Classical Era (c.1730-1820)

Music Genre
All releases from the classical period
BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata"BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata"
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827):
Piano Sonata No. 23

in F Minor, Op. 57 · "Appassionata"

Performed by Lilya Zilberstein (Piano)

Instrument: Concert Grand Piano D 280 by C. Bechstein

A concert recording from Bad Homburg Castle (Germany), October 2007
Remastered Original Recording

HD Recording · DDD · Duration: 24 Min. 24 Sec.

Digital Album · 3 Tracks

MP3

MP3 Album

320 kBit/sec.

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***** The best sounding recording of a piano

This performance of two Beethoven sonatas recorded before a live audience in a castle in Germany by pianist Lilya Zilberstein is incredible in two respects. First, the Appassionata is played as well as anyone I know, including the many legends of the keyboard who have recorded this masterpiece. Zilberstein has it all--technique, style, and passion. Equally remarkable is the sound. This is the best sounding recording of a piano I have ever heard--it must be heard to be believed, and if you are lucky to have a fine sound system you are in for a stupendous aural treat. If wish to hear a magnificant performance in otherwordly fidelity I urge you to track this release down before it becomes unavailable.

'Oldnslow' on Amazon.com

Review

***** Exceptional Appassionata

Sonata 23 is a war horse. There are literally 3-5 dozen versions online from older versions Schnabel (much too fast) to Brendel and Horowitz (quite staid) Kissin Gilels Schiff Goode and others. This one has superb recording. It is live and one can feel the tension with the audience. It is exceptionally clean and not exceedingly fast. You can hear the nuances that lay buried in the ear with the speedsters. She has wonderful rubato moments and the phrase to phrase dynamics are exceptionally well done. Importantly it is very exciting to hear though you know every note; it appears fresh as I feel it is new, modern interpretation. Congratulations Lilya. I hope to hear you in concert in Boston.

'George R. Collison' on Amazon.com

Review

***** Even among all Beethoven sonatas on the market, this one stands out

The disc is a product of Germany's K&K label, which specializes in live performances held in historically significant, if not acoustically appropriate, locations. Here they manage both. The Castle Church of Bad Homburg offers a fine ambiance for piano music in general and for Zilberstein's muscular, dynamic style in particular.
The disc offers the first half of a live concert whose date is localized only to October 2007; the second half was devoted to music of Brahms. At 52 minutes the program is short, but it is complete in itself, and one wants to hear the other disc if only to find out whether Zilberstein can sustain the intensity level from this half.
Zilbertstein has managed to devise fresh, fully realized interpretations of these two sonatas - no small feat, especially in the case of the ubiquitous Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 ('Appassionata'). Hear Zilberstein's exquisite shaping of the work's brooding opening page. The Beethovenian short-short-short long motif that plays such an important role in binding the music together is introduced in the shadows, but soon enough emerges as an exclamation with sufficent force to propel the main theme through its numerous harmonic transformations.
The level of tension in the entire sonata is remarkable; even the middle movement seems to see the with repressed energy. The early Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2, No. 2, is equally strong, with a unique rhythmic conception of the main theme. Just sit and listen: even among all the Beethoven sonatas on the market, this one stands out.

James Manheim, All Music Guide USA

Glass & StonesGlass & Stones
Vienna Glass Armonica Duo
Glass & Stones

A concert with the Vienna Glass Armonica Duo (Glass Armonica & Verrophone)

Christa Schönfeldinger (Glass Armonica)
and Gerald Schönfeldinger (Verrophone)

plays works by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741),
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Gottfried Keller (1819-1890),
Carl Röllig (1754-1804), Edward Grieg (1843-1907),
Arvo Pärt, Ennio Morricone and Gerald Schönfeldinger

A live recording from the church of the German
UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery

HD Recording · DDD · c. 55 Minutes

CD
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One of the most satisfying glass harmonica discs ever

