Robert Schumann: Piano Quartet in E flat major, & Piano Quintet in E flat major | Johann Sebastian Bach: Five Fugues from Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, Vol. 2, arrangement for string quartet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Isabelle Faust, Anne-Katharina Schreiber, Antoine Tamestit, Jean-Guihen Queyra, Alexander Melnikov (HD 1080p)

Isabelle Faust (violin), Anne-Katharina Schreiber (violin), Antoine Tamestit (viola), Jean-Guihen Queyra (cello), and Alexander Melnikov (period piano), play Robert Schumann's Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op.47, and Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op.44, and Johann Sebastian Bach's Five Fugues from Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, Vol. 2, arrangement for string quartet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, KV.405. Recorded at the 17th Chopin and his Europe International Music Festival, at Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, on August 18, 2021.

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

♪ Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op.47 (1842) [7:06]*

i. Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo 

ii. Scherzo. Molto vivace

iii. Andante cantabile

iv. Finale. Vivace

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

♪ Five Fugues from Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, Vol. 2, arrangement for string quartet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), KV.405 (1782) [38:56]

i. Fugue in C minor, KV.405 No.1 (after BWV 871)

ii. Fugue in E flat major, KV.405 No.2 (after BWV 876)

iii. Fugue in E major, KV.405 No.3 (after BWV 878)

iv. Fugue in D minor, KV.405 No.4 (after BWV 877)

v. Fugue in D major, KV.405 No.5 (after BWV 874)

Robert Schumann

♪ Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op.44 (1842) [54:45]

i. Allegro brillante

ii. In modo d'una marcia: Un poco largamente – Agitato

iii. Scherzo: Molto vivace

iv. Allegro, ma non troppo

Encore:

Szymon Laks (1901-1983)

♪ Piano Quintet on Popular Polish Themes (1945) [1:28:15]

iii. Vivace non troppo

* Start time of each work

Isabelle Faust, violin

Anne-Katharina Schreiber, violin

Antoine Tamestit, viola

Jean-Guihen Queyra, cello

Alexander Melnikov, period piano

17th Chopin and his Europe International Music Festival, Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, August 18, 2021

(HD 1080p)

Isabelle Faust fascinates audiences with her outstanding musical interpretations, imbued with profundity and intense playing. She dives deep into every piece, considering its historical context and suitable instruments. She complements this sense of authenticity with the need to approach a composition from the present.

After winning the renowned Leopold Mozart Competition and the Paganini Competition at a very early age, she began appearing regularly with the world's major orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Close and sustained collaborations with conductors including Claudio Abbado, Giovanni Antonini, Frans Brüggen, John Eliot Gardiner, Bernard Haitink, Daniel Harding, Philippe Herreweghe, Andris Nelsons and Robin Ticciati have likewise evolved.

Isabelle Faust's artistic curiosity embraces all eras and forms of musical collaboration. As well as performing the major symphonic violin concertos, she also plays works such as Schubert's Octet on historical instruments, Kurtág's Kafka-Fragmente with Anna Prohaska and Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat with Dominique Horwitz. She is also committed to contemporary music and will give the premieres of works by Peter Eötvös, Brett Dean, Ondřej Adámek and Oscar Strasnoy over the coming seasons.

Her recordings have been unanimously praised by critics, as well as being awarded the Diapason d'Or, the Gramophone Award, the Choc de l'année du Monde de la Musique and various other prizes. Her most recent recordings include Bach's violin concertos with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor Op.64 with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and Pablo Heras-Casado. In 2018 a recording of Bach's sonatas for violin and harpsichord was released in collaboration with Kristian Bezuidenhout. Isabelle Faust's other acclaimed recordings include Bach's solo violin sonatas and partitas, as well as the Beethoven and Berg violin concertos with Claudio Abbado. She enjoys a long-standing collaboration with pianist Alexander Melnikov and their recordings include sonatas for piano and violin by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms.

This season, Isabelle Faust is artist in residence at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.

During her studies in Freiburg with Rainer Kussmaul, violinist Anne Katharina Schreiber became a member of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra in 1988, with whom she has given concerts around the world and recorded numerous CDs. She also continues to be active as a soloist, concertmaster and director of her own projects. She collaborates regularly with ensembles in both the Baroque and modern repertoire, including ensemble recherche, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Basel Chamber Orchestra and Collegium Vocale Gent under conductors such as René Jacobs, Pablo Heras-Casado, Marcus Creed and Philippe Herreweghe.

