süssmayr (1766 - 1803)
Synfonia turchesca
23. 1. Allegro [6:58]
Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt, Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff
24. 2. Adagio [4:08]
Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt
25. 3. [Menuet] - with improvised introduction [3:12]
Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff, Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt
26. 4. [without tempo indication] [3:51]
Concerto Köln, Werner Ehrhardt, Sarband, Vladimir Ivanoff

2003 ARCHIV Production
1 CD DDD
474 1932 7 AH

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Anne-Sophie Mutter BRAHMS Violinkonzert - SCHUMANN Fantasie

This must surely be among the boldest, sweetest, most sensual and most provocatively phrased accounts of Brahms's Violin Concerto ever recorded. And I can tell you with some confidence, after having recently surveyed a whole host of historic violinists playing the same work, that not one of them waives the rules with as much nerve as Anne-Sophie Mutter does here. Kurt Masur leads us in with a typically patient opening tutti, then Mutter fashions a taut though full-toned first entry, lengthening climactic chords from bar 99 and relaxing for a silky-soft account of the first movement's principal theme (435, a real pianissimo) and cosily indulgent rising semiquavers at 453". Sample her lacerating attack at 547", or her extraordinarily vibrant handling of the second set at 706"; trills are immaculate, intonation spot on and the dialogic relationship with Masur suggests a fiery spirit operating within the context of a solid interpretative tradition.
The most striking aspects of this performance concern Mutter's frequent use of portamento, her approach to vibrato and the countless instances where she lingers across the bar-line, slows or speeds up. It is an unremittingly emotional statement, personal yet blatantly outspoken. At one point I half suspected some sort of private subtext, an imagined conversation perhaps, pleading or comforting, embracing or withdrawing for a spot of self-communing. Then I opened the booklet and read that "this recording is dedicated by Anne-Sophie Mutter to the memory of her husband, Dr Detlef Wunderlich". Need one say more?
Joachim's magnificent cadenza is realized to stunning effect in a capricious revision by Ossip Schnirlin (the notes remain the same though their deployment is startlingly original) and the recording captures the full range of Mutter's buttermilk tone.

Mutter's performance is a warming but eccentric one off, as individual and inimitable as the love that inspired it. (RC, Gramophone 1997)

Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)
Violin Concerto in D, Op.77
1) 1. Allegro non troppo [22:57]
2) 2. Adagio [9:24]
3) 3. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace - Poco più presto [7:55]
Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856)
Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra in C major op.131
4) Moderato semplice ma espressivo [13:21]
Anne-Sophie Mutter

New York Philharmonic Orchestra

Kurt Masur

Recorded live at Lincoln Center Festival 1997

1997 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg

1 CD DDD
457 0752 5GH

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Anne-Sophie Mutter LUTOSLAWSKI - STRAWINSKY

This issue gives record collectors their first opportunity to sample the music Lutoslawski has written since the powerful and provocative Symphony No. 3, completed in 1983 and already twice recorded (by CBS and Philips). My own preference would have been for a disc that comprised all three Chain pieces to date—No. 1 is for 14 instruments, No. 3 for orchestra—along with the Partita, and even, if space permitted, the as-yet-unrecorded Novelette for orchestra of 1979. Nevertheless, given the quality of performance and recording throughout this new DG issue, I cannot bring myself to register more than a token complaint. In any case, the conjunction with Stravinsky usefully points up the extent to which Lutoslawski's debt to that master is in some ways even more significant than it is to the oft-mentioned Bartok.
In his notes Lutoslawski writes in glowing terms of Anne-Sophie Mutter's musicianship, and it would indeed be hard to imagine interpretations of Chain 2 and the Partita surpassing the blend of passion and technical polish evident here. Neither work offers Lutoslawski at his greatest. The violin writing in Chain 2 flirts with cliché, but transcends it through the always fascinating relationship between solo and orchestra, and through tight control of the constantly evolving structure that the title 'Chain' describes. The Partita—originally written for violin and piano and retaining the piano as accompaniment for its more cadenza-like passages—is understandably close in style to Chain 2. It works well in this orchestrated form, and has a particularly fine central Largo.
The uncluttered, finely-balanced recording also brings a vivid clarity of detail to the Stravinsky Concerto. I suspect the tendency to 'mark up' some of the softer dynamic indications, especially in the first movement, was a decision of the performers, not an engineer's imposition. Certainly the contrast between this new all-digital production and the earlier Perlman/Ozawa version of the Stravinsky (also on DG), which bears the ADD designation, is striking. The sound for Mutter is both spacious and sharply focused, that for Perlman significantly drier, though I find Perlman's more open tone, and marginally more shapely phrasing, preferable in the third movement, Aria 2. It is also more appropriate for the prevailing mf dynamic marking in this movement than Mutter's intense, veiled sound. As a whole, nevertheless, Mutter's performance is spell-binding, covering a range of expression from inward musing to biting wit that may be even wider than the composer himself imagined. In no sense is this an over-interpretation, however. Details are never exaggerated at the expense of larger perspectives, and while Perlman has a comparable ability to do justice to wood and trees alike, his is a more single-minded, less varied reading.
The veteran Paul Sacher makes a rare, and welcome, appearance as conductor of the Stravinsky, while ceding Chain 2—a Sacher commission and dedicated to him—to the expert hands of the composer. In the Stravinsky, Sather and the Philharmonia provide expert support, and one can be reasonably confident that the few moments where rhythms are not absolutely steady are interpretative inflexions, not accidents: they certainly do nothing to dissipate the cumulative energy of this marvellous work. (Gramophone, 02/1989)

Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971)
Concerto en re for violin and Orchestra
1) 1. Toccata [5:51]
2) 2. Aria I [4:09]
3) 3. Aria II [5:13]
4) 4. Capriccio [5:49]
Anne-Sophie Mutter
Philharmonia Orchestra
Paul Sacher

Witold Lutoslawski (1913 - 1994)
Partita (for Violin and Orchestra)
5) 1. Allegro giusto [4:14]
6) 2. Ad libitum [1:12]
7) 3. Largo [6:22]
8) 4. Ad libitum [0:47]
9) 5. Presto [3:51]
Anne-Sophie Mutter
Phillip Moll
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Witold Lutoslawski
Chain 2 Dialogue for Violin and Orchestra
10) 1. Ad libitum [3:48]
11) 2. A battuta [4:58]
12) 3. Ad libitum [4:58]
13) 4. A battuta - Ad libitum - A battuta [4:27]
Anne-Sophie Mutter
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Witold Lutoslawski

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De Lhoyer: Duos et Concerto Pour Guitare

Born in Clermont-Ferrand, Antoine de Lhoyer served in the Gardes du Corps du Roi (The King’s Bodyguard) until its disbandment in 1791. Thereafter he embarked on a series of travels throughout Europe, serving in various anti-revolutionary armies before turning to a career as a guitarist, and as a teacher and composer for the instrument. In 1813 he returned to France, able after the fall of Napoleon to serve once more in the armies of the King. His musical activities seem to have come to an end in 1826 with his posting to a garrison in Corsica. His final years were again spent travelling, finally to Algeria.

Lhoyer’s guitar duos demonstrate the composer’s eclectic style of writing, with the two instruments carefully balanced in the characteristic harmonic and structural musical idiom of his time.

Antoine de Lhoyer (1768 -1852)
Concerto Pour Guitare & Cordes, Opus 16
1) Allegro Moderato
2) Adagio
3) Rondo Moderato
3 Duos Concertants, Opus 31
Duo No 3 En Mi Mineur
4) Allegro Agitato
5) Romance
6) Rondo, Poco Vivace
Duo N° 1 En La Majeur
7) Moderato
8) Adagio Cantabile
9) Rondo, Poco Vivace
Duo N° 2 En Ut Majeur
10) Allegro Moderato
11) Menuet Poco Vivace
12) Adagio Cantabile
13) Rondo Allegretto

Ensemble Matheus

Jean-Christophe Spinosi

Josiane Rabemananjara

Philippe Spinosi

2004 Opus 111

1 CD DDD

OP 30396

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Nemanja Radulovic LES TRILLES DU DIABLE

There is a desperately fine yet crucial line between, on the one hand, find something genuinely fresh and original to say and, on the other, publicity - seeking posturing designed to court notoriety. If this triumphant "live" album is anything to go by, Nemanja Radulovic stays well over to the right side of that line.

He produces an exquisitely pure, small-scale sound (interestingly there is nothing here by the composer he seems born to play - Mozart) and phrases with a ravishing vocal quality that makes everything feel compellingly inevitable. There are pieces here - the Schubert A major Rondo and Tchaikovsky Mélodie, for example - that have rarely been treated to such an exquisite range of supple shading and dynamics.