The Vienna Glasharmonika Duo, consisting of husband and wife Gerald and Christa Schönfeldinger, is one of the longest established groups wholly devoted to performing music written for glass and their K&K-Verlagsanstalt release Glas & Steine (Glass & Stone) is of an in-concert recording from the summer of 2006. Christa Schönfeldinger performs on a reconstructed instrument that is almost exactly like the glass armonica that Benjamin Franklin invented in 1761 rather than the crystal glasses in a suitcase instrument more commonly used since Bruno Hoffman revived glass music in the 1950s. Gerald Schönfeldinger plays a modern instrument called a Verrophon that consists of a set of test tube-like glasses and contributes three original compositions to the program written in an idiom very well suited to this exotic combination of instruments. The recording, touted as a "Direct 2-Track Stereo" release, is excellent, made at Maulbronn Monastery in Austria, which has superb acoustics. Although the program includes the expected Mozart K. 617a and arrangements of some other pieces by him, it does expand upon our notions of glass harmonica music. Especially notable is the inclusion of Arvo Pärt's Intervallo, written in open score and usually played on the organ but perfectly well suited to the glass harmonica. Ennio Morricone's Il Gatto is included as a way to vary the sound of the program, which includes some glasses as struck with soft mallets in addition to the usual bowing with the fingertip. However, the most striking piece is Vienna Glasharmonika Duo's transcription of Edvard Grieg's lyric piece Der Kobold, which succeeds well in stretching the boundaries of these instruments, demonstrating that fast passagework is possible and the glass harmonica need not be limited to long, sustained notes, even though that's the kind of musical texture that suits it best.... ...Glas & Steine is one of the most satisfying glass harmonica discs ever. The resonance of Maulbronn Monastery helps take the edge off the sometimes-piercing top notes of the glass - notable especially in studio-made recordings - and provides an ambience that is appropriately ghostly and evocative...

Uncle Dave Lewis - All Music Guide

Grand Piano Masters · AppassionataGrand Piano Masters · Appassionata
Grand Piano Masters
Appassionata
Lilya Zilberstein plays
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827):
Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 2, No. 2
Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata"
Instrument: Concert Grand Piano D 280 by C. Bechstein
A concert recording from Bad Homburg Castle
in Germany, October 2007
HD Recording · DDD · c. 52 Minutes
CD
EUR 22,00SpotifyDeezerNapsterYouTube MusicApple MusicAmazon.com MusicIdagioTidalAmazon.comiTunesQobuz HDeClassical HDPresto Music HDHD TracksE-Onkyo HDReview

***** The best sounding recording of a piano

This performance of two Beethoven sonatas recorded before a live audience in a castle in Germany by pianist Lilya Zilberstein is incredible in two respects. First, the Appassionata is played as well as anyone I know, including the many legends of the keyboard who have recorded this masterpiece. Zilberstein has it all--technique, style, and passion. Equally remarkable is the sound. This is the best sounding recording of a piano I have ever heard--it must be heard to be believed, and if you are lucky to have a fine sound system you are in for a stupendous aural treat. If wish to hear a magnificant performance in otherwordly fidelity I urge you to track this release down before it becomes unavailable.

'Oldnslow' on Amazon.com

Review

***** Exceptional Appassionata

Sonata 23 is a war horse. There are literally 3-5 dozen versions online from older versions Schnabel (much too fast) to Brendel and Horowitz (quite staid) Kissin Gilels Schiff Goode and others. This one has superb recording. It is live and one can feel the tension with the audience. It is exceptionally clean and not exceedingly fast. You can hear the nuances that lay buried in the ear with the speedsters. She has wonderful rubato moments and the phrase to phrase dynamics are exceptionally well done. Importantly it is very exciting to hear though you know every note; it appears fresh as I feel it is new, modern interpretation. Congratulations Lilya. I hope to hear you in concert in Boston.

