Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38069
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VIOLA TALES – MÄRCHENBILDER
ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810 – 1856): Adagio and Allegro for viola & piano, Op. 70; Märchengiler, Op. 119 for viola & piano
PAUL HINDEMITH (1895 – 1963): Sonata for viola & piano “Fantasie”, Op. 11 No. 4
MARTIN KRAMER (*1975): Elegy for viola & piano “No more Words” (2008)

Pauline Sachse, viola

Daniel Heide, piano
In the history of the repertoire for viola and piano, Robert Schumann’s “Märchenbilder” marked the beginning of a new epoch, making extensive use of the instruments’ cantabile quality and characteristic sonority in the low and middle registers and helping the viola to attain equal status within the string instrument family during the course of the late 19th century. The viola repertoire of the 20th century reached its first heights with the Sonata op. 11/4 by Paul Hindemith (1895-1963).
The combination viola and piano still holds much to discover today, as shown by the elegy “No more words” by Martin Krämer (b.1975), a German jazz pianist and composer. As Schumann did before him, he chose a two-part form, and he uses it to unite the lyrically expressive power of the Romantic viola with the sounds of jazz.
Born in Hamburg, Pauline Sachse studied at the Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin and at the Yale University (USA) with Tabea Zimmermann. Under the baton of conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Seiji Ozawa and Simon Rattle, she has played in ensembles including the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. Artists with whom she has collaborated include Isabelle Faust, Steven Isserlis, Tabea Zimmermann, Stella Doufexis, Gidon Kremer and members of the Beaux-Arts Trio.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38070
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VIENNESE OBOE QUARTETS
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756 – 1791): Quartet in F major for oboe, violin, viola and cello KV 370 (368b)
JAN KRTITEL VANHAL (1739 – 1813): Quartet in C major for oboe, violin, viola and cello
FRANTISEK VINCENC KROMMER (1759 – 1831): Quartet No. 2 in F major for oboe, violin, viola and cello
FRANTISEK ADAM MICA (1746 – 1811): Quartet in C major for oboe, violin, viola and cello

Ensemble Rhapsody (on period instruments):

Michael Niesemann, oboe

Pauline Nobes, violin; Rachel Isserlis, viola; Nicholas Selo, cello
Mozart’s Quartet for Oboe and Strings, KV 370 (K. 368b), is easily the most beloved, most performed, and most recorded oboe quartet ever composed. The quartet for oboe and three strings, however, was a far more popular Classical Era form than is generally known, even by many oboists. In the decades between 1760 and 1800, nearly two hundred oboe quartets are known to have been composed, by at least forty-five different composers. Oboe quartets were popular throughout Europe, but nowhere was the form more popular than Vienna – long a magnet for musicians from Bohemia and Moravia, regions in which the tradition of oboe and bassoon playing was especially rich. Vanhal, Krommer and Míca, the three composers featured alongside Mozart on this recording, were all of Bohemian or Moravian birth, but each made Vienna his home for at least a significant portion of his career.
Ensemble Rhapsody was founded by core members Michael Niesemann and Pauline Nobes in 1994 and has performed in England, Belgium and Germany. The concert programs range from Baroque and Classical through to contemporary and Jazz. Michael Niesemann, one of the founding members of Concerto Köln, has been principal oboist with Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s orchestras, the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique since 1994. The violinist Pauline Nobes has toured extensively with London’s leading period instrument ensembles including The English Baroque Soloists, The English Concert and Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, as well as The Academy of Ancient Music where she also lead for many years.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38073
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JOHANN BAPTIST SCHIEDERMAYR (1779 – 1840): Offertorium Ave maris stella; GIUSEPPE VERDI (1813 – 1901): Adagio for trumpet solo and orchestra; CONRADIN KREUTZER (1780 – 1849): Variations in G major for chromatic trumpet and orchestra; LEOPOLD ANTON KOZELUCH (1747 – 1818): Sinfonia concertante in E-flat major for mandolin, trumpet, double bass, piano and orchestra; FRIEDRICH DIONYS WEBER (1771 – 1842): Variations for trumpet in F major; JOSEPH FIALA (1748 – 1816): Divertimento for trumpet and orchestra

ARTISTS: Robert Vanryne, trumpet; Kathryn Cok, fortepiano; Anna Torge, mandolin; David Sinclair, Viennese double bass; Ulrike Schneider, mezzo-soprano;
Cologne Academy, Michael Alexander Willens, director.