All of this would go for nothing if there wasn't such a profound sense of Radulovic playing "in the zone". Such well-worn favourites as Kreisler's Preludium and Allegro, Liebesleid and Schön Rosmarin emerge herewith a winning freshness and charm thath the composer himself would surely have relished. Even the notorious "Devil's Trill" Sonata comes surging off the fingerboard with a joie de vivre to match Szeryng (RCA) and Perlman (EMI) in overdrive. The effect is further enhanced by string quintet accompaniments of great flair and élan, and sumptuous engineering. (JULIAN HAYLOCK, The Strad, February 2010)

Gaetano Pugnani (1731 - 1798)

1. Praeludium & allegro

Henryk Wieniawski (1835 -1880)
2. Legend In G Minor, Op. 17

Tomaso Antonio Vitali (1663 - 1745)

3. Chaconne In G Minor

Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)
4. Rondo In A Major, D. 438

Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)
5. Souvenir d' un lieu cher, 3 pièces In E-Flat Major, Op. 42
6. Souvenir d' un lieu cher, 3 pièces In C Minor, Op. 42. Scherzo
7. Souvenir d' un lieu cher, 3 pièces In D Minor, Op. 42. Méditation

Giuseppe Tartini (1692 - 1770)

8. Sonata In G Minor, Op. 1: IV. Il trillo del Diavolo

Pablo de Sarasate (1844 - 1908)
9. Romanza andaluza, from Spanische Tänze, Op. 22 (Les Trilles du Diable)

Fritz Kreisler (1875 - 1962)
10. Liebesleid
11. Schön Rosmarin (Les Trilles du Diable)

2009 DECCA Records

1 CD DDD

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Sviatoslav Richter GRIEG - SCHUMANN Piano Concertos

While there have been perhaps hundreds of recordings of the Grieg piano concerto, nearly as many of Schumann's concerto, and dozens of recordings of Schumann's "Papillons," there have never been better performances of any of the works on this disc than these by Sviatoslav Richter. His combination of strength and delicacy, of force and tenderness in the Grieg concerto has never been equaled. From the crashing chords of the opening through to the ethereal melodic heights of the close, Richter not only makes the piece sound like the best piece Grieg ever wrote, he makes it sound like a better piece than Grieg ever wrote. And his Schumann concerto is even better: powerful and whimsical, dramatic and epic, strong-willed and soft-hearted, it is ideal Schumann playing. Lovro von Matacic is a muscular and sympathetic accompanist, and the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra plays more than adequately if less than splendidly. The live recording of Schumann's "Papillons" is exquisitely beautiful and warmly poetic. (James Leonard)

Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907)

Piano Concerto in A minor Op.16

I) Allegro molto moderato
2) II. Adagio

3) III. Allegro moderato molto e marcato - Andante maestoso

Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856)

Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 54

4) Allegro affettuoso - Andante espressivo - Tempo 1 - Cadenza - Allegro molto
5) Intermezzo (Andantino grazioso)

6) Allegro vivace

7) Papillons Op. 2

Sviatoslav Richter

Orchestre National De L'Opéra De Monte-Carlo

Lovro Von Matacic

2003 EMI Classics

1 CD ADD

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Anne-Sophie Mutter PREVIN Violin Concerto - BERNSTEIN Serenade

The collaboration of Anne-Sophie Mutter and André Previn has produced some striking results. Their previous CD, titled Tango Song and Dance, began with the premiere recording of a work by Previn and continued with a wildly diverse program of music for violin and piano. Mirroring that disc, this one also starts off with a first recording of a Previn composition -- his Violin Concerto, subtitled "Anne-Sophie," for whom it was written. It's a lyrical and engaging work that, while fairly conventional in style and form, allows Mutter to dig in and display her flawless technique and the impassioned playing for which she is best known. Previn deems the first movement the most traditional, and fittingly, it features segments of Impressionist lyricism -- such as the evocative opening section, in which Previn seems to be painting a bucolic scene -- broken by passages of Prokofiev-like rhythmic intensity, while swelling violins at other moments recall the lushness of the late Romantics. The more free-form second movement, marked "Cadenza -- Slowly," draws an icy and bleak landscape at the outset but builds to a softly glowing ending, and the final movement is a fanciful set of variations on a German children's song that Previn learned as a boy. The Boston Symphony provide skillful accompaniment on this live recording, with the composer himself conducting. The companion, Serenade After Plato's 'Symposium,' is one of Leonard Bernstein's finest works, and it receives a predictably vivid reading from the violinist. The London Symphony step in to take over the accompaniment, but the same sparks fly from Mutter's bow, and Previn remains her adoring and attentive partner at the podium. (EJ Johnson)