She also has a great love of chamber music. For over 20 years, she has been a member of Trio Vivente, with whom she has recorded numerous highly acclaimed recordings. As well as works by Haydn and Schubert, her discs include piano trios by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, released in 2013, and a 2017 CD of piano trios by the long-forgotten Romantic composer Emilie Mayer, which demonstrated the Trio’s commitment to rediscovering neglected repertoire, as well as contemporary music. Anne Katharina Schreiber is also a sought-after chamber music partner for various other groups, collaborating with musicians such as Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Daniel Sepec and Roel Dieltiens.

Anne Katharina Schreiber is frequently asked to conduct guest projects with the Basel Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Resonanz and the Norsk Barokkorkester Oslo. She is also the concertmaster of the Orchestra of Collegium Vocale Gent. She has been teaching at the University of Music in Freiburg since 2007.

Antoine Tamestit is recognized internationally as one of the most important viola players. As a soloist and a chamber musician, he is known for his unsurpassed technique and the beauty of his sound. His broad repertoire ranges from the Baroque to the present day. His engagement with contemporary music is reflected in numerous world premieres and recordings, including Thierry Escaich's La Nuit des chants, Bruno Mantovani's Concerto pour deux altos et orchestre and Olga Neuwirth's Remnants of songs... an Amphigory and Weariness heals Wounds. One of the works commissioned by Antoine Tamestit is Jörg Widmann's Viola Concerto and he gave the premiere in 2015 with the Orchestre de Paris and Paavo Järvi. He has appeared as a soloist with such renowned orchestras as the Czech Philharmonic, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, the WDR Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, working with well-known conductors including Valery Gergiev, Riccardo Muti, Daniel Harding, Marek Janowski, Antonio Pappano, François-Xavier Roth, Emmanuel Krivine and Franz Welser-Möst.

In the 2020-2021 season Antoine Tamestit has been invited to perform with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France and the Orchestre de Paris.

He founded the Trio Zimmermann with Frank Peter Zimmermann and Christian Poltéra. Other chamber music partners include Nicholas Angelich, Gautier Capuçon, Martin Fröst, Leonidas Kavakos, Nikolai Lugansky, Emmanuel Pahud, Francesco Piemontesi, Christian Tetzlaff, Cédric Tiberghien, Yuja Wang, Jörg Widmann, Shai Wosner as well as the Quatuor Ébène and the Hagen Quartet.

Antoine Tamestit records for harmonia mundi and recently released a CD of works by Brahms with Cédric Tiberghien. Other notable recordings include Jörg Widmann's Viola Concerto with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Daniel Harding, which was released in February 2018.

He plays a viola by Antonio Stradivari from 1672, loaned by the Habisreutinger Foundation.

The work of cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras is characterized by his curiosity, diversity and firm focus on the music itself, whether on the concert platform or on record. He learned his interpretative approach from Pierre Boulez, with whom he established a long artistic partnership.

He is as thorough in his approach to early music, including continuing collaborations with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, as he is to contemporary music. He has given the world premieres of works by composers such as Ivan Fedele, Gilbert Amy, Bruno Mantovani, Michael Jarrell, Johannes Maria Staud, Thomas Larcher, Tristan Murail and Peter Eötvös.

The versatility of his music-making has led to invitations to be artist in residence at many concert halls and festivals, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, the TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, the De Bijloke Music Centre in Ghent and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg.

Jean-Guihen Queyras was a founding member of the Arcanto Quartet and forms a celebrated trio with Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov. He also works frequently with Alexandre Tharaud.

Jean-Guihen Queyras is a regular guest with such renowned orchestras as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris and the London Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. He has worked with conductors such as Iván Fischer, Philippe Herreweghe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, François-Xavier Roth, John Eliot Gardiner and Roger Norrington.

Jean-Guihen Queyras's discography comprises many acclaimed recordings, including performances of cello concertos by Elgar, Dvořák, Philippe Schœller and Gilbert Amy. His CDs of works by C.P.E. Bach and Vivaldi was released in 2018. Jean-Guihen Queyras records exclusively for harmonia mundi.