Two notable pieces on this recording of works for trumpet from the late 18th and early 19th centuries are Kozeluch’s Sinfonia concertante, with its unusual combination of solo instruments, presented here on historical instruments for the first time; and the brief Adagio for trumpet and orchestra by Giuseppe Verdi. Another offering in the highly successful series Forgotten Treasures from Alexander Willens and the Kölner Akademie.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38074
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FREDERIC CHOPIN: NOCTURNE, OP. 27 NO. 2; 3 MAZURKAS, OP. 59; POLONAISE-FANTASIE, OP.61
ROBERT SCHUMANN: DAVIDSBUNDLERTANZE OP.6
HUGO WOLF: SCHLUMMERLIED-SCHERZ UND SPIEL-MEISTERSINGER-PARAPHRASE

William Youn, piano
Rec. 2009

William Youn (b.1982) has been recognized as one of the most promising and unique pianist of the young generation. Born is Seoul, South Korea, Youn began playing piano at age six, studied in Korea & at the Walnut Hill School in Boston and finished his studies in Hannover Germany. Youn is a prize winner at the following International competitions; Cleveland Int., the Concorso comp., the Shanghai Piano competition, finalist at the Busoni Competition & the Concours Reine Elisabeth, Brussels.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38075
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OPERA FANTASIES FROM SHADOWLANDS
ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD (1897 – 1957): Große Fantasie aus der Oper “Die tote Stadt”
RICHARD STRAUSS (1864 – 1949): Große Fantasie aus der Oper “Ariadne auf Naxos”
HEINRICH MARSCHNER (1795 – 1861): Ouverture aus der Oper “Der Vampyr”
JACQUES OFFENBACH (1819 – 1880): Ouverture zur Opéra bouffe “Orphee aux Enters”
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770 – 1827): Adagio from Piano Sonata No. 14
GIACOMO MEYERBEER (1791 – 1864): Fantasie über Motive aus der Oper ‘Robert le Diable’

Le Quatuor Romantique: Vassili Voronin, violin; Edward John Semon, cello; Joachim Diessner, harmonium; Markus Märkl, piano
Le Quatuor Romantique consists of violinist Vassili Voronin, cellist Edward John Semon, Markus Märkl, piano, and its founder Joachim Diessner at the harmonium. Diessner is also a collector of his instrument; he seeks to contribute to the harmonium’s rediscovery and to revive its repertoire.
He founded the ensemble Le Quatuor Romantique with the aim to breathe new life into the varied and rich music repertoire from the avantgardist salons of the late 19th Century.
Shadowlands is the ensemble’s debut CD on the ARS Produktion label. Quatuor Romantique selected the works for this recording not in order to present a kaleidoscope of works, but rather in search for evidence – evidence of both the historicity and the timelessness of dark romanticism, and evidence of its classical forms and many intersections with the art of the 20th Century. One key element is the instrumentation used for the recording – violin, violoncello, piano and harmonium – which emphasizes sonic sensuality and the discursive element of the music over a mere technical transcription. This particular combination was common in the literary salons of the early 20th Century.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38076
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Georg Friederic Handel (1685-1759): Duetto IX ‘Concervate, raddopiate’ HWV 185; Kantate ‘Solitudini care, amata liberata’ HWV 163; Duetto X ‘Tanti strali al sen mi scocchi´ HWV 187
Charles Babell (c.1636-1716): 8me suite in C minor for solo Harpsichord
Agostino Steffani (1654-1728): Duetto “Vuol il ciel ch’io sia legato”; Duetto ‘O care catene ch´il piede stringete’
Nicolaus Adam Strungk (1640-1700): Lieder aus “Leucoleons Galamelite”; Capricio della chiesa für solo Organ
Georg Philipp Telemann: Sonata in E minor for Viola da gamba

ARTISTS: Ensemble alla Polacca: Iwona Lesniowska, soprano; Franz Vizthum, countertenor; Paulina Kilarska, harpsichord & organ; Petr Wagner, viola da gamba
(2 SACD)

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38077
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AUGUST HENDRIK WINDING: DREI FANTASIESTUCKE, OP.19; CARL REINIECKE: INTRODUCZIONE ED ALLEGRO APPOSIONATO, OP. 256; CARL MARIA VON WEBER: SILVANA VARIATIONEN, OP.33; ROBERT SCHUMANN: DREI ROMANZEN, OP.94; NORBERT BURGMULLER; DUO, OP.15; CARL GOTTLIEB REISSIGER: DUO BRILLIAN, OP.130;
BONUS TRACK: HEINRICH JOSEP BAERMAN: ADAGIO