André Previn (1929 - )
Violin Concerto "Anne-Sophie"
1) 1. Moderato [9:50]
2) 2. Cadenza - Slowly [13:26]
3) 3. Andante [16:20]
Anne-Sophie Mutter
Boston Symphony Orchestra
André Previn

Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990)
Serenade (1954) after Plato's "Symposium"
4) 1. Phaedrus - Pausanias: Lento - Allegro marcato [6:52]
5) 2. Aristophanes: Allegretto [4:26]
6) 3. Erixymachus: Presto [1:27]
7) 4. Agathon: Adagio [7:56]
8) 5. Socrates - Alcibiades: Molto tenuto - Allegro molto vivace [10:39]
Anne-Sophie Mutter
London Symphony Orchestra
André Previn

2003 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
1 CD DDD
474 5002 3 GH

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Pletnev BEETHOVEN Variations & Bagatelles

Beethoven composed Bagatelles, mere trifles? It hardly seems possible, this composer from whom every note seems to have been dragged as if as the result of some tumultuous artistic struggle.
Yet he did – three sets in all. And he himself refers to them as 'trifles'. Not that surprising, really, when we remember that music was his language; hopeless with words, he expressed himself fully only – and totally – through his music.
And so the Bagatelles are his small talk, his relaxation. One imagines him sitting at the piano at the end of a hard day's composing and playing for his own benefit, something light, as it comes into his head, with no worry about somehow unifying it into a cohesive whole of three movements, as with a sonata, for instance.
The listener must approach the Bagatelles in the same way. Pletnev's double CD set is an absolute treasure: practically every piano piece Beethoven composed that you haven't already got on CD! All the Bagatelles, two Rondos, five sets of variations, minuets, a polonaise and an andante. The first piece – appropriately – is the very first composition for piano that Beethoven ever published. He was 11 years of age. The Variations on a March by Dressler are, as Cooper points out in his comprehensive and indispensable notes, an early statement by Beethoven of his manifesto: life is a serious business. And Pletnev's playing bears this out; you'd think almost this was a composition by a mature Beethoven. And marvel at how an eleven-year-old boy could play – let alone compose – the ninth and final variation. Each variation seems to grow out of the one before – the 'structure' I've mentioned that seems to be missing in lesser composers.
Disc 2 contains an absolute favourite of mine, not to mention hundreds of amateur Viennese pianists in Beethoven's time. The Andante in F major, known as the "Andante favori". The nickname was given by Beethoven, exasperated at its popularity. "I can't walk down the street without hearing it coming from one window or another!" he complained. I could perhaps have wished for a little more explosiveness in the jaunty middle section, but, as I've said regarding the Opus 119 Bagatelles, Pletnev invests every piece with a seriousness, almost sombreness, as if he can't quite let himself go. And so his reading of the Andante takes almost a minute longer than the only other recording I know of.
The little Rondos are a delight and I have to confess I did not know Beethoven wrote a set of Six Variations on a Swiss Song. He wrote them either just before or after his arrival in Vienna as a 21-year-old, determined to make his way as a composer, and they are clearly the effort of a young man feeling his way.
I hesitate to use the word "easy-listening", as this can never truly be applied to Beethoven, but at the end of a busy day, with a glass of wine in hand, when I want to listen to his music without either furrowing my brow or having to concentrate too hard, I will reach for Pletnev's wonderful set. (John Suchet)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
9 Variations on a March by Dressler WoO 63
1) Thema. Maestoso - Var. I - IX [7:22]
Rondo in C major WoO 48
2 Allegretto [2:09]
Rondo in A major WoO 49
3) Allegretto [2:42]
6 Variations on a Swiss Song in F major WoO 64
4) Thema. Andante con moto - Var. I - VI [2:57]
24 Variations on Righini's Arietta "Venni amore" WoO 65
5) Thema. Allegretto [0:47]
6) Var. I [0:43]
7) Var. II [0:43]
8) Var. III [0:37]
9) Var. IV [0:42]
10) Var. V [0:38]
11) Var. VI [0:38]
12) Var. VII [0:41]
13) Var. VIII [0:56]
14) Var. IX [0:44]
15) Var. X [0:41]
16) Var. XI [0:47]
17) Var. XII [1:05]
18) Var. XIII [0:41]
19) Var. XIV. Allegretto - Adagio [1:29]
20) Var. XV [0:34]
21) Var. XVI [0:41]
22) Var. XVII [0:53]
23) Var. XVIII [0:49]
24) Var. XIX [0:38]
25) Var. XX. Scherzando [0:41]
26) Var. XXI [0:45]
27) Var. XXII [0:41]
28) Var. XXIII. Adagio sostenuto [3:46]
29) Var. XXIV. Allegro - Allegro stringendo - Presto assai [2:12]
12 Variationen über das menuett a la vigano aus "Le Nozze Disturbate" von J. Haibel, WoO68
30) Thema. Allegretto - Var.I-XI - Var.XII.Allegro-Adagio [11:25]
6 Piano Variations in G, WoO 70 on "Nel cor più non mi sento"
31) Thema. (Andantino) - Var. I - VI [4:13]
6 Minuets WoO 10
32) No. 1 in C major [1:52]
33) No. 2 in G major [2:07]
34) No. 3 in E flat major [2:00]
35) No. 4 in B flat major [1:59]
36) No. 5 in D major [2:04]
37) No. 6 in C major [1:51]
Rondo in C, Op.51, No.1
38) Moderato e grazioso [5:11]
Rondo in G, Op.51, No.2
39) Andante cantabile e grazioso [7:43]

