|
|
| | Les titres retrouvé: 1179 | |
|
ID: CC2022
CDs: 1
Type: CD
|
Subcollection: OboeThe 20-page full colour CD booklet has a 3,000 word programme note in English with full details of each track.
There are biographies of the players, web links and many photographs.
Introduction by Jeremy Polmear:
In the realm of chamber music the combination of oboe, horn and piano is an unusual one. The string quartet medium reigns supreme in its ability to inspire great works from great composers. There are many reasons for this, one being that in a string quartet each instrument has its own character, but all are of the same family so that they can also blend as a unit. Each can add its voice on equal terms to the others, speaking the same language but with its own individual accent.
By contrast the wind quintet of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn is all just that - contrast. Each instrument occupies its own sound-world, its own unique colour. This is what makes these instruments so valuable in an orchestra, but can be a challenge in a chamber music context. It takes a very skilful composer - and skilful performers too - to create satisfying blends with these instruments.
It is perhaps no accident that when Mozart wrote chamber music for flute, oboe, clarinet, and horn, he did so individually, in works with strings. Or he added a piano to smooth out the sound, as in the celebrated Quintet K452 with oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn. On this CD we have done something similar with his Horn Quintet K407; although the violin part is now on the oboe, the two violas and cello are given to the piano.
And it is the piano that is the key to the possibilities of the trio with oboe and horn. Even when it is an accompanying role it can provide a mellow presence and a solid harmonic basis, over which the other instruments can sing. This is true in the Mozart, and also in the two short nineteenth century pieces recorded here, by Blanc and Molbe.
And what of the other two instruments? The US horn player Cynthia Carr, in the introduction to her repertoire list of music for the trio, puts it thus: "This ensemble - comprised of the most distinctive-sounding woodwind instrument and the most versatile member of the brass family - presents a rich tonal palette and can produce a wide range of textures, from delicate and transparent to full and orchestral." This can be seen in this CD particularly in the Herzogenberg Trio Op 60 (1889), and in the way that Jean-Michel Damase makes full, and delightful, play of all the possibilities in his Trio of 1990. The oboe cannot match the horn in terms of dynamic range, but its timbre means that it can still be heard, even when both the other instruments are at full stretch. Meanwhile, within the context of the piano sound, the two instruments can celebrate their differences - the oboe melodic and poignant, the horn warm and noble.
In her repertoire list, Cynthia Carr lists nearly forty compositions. There is a genre here, but it is miniscule compared to the repertoire for a string quartet or even a wind quintet. This is because the oboe/horn/piano trio has never been a standard instrumental combination, never part of a European Court as, for example, the Wind Band octets were. Compositions have come about in a more haphazard way. The nineteenth century was a bad one for wind chamber music players - only Schumann and Brahms among the major composers wrote anything. Where they did, it was for specific players, for example the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld for whom Brahms wrote the Clarinet Quintet. For this Trio there are two keynote nineteenth century pieces - the Herzogenberg Trio already mentioned, and one by Carl Reinecke, written in 1887.
During the 20th Century there were a smattering of works, but the increase in interest didn't come about until late in the century, with the rise of oboe/horn/piano trios in the US, particularly Cynthia Carr's own Trio Arundel, and the horn player Martin Webster of the Hancock Chamber Players. They not only wanted to play music, but were willing to commission pieces, resulting in Paul Basler's jazzy Vocalise-Waltz of 1996 (commissioned by Cynthia) and the Damase Trio mentioned above, commissioned by Martin.
To these people we owe a debt for opening up new possibilities in the under-exploited world of wind chamber music. |
| 18.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
|
ID: CC2019
CDs: 1
Type: CD
|
Subcollection: PianoThe 24-page full colour CD booklet has a 6,000 word programme note in English
with full details of each track, and extensive information about the composer and about his use of multiphonics.
There are biographies of all the players and many photographs.
Introduction by Jeremy Polmear:
This CD is a collection of music by a single composer, mostly for a single combination of instruments (oboe and piano), yet the sheer variety of the music is immediately apparent. Most obviously perhaps, is the the use of multiphonics on the oboe, which are central to Shadow Play, are used extensively in most of the other pieces, but not at all in Aulodie or Cantilena. The harmonic and rhythmic complexity of the pieces also varies - from the virtuosic Antares to the touching simplicity of Cantilena. Furthermore, these pieces cover a period of nearly 40 years, yet there is no obvious trend of an evolving style during this period. What kind of composer is Edwin Roxburgh, really? What labels can we apply?
Roxburgh himself hates labels. For example, he says "I was never a serial composer. Serial composition is in any case just one way of expressing something; to add a label to it isn't really the point. And the 'neo-' label - why spend the time regenerating characteristics of the past? By all means borrow from the past, and also from the musical clichés which surround us in the present - embrace these things, but transform them into something of your own. As a composer, you need to add your own brick to the wall of the evolution of music."
A composer's creative process is notoriously hard to define, but Roxburgh puts it thus: "I start with the idea for a piece, and then I look for the vocabulary with which to express that idea. It's different for every composition; I'm looking at modes of harmony, of rhythm, of modulation that are going to be able to express that idea. And at physics, too; the physics of the oboe, and its chords, these can be part of the vocabulary, an exciting area to explore."
It is this willingness to define his artistic vocabulary afresh for the needs of each composition that gives authenticity to Edwin Roxburgh’s music, and perhaps explains the remark made by his teacher Nadia Boulanger that Edwin was 'the new Stravinsky'. It is also interesting to note that Roxburgh describes Schoenberg and Fauré as two of his musical 'grandparents'. Boulanger was a pupil of Fauré and another teacher was Luigi Dallapiccola, a pupil of Schoenberg.
We can also see evidence in this CD of the source of some of Edwin Roxburgh's ideas. People feature prominently, especially oboists. Elegy was written in memory of Janet Craxton (who can be heard on Oboe Classics CC2011). Its use of multiphonics would perhaps not have enthused its dedicatee ("I'm not Holliger", she told one composer); yet the quiet, warm, unselfish spirit of Janet the player and Janet the person pervades the piece.
Léon Goossens (available on Oboe Classics CC2005) is a source for two pieces here: Antares, written for Nicholas Daniel to play for his 90th birthday. And Aulodie, which was written ten years earlier for Goossens himself to perform. In this latter piece, the composer pays tribute to a player in an extraordinary way. Not only is the musical vocabulary one with which Goossens would have been familiar, but Roxburgh even includes the kinds of phrases and moods at which Goossens excelled.
External events are another impulse for Roxburgh. As he says, "sometimes I'm touched by an event. Composers can't affect politicians, but we can make a point for history. It can be a simple expression, as long as it's profound." Listening to the two tracks which comment on war, Cantilena and Silent Strings, we can hear much more than simple anger; perhaps this is because in each of these pieces Edwin Roxburgh has combined his aversion for an act with his respect for particular individuals - the composer Adrian Cruft; and the performers Paul Goodey and Sally Mays. |
| 18.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
|
ID: CC2016
CDs: 1
Type: CD
|
Subcollection: PianoThe 24-page CD booklet has a 6,000 word programme note in English including interviews with Roderick Swanston (on Geoffrey Bush), Barbara Thompson (on Green), Roger Lord (on Madeleine Dring) and Richard Stoker (on his Miniatures). There are biographies of the composers and many photographs.
Has melody always been with us? Will it continue to flourish? Yes, and yes. The practise of creating pitched sounds is a universal human phenomenon, and the pentatonic scale has been found in many cultures all over the world. In the West it was present in some of the earliest examples of notated music, such as Gregorian Chant, and is with us today.
