Christopher Alan Schmitz: Violin Concerto + Symphony No. 1; Amy Schwartz Moretti Violine, London Voices, London Symphony Orchestra, Stefan Sanderling; # Navona Records NV6627; Aufnahme 09.2023, Veröffentlichung 10.05.2024 (44'11) - Rezension von Remy Franck
Das Violinkonzert des heute 51-jährigen amerikanischen Komponisten Christopher Alan Schmitz beginnt sehr zart mit einem als ‘Dark’ bezeichneten Satz, der dann aber dramatischer wird, wobei sich die Geige nicht vom Orchester beeindrucken lässt und flink davon eilt, mit dem Orchester auf den Fersen. So entwickelt sich ein spannendes Katz und Maus-Spiel, nach dem sich die Geige in einer Kadenz charakterstark behaupten kann, ehe eine gemeinsame Coda den Satz schwungvoll beendet. Read More →
Valentin Silvestrov: Symphonie für Violine & Orchester (Widmung) + Postludium für Klavier & Orchester; Janusz Wawrowski, Violine, Jurgis Karnavicius, Klavier, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Christopher Lyndon-Gee; # Naxos 8.574123; Aufnahme 05.2022, Veröffentlichung 10.05.2024 (63'09) – Rezension von Remy Franck
Valentin Silvestrovs ‘Dedication’, eine Symphonie für Violine und Orchester (1990-91), ist eine typische Sinfonia Concertante und darüber hinaus ein langer musikalischer Fluss mit wechselnden Stimmungen in einem Klangraum, der nicht mehr von dieser Welt ist. Read More →
On a new CD from BR-KLASSIK, the Bavarian Radio Choir and the Munich Radio Orchestra conducted by Peter Dijkstra present Bruckner's Mass No. 2 together with five well-known motets and the two short Aequale for three trombones from 1847 to mark the Bruckner Year 2024. Remy Franck asked the Dutch choral conductor and artistic director of the Bavarian Radio Chorus a few questions.
How well does the symphonist Bruckner write for the voice and especially for the choir?
I think it’s important to emphasize that Bruckner comes from the choral tradition. He was a chorus boy in St. Florian and also trained as an organist there. So he really came from church music and wrote for chorus, chorus and orchestra as well as chorus and organ from an early age. He was also a fanatical counterpoint player, I would say. Read More →
Anton Bruckner: Messe Nr 2 e-Moll + Ave Maria WAB 6 + Locus iste WAB 23 + Virga Jesse WAB 52 + Os justi WAB 30 + Christus factus est WAB 11 + Aequale Nr. 1 WAB 114 & Nr. 2 WAB 149 für 3 Posaunen + Werkeinführung "Bruckners Welt - Die Messe in e-moll" von Markus Vanhoefer; Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Peter Dijkstra; # BR Klassik 900940M; Aufnahme 10.2023, Veröffentlichung 03.05.2024 (61’37, 71’43) - Rezension von Guy Engels
Zum 200. Geburtstag von Anton Bruckner – am 4. September 2024 – wird vor allem das symphonische Werk in seinen sämtlichen Werkschritten neu beleuchtet. Das wundert kaum, denn Bruckner strebte danach, Symphoniker zu sein, „weil darin stets mein Lebensberuf bestand“, wie er selbst schrieb. Read More →
Filmmaker Bruno Monsaingeon has been awarded a Special Achievement Award at the International Classical Music Awards 2024 (ICMA). Patrick Jézéquel from ICMA'sa French Jury member ResMusica, made the following interview.
Bruno Monsaingeon, at the very beginning of Filmer la musique, you legitimize your undertaking by saying that « if words stumble over sounds, images reinforce them. » Does that mean you’re filming as a musician, given that you’re a violinist?
I could never have made my films without my knowledge of the repertoires of the violin, the piano, the cello and the quartet. What’s more, as a filmmaker myself, I necessarily have a relationship with the score. The idea is not to make a documentary about music, but to film it for its own sake. Read More →
In 2024, the Purcell Choir and the Orfeo Orchestra’s recording with Cyrille Dubois was awarded a prize at the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA). Máté Ur from ICMA jury member Papageno spoke with György Vashegyi, the artistic director of the two ensembles, about their award-winning recording and the Haydneum – Hungarian Centre for Early Music, which he founded.
As a conductor, researcher, and leader of major Hungarian cultural institutions, you have a wide range of responsibilities. Which one is closest to you?
At about the age of 15, I decided that music would be my vocation, the most important thing in my life, after my family. I founded the Purcell Choir and the Orfeo Orchestra in the early 1990s, when I was still a university student, and I also began my teaching career at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, and although I have conducted several symphony orchestras over the years and have been asked to conduct several times at the Hungarian State Opera, these ensembles are still of fundamental importance to me. Read More →
Guitarist Cassie Martin is the winner of the ICMA Classeek Award 2024. Charlotte Saulneron from the French Jury member ResMusica made the following interview with her.
Since 2018 Cassie Martin has traveled the world, won several awards, and participated in numerous festivals. Her repertoire combines early, contemporary and world music. As a Eurostrings artist in 2020, she took part in Gautier Capuçon’s Un été en France 2022 tour and then represented France in Sergio Assad’s The Woman and the Guitar project.
Your repertoire ranges from Bach to traditional world music: Brazilian, Austrian, Italian and French. Where do you want to go with your next project, be it on stage or on record?
I have a lot of plans. Of course, I’d like to continue introducing the public to the vast, little-known repertoire of the guitar, from the Baroque to the contemporary. One of my current concert programs is entitled La guitare à travers les siècles, in which I take the listener on a journey through time, showing all the facets of this beautiful instrument. Read More →
Jean Sibelius: Symphonien Nr. 2 & 5; Orchestre Metropolitan, Yannick Nézet-Séguin; # Atma ACD2 2453; Aufnahme 2023, Veröffentlichung (je nach Ländern) 03-05.2024 (76'22) - Rezension von Remy Franck
Jean Sibelius wäre wohl entsetzt, ich runzle zunächst die Stirn, aber im dritten Satz muss ich lachen: Yannick Nézet-Séguins auf orchestrale Show getrimmte zweite Sibelius ist wohl kaum ernst zu nehmen. Zu manieriert, zu theatralisch, zu pathetisch, zu zirzensisch ist diese Interpretation, als dass man sie als auch nur halbwegs respektvoll dem Komponisten gegenüber bezeichnen könnte. Read More →
We have been notified of the death of French-American pianist Eugen Indjic (born March 11, 1947 in Belgrade). Emigrating to the United States with his mother, an amateur pianist, at the age of four, he there became fascinated by the piano and started studying the instrument. Read More →
Maurice Duruflé: Requiem op. 9; Francis Poulenc: Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence; The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, Katherine Gregory, Mezzosopran, Florian Störtz, Bariton, Myrtille Hetzel, Cello, Harrison Cole, Orgel, Stephen Layton; #(CD, Hyperion, CDA 68436, Aufnahme 07.2021, Veröffentlichung 01.03.2024 (56’02) - Rezension von Guy Engels
Mit Aufführungen und einer neuen Aufnahme von Maurice Duruflés Requiem hat sich Stephen Layton nach 17 Jahren als Dirigent des Trinity College Cambridge verabschiedet. Es wurde ein mehr als bemerkenswerter Abschied, denn diese Duruflé-Interpretation ist schwerlich zu toppen. Read More →