CD 2:
7 Bagatelles, Op.33
1) 1. Andante grazioso, quasi Allegretto [3:27]
2) 2. Scherzo (Allegro) [3:16]
3) 3. Allegretto [2:11]
4) 4. Andante [3:19]
5) 5. Allegro, ma non troppo [2:48]
6) 6. Allegretto quasi Andante [3:36]
7) 7. Presto [2:08]
6 Piano Variations in F, Op.34
8) Thema (Adagio) [1:38]
9) Variation I [1:25]
10) Variation II (Allegro ma non troppo) [1:05]
11) Variation III (Allegretto) [1:00]
12) Variation IV (Tempo di menuetto) [1:06]
13) Variation V: Marcia (Allegretto) [2:48]
14) Variation VI - Coda (Allegretto) [3:52]
Andante favori in F, WoO 57
15) Andante grazioso con moto [10:39]
Polonaise in C, Op.89
16) Alla polacca, vivace [5:50]
11 Bagatelles, Op.119
17) 1. Allegretto [3:02]
18) 2. Andante con moto [0:57]
19) 3. à l'Allemande [1:46]
20) 4. Andante cantabile [1:42]
21) 5. Risoluto [1:06]
22) 6. Andante - Allegretto leggiermente [2:02]
23) 7. Allegro ma non troppo [1:14]
24) 8. Moderato cantabile [2:06]
25) 9. Vivace moderato [0:45]
26) 10. Allegramente [0:18]
27) 11. Andante, ma non troppo [2:04]
Bagatelle in C minor WoO 52
28) Presto [3:56]
Bagatelle in C major WoO 56
29) Allegretto [1:44]

Mikhail Pletnev

1997 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
2 Compact Discs DDD
457 4932 7 GH2

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Anne-Sophie Mutter JEAN SIBELIUS Violin Concerto