SABINE GROFMEIER,clarinet; Tra Nguyen, piano

Known for her large warm, dark sound Sabine Grofmeier impresses many with her energetic, expressive way of musicality and her skillful technical and musical brilliance. She is considered one of the best performers of her genre and is now named by the press on the same level as the star clarinetists Sabine Meyer and Sharon Kam. Since 2007 Sabine Grofmeier has been the artistic director of the Int. Musicfestival Capdepera in Mallorca, Spain.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38078
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Prelude, fugue et variation for Organ, Op. 18 (arr. Ethel Bartlett and Rae Robertson); 10 selections from “L’Organiste” (arr. Poskute & Daukantas); Première Fantasie in C major for Organ, Op. 16; Cantabile in B major for Organ (arr. Henri Duparc);S onata for Violin and Piano in A major (arr. Alfred Cortot)

ARTISTS: Vilija Poskute, piano; Tomás Daukantas, piano

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38085
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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770 – 1827): Sonatas for Cello and Piano, Op.102 no 1 & 2; Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op.96 (arr. for Cello)

ARTISTS: Andreas Woyke, cello; Friedrich Kleinhapl, cello

Friedrich Kleinhapl burst upon the scene in 2007 performing with the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, who described him as one of a new generation. Kleinhapl also performed with the Simón Bolívar Orchestra, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the Munich Symphony Orchestra and, the Prague Symphony Orchestra. He performs as a solo artist and chamber musician in many European cities as well as in the United States and Canada, South America and China. He has given concerts at many famous arenas and concert halls and been on the bill at many international music festivals such as the Salzburg Festival.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38086
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PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840 – 1893): Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71; GUSTAV LEWIN (1869 – 1938): Nun ist sie endlich kommen (“Weihnachtslied”); SIGISMUND SCHNEIDER (1897 – 1957): Weihnachtsmarsch (1924); ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (1874 – 1951): “Weihnachtsmusik” (Es ist ein Rose entsprungen, arr. 1921); JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685 – 1750)/SIGFRID KARG-ELERT (1877 – 1933): Aria “Mein glaubes Herze”; ADOLF SCHREINER (1791 – 1864): Paraphrase on “Silent Nicht”; WILHELM BERGER (1861 – 1911): Weihnachtslied Op. 52 no 4 “Von Himmel in die tiefsten Klüfte”; ARNOLD MENDELSSOHN (1855 – 1933): Weihnachtslied “Markt und Strassen steh’n verlassen”; WILHELM LINDEMANN (1882 – 1941): “Eine Muh, eine Mäh…” [Character Piece]; JONNY HEYKENS (1884 – 1945): Ave Maria; JEAN DASTY: Ave Maria; SIEGFRIED WAGNER (1861 – 1911): Weihnachtslied “Was soll das bedeuten”; RICHARD EILENBERG (1848 – 1921): “Norwegische Renntierpost” [Character Piece]; ÉMILE WALDTEUFEL (1837 – 1915): Les Patineurs; ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK (1854 – 1924): Hänsel und Grete - Overture

ARTISTS: Elena Fink, soprano; Le Quatour Romantique: Vassili Voronin, violin; Edward John Semon, cello; Joachim Diessner, harmonium; Markus Märkl, piano.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38090
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Artists:
Friedrich Kleinhapl, cello;
Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jan Kucera, director.

Label: BAYER SACD 100326
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Aria with 30 Variations, BWV 988 “Goldberg Variations”

Burkard Schliessmann, piano
In his new Bayer SACD recording of Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” noted German pianist Burkard Schliessmann makes the modern concert grand ring with the richness and power of Bach’s great keyboard masterwork. In the words of former New York Times cirtic Harold C. Schonberg, “Schliessmann’s playing is representative of the best of the modern school.” (2 CDs)

Label: BAYER SACD 100328
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String Quartet No. 8, Op. 110 (arranged for String Orchestra by R. Barshai)
String Quartet No. 10, Op. 118 (arranged for String Orchestra by R. Barshai)

Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn/Ruben Gazarian
Dmitri Shostakovich (1905-1975) turned to the genre of the string quartet in 1938. The string quartet became his expressive medium for compassion and sorrow, rage and despair, as well as for compositional examples of economy, for the most extreme limitation of the means with the greatest heightening of expression and drama. Shostakovich wrote his eighth string quartet C-Minor Op. 110 in just three days between the 12th and 14th of July 1960 in Dresden. He also spoke of it as an “autobiographical quartet“: As in his symphonies, the object of the expressed despair is ultimately also the situation in his own country, which had severely influenced his own path in life through the terror, persecution and repression. His tenth string quartet, A Flat Major Op. 118, was created just four years later and is also distinguished by tragedy and satire. Rudolf Barshai, one of Shostakovich’s fellow students, arranged these two string quartets for string orchestra. Since then, they have been known as Chamber Symphony Op. 110a and Op. 118a. Shostakovich was familiar with these versions of his quartet and authorised them.