'George R. Collison' on Amazon.com

Review

***** Even among all Beethoven sonatas on the market, this one stands out

The disc is a product of Germany's K&K label, which specializes in live performances held in historically significant, if not acoustically appropriate, locations. Here they manage both. The Castle Church of Bad Homburg offers a fine ambiance for piano music in general and for Zilberstein's muscular, dynamic style in particular.
The disc offers the first half of a live concert whose date is localized only to October 2007; the second half was devoted to music of Brahms. At 52 minutes the program is short, but it is complete in itself, and one wants to hear the other disc if only to find out whether Zilberstein can sustain the intensity level from this half.
Zilbertstein has managed to devise fresh, fully realized interpretations of these two sonatas - no small feat, especially in the case of the ubiquitous Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 ('Appassionata'). Hear Zilberstein's exquisite shaping of the work's brooding opening page. The Beethovenian short-short-short long motif that plays such an important role in binding the music together is introduced in the shadows, but soon enough emerges as an exclamation with sufficent force to propel the main theme through its numerous harmonic transformations.
The level of tension in the entire sonata is remarkable; even the middle movement seems to see the with repressed energy. The early Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2, No. 2, is equally strong, with a unique rhythmic conception of the main theme. Just sit and listen: even among all the Beethoven sonatas on the market, this one stands out.

James Manheim, All Music Guide USA

Grand Piano Masters · Piano Concertos by Beethoven & UstvolskayaGrand Piano Masters · Piano Concertos by Beethoven & Ustvolskaya
Grand Piano Masters
Piano Concertos by Beethoven & Ustvolskaya
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827):
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 19
World Premiere Recording of the version for Piano & String Orchestra
by Vinzenz Lachner (1811-1893)
Galina Ustvolskaya (1919-2006):
Concerto for Piano, Strings & Timpani
With courtesy of Hans Sikorski Music Publishing Hamburg
Patricia Hase (Piano) · Ensemble Galina
Conductor: Peter Leipold
A concert recording from the Richard-Jakoby-Hall
of the Hanover University of Music, Drama & Media in Germany
HD Recording · DDD · c. 49 Minutes
CD
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Featured on Spotify

This release is featured in the editorial playlist on Spotify​:
COMPOSER WEEKLY: GALINA USTVOLSKAYA

Spotify Editorial

Review

***** Wonderful performance and very good recording quality

Wonderful performance and very good recording quality. I love the beauty of the interpretation and the combination of the two works!

An Amazon Customer on July 31, 2016 - Customer Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Review

Featured on Spotify

This release is featured on the Spotify list of 50 notable classical new releases

Spotify Editorial

Review

The first recording played without blunders is out!

The first recording of the Concerto for Piano, Strings & Timpani played without blunders is out!

