Ludwig van Beethoven

This unique recording of the Beethoven string quartets made from 1951 to 1952 for Columbia has for the first time been entirely edited for CD. These digital remasterings enable the listener to hear the Budapest Quartet at the peak of its sound and performing a repertoire on which it so famously made its mark. Balance of tonality, intensity of expression, precise phrasing: the following collection is symbolic of the qualities of an ensemble that, during the 1950s, left behind a discography that continues to inspire musicians and listeners today.

The 18th century is probably the most extraordinary period of transformation Europe has known since antiquity. Political upheavals kept pace with the innumerable inventions and discoveries of the age; every sector of the arts and of intellectual and material life was turned upside down. Between the end of the reign of Louis XIV and the revolution of 1789, music in its turn underwent a radical mutation that struck at the very heart of a well-established musical language. In this domain too, we are all children of the Age of Enlightenment: our conception of music and the way we ‘consume’ it still follows in many respects the agenda set by the 18th century. And it is not entirely by chance that harmonia mundi has chosen to offer you in 2011 a survey of this musical revolution which, without claiming to be exhaustive, will enable you to grasp the principal outlines of musical creation between the twilight of the Baroque and the dawn of Romanticism.

The Sacconi Quartet presents a new recording of three of Beethoven’s masterful early string quartets. The Opus 18 quartets (Nos 1, 4 and 6) appear on the third release on the Quartet’s own label, Sacconi Records. The disc is released upon the recent completion of the Sacconi Quartets’ two year Beethoven Cycle, performed in the UK at both the Canterbury Festival and Music at St Peter’s, Wallingford.

This set of six works, published as Opus 18 in 1801, were Beethoven’s first attempt at writing for the string quartet. Beginning these early masterpieces, the 28 year old Beethoven was already known for his virtuosic improvisations and remarkable musicianship. In these quartets he not only demonstrates his skill and mastery of the medium as developed by Haydn and Mozart, but also explores new musical territory, anticipating later developments in his compositional style.

The F major quartet (Op.18 No.1) is a masterpiece in brilliance and vitality, with a slow movement that contains some of the most sensitive and tragic writing of his earlier works.

In Op.18 No.4 in C minor, Beethoven moves towards a more concerto-like format and the first violin dominates in this vibrant and atmospheric piece. The final quartet of the set, Op.18 No.6 in B flat major is a work of extreme contrasts, and the slow introduction to the last movement, La Malinconia, is a celebrated passage of profound originality.

The Sacconi Quartet is one of the UK's leading string quartets. Since its formation at the Royal College of Music in 2001, it has established a secure and substantial reputation. The Quartet is recognised for its unanimous and compelling ensemble, performing with style and commitment and consistently communicating with a fresh and imaginative approach. Its four founder members demonstrate a shared passion for string quartet repertoire, infectiously reaching out to audiences with their energy and enthusiasm. Over the past decade they have enjoyed a highly successful international career, performing regularly throughout Europe, at London’s major venues, in recordings and radio broadcasts.

After the very successful release of the single DVDs we now release Christian Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performing Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1 – 9 including nine one hour documentaries, one for each film. Maestro Thielemann and Joachim Kaiser (the most famous German music critic) discuss and analyze in an entertaining conversational exchange Thielemann’s interpretation, complemented by excerpts from rehearsals as well as by comparisons of Beethoven cycles with Karajan, Bernstein, Böhm, Järvi etc. This is the Beethoven cycle of the 21st century!

9 DVDs or 3 Blu-rays in a valuable hardcover box with 16 hours of concerts and documentaries.

“Thielemann´s reading of the Beethoven symphonies stands heads and shoulders above the countless and mostly undistinguishable versions on offer.” Die Presse

“The performances, the Vienna Philharmonic on top form, can't help sounding wonderful...oddly, it is the discussions that are the most enjoyable elements in this ambitious set.” BBC Music Magazine * * */ *

“This is growling, mane-shaking Beethoven: a traditional approach to the music with full sound and large forces. Thielemann takes a precise yet lyrical approach to the music, as he discusses and demonstrates in the three hour-long accompanying musicological discussions.” Classic FM Magazine * * * *

Total: 956 minutes

Symphonies: 446 minutes

Documentaries: 510 minutes

DVD: DTS 5.0, PCM Stereo

Subtitles E, F, Sp, I, Kor., Chin.