The power and intensity of Mutter’s performance of the concerto emerges immediately in the opening phrases. Where most violinists treat them as a deep meditation, Mutter with comparable intensity makes them tougher than usual, using momentarily a vibratoless tone, slightly steely, establishing this more clearly as an llegro moderato first movement rather than a lyrical slow one. Even if one misses some of the raptness of Mullova or Chung, it is a very valid view, and the power of the reading is reinforced by the relatively close balance of the solo instrument, relating this version more to Perlman’s than to any of the others I have listed. She is perhaps closer to Perlman too in relating this more clearly to the Tchaikovsky Concerto, giving a performance of extremes, launching into the cadenza for example with a fierceness unsurpassed by any of the others.
Not that her reading lacks inner qualities, for despite the close balance the opening of the slow movement finds Mutter playing in rapt meditation on a half-tone. In the middle of the movement she expands in romantic warmth before returning finally to the most intense pianissimo. Her timing for the finale is even faster than Perlman’s, with power again the keynote, and as in the earlier movements Previn proves a most sympathetic, bitingly effective partner. Note that two of the other versions listed also feature him as conductor, and here he manages to draw a felt, strong and generally idiomatic performance from an orchestra not noted for playing Sibelius.
The all-Sibelius coupling is apt if (at 49 minutes) hardly generous. The nearest rival as regards repertoire is the Rachlin Sony version, which has only the second of the two Serenades but adds En Saga as a non-concertante makeweight. There is little direct rivalry between Mutter and Rachlin in the concerto, for unlike her he takes a broad, expansive view of the outer movements, and in the Second Serenade too he is broader, less spontaneous-sounding, where Mutter at her most inspired beautifully captures the wayward, improvisatory quality not just of that Serenade but of the first one as well. She also brings out the quirky element in the rather later Humoresque with its unpredictable resolution into a sort of wild waltz leading to a final cut-off ending. On any count Mutter clearly establishes all three pieces as far more than just salon Sibelius, with Previn and the orchestra, beautifully recorded, relishing the atmospheric and original colourings. Altogether an excellent choice for anyone wanting an all-Sibelius disc. (Gramophone Magazine)

Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957)
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.47
1) 1. Allegro moderato [15:57]
2) 2. Adagio di molto [8:26]
3) 3. Allegro, ma non tanto [7:15]
Two Serenades, Op.69
4) 1. Andante assai, Op.69 No.1 - in D major [6:36]
5) 2. Lento assai, Op.69 No.2 - in G minor [6:57]
Humoresque no.1 in D minor, op.87 no.1
6) for violin and orchestra [3:33]

Anne-Sophie Mutter
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
André Previn

1995 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
1 CD DDD
477 8952 2 GH

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Yuja Wang TRANSFORMATION Stravinsky - Scarlatti - Brahms - Ravel

The young pianist Yuja Wang has already made quite a name for herself in a very limited period of time. Her debut recording on Deutsche Grammophon was a critical and popular success and even earned Yuja a Grammy nomination. On the heels of this impressive debut, Yuja returns with Transformation, which categorically demonstrates that she is a young master of the Steinway.
This all-new recital highlights Yuja’s penchant for piecing together high concept programs the public adores with no shortage of technical brilliance. This exciting program includes some of the most electrifying and demanding works in the solo piano repertoire.

Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971)
Petrouchka
Three Movements for Piano (1921)
1) Russian Dance [2:30]
2) Petrouchka's Room [4:16]
3) The Shrovetide Fair [8:46]
Domenico Scarlatti (1685 - 1757)
Sonata in E, K.380
4) Andante commodo [5:28]
Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)
Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op.35
Book 1:
5) Thema. Non troppo presto [0:27]
6) Variation I [0:24]
7) Variation II [0:25]
8) Variation III [0:26]
9) Variation IV [1:00]
10) Variation V [0:46]
11) Variation VI [0:27]
12) Variation VII [0:28]
13) Variation VIII [0:29]
14) Variation IX [1:00]
15) Variation X [1:23]
16) Variation XI: Andante [1:17]
17) Variation XII [1:12]
Book 2:
18) Variation I [0:43]
19) Variation II: Poco animato [0:36]
20) Variation V [0:24]
21) Variation VI: Poco più vivace [0:21]
22) Variation VII [0:19]
23) Variation VIII: Allegro [0:29]
24) Variation X: Feroce, energico [0:41]
25) Variation XI: Vivace [0:25]
26) Variation XII: Un poco Andante [1:10]
27) Variation XIII: Un poco più Andante [0:56]
28) Variation III [0:30]
29) Variation IV: Poco Allegretto [0:54]
Book 1:
30) Variation XIII: Vivace e scherzando [0:32]
31) Variation XIV: Allegro - Presto, ma non troppo [2:07]
Domenico Scarlatti (1685 - 1757)
32) Sonata in f minor (Andante moderato) K466 [5:45]
Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937)
33) La Valse (Transcription for Piano Solo) [11:49]

Yuja Wang

2010 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
1 CD DDD
477 8795 2 GH

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You can download here
PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey