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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Chopin & Schumann: Piano Trios in G Minor
Manhattan Piano Trio: Wayne Lee (violin), Dmitry Kouzov (cello), Milana Strezeva (piano) The two piano trios coupled on this CD, Chopin’s Trio in G minor opus 8, and Schumann’s Trio opus 110 No. 3, also in G minor, were both written during the first half of the 19th century. They are performed by the exciting young American group, the Manhattan Piano Trio. Since its inception in 2004, the Manhattan Piano Trio has quickly become one of the most creative, exciting, and dynamic young ensembles in the United States. With more than 300 concerts in its first five seasons alone, it is one of the most active groups in the classical music scene, and has won many prestigious awards, including prizes at the 2006 Plowman Chamber Music Competition and the 2007 Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition. Frederick Chopin wrote his Piano Trio in G minor, his only work for this particular combination, in 1830. He was only 19 years old, and consequently the piece is infused with a sense of youthful exuberance. Robert Schumann’s Piano Trio in G minor was written in 1851 and first performed publicly in Leipzig in 1852. It is dedicated to Danish composer Niels Gade. | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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| |  | Brahms: Viola Sonatas Op. 120
Brahms Op.120 sonatas were originally intended for the clarinet, but he also arranged them for viola. Presented here in a stunning recording, Rachel Roberts has established herself internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and Lars Vogt needs no introduction. “This beautifully engineered solo recital with pianist Lars Vogt demonstrates [Roberts's] many strengths, not least a honeyed tone and a capacity to project a real sense of intimacy...In many respects their view of the music perfectly accords with the autumnal nature of Brahms's late style.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2011 **** “[Roberts] brings to the Brahms sonatas an expressive intensity and sense of nostalgic longing that goes straight to the heart of these miraculous scores. She also captures memorably the spellbound fantasy of Schumann's elusive Märchenbilder...The way Roberts and Vogt gently ease the tempo and sensitively shape the magical coda of the Second Sonata's opening movement is worth the asking price alone. Highly recommended.” Classic FM Magazine, November 2011 ***** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Schumann: Études Symphoniques & Piano Sonata No. 2
Malcolm Frager (piano Rosenberger 1845) Malcolm Frager was an eminent American pianist who began playing the piano at the age of four. As a 14 year old, he began a six year period of study with Carl Friedberger, a disciple of Clara Schumann. He made his first concert tour in 1959 and was highly regarded as an interpreter of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin and Schumann. “These performances make the best case I’ve come across for the use of a period piano...It’s as if Schumann’s Romantic masterpieces were being given a first airing...Frager, an expert authenticist, a manuscript scholar of distinction and an absolutely superb keyboard player, disposes of doubts in any case by the sheer force of his phrasing and articulation. One could hardly want a better version of the Etudes.” Sunday Times, 28th August 2011 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Schumann: Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra
This release brings together Robert Schumann’s complete production for violin and orchestra – three works from the period just before the composer was confined to the mental institution where he would die within two years. The only work here that was performed in Schumann’s lifetime was the Fantasy in C major, dedicated to the violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim. Written shortly afterwards, the Violin Concerto in D minor was also intended this work for Joachim, but he never performed the work in public, and it remained unperformed until 1937. A dedicated advocate of Schumann’s music, the soloist Ulf Wallin has gone back to the composer's autographs in order to present these works in their purest form. He is aided by the fine team of the Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie and their conductor Frank Beerman. “Wallin captures a freshness and energy in his performance. Brushing aside those associations of madness that have coloured Schumann's music, Wallin and his equally dedicated orchestra and conductor have achieved new levels of understanding - listen to the captivating second movement of the Concerto in D minor to appreciate his poetic interpretation.” Classic FM Magazine, October 2011 **** “a fine case for this heinously neglected work.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2012 “Wallin has just the right sound for the music, sweetly expressive rather than brilliant...What makes these performances really special is the way they reveal the wayward passions under the music’s cosy, gentle surface. Wallin’s playing has a rhythmic flexibility which is exactly right for Schumann’s diffident impulsiveness...It’s hard to imagine more sympathetic and insightful performances of these wonderful pieces.” The Telegraph, 4th August 2011 ***** | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | A Piano Evening with Martha ArgerichLive Recording from The La Roque d’Anthéron Piano Festival, 2005
Beethoven: | Triple Concerto for Piano, Violin, and Cello in C major, Op. 56 Martha Argerich (piano), Renaud Capuçon (violin) & Gautier Capuçon (violoncello) Flanders Symphony Orchestra, Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky | Prokofiev: | Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 'Classical' Flanders Symphony Orchestra, Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in D flat major, Op. 10 Martha Argerich (piano) Flanders Symphony Orchestra, Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky | Schumann: | Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Op. 105 Martha Argerich (piano) & Renaud Capuçon (violin) |
For a significant number of people, she is simply the greatest pianist of our time. No matter what repertoire she plays, she sounds, as they say, “in her element”. Indeed, her playing is entirely lacking in vanity, yet never remotely anonymous. Nor can one even speak of “Argerich’s Beethoven” – or “Argerich’s anything else”, for that matter, since her playing of every work – of every theme or section within a work – is conceived so intensely from within that it doggedly resists categorization. Interestingly, though not perhaps surprisingly, the same variety of approach is evident in the way she plays the piano. To speak of “Argerich’s technique” is again to oversimplify. She has this technique and that technique and any number in between. What they all have in common is their naturalness, their visible “fitness for function”. Her interpretations are united by the effortlessness and pure joy of her music making and her individual approach to each work, each situation and each audience. Sound Format: PCM Stereo,DD 5.1, DTS 5.1 Picture Format: 16:9 DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC Running Time: 87 mins FSK: 0 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Berliner Philharmoniker from KrakowLive Recording from The St. Mary‘s Church Krakow, 1999
With Krakow‘s glorious St. Mary‘s Church as the setting, the world-acclaimed Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performs a concert to both commemorate the orchestra‘s 1882 founding and reaffirm the cultural life of a reborn European community. Featuring Bernard Haitink as guest conductor, the concert‘s repertoire features soprano Christine Schäfer performing two pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the brilliant „Allelujah“ from the motet Exsultate, jubilate followed by the richly introspective „Et incarnatus est“ from the C minor Mass. Also featured is renowned pianist Emanuel Ax, who performs the Second Concerto by Poland‘s most beloved native composer, Frédéric Chopin. The concert concludes with the Berlin Philharmonic‘s performance of Robert Schumann‘s radiant Spring Symphony. Sound Format: PCM STEREO, DD 5.1 Picture Format: 16:9 DVD Format: DVD 9, PAL Running Time: 95 mins FSK: 0 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | The Staatsoper Unter den LindenLive Recording from The Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, 1998
A curious notion: the Berliner Philharmoniker as guest performers at the State Opera Unter den Linden. Daniel Barenboim, as both the host and the conductor of the concert, had invited the ensemble to perform in the historically distinguished setting of the opera. The varied programme started with Beethoven‘s blithe Eighth Symphony, which deservedly no longer counts as one of Beethoven‘s lesser symphonic works. This was followed by a rare gem of Romantic music: the concert piece for four horns and orchestra Op. 86 by Robert Schumann, in which the solo quartet interacts with the orchestra as a concertino group. This imaginatively arranged three-part concert piece - brimming with vitality, catchy melodies and wit - was composed in 1849, seven years before Schumann‘s death. As performing the piece calls for consummate skill in all of the instrument‘s manifold playing techniques, it is regarded as a daunting and highly complex task among horn players. Perhaps that explains why the attractive composition is only presented so seldom. The next item on the programme was Franz Liszt‘s symphonic poem „Les Préludes“ - with an entirely instrumental performance of Richard Wagner‘s „The Ride of the Valkyries“ that was yet redolent of the Valkyrie‘s wild Hoyotoho cry, the impassioned opera conductor brought his concert with the Berliner Philharmoniker to a perfect close. Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1 Picture Format: 16:9 DVD Format: DVD 9, PAL Running Time: 76 mins FSK: 0 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| | | |  | Piano Recital: Mladen Čolić
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| |  | Schumann - Complete Works for Piano Vol. 5
The next issue in the complete works for piano series on Claves, sees the young dynamic pianist Cédric Pescia record his second album in this delightful series. The first was volume 2 and was extremely well received by the press. Volume 5 will no doubt see a similar reaction. | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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