Avie label - CDs

Award winning pianist Luiza Borac returns to Avie Records with a recording of Chopin’s groundbreaking Études and Six Polish Songs (transcribed Lizst).

Luiza Borac’s award-winning discography on AVIE spans music by her compatriot George Enescu back to 19th century masterpieces by Schumann and Liszt. She returns to the Romantic era with a recording of Chopin’s groundbreaking Études. These virtuoso works were showcases for Chopin’s friendly rival Franz Liszt, who went on to transcribe six of the former’s Polish Songs. For Luiza, this recital has musical as well as personal significance as it pays tribute to her long-time supporter and producer, the late John Barnes. He was a true friend of Avie and introduced several other young artists to the label. Luiza’s Chopin was his last studio recording.

Albanian violinist Rudens Turku brings together works by Dvorák , Grieg, Rachmaninov, Piazolla and Sarasate, who each created unique musical homages to their respective homelands.

Albanian violinist Rudens Turku returns for his third recording for Avie, with ‘Homelands’. Rudens brings together composers who each created unique musical evocations of their native countries. All were world travellers who found through their compositions the means to produce striking homages to their respective lands, from iconic Sonatas by Dvorák and Grieg to Rachmaninov’s exquisite Vocalise to lesser known works by a young Astor Piazzolla and the Spanish virtuoso Pablo Sarasate.

The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral under their director Stephen Darlington, return to AVIE with their second release for the label. Recorded in the Chapel of Merton College, Oxford, it commemorates the 500th Anniversary of the coronation of King Henry VIII on June 24 1509 with music from the Eton Choirbook, one of the greatest jewels of choir music in the world.

The Eton Choirbook epitomises a style of composition which demanded extraordinary virtuosity from its performers: it is no surprise that an Italian visitor should have described the singing he heard in 1515 as 'more divine than human'. This recording brings to life some of the most glorious music in the collection, using the original forces of men and boys.

Ensemble Sonnerie, under the direction of Monica Huggett, returns to AVIE Records with a new musical view on the Orchestral Suites by J.S.Bach, The recording includes a reconstruction of the ever-popular Second Suite by the leading oboist in the period instrument field, Gonzalo X. Ruiz. A Premiere Recording.

Intimate Studies is the innovative debut release from Czech pianist Lada Valešová who developed a fresh and intriguing programme of works that link both teacher and student alike during the early part of the 20th century. The CD features 20th century piano music composed by four of her native country’s leading composers: “In the Mist” (Janácek), “Suite for Piano Op.13” and “Allegro Moderato” (Haas), “Film en Miniature H.148” (Martinu) and “Spring Op.22a” (Suk).

Of particular note is the performance of a rare collection of eleven tone poems and studies, some complete miniature works, some unfinished kernels of ideas written