Highlights of the 2020-2021 season include performances with the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, as well as concerts with the Belcea Quartet, Tabea Zimmermann, Alexander Melnikov and Isabelle Faust. He was also artist in residence at Radio France.

Jean-Guihen Queyras holds a professorship at the University of Music in Freiburg and is artistic director of the Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence Festival. He plays a 1696 instrument by Gioffredo Cappa, made available by the Mécénat Musical Société Générale.

Alexander Melnikov graduated from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he studied with Lev Naumov. His most formative musical moments include an early encounter with Sviatoslav Richter, who regularly invited him to festivals in Russia and France.

Known for his unusual musical and programmatic decisions, Alexander Melnikov developed a career-long interest in historically-informed performance practice early on. His major influences in this field include Andreas Staier and Alexei Lubimov, with whom he has worked on numerous projects. He regularly performs with well-known early music ensembles including the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, musicAeterna and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.

As a soloist, Alexander Melnikov has performed with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic. He has worked with conductors such as Mikhail Pletnev, Teodor Currentzis, Charles Dutoit, Paavo Järvi, Thomas Dausgaard and Valery Gergiev.

Together with Andreas Staier, Alexander Melnikov recorded an all-Schubert programme of four-hand pieces, which they have also performed in concert. Another essential part of his work is his intensive chamber music collaborations with partners such as cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras.

Concerts with his long-standing duo partner Isabelle Faust are also extremely important to him. Their complete account of the Beethoven violin sonatas on harmonia mundi has become a benchmark recording and was awarded the Gramophone Award and nominated for a Grammy. Their recording of the Brahms violin sonatas was released in 2015, followed by the Mozart sonatas in 2018.

During the 2021-2022 season Alexander Melnikov presents his Many Pianos project, a solo recital performed on different instruments that reflect the periods in which the works were written. Other highlights include appearances at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, recitals in Dortmund and Tokyo and concerts with the Cuarteto Casals, Isabelle Faust and Jean-Guihen Queyras.

Biographies, Source: salzburgerfestspiele.at

More photos


See also

Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata No.3 in C major for Solo Violin, BWV 1005 – Isabelle Faust (HD 1080p)

Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita No.2 in D minor for Solo Violin, BWV 1004 – Isabelle Faust (HD 1080p)

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C major, K.299/297c | Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, K.191/186e | Violin Concerto No.4 in D major, K.218 – Musicians of Camerata-Orchestra of the Friends of Music, Markellos Chrisykopoulos – Megaron Athens Concert Hall, Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall, 03-05.03.2021 (Premiere: 03.03.2021, 20:30, Live streaming)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C, K.299/297c in 1778. It is one of only two true double concertos that he wrote, as well as the only piece of music that Mozart wrote that contains the harp. It was commisioned by Adrien-Louis de Bonnières, duc de Guînes, for his use and for that of his older daughter, Marie-Louise-Philippine. At the time, the harp was still in development, and was not considered a standard instrument, and Mozart's opinion of it was at best dubious, as he never again composed for it. In fact, the harp part appears to be more like an adaptation of a piano part. The piece is essentially in the form of a Sinfonia Concertante, which was extremely popular in Paris at the time. The piece is one of the most popular such concerti in the repertoire, as well as often being found on recordings dedicated otherwise to either one of its featured instruments. Eventually Mozart came to despise the nobleman who commissioned it, who never paid the composer for this work.

Source: musopen.org

✻

It was long assumed that Mozart's earliest wind concerto, and his only one for bassoon (he may have composed three or four others, now lost), was written for the bassoon-playing baron Thaddäus von Dürnitz. But, as scholars now agree, this is jumping the gun: Mozart only met Dürnitz in Munich in December 1774, whereas the Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, K.191/186e, bears the date 4 June 1774. We can guess that he wrote it for one or other of the bassoonists in the Salzburg Court Orchestra, Melchior Sandmayr (who also played the oboe – wind players were expected to multi-task in those days) or Johann Heinrich Schulz. Perhaps they both played the concerto at different times. The eighteen-year-old Mozart gives full rein to the bassoon's clownish side in the first movement's quickfire repeated notes and vertiginous leaps, with the instrument morphing between high tenor and basso profundo. But during the eighteenth century the instrument had become mellower and more expressive. By the turn of the nineteenth Koch's Musikalisches Lexicon dubbed the bassoon "Ein Instrument der Liebe" ("an instrument of love"). Mozart duly exploited its potential for eloquent cantabile and, especially in the slow movement, the peculiar plangency of its high tenor register.