'Galina Ustvolskaya official' on Facebook

Review

The Hannover-based pianist Patricia Hase has just released the Grand Piano Masters: Concertos by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) & Galina Ustvolskaya with conductor Peter Leipold and Ensemble Galina in with the record label K&K Verlagsanstalt this summer. A coffee addict and an avid reader who listens to German rap band Cro when she works out, Patricia tells primephonic’s Rina Sitorus about the new recording and her biggest wish in music.
Could you tell us about your newest album?
It’s very special for me to have recorded this album, because the conductor Peter Leipold and I are very close friends for many years now. It is so special for me to have this album recorded with him and the orchestra, Ensemble Galina. These wonderful concertos of Beethoven and Galina Ustvolskaya are two works which I'm addicted to.
Beethoven really is one of my favorite composers. It feels very natural for me to play his music. His early concertos are so fresh and full of spirit. The orchestra is young, the conductor is young, and I am young, so it was great to bring the spirit out of Beethoven's early works from his younger years. And Galina Ustvolskaya is one of the most impressive composers I've ever encountered. She was so strict and her music is uncomprimising, which really impressed me. I have a feeling that she really wanted to say something and not just merely make nice music.
The combination comes naturally - both works were written when the composers were young. I find that music written in that time of a person’s life actually says so much about our world today. It's hard to say which one I like better, I like both works just as much.  
You mention that the music is a reflection of the world today. Could you elaborate on that?
I think the main themes are always the same: love, passion, death, religion. What Beethoven wrote are the same main themes which belong to us today. It's really important to show the audience that his music is absolutely modern and it is important for us to get connected to our feelings and our lives. 
With all that in mind, I suppose you had had some kind of overall theme or mood in the back of your mind prior to the recording. Are you pleased with the final outcome?
Yes I had a very clear idea of how it should sound and how the music should feel. I was very hard on myself during the preparation – everything had to be better and better. But then, this recording was special because it was a live recording, so we only had one chance to get it right. So I stopped thinking when I entered the stage. My wish in that moment was to give everything I have and to leave my heart at that place, at that moment. Beforehand, I had been thinking it through so much, but once it started, I just let go, had fun and felt what was in the air. Maybe that’s what music is all about.
I hope one can hear that from the album.
Tell me about the audience during the recording.
It is always so interesting to see the audience. Their reactions are always so different every time. Every concert is very different but there is always a special atmosphere.
I remember the audience during the last recording so well. It was so quiet in the hall. It was in my hometown, Hannover, and there were many people in the audience who I knew. They were crossing fingers and I could feel that!
It was also so nice that backstage, right before we started, we all came together, for a big hug and I had the feeling that we had a great connection together. I had a feeling that everybody would give the best of what he or she can. It was such an amazing feeling, knowing that everybody wants to give their best. 
How would you describe the collaboration between you, Peter Leipold and Ensemble Galina?
Well, Peter and I know each other for many years and I learned so much about music from him. I performed my first piano concerto with him conducting. Then there was a time when we were just thinking: ‘We know so many wonderful musicians, why don't we bring them together and see what happens?’ We are professional colleagues but we are also really good friends with a good connection. I think people can hear it on the album, that when we come together, there is such a nice atmosphere. To play this first recording with so many friends on stage playing together was so amazing. I feel so proud when I see the album.
Is it too early to ask about how the reaction to your latest album has been?
We got so much feedback – the media wrote very very nice things about us! Konstantin Bagrenin, Galina’s widower, wrote us a letter and he was really impressed and that his wife would have loved it. I think I could cry!
What can we expect in the near future?
The label KuK wants to make another recording with me and maybe with the orchestra. We are still brainstorming about the project, but we have cool ideas, though we have to keep it secret at the moment. But don't you worry, more is coming!
What about your own project(s)?
Well I have a lot of concerts planned, and there is a possibility of a solo recording. It could be Schubert, my other favourite composer.
Where will you be in 10 years?
I hope I can play piano and continue being on stage for my whole life. It'll be great if I get the chance to make music and keep going in this very special and wonderful direction. But you never know what’s going to happen. I'm completely relaxed, so we'll see – the rest will come.
Any names you'd like to work with?
I really really like the violinist Isabelle Faust. It would be great for me to play with her, and I also really like the pianist Maria João Pires. I think she's so absolutely amazing. And so many conductors! Maybe to play once with the Berlin Philharmonic – of course that is the dream of every musician, I think. I played a lot with horn player Felix Klieser. These were such amazing experiences and maybe there's another chance to play with him again.
What do you do when you're not busy with recordings or concerts and how do you balance your music with other obligations, such as friends and family?
I really like to play sports and I'm addicted to coffee and chocolate. Sitting in a cafe, having a nice coffee while talking to a friend: that is the real Patricia. And I also like reading: from criminal stuff to music, biographies, funny stuff; I read everything!Balancing my music with the rest is much easier than I had thought it would be. I have many friends from all over the world which is perfect, since in most cities I play, there is somebody I know. I'm very connected to them through technology. And my family lives all over the world, so I'm used to that. I think the point is, they've already known me this way since the beginning. Because I also make music together with friends, we can combine friendship and the work. Sometimes during rehearsals with the orchestra we really have to be careful that we are not only talking about other [non-musical] stuff. People bring cakes, and during break we can talk about 'important private' stuff!
What is your biggest wish as a musician?
To break the distance between the audience and the people on stage. Sometimes I feel that the people in the audience are just watching the people who are on stage, so I find it important to get everything connected.
How would you achieve that?
I often talk to the audience and explain something about the works. Other times I tell them what I feel when I play, or just ideas of what it could be and leave it open, so that we can discuss it afterwards. For me it is interesting to know what the audience thinks. It makes it more alive and brings it closer to the present day.

