Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Ronald Brautigam returns with the third instalment in his series of Mozart’s piano concertos and is joined again by Die Kölner Akademie conducted by Michael Alexander Willens.

The present disc includes Piano Concerto No.26 in D major, K 537, nicknamed the ‘Coronation Concerto’. Although the title page stated the work was ‘performed by the composer at Frankfurt-am-Main on the occasion of the Coronation of Emperor Leopold II’, the concert took place a week after the actual coronation, and was not part of the official festivities.

It is here preceded by Piano Concerto No.17 in G major, K 453, one of the rare concertos that Mozart composed with another soloist than himself in mind – in this case his student Barbara Ployer.

Anu Komsi, Finland’s ‘coloratura assoluta’, here presents a wide-ranging programme, from mad scenes and rage arias from 18th- and 19th-century operas, to Alyabyev’s ever-soaring Nightingale and the silvery tinkling of Lakmé’s Bell Song.

Komsi also performs later examples of coloratura, including Glière’s glittering Concerto for coloratura and orchestra, and La Machine de l’être by the composer John Zorn – a work which she premiered in New York City in 2011.

The disc closes with a thoroughly idiomatic performance of Sibelius’ Luonnotar, with its text from the Finnish national epos Kalevala.

Throughout the programme, Anu Komsi is supported by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo.

Ondine is pleased to release its first chamber music recording from violinist Christian Tetzlaff, featuring his long time pianist Lars Vogt.

The selection of these sonatas for piano and violin by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart demonstrate the composer’s genius and show a wide range of emotions.

Christian Tetzlaff is considered as one of the very best violinists in the world. His recording of the violin concertos by Mendelssohn and Schumann, released on Ondine in 2011 (ODE 1195-2) was greeted with considerable acclaim.

Lars Vogt was appointed the first ever “Pianist in Residence” by the Berlin Philharmonic in 2003/04 and enjoys a high profile as a soloist and chamber musician.

2013 will see a Schumann Sonata release by Tetzlaff and Vogt on Ondine.

This is the seventh release in the acclaimed series of the complete symphonies by W.A. Mozart recorded by the Danish National Chamber Orchestra and their renowned Austro-Hungarian chief conductor Adam Fischer.

On this volume you can enjoy the symphonies nos. 31, 33 and 34 composed during 1778-80. The CD booklets in this series offer reflective essays on Mozart and the Classical period - this time about the composer's special choice of keys for his symphonies as well as his relation to his audiences.

Of the artists active today, Ricardo Muti has been a welcome guest at the Festival for more than 40 years. His first conducting engagements there did not just provide the basis for his current “telepathic” relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic, but also brought collaborations with important soloists of the older generation. Thus the new CD in the series FESTIVAL DOCUMENTS includes the Piano Concerto by Robert Schumann under Muti’s baton, with Sviatoslav Richter once more proving the uniqueness of his pianistic gifts. Over and above all its virtuoso challenges, Richter and Muti together give an account triumphant in its formal cohesion and in which they sculpt it as a large-scale musical arch.

Muti’s deep understanding of Rossini and Mozart – represented here by the Overture to 'Semiramide' and the Sinfonia Concertante K 364 respectively – is also clearly evident in these early recordings.

Rachel Podger is widely regarded as one of the UK’s finest violinist.

We asked Rachel to pick some of her most favourite tracks from the past dozen recordings she made with Channel Classics. This resulted in a double cd with beautiful concerto’s, sonatas and variations of Bach, Telemann, Mozart, Rameau, Haydn and Vivaldi.

Looking back over a recording career spanning three decades, “Rachel” is the perfect introduction to the music that inspires Rachel Podger.

All performed by Rachel, who over the years has worked with many great musicians and orchestras like Trevor Pinnock, Gary Cooper, Jane Rogers, Brecon Baroque, Holland Baroque Society a.o.

A new and exquisite collection of German songs from counter-tenor Andreas Scholl, providing a perfect balance between text and music. The choice of music reflects Scholl’s belief that music need not be confined in performance to a particular voice type, as long as “the singer’s approach is true.”

Scholl pulls off a bravura display in Schubert’s An Mignon, singing in both the counter-tenor and baritone register. The performance of these songs reveals an intuitive understanding between singer and accompanist, Andreas Scholl and Tamar Halperin.