A decade later, in his great Viennese piano concertos, Mozart liked to work with an expansive array of themes. Scored for a small orchestra of oboes, horns (which in the key of B flat lend a ringing brilliance to the tuttis) and strings, the bassoon concerto is a much more compact affair. In the first movement Mozart contents himself with just two subjects: the proudly striding, wide-ranging opening theme, perfectly fashioned for the bassoon (the wide leaps here sound dignified rather than comical), and a second theme featuring spiky violin staccatos against sustained oboes and horns. The bassoon later adorns this with its own countermelody. Then in the recapitulation the roles are reversed, with the bassoon playing the staccato tune and the violins the countermelody – a delicately witty touch.

As in Mozart's violin concertos of 1775, the slow movement, with muted violins and violas, is a tender operatic aria reimagined in instrumental terms. The opening phrase is a favourite Mozartian gambit that will reach its apogee in the Countess's "Porgi amor" in Le nozze di Figaro. As in a heartfelt opera seria aria, the soloist's leaps and plunges are now charged with intense expressiveness. For his finale Mozart writes a rondo in minuet tempo, a fashionable form in concertos of the 1760s and 1770s. With its frolicking triplets and semiquavers, the bassoon delights in undercutting the galant formality of the refrain. When the soloist finally gets to play the refrain, its Till Eulenspiegel irreverence seems to infect the orchestra. First and second violins dance airily around the bassoon, oboes cluck approvingly. The soloist then bows out with a cheeky flourish, leaving the final tutti to restore decorum.

Source: Richard Wigmore, 2015 (hyperion-records.co.uk)

✻

Although the prevailing image of Mozart the performer is that of a pianist, the part played by the violin in his early development as a musician was hardly less important. How, indeed, could it be otherwise when his father and teacher, Leopold, was the author of Violinschule, one of the eighteenth century's most influential treatises on violin technique? Accounts of the child-prodigy’s triumphs around Europe suggest that, at that stage at least, he was equally proficient on violin and keyboard, and right into the mid-1770s his letters home to his family contained reports of public appearances as a violinist. "I played Vanhal's Violin Concerto in B flat, which was unanimously applauded", he wrote from Augsburg in 1777. "In the evening at supper I played my Strasbourg Concerto, which went like oil. Everyone praised my beautiful, pure tone."

Despite these peripatetic successes, it was Salzburg that was really the spiritual home of Mozart's violin music. It was there – where violin concerto movements were as likely to be heard as outdoor evening entertainment music or as an embellishment to a church service as in a concert hall – that he first played a concerto at the age of seven, later toiled in the court orchestra, and, between 1773 and 1775, composed his five violin concertos. They may not always probe the depths of his later, Viennese piano concertos, but it is true to say that they all show some degree of Mozartian inspiration, often of the most ravishing kind. For the accent here is not on technical brilliance but on lyricism and an eloquent personal expressiveness which we now recognise as being unique to the composer, but which at the time marked a new stage in his artistic development. As he once wrote to his father after hearing another violinist play a particularly demanding concerto, "I am no lover of difficulties".

Mozart composed his first violin concerto – his first concerto for any instrument – in 1773. The remaining four were written in rapid succession during the latter half of 1775. The Fourth is dated October 1775, following hard on the heels of the well-known Violin Concerto No.3, a work which had shown a considerable leap in creative assurance over its predecessors. The Fourth exudes the same newfound confidence, yet compared to the Third it is a less dreamy work, bolder and cleaner. The first movement is lean and muscular, but at the same time maintains an elegant clarity and grace. The Third had revelled in delicate dialogue between soloist and orchestra, but the Fourth allows the violin to indulge in a more continuous flow of melody, with the orchestra providing a supportive role. As ever in his concertos, Mozart also shows skill and imagination in the ordering and handling of his various themes. The little fanfare with which the movement opens, for instance, returns to inaugurate the fi rst solo, its reappearance in a higher register transforming it into a lyrical statement. After that it is not heard again.

The radiant Andante cantabile extends the dominance of the soloist, for after the orchestra's opening statement, it is the violin that carries the song-like melody almost without interruption. This is violin writing of the most serenely classical kind, making use both of the instrument's clear higher register and of the soulful richness of its lower strings.