Patricia Hase, in conversation with primephonic's Rina Sitorus

Handel/Mozart · The Messiah / Der Messias K. 572Handel/Mozart · The Messiah / Der Messias K. 572
Handel / Mozart:
Der Messias (Messiah), K. 572
Complete recording of Mozart's reorchestration and arrangement
of the English oratorio HWV 56 by George Frideric Handel (sung in German),
performed according to the traditions of the time
by Marlis Petersen (Soprano), Margot Oitzinger (Alto),
Markus Schäfer (Tenor), Marek Rzepka (Bass),
the Hanoverian Court Orchestra and the Maulbronn Chamber Choir
Conductor: Jürgen Budday
A concert recording from the church of the German
UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery
HD Recording · DDD · Double Album · c. 133 Minutes
2 CD
EUR 33,00SpotifyDeezerNapsterYouTube MusicApple MusicAmazon.com MusicNaxos Music LibraryPrimephonicIdagioTidalAmazon.comiTunes Apple Digital MasterQobuz HDPresto Classical HDeClassicalHD TracksPro Studio Masters HDReview

A superior version of Mozart's unique effort

Mozart's arrangement of Handel's Messiah, made in 1789, relates to his involvement in the circle of musical connoisseurs surrounding the Baron Gottfried van Swieten, Viennese nobleman and aficionado of the monuments of Baroque music. It is, as the booklet here aptly puts it, a "cover version" (the German participle, charmingly enough, is "gecovert") of Handel's work, neither a radical rethinking nor a light rescoring.
Mozart adds a good deal of wind scoring, often arranging things so that the winds peek out with a wink toward the end of an aria. The treatments of the flute and bassoon are playful and very Mozartian, yet the music, with the exception of one number, "Wenn Gott ist für uns" (CD 2, No. 23), is Handel's. Even that number, in which the original aria is discarded in favor of a new recitative, has subtle echoes of the original intervallic structure in Mozart's new music, and in the big choruses Mozart plays it straight.
The biggest change for the casual listener is the one from English to the German of van Swieten himself, working from an earlier translation by Friedrich Klopstock and Christoph Ebeling. If "Alle Tale" does not have quite the ringing quality of "Ev'ry valley," "Herr der Herrn, der Götter Gott" gets the message across. Conductor Jürgen Budday, leading the Hannoversche Hofkapelle, offers a spirited reading that reveals many of the score's smaller details. Although the soprano of Marlis Petersen is a bit outsized for a work that was originally performed with only 12 singers and has, for all the monumentality of Handel's Messiah, a certain intimate quality, this is a superior version of Mozart's unique effort, benefiting from the edge of live performance in a sonically spectacular venue. The booklet is helpful, quoting extensively from a detailed eighteenth century essay on Mozart's effort.