The melodies in Lalliet’s Terzetto, for example, are not universal - they are clearly a product of European culture in the 19th Century. But whatever form it takes, the existence of melody itself is universal. It seems likely that melody was linked to communication long before opera was invented; the pre-verbal vocalising of a baby could be said to be a kind of melody, and right from the start comes the idea that melody not just an abstract thing that we happen to like, but that it is linked with an emotional or physical state, and with the communication of that state. Melody is very fundamental to us, relating to our physiology, not just to our sense of beauty.
The history of melody has had, as it were, its ups and downs. In the classical period, a long melodic line was not considered flexible enough for symphonic development - all you could do was repeat it or make variations of it - and it was often replaced by a short motif that could be worked on. However, by the 19th Century, when the earliest piece on this CD was written (the Lalliet), melody was in its hayday. The scientist Hermann Helmholtz asserted that it was 'the incarnation of motion in music', the critic Eduard Hanslick saw in it 'the archetypal configuration of beauty', and Wagner asserted that there was no reason that a melody need ever end. In practice even Wagner ended his melodies eventually, but this was felt to be a choice and not a necessity. Surprisingly, the best example of an ‘unending’ melody on this CD comes from Wagner’s antithesis, Francis Poulenc, in the slow movement of his Trio.
In the 20th Century, melody suffered an eclipse from the followers of the Second Viennese School. This wasn't their original intention; Webern, for example, said he was looking for 'absolute melody', but this was at the expense of something you could hum, and advances in instrumental techniques, synthesisers and computers encouraged later composers to pursue ends other than melodic ones.
Meanwhile other developments, such as the incorporation of folk music, or the 'Socialist Realism' of composers such as Shostakovitch, as well as the rise of popular music as a separate genre, ensured the survival of melody. On this CD the operatic melodies of Casimir-Théophile Lalliet (circa 1870), the Romantic urges of Francis Poulenc (1928), the heartfelt melancholy of Geoffrey Bush (1952), the chirpy tunes of Richard Stoker (1963), the mediaeval references of Madeleine Dring (1971), and the sinuous lines of Barbara Thompson (2006), demonstrate that melody is alive and well.
It may also be that it is in the nature of the oboe and bassoon to play tunes, to connect to the human voice, and this has encouraged these composers to be more 'melodic' when writing for these instruments. Today's advanced instrumental techniques enable both oboe and bassoon players to make music of extraordinary complexity, but I can't help feeling that when our remote ancestors first punched finger holes in a wooden tube, it was a melody they had in mind.
© 2006 Jeremy Polmear |
| 18.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
|
ID: ACDHN033-2
CDs: 1
Type: SACD
|
Subcollection: Piano1- 4 B. Tsoukkerman-violin, I. Boytchev-piano
5 - 6 R.de Waal-piano, Ch. Bor-violin, Tsoukkerman-violin, M. Sidener-viola, G. Hoogeveen-cello
In 1896 gold was found in the northern Canadian river of Klondike, and from that moment on the word Klondike has stood for undiscovered treasure. Recently one musical treasure after the other is being unearthed. One of these discoveries is the music of the all but forgotten composer Georgy Catoire (Moscow 1861-1926). By the end of the twentieth century Catoire’s music has been gradually gaining worldwide public recognition. Old recordings have been released again and various English, American, German and Dutch musicians have made new ones. There is no doubt that the search for new Klondike treasures will be continued! Boris Tsoukkerman |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
|
ID: CC2023
CDs: 1
Type: CD
|
Subcollection: PianoThe 16-page full colour CD booklet folds out to reveal a large image of a cor anglais,
as well as biographies and track notes in English. Introduction by Alison Teale: "I love the cor anglais. To me, it's one of the most wonderful instruments in the orchestra. My mission is to expand its repertoire, to encourage more people to explore its hidden qualities and gain as much pleasure from playing as I do. "I've chosen a mix of music to illustrate the astonishing versatility of the cor anglais: not only its rich and beautiful melodic tones, but also its power and extraordinary agility. Some pieces, such as Luchetti's Rock Song, push the boundaries of technique. Others, like Piazzolla's Nightclub 1960, reveal the glorious upper register. And some, such as the Bebop Tango, are just plain fun."