The finale is a Rondo in which Mozart delights in keeping the listener guessing by constantly hopping between two different musical ideas – the poised Andante grazioso with which it opens, and the tripping Allegro, which interrupts its every appearance. And if there is a hint of pastoral dance about the latter, there is no mistaking the folk-music inspiration for the episode which occurs about halfway through the movement, when an exaggeratedly powdered French-style gavotte turns up, followed by a more rustic tune with bagpipe-like drones from the soloist. It would be a mistake, however, to imagine Mozart empathising too strongly with the lot of country folk; this is a rural world whose origins lie more in the make-believe of French ballet than in the realities of the Austrian countryside. Even so, it has a pleasantly calming atmosphere of its own, and helps to lead the concerto towards a conclusion charmingly free of bombast.

Source: Lindsay Kemp, 2018 (hyperion-records.co.uk)

The live broadcast is over

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

♪ Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C major, K.299/297c (1778)

i. Allegro

ii. Andantino

iii. Rondeau – Allegro

♪ Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, K.191/186e (1774)

i. Allegro

ii. Andante ma Adagio

iii. Rondo: tempo di menuetto

♪ Violin Concerto No.4 in D major, K.218 (1775)

 

i. Allegro

ii. Andante cantabile

iii. Rondeau: Andante grazioso – Allegro ma non troppo

Zacharias Tarpagos, flute

Alexandros Economou, bassoon

Maria Bildea, harp

Simos Papanas, violin

Musicians of Camerata-Orchestra of the Friends of Music
Conductor: Markellos Chrisykopoulos

Megaron Athens Concert Hall, Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall, 03-05.03.2021

Premiere: 03.03.2021, 20:30 (Live streaming)

(HD 1080p)

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West Wycombe Chamber Music Festival | Fermata #1 – George Frideric Handel, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Ivor Gurney – Lawrence Power, Vilde Frang, John Myerscough, Pavel Kolesnikov, Tim Crawford, Annabelle Meare, Simon Crawford-Phillips, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Timothy Crawford, Timothy Ridout (HD 1080p)

I'm delighted to welcome you to the 2020 West Wycombe Chamber Music Festival! We are so excited to share with you what we have been working on over the past month – as I mentioned here before, for obvious reasons we were unable to present the festival this year with live audience. However I feel this has presented us with fascinating challenges and questions... How do we recreate the energy and soul of our special festival on film? How should we programme without the energy of an audience to help and influence a performance? All questions that need answering. I feel privileged to have been joined by some truly magnificent artists on this voyage of discovery – you can discover them all here on the website and our social media channels throughout October.

A Fermata is arguably the most powerful musical device available to a composer, within which the most special, unexpected moments can take place. It can magically suspend time, it can invite wild Improvisation or it can simply invite silence... I hope these films recreate in some small way the soul of our special festival during this hiatus. Enjoy.

We have all felt a felt a collective grand pause over the past six months but this sadly continues for most performing artists all over the world today – it means so much to me that we were able to present these artists in this special way. Thanks again for your loyalty and trust during this creative endeavour. Inevitably, we have incurred more costs than usual presenting these films without the usual ticket revenue. If you enjoy these Festival films and want to support us we would be so grateful for any donations. Not only will it help to fund this year’s festival, but also help to secure future years.

I so look forward to seeing you in 3D (!) next year for our tenth anniversary...

Lawrence Power

Artist Director WWCMF

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) / Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935)

♪ Sarabande for Violin and Viola [02:10]*

Vilde Frang, violin

Lawrence Power, viola

Vilde and Lawrence In Conversation at the George and Dragon pub

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)

♪ Pièces de Clavecin en Concerts: La Cupis & La Forqueray (1741) [14:20]

Lawrence Power, violin

John Myerscough, cello

Pavel Kolesnikov, piano

Intermission: Lawrence Power, John Myerscough and Pavel Kolesnikov chat

Recap from the 2019 Festival:

Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)

♪ Piano Quintet No.1 (1952) [28:15]

i. Moderato molto espressivo

ii. Presto

iii. Grave

iv. Con passione

Tim Crawford, violin

Annabelle Meare, violin

Lawrence Power, viola

John Myerscough, cello

Simon Crawford-Phillips, piano

✻

String Quintet ‘Souvenirs’