Label: BAYER SACD 100348
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FREDERIC CHOPIN: Ballades in G minor Op. 23, F major Op. 38, A flat major Op. 47, F minor Op. 52; Fantaisie in F minor Op. 59; Barcarolle in F sharp major Op. 60; Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat major Op. 61. Burkard Schliessmann, piano. Burkard Schliessmann, who completed his musical studies as a pupil in the master-class of Herbert Seidel, Shura Cherkassky, Bruno Leonardo Gelber and Poldi Mildner, is regarded as one of the influential pianists of the modern era. He has received numerous prizes and awards of merits for his interpretations. The concerts he gave in the USA, Japan and at European festivals including Paris, the Munich summer piano festival, the Frankfurt festival and the Mallorca/Valldemossa Chopin festival were all received with similar acclaim from the public and critics alike. Famous critics have had no hesitation in placing him alongside the finest pianists: "This is the most imaginative playing one has heard yet on the level of Richter, Michelangeli, Serkin, Wild, Gould - the highest order of artistry" wrote the "High Performance Review" in the USA. When he is working on a piece of music, Burkard Schliessmann always has Hegel in mind: "art isn't all about a pleasant or useful musical mechanism, but about laying bare the truth". After an initial, seemingly improvised phase, Schliessmann explores the smallest of structures, whilst at the same time conducting a rigorous analysis of the independent interfaces between the various parameters - melody, rhythm and harmony. The individual sound is always the carrier of the whole - suffused with its own identity, interpreted through the personality of the performer. In addition to this "parameter polyphony", Schliessmann always takes into consideration philosophy, literature, sociology, history of art and the natural sciences in his works. Underlying this analytical process is a profound understanding of musical composition and contemporary history. Thus Schliessmann is able to free himself from the background so carefully studied and bring to his work, thanks to an intuitive knowledge of these complex relationships, a fresh, almost improvised artistic interpretation, and this is all the listener perceives... (SACD-HYBRID)

Label: BAYER SACD 100352
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ANDREAS HAMMERSCHMIDT (1611-1675): Machet die Tore weit
GIOVANNI CROCE (1557-1609): Veni Domine
GIOVANNI GABRIELI (1555-1612): Benedixisti
JOHANNES ECCARD (1553-1611): Übers Gebirg' Maria geht;
JOSQUIN DE PREZ (1450?-1521): Et incarnatus est
MICHAEL PRAETORIUS (1571-1621): Der Morgenstern ist aufgedrungen;
ANTON BRUCKNER (1824-1896): Ave Maria/Virga Jesse;
HANS LEO HAßBLER (1564-1612): Verbum caro factum est - Weihnachtsmotette; Angelus ad pastores ait - Motette für zwei 4-stimmige Chöre
JAN PIETERSZOON SWEELINCK (1562-1621): Hodie Christus natus est - Weihnachtsmotette
JOHANNES ECCARD (1553-1611): Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her; Ich lag in tiefer Todesnacht
GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA (1525-1594): Dies sanctificatus
SAMUEL SCHEIDT (1587-1654): O Jesulein zart

Regensburger Domspatzen/Theobald Schrems
“One of the most famous choirs in the world... wrote Pope Paul VI in 1976, when he congratulated the “Regensburger Domspatzen” on their millennium anniversary. In many successful concerts they have won the hearts of their audiences all over the world. Through many CD recordings and their presence in the media the singing sparrows” from Regenburg have become famous - far beyond the borders of Regensburg and Germany. Its a very special thing to be a Domspatz; in later years every former Domspatz will always enjoy remembering the many impressions and unforgettable events in and around this school. The Regensburger Domspatzen (Regensburg Cathedral Choir) play a very important role in the cultural life of Regensburg and have long become one of the most famous attractions of their home town. Due to the many concert tours all over the world they are called ‘the singing ambassadors of the city”. They often travel to the USA, to Canada and to Japan as well as to Taiwan and South Korea. Of course, the Regensburger Domspatzen are at home in all European countries, too. They look just as smart in their dark blue suits, which they wear in concerts as they do in their red and white liturgical gowns worn during the services in the Cathedral of St Peter. The choir’s repertoire comprises music from 16th century chorale to contemporary music. SACD SUPER AUDIO/HYBRID