Review by James Manheim - All Media Guide, allmusic.com

Review

A really excellent production with vitality and great energy

The small but enterprising German label K&K continue to regale the discerning collector with lavish productions of selected works in the magnificent setting of the UNESCO World Heritage Maulbronn Monastery in Germany.
After releasing what can only be termed as a rather excellent 'Messiah' they have now turned their attentions to the Mozart arrangement of the same work sung in German. With such miraculous acoustics available, the recording is truly a sonic gem especially with the distinguished and alert playing of the Hannover Chamber Orchestra which infuses the orchestral parts Mozart composed with vitality and great energy.
The quartet of soloists does not include any real big names but they are all of the highest quality. I was particularly taken with Marlies Peterson whose ethereal capacity for high notes reminds one of the more highly rated Renée Fleming. Rzepka is also very strong as the bass whilst the monastery choir sings with élan and perfect diction, being here on home ground.
Booklet notes are suitably ample as are the recording details which include some stunning photographs of the performance. If you are looking for a high quality 'Messiah' in the Mozart arrangement, then you should look no further than this really excellent German production.

Gerald Fenech on Classical Net

Mozart · Piano Concertos I · Nos. 17 & 23Mozart · Piano Concertos I · Nos. 17 & 23
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Piano Concertos I
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453
& Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488
Christoph Soldan (Piano)
Cappella Istropolitana
Conductor: Pawel Przytocki
Concert recording from the church of the German
UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery
DDD · c. 60 Minutes
CD
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***** Stunning acoustics

This monastery is world famous. Spectacular decay, luminous sound, superb performances... Try this series and see what you think.

'John K.' on Amazon.com

Review

A wonderful Disc

This wonderful disc recorded in the splendor of the Maulbronn Monastery continues to cement K&K's reputation as a purveyor of quality classical music. Their Mozart piano concerto series has so far been quite exquisite on all counts this time with Christoph Soldan at the piano. KV453 floats along quite merrily, especially in the broad Finale which has the Capella Istropolitana playing like angels, ably directed by Pawel Przytocki. The same goes for KV488, one of the miracles of Mozart's piano concertos which can easily hold its own with former greats in the genre such as Wilhelm Kempff and Géza Anda. My only gripe in this series is the paucity of notes which accompany the issues otherwise both recording and interpretation are of impeccable quality throughout. Those who are collecting this fine series really need not hesitate in any way and should go ahead with purchasing this issue.

Gerald Fenech on Classical Net, Copyright 2009

Mozart: All Chamber Piano ConcertosMozart: All Chamber Piano Concertos
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
All Chamber Piano Concertos

The 4 Piano Concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
which were originally composed for Piano & String Quartet,
performed by Christoph Soldan (Piano) and the Silesian Chamber Soloists (String Quintet)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791):
Piano Concerto No. 11 in F Major, K. 413 · Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K. 414
Piano Concerto No. 13 in C Major, K. 415 · Piano Concerto No. 14 in E-Flat Major, K. 449
Recorded live in two concerts to 'Direct 2-Track Stereo Digital HD'

HD Recording · DDD · Duration: 1 Hour / 26 Min. / 29 Sec.
Digital Double Album · 12 Tracks · incl. Digital Booklet

MP3

MP3 Album

320 kBit/sec.

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***** A fine alternative... I strongly recommend this set.

I accidentally came upon this two disc set on Spotify. If, like me, you are always on the look out for new performances and versions of Mozart piano concertos you will probably enjoy these performances, and at the same time know that they are by the master's hand, so nobody else has fiddled with them ! The string quintet accompanying is very alert and sympathetic to the many strands and gradations of colour, even sometimes sounding like a larger body than they really are. Christoph Soldan is a fine Mozart pianist and his piano is well recorded. I do not know what type or make it is, but it has a very bright and appealing sound which contrats well with the strings. Christoph Soldan has specialised in Mozart for a long time and has many recordings to his name and It is a pity that he is not more well known over here. These are not particularly intimate performances as the performers project themselves well, though there is plenty of feeling and beauty in their playing. I do not like showy or long or gimmicky cadenzas, but I smiled at his in the finale to concerto no, 14. I wouldn't want to be without the full orchestral versions of these concertos and though these do not displace them, they are immensely enjoyable. I strongly recommend this set.