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644, baptised-1704)

♪ Battalia À 10: Presto (1673) [37:53]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

♪ String Quintet No.1 in B flat major, K.174, Allegro Moderato (1773)

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

♪ String Quintet No.2 in G major, Op.111, Adagio (1890) [49:08]

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

♪ Fugue for String Quintet in D major, Op.137 (1817)

Ivor Gurney (1890-1937)

♪ 5 Elizabethan Songs, "Sleep" (1912), arranged for solo viola and string quartet by Richard Birchall (2018) [58:10]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

♪ String Quintet No.1 in B flat major, K.174, Allegro (1773) [1:01:05]

Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin

Timothy Crawford, violin

Lawrence Power, viola

Timothy Ridout, viola

John Myerscough, cello

Church of St Lawrence, West Wycombe, UK, October 8, 2020

(HD 1080p)

* Start time of each movement

More photos

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem Mass in D minor – Marita Solberg, Karine Deshayes, Joseph Kaiser, Alexander Vinogradov, Choeur de Radio France, Orchestre National de France, James Gaffigan (HD 1080p)

Under the baton of the American conductor James Gaffigan, the soloists Marita Solberg (soprano), Karine Deshayes (mezzo-soprano), Joseph Kaiser (tenor) and Alexander Vinogradov (bass), the Orchestre National de France and the Choeur de Radio France perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem Mass in D minor, K. 626. The concert was recorded on June 29, 2017, as part of the Festival de saint-Denis in France.

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Requiem in D Minor, K. 626, requiem mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, left incomplete at his death on December 5, 1791. Until the late 20th century the work was most often heard as it had been completed by Mozart's student Franz Xaver Süssmayr. Later completions have since been offered, and the most favourably received among these is one by American musicologist Robert D. Levin.

According to a contract that Mozart signed and an attorney witnessed, the requiem was commissioned by the Count Franz von Walsegg-Stuppach. The count, it seems, pretended to some compositional ability and liked to pass off the work of others as his own. The new requiem, intended as a tribute to the count's wife, was part of that game. Therefore, he insisted that Mozart was neither to make copies of the score nor to reveal his involvement in it and that the first performance was reserved for the man who commissioned the piece.

At the time, Mozart was deeply engaged with the writing of two operas: The Magic Flute and La clemenza di Tito (The Clemency of Titus). Together the three assignments were too much for a man suffering from a succession of debilitating fevers. Most of his failing strength went into the operas, both of which were completed and staged. As for the requiem, he worked on it when strength permitted, and several friends came to his apartment December 4, 1791, to sing through the score-in-progress. Yet his condition worsened, and, by the time of Mozart's death early the next morning, he had finished only the "Introit". The "Kyrie", "Sequence", and "Offertorium" were sketched out. The last three movements – "Benedictus", "Agnus Dei", and "Communio" – remained unwritten, and nearly all the orchestration was incomplete.

Confining musical discussion to those portions of the requiem that are mostly from Mozart's own mind, the orchestra most often focuses on the strings, with woodwinds featured when greater poignancy is needed and brass and timpani largely relied on for forceful moments. Particularly in the vocal writing, Mozart's intricate contrapuntal layers show the influence of the Baroque masters Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel.

Especially in the "Sequence", Mozart underlines the power of the text by setting prominent trombone passages against the voices: chorus in the "Dies Irae" and soprano, alto, tenor, and bass soloists in the "Tuba Mirum". It is the most prominent use of the trombone in Mozart's entire catalog.

Source: Betsy Schwarm (britannica.com)



Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

♪ Requiem Mass in D minor, K. 626 (1791)

i. Introitus [01:19]*
ii. Kyrie [05:46]
iii. Sequenz [08:13]
iv. Offertorium [25:52]
v. Sanctus [32:52]
vi. Benedictus [34:30]
vii. Agnus Dei [38:52]
viii. Communio [41:45]

Marita Solberg, soprano
Karine Deshayes, mezzo-soprano
Joseph Kaiser, tenor
Alexander Vinogradov, bass

Choeur de Radio France

Orchestre National de France
Conductor: James Gaffigan

Basilique Saint-Denis, France, June 29, 2017

(HD 1080p)

* Start time of each part

James Gaffigan (b. 1979) is currently the Chief Conductor of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester and Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, recently extended for the third time. Since becoming Chief Conductor of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester James has made a very significant impact on the orchestra's profile, both nationally and internationally, with a number of highly successful tours and recordings. In recognition of this success his contract has been further extended until 2021.

