Bamberger Symphoniker

Violinist Guy Braunstein has been the concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 2000. In 2013 he will step down to dedicate himself to his solo career. His extraordinary musicianship has been heralded equally as a soloist, a chamber musician and, more recently, he has enjoyed a considerable success as a conductor.

He has played with some of the world's leading orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Israel Philharmonic and Filharmonica de la Scala, to name a few.

He has collaborated with musicians such as Zubin Mehta, Issac Stern, Claudio Abbado, Yefim Bronfman, Sir Simon Rattle, Emanuel Ax, SemyonBychkov, Maurizio Pollini, Andris Nelsons, LangLang and Hélène Grimaud among others. He also has a special working relationship with Daniel Barenboim both as a soloist and in recital.

Guy Braunstein plays a rare violin made by Francesco Ruggeri (Cremona, 1679).

The Bamberg Symphony Orchestra has a strong record of providing first class performances and recordings for the Tudor label and this disc of romantic works will continue their high standards.

After the sensational success of his debut album ‘Helden’ (Heroes), Germany´s leading Wagner tenor - Klaus Florian Vogt - presents his first all-Wagner arias CD.

The album presents arias from the Wagner operas Mr Vogt has sung at famous opera houses around the world, including ‘Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg’, ‘Lohengrin’ (being his breakthrough success and most famous role at the Bayreuth Wagner festival), ‘Parsifal’ (new production at the Deutsche Oper Berlin 2012), ‘Walküre’ (new production of the ‘Ring des Nibelungen’ at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich).

The CD also includes roles Vogt has not sung before on stage, such as ‘Rienzi’ and ‘Tristan and Isolde’. Vogt is accompanied here by the acclaimed Finnish soprano Camilla Nylund and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jonathan Nott.

Klaus Florian Vogt sings in all major opera houses around the world. In 2013, he will star in a new production in Milan (‘The Flying Dutchman’) and will also perform at the opera houses in Barcelona (‘Rusalka’), Tokyo (‘The Mastersingers of Nuremberg’), Berlin (‘Lohengrin’), Munich (‘The Flying Dutchman’ & ‘Lohengrin’), Hamburg (‘The Mastersingers of Nuremberg’) and Helsinki (‘The Dead City’). He will also be on stage in Bayreuth in 2013.

Mr Vogt received the prestigious German Echo ‘Singer of the Year’ Award in 2012 for the ‘Helden’ CD.

“…the timbre rewards the ear with its clarity, youthfulness and affecting sweetness” International Record Review on ‘Helden’

“…delightful, fleet nimbleness…” The Independent on ‘Helden’

This is the second volume in cpo’s series of Charles-Marie Widor’s Organ Symphonies. Volume 2 is in every way a match for the high standards of the first. Gramophone said: “Solyom's superbly paced direction and Schmitt's sensitive interweaving with the orchestral textures gives a real sense of purpose and unity to this often complex score.”

Widor epitomizes the French organ music of the nineteenth century. He quickly made a name for himself as a composer, and his ten symphonies for solo organ are regarded even today as some of his greatest achievements. As with the first volume the symphonies are interpreted by Christian Schmitt, certainly the most distinguished German organist of the younger generation.

Jonathan Nott and the Bamberger Symphoniker have written a special chapter in recording history with this series. Currently nominated in the 2012 BBC Music Magazine Awards, their recording of Mahler Symphony No.3 (TUDOR7170) was a BBC Music Magazine Orchestral Choice; “a recorded spaciousness which lets every ensemble and solo spiritually resound.”

Jonathan Nott has been the principal conductor of the Bamberger Symphoniker since the year 2000 and this has been a very successful partnership. Their recording of Mahler’s 9th Symphony (TUDOR7162) won several awards “This is a fine achievement in a towering symphony.” BBC Music Magazine

Hartmann's music bears the courage of his convictions: refusing to have anything to do with the Nazi regime, he withdrew from German cultural life until after the Second World War, when he rewrote almost all of his earlier works, in a vibrant development of the great German symphonic tradition.