Paul Capell on Amazon.com

Review

Featured by Spotify​

This release is featured by Spotify​ in the editorial playlist CLASSICAL FOCUS

The Spotify editorial team

String Quartets by Veress & BeethovenString Quartets by Veress & Beethoven
Veress & Beethoven
String Quartets
The Orpheus Quartet plays
Sandor Veress: String Quartet No. 2
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2 "Rasumovsky Quartet No. 2"
Franz Schubert: Stringquartet in C minor, D 703
Charles-André Linale - 1st Violin · Emilian Piedicuta - 2nd Violin
Emile Cantor - Viola · Laurentiu Sbarcea - Cello
A concert recording from the German
Unesco World Heitage Site Maulbronn Monastery
DDD · c. 60 Minutes
CD
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A terrific performance...

A terrific performance and the equally rare chance to hear one of Europe's most thoughtful Ensembles. Sándor Veress has been overshadowed by his Hungarian compatriots, but on the rare occasions when I encounter his music I always find it worth hearing. His First Quartet, premiered in Prague in 1935 but written four years earlier, is demonstrably from the same soil as Bartók and Kodály, but quite individual. Its first movement is in slow-fast-slow form, after which comes an Andante and finally a highly rhythmic Vivo. The German based Orpheus Quartet gives a terrific performance to end this concert, recorded live in the convent at Maulbronn... The disc is worth pursuing for the rare Veress and the equally rare chance to hear one of Europe´s most thoughtful ensembles. Since the disc was made, the Orpheus has changed its second violinist and we have had the appalling news of the death of leader Charles-André Linale.

Tully Potter, The Strad UK

Review

***** A real feeling of being in the concert

I first heard the Orpheus Quartet in Spain and have collected their studio recordings. I was eager to hear them again, and K&K's series of live concert recordings from Maulbronn has given me an opportunity to hear how they were playing two years on. However, whilst writing this review, I am saddened to learn from the Orpheus Quartet website that their leader, Charles-André Linale, was killed in a car crash last month. Chamber music is given in the lay refectory, and reverberation is long during pauses after Beethoven's sf chords, but you soon get used to that, and it is more than compensated for by the bloom on the sound - you have a real feeling of being there with the audience. The Orpheus four have exactly the right feeling for the not-easy Schubert Quartettsatz and Beethoven's Op. 59/2, which can be a long haul; with all repeats, it was gripping from beginning to end. In this June 2002 concert their novelty was a quartet by Sandor Veress, an excellent composer heard infrequently in UK. Without any studio editing, the accuracy of these performances is remarkable and testifies to the good health of this top string quartet in what, it transpires, will have been one of their last recorded concerts with their multinational founder members; the exceptional performance of the Beethoven a worthy memorial for Charles-André Linale.

Andy Smith on Amazon.com

The Art of Conduction · Dvorak & MozartThe Art of Conduction · Dvorak & Mozart
Dvorak & Mozart
The Art Of Conduction
Concerts conducted by Pawel Przytocki:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425 "Linz"
Orchesta: Schlesische Kammerphilharmonie Kattowitz
A concert at the church of Maulbronn Monastery 2002.
Antonín Dvorák:
Serenade for String Orchestra in E Major, Opus 22
Orchestra: Beethoven Academy Orchestra Krakau
A concert at the Bad Homburg Castle 2007.
HD Recording · DDD · c. 58 Minutes
CD
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Review

***** BEST RECORDING

This is the best recording I have found of Dvorak's String Serenade!

A customer on iTunes

Review

***** My favourite

Your version of Dvorak's String Serenade is my favourite... Gotta loveit...damn! This guy is so good!

A listener on YouTube

Review

***** An ideal introduction

An ideal introduction to one of Poland's most talented and exciting young conductors, whose work has been compared to that of Carlos Kleiber and Svjatoslav Richter.

New Classics UK

Review

***** Five Stars

PLEASED. ORDER.

