~Program~
J.S. Bach: Prelude and Gavotte en rondeau from Partita No. 3 in E for solo violin, BWV 1006
Augustin Hadelich, violin
“Recording Bach’s complete Six Sonatas and Partitas has long been a dream of mine,” says Augustin Hadelich
CD: Augustin Hadelich — Bach: Sonatas & Partitas Warner Classics 2021
Cecilia McDowall: Of a Rose
Traditional: People, look East (Carol of the Advent)
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
English choral conductor Harry Christophers founded The Sixteen in 1979. This latest release is one of the hundreds thatthe ensemble has released over the years.
CD: Carol of the Bells / The Sixteen / Harry Christophers Coro 2021
Karl Stamitz: Grand Pastoral Symphony in G, “Le Jour Variable”
Cologne Academy, Michael Alexander Willens
Stamitz’s desire to discover and explore new paths in the composition of symphonies took him to the programmatic pastoral symphony “Le jour variable” (La promenade royale) designed in Versailles in the fall of 1772. What Stamitz presents to the ears in the way of previously “unheard-of” music would completely outshine even the programmatic pieces produced at the end of the nineteenth century.
CD: Carl Stamitz – Le Jour Variable – Four Symphonies CPO 2021
Frédéric Chopin: Three Nocturnes, Op. 9
Jan Lisiecki, piano
Jan Lisiecki unquestionably knows how he wants to approach each of Chopin’s Nocturnes, and has the wherewithal to realize his conceptions…Classics Today
CD: Frederic Chopin – Complete Nocturnes – Jan Lisiecki 2021 Deutsche Grammaphon
Interview: Rob Kennedy speaks with Al Sturgis, director of the North Carolina Master Chorale.
John Rutter: Rejoice and be merry
North Carolina Master Chorale, Alfred E. Sturgis
The NC Master Chorale recorded this carol in a concert in December 2006, at Raleigh’s Meymandi Concert Hall.
Recording: North Carolina Master Chorale Joy of the Season NC Master Chorale 2006
Alexander Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 6
Zixiang Wang, piano
Writing in Audiophile Audition, Gary Lemco states: Chinese piano virtuoso Zixiang Wang unites two contemporary Russian composers, Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) and Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) in their respective first sonatas for solo piano. Scriabin had injured his right hand—much in the manner of his admired Robert Schumann—through excessive practice. Still a student at the Moscow Conservatory, Scriabin in his frustration with his thwarted solo career, conceived a “sonata with a funeral march for the right hand.” Scriabin utilizes a constant three-note motif: F-G-A-flat as a unifying device will undergo transformations in the Liszt tradition of variation and dynamic modification. Anger and despair mark this large composition, a protest against what Scriabin called “the whims of God’s design.”
CD: First Piano Sonatas / Scriabin / Rachmaninoff / Zixiang Wang Blue Griffin Recording 2021
Niccolo Paganini: Capriccio in A minor, Op. 1 No. 24
Alina Ibragimova, violin
Rachmaninoff used this capriccio as the basis for his “Variations on a Theme of Paganini”.
The 24 Caprices composed by virtuoso violinist Niccolo Paganini dates from the early 1800’s. Russian violinist Alini Ibragimova plays No. 24 in A minor from a CD on the Hyperion label.
CD: Paganini 24 Caprices Alina Ibragimova Hyperion 2021
Howard Shore: The Forest
National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, Alexander Shelley
Milos Karadaglic, guitar
MILOŠ says, “It has long been my wish to challenge composers to write for the classical guitar, particularly with regards to the concerto repertoire. For centuries, this instrument has touched many people around the world and yet its repertoire remains very much underrepresented in the classical mainstream. It is exactly this that inspired me to seek new ideas and approach Joby and Howard in the first place. The Moon & the Forest, with two brand new concertos that I adore and can humbly call my own, is my personal fairytale come true.”
CD: Milos — The Moon and the Forest Decca 2021
Herbert Howells: Long, long ago
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
CD: Carol of the Bells / The Sixteen / Harry Christophers Coro 2021
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Piano Concerto in C sharp minor, Op. 30
The Orchestra Now, Leon Botstein
Orion Weiss, piano
Rimsky-Korsakov composed his piano concerto in 1882-83 with the first performance in 1884.
CD: Piano Protagonists / Korngold – Chopin – Rimsky-Korsakov Bridge 2021
Camille Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 “Organ”
Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth
Daniel Roth, organ
The organist is the conductor’s father, Daniel Roth. Monsieur Roth performs on the magnificent 1862 Cavaillé-Coll organ in the church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris. He has been a titular organist there since 1985.
CD: Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 / Piano Concerto No. 4 Harmonia Mundi 2021
Rob Kennedy
November 21, 2021