Alison Teale is the principal cor anglais player with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. While studying at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Alison was appointed co-principal oboe with the Honh]=g Kong Philharmonic orchestra. In 2003 she moved to Cardiff to become the principal cor anglais player for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
In 2001 Alison won the Isle of Wight International oboe Competition, which led to here Purcell Room debut. She has performed numerous concertos for BBC Radio 3, notably Quiet City with Alison Balsam.
She enjoys giving regular masterclasses, performing solo and chamber music recitals, and the additional variety that comes from freelance work. Alison is oboe professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Pianist Elizabeth Burley performs, records and broadcasts widely in several different roles: chamber musician, orchestral pianist, soloist and accompanist. She has worked with some of the world's leading orchestras - notably the BBC Sympnony Orchestra, where she has collaborated with many of the most influential modern composers, inclding Boulez, Berio, Knussen, Adams and Maxwell Davies.
Elizabeth is a professor at the Royal College of Music. |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
|
ID: NMCD144
CDs: 1
Type: CD
|
Collection:
Instrumental
Subcollection: PianoMichael Zev Gordon is Senior Lecturer in Composition at the University of Southampton and Professor of Composition at the Royal College of Music.
Gordon studied composition in the UK with Robin Holloway, Oliver Knussen and John Woolrich, in Italy with Franco Donatoni and in the Netherlands with Louis Andriessen.
Awards include a 2004 Prix Italia for A Pebble in the Pond, an extended radiophonic work on the subject of memory; and winner of the choral category of the 2008 British Composer Awards, for This Night, written for the choir of King’s College, Cambridge.
Andrew Zolinsky won the San Francisco International Piano Concerto Competition in 1998.
The works on this disc span nearly twenty years of Michael Zev Gordon’s output and demonstrate the development and change in his style from the atonal soundworld of Touch to the more recent harmonic, lyrical qualities of On Memory, a series of miniatures inspired by the way our brain conjures up hazy memories. Gordon uses a Couperin keyboard piece, a Bach Sarabande and a fragment from a Klezmer dance as starting points, which provide a brief moment of recognition before tailing off into blurry soundworlds. |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
|
ID: IDIS6539
CDs: 1
Type: CD
|
Collection:
Great Performers
Subcollection: PianoSchubert - Sonata in Bb, D.960
Clementi - Sonata in B-, Op.40 No. 2 |
| 18.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
|
ID: ACDHJ032-2
CDs: 1
Type: SACD
|
Collection:
Baroque
Subcollection: PianoBefore his travels Mendelssohn had already started to compose the Fantasy in F sharp, which is also called Sonata écossaise (Scottish sonata), but only after the three years’ tour did he finish and publish it. The work is comprised of three parts and continues with the attacca as one big whole. After his three years’ journey Mendelssohn returned to the parental home in Berlin in June 1832. The following month he ordered a piano by Conrad Graf from Vienna. His specific wish was a grand piano with a compass of 6½ octaves. The development of the piano in the late 18th century up to the mid 19th century went very fast and its compass increased every time. The piano Felix mother and aunts knew in the days of their youths had a compass of but 5 octaves, the Broadwood grand at his parents’ had 6.
He was so pleased with the Graf that he ordered two more within a time span of three years; one for the city of Düsseldorf where he had become General Musical Director and one as a wedding present for his brother’s bride.
Although he also received a grand piano as a present from the Erard factory in 1832, his enthusiasm for this make is not registered until 1838. The 1832 instrument did not play easily and after he had sent it back to the factory in 1837 to have it modified, he unexpectedly got offered a new instrument. He described this instrument ‘so full and rich in tone’ and praised the Erard quoting Lord Byron, ‘There be none of Beauty’s daughters with a magic like Erard’s.’ |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
|
|