Laura J Hefner on Amazon.com (Verified purchase of the Audio CD)

Review

BEST SELLER on Amazon.com

February 16, 2015: Dvorak's String Serenade Op.22 is BEST SELLER on Amazon.com:
Best Sellers Rank 1 in 'Symphonies / Romantic'
Best Sellers Rank 2 in 'Periods / Romantic'
Best Sellers Rank 3 in 'Symphonies / Classical'

Review

***** Superb

I heard this piece (Dvorak's String Serenade) at a summer concert in Symphony Hall and was thoroughly enchanted by it. I downloaded it on to my ipod and it features regularly. It is a very melodic, uplifting, life-enhancing piece, superbly played.

Mr. P. Skeldon on Amazon.uk (Verified Purchase)

Review

A heady experience...

This beautifully-recorded CD brings together two fine works in what can only be termed as superb interpretations by Polish orchestras. K&K are an extremely enterprising German label who have given us some outstanding recordings in the choral, organ and piano and genre from such wonderful locations as centuries old monasteries so their new attention to orchestral music is very commendable indeed. Mozart's 'Linz' is one of those works were a carefully nuanced approach reaps considerable dividends as the great Peter Maag amply demonstrated. Przytocki is a consummate interpreter bringing a beautiful lift to the First movement and a busy energy to the Finale which are two miraculously charged movements. He is also in his element in the lovely Serenade for Strings by Dvořák which dances around quite ravishingly especially in the bucolic scherzo. This CD receives plaudits all around from me and it deserves a hearty recommendation. The presentation is beautiful with large photographs and the distinctive K&K colours provide for a heady experience which is reinforced by the interpretations.

Gerald Fenech on Classical Net

Review

***** FAV DVORAK

The 'Beethoven Akademie Orchester' does Dvorak justice with its excellent performance of his serenade. The 2nd and 3rd movements are definitely my favorites.

'J Dog1945' on iTunes

The Divine Liturgy · Don Cossack ChoirThe Divine Liturgy · Don Cossack Choir
Don Cossack Choir
The Divine Liturgy
An a-cappella-concert by the Don Cossacks Soloists Wanja Hlibka
with works from the Russian Missa by Maximowitsch, M. Lovorsky, Tschaikowsky, Alexandre Gretschaninow, Kastalsky, Fatejev, Dimitrij Bortnjanskij, the Kiev Melody et. al.
A concert recording from the church of the German
UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery
HD Recording · DDD · c. 50 Minutes
CD
EUR 22,00SpotifyDeezerGoogle PlayApple MusicAmazon.com MusicTidalAmazon.comiTunes MasteredFor...Presto Classical HDeClassicalQobuz HDHD TracksReview

Atmospheric, emotional and moving

In this recording of a Maulbronn Monastery choir concert, the Don Cossacks Soloists Wanja Hlibka sing works from the Russian Orthodox tradition by Maximowitsch (Wir verbeugen uns vor Deinem Kreuz), M. Lovorsky, Pjotr Iljitsch Tschaikowsky (In der Kirche), Alexandre Gretschaninow (Credo), Kastalsky, Fatejev, Dimitrij Bortnjanskij (Tedeum Laudamus) and the Kiev Melodies. The compositions carefully selected for the liturgically conceived Musica Sacra reveal surprising new insights into the high art of sacred Russian music and tradition. The outstanding a cappella ensemble performing here was founded in 1991 by Wanja Hlibka and George Tymczenko, who were both formerly soloists in the acclaimed Don Cossacks Choir until its disbandment in 1979. The Don Cossacks Soloists perform live and without amplification, even in such large venues as the Musikhalle in Hamburg, the Messehalle in Frankfurt or the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. The rich and emotional music of the Russian Orthodox Church is not often heard in the Western world, making this atmospheric and moving CD a wonderful to the beautifully produced Maulbronn Edition.

new-classics.co.uk

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