NTSC: 3 DVD Amaray boxes in a harcover box (containing 9 DVDs)

Each instalment of The Florestan Trio’s Beethoven Piano Trio cycle was rapturously received. Reissued as a special-price box-set, this superb series of benchmark recordings should not be missed.

The pièce de résistance of Deutsche Grammophon’s Liszt 200th anniversary celebration is a 10-CD box that brings together five great piano virtuosos of the past in a staggeringly display of virtuosity and “old-style” pianism – quite unlike anything else on offer in Liszt Year.

The artists – Claudio Arrau, Alicia de Larrocha, Raymond Lewenthal, Benno Moiseiwitch and Egon Petri - can be regarded as Liszt’s heirs for their astounding virtuosic command, for having created a repertoire of their own, or for having studied with Liszt’s own pupils or grand-pupils. The excellent booklet essay by Jed Distler sets out the very convincing rationale behind the choices.

The box draws exclusively on recordings from the American Decca and Westminster labels, most of which have never been released on CD, and, in the case of Claudio Arrau, are now being released for the very first time.

Painstakingly restored, the recordings, from the 1950s and early 1960s, both mono and stereo, have come up wonderfully well. Arrau plays previously unreleased Beethoven (five favourite sonatas) and Chopin; De Larrocha offers pristine accounts of her core repertoire of Granados, Turina and Mompou; Lewenthal has scintillating Scriabin, an incandescent programme of Toccatas and Encores; Moiseiwitch, in his last recorded sessions (New York, 1961), ranges from Beethoven and Schumann to Mussorgsky; and Petri unfolds an unforgettable programme of Liszt and Busoni. Each artist has two CDs to display his or her powers. A summary of content is below.

PACKAGING

The capbox cover is based on one of the original Westminster LP covers, and the 32-page colour booklet replicates several of the original LP covers

Beethoven was one of the featured composers in the 2010 Spannungen Festival. Works in the calibre of these, performed by world-celebrated musicians such as the Tetzlaff siblings never cease to hold the audience spellbound. Including Bach’s Contrapunctus XI in the programme gives a unique and outstanding result.

Live recordings, 12th-13th June 2010

The young Croatian cellist Jelena Ocic has been singled out as one of the most gifted of her generation. On this CD she is accompanied by pianist Federico Lovato in performances of five of the ten Preludes adapted by Ignaz Moscheles from The Well-tempered Clavier of J.S. Bach and Carl Czerny’s version of Beethoven’s ‘Kreutzer’ Violin Sonata. The final piece is a significant 20th century work written specifically for cello and piano, Paul Hindemith’s Sonata opus 11 No. 3.

The late Bernard Greenhouse, founding cellist of the great Beaux Arts Trio, referred to Jelena Ocic as “one of the most remarkable cello talents of today”, while Siegfried Palm called her “one of the most promising interpreters of New Music”. This is her second recording for Challenge Classics following last year’s album, also with accompanist Federico Lovato, of music by Ginastera, Kabalevsky, and Senderovas (CC72358).

Paul Hindemith’s Sonata for Violoncello and Piano opus 11 No. 3 of 1919 has been described many times as one of the young composer’s key works. Within the context of modernism at this time, the stylistic experiments of the young Hindemith are inspired more by the music of Brahms, Reger, Mozart, and Bach than that of the late-romantic composers of the time like Richard Strauss.

Munch met and heard Richter in 1958 when the Boston Symphony Orchestra toured Russia. He was so impressed that he invited him to appear with the BSO.

Richter’s Boston debut two years later, is presented here from the original stereo tapes for the first time. “The result took your breath away” Boston Globe

Brought together on 5 CDs, the complete Beethoven concertos in performances by great artists and orchestras. In addition to the well-known works — with Daniel Barenboim, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Herbert von Karajan, Yo-Yo Ma, Maurizio Pollini, and others — this specially priced box-set includes rare early works and the piano arrangement of the Violin Concerto. An essential compendium.