James is in high demand working with leading orchestras and opera houses throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. The 2019-2020 season features re-invitations to the Chicago, San Francisco and Detroit Symphony Orchestras, Orchestre National de France and Czech Philharmonic, as well as debuts with Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Melbourne Symphony and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

He undertakes four major opera productions in the United States including La Cenerentola at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Ernani at San Francisco Opera, Don Giovanni at Lyric Opera Chicago and Tristan and Isolde at Santa Fe Opera.

The 2018-2019 season saw James make his debut with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester and BBC Symphony Orchestra. In the US he made house debuts at Metropolitan Opera for La bohème and San Francisco Opera for Carmen while European productions included a new production of La Fanciulla del West and Don Giovanni at Bayersiche Staatsoper and Porgy and Bess at Dutch National Opera. Regularly conducting at major opera houses around the world, James' recent appearances include La bohème, Don Giovanni, La Traviata and Le nozze di Figaro at the Wiener Staatsoper; Così fan Tutte, La Cenerentola and Falstaff at the Glyndebourne Festival; Salome for Hamburg Opera; La bohème for the Opernhaus Zurich and Così fan tutte for Chicago Lyric Opera.

James also works internationally with many leading orchestras and recent guest appearances include the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-orchester Berlin, Dresden Staatskapelle, Wiener Symphoniker, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, Zurich Tonhalle, Seoul Philharmonic and Tokyo Metropolitan.

In North America he has worked with New York Philharmonic and the symphony orchestras of Philadelphia, Cleveland, St Louis, Baltimore and Toronto, among others. Born in New York, James was named first prize winner of the 2004 Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition.

In 2009, he completed a three-year tenure as Associate Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, in a position specially created for him by Michael Tilson Thomas. Prior to that appointment James was Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, where he worked for Music Director Franz Welser Möst.

Source: jamesgaffigan.com

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See also

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem Mass in D minor – Christine Schäfer, Bernarda Fink, Kurt Streit, Gerald Finley, Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Audio video)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem Mass in D minor – Lorna Anderson, Daniela Lehner, Andrew Tortise, Stephan Loges, Coro & Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Richard Egarr (HD 1080p)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem Mass in D minor – Werner Pech, Hans Breitschopf, Walther Ludwig, Harald Pröglhöf, Wiener Hofmusikkapelle, Josef Krips (1955, Audio video)

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Christian Blackshaw plays Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert (HD 1080p)

British pianist Christian Blackshaw performs Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonatas No.14 in C minor, K.457, and No.8 in A minor, K.310, as well as Franz Schubert's Piano Sonata No.21 in B flat major, D.960, and Moments Musicaux (No.1 in C major). The recital recorded at Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg, on October 14, 2017.

✻

British pianist Christian Blackshaw answers 20 questions, including his signature meal, favourite concert hall, and his role models.

Name your favourite concert hall/venue anywhere
— Wigmore Hall, London and also, Mariinsky Concert Hall, St Petersburg

Your first three record store purchases
— Dinu Lipatti recital, Artur Schnabel Beethoven Sonatas, and Clifford Curzon Schubert D major Sonata, D.850

Three pieces, songs or arias that you could listen to on repeat for an hour?
— "Der Abschied" from Das Lied von der Erde of Mahler performed by Kathleen Ferrier, Vienna Philharmonic and Bruno Walter | "Trauere, mein Herz", Cavatina Act 3 from Oberon by Weber performed by Gundula Janowitz, Deutsche Oper Orchestra and Ferdinand Leitner | "An die Musik" of Franz Schubert performed by Fritz Wunderlich with Hubert Giesen, piano

The first album that made you love music?
— Age four, transfixed by The Hebrides Overture, (Fingal's Cave) by Mendelssohn

Your favourite word?
— Yes

Your least favourite word?
— Impossible

What is the title and author of the book closest to you right now?
— A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles)

If you could board a plane this afternoon, where would it be taking you?
— A secret location in Greece

The three books that you read that made an impact on you in your formative years?
— The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame),  Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie),  Childhood, Boyhood, Youth (Leo Tolstoy)

Signature meal to cook at home?
— Slow cooked chicken, potatoes, good oil, lemon juice, fresh oregano, fresh thyme, and seasoning – in one pot

What did you major in as an undergraduate?
— As I left school at 16, I took three diplomas aged 19 in piano performance, teaching, and graduate studies

The different career path that you could have gone on?
— There was never any doubt of my direction, though if I failed, working with wood or stone would appeal

Your three favourite films?
— Fantasia, Some Like it Hot, and The Lady Vanishes (the black and white Hitchcock)

Your role models?
— Musicians I admire include, Sir Clifford Curzon, Maria Callas, and Herbert von Karajan

The historical personalities, both good and bad, that that fascinate you the most?
— There are many, naturally... However, my three have to be: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, and Robert Schumann

What is the best thing about your work?
— Being allowed to inhabit the musical language of composers of genius

What is the worst thing about your work?
— Failing in the above

What are you listening to as you answer these questions?
— Birdsong

If you had a motto, what would it be?
— Forever simpler

Whose musical style do you covet?
— It's not a question to covet. Only to find truth and meaning and the freedom to express

Source: ludwig-van.com

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About Christian Blackshaw

"The luminous tone he draws from the keys is a wonder in itself..." — Andrew Clark, Financial Times, September 2013



Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

♪ Piano Sonata No.14 in C minor, K.457 (1784) [00:08:17]*

i. Molto allegro
ii. Adagio
iii. Allegro assai


♪ Piano Sonata No.8 in A minor, K.310 (1778) [00:31:59]

i. Allegro Maestoso
ii. Andante cantabile con espressione
iii. Presto


Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

♪ Piano Sonata No.21 in B flat major, D.960 (1828) [01:20:50]

i. Molto moderato
ii. Andante sostenuto
iii. Scherzo: Allegro vivace con delicatezza
iv. Allegro ma non troppo


♪ Moments musicaux, D.780 (1823-1928) [02:07:54]

i. Moderato in C major


Christian Blackshaw, piano

Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, October 14, 2017

(HD 1080p)

* Start time of each movement

Photo by Herbie Knott

A deeply passionate and sensitive pianist, Christian Blackshaw (b. 1949, Cheshire, England) is celebrated for the incomparable musicianship of his performances. His playing combines tremendous emotional depth with great understanding.

Following studies with Gordon Green at the Royal College Manchester and Royal Academy London, winning the gold medals at each, he was the first British pianist to study at the Leningrad Conservatoire with Moisei Halfin. He later worked closely with Sir Clifford Curzon in London.

He has performed worldwide and in festivals as recitalist and soloist with many renowned conductors including Valery Gergiev, Sir Simon Rattle, Gianandrea Noseda, Yuri Temirkanov and Sir Neville Marriner. He is also joint Artistic Director of the Hellensmusic Festival which was established in 2013.

His hugely acclaimed Wigmore Hall complete Mozart Piano Sonatas series was recorded for Wigmore Hall Live and released in four volumes. Critics have been unanimous in their praise, describing these "landmark" recordings as "captivating", "magical" and "masterful". Volume 4 was named as one of the Best Classical Recordings of 2015 in the New York Times in addition to Gramophone Magazine's Top 50 Greatest Mozart Recordings.

Recent notable performances include the Mozart cycle in Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing, a return to the Stars of the White Nights Festival, St Petersburg and debuts at the Schwetzingen and Edinburgh International Festivals.

During the 2018-2019 season he is an Artist in Residence at the Wigmore Hall. In 2019 he takes the Mozart cycle to Montreal and makes his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nezet-Seguin.

He has been appointed an MBE in the New Year 2019 Honours List.

Source: christianblackshaw.com

More photos


See also

Changyong Shin plays Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin & Enrique Granados (HD 1080p)

Alice Sara Ott plays Claude Debussy (Suite bergamasque, Rêverie), Frédéric Chopin (Nocturnes Nos. 1, 2, 13, Ballade No.1 in G minor), Erik Satie (Gnossiennes Nos. 1 & 3, Gymnopédie No.1), & Maurice Ravel (Gaspard de la nuit) (HD 1080p)

Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita No.2 in C minor, BWV 826 – Ivan Bessonov (HD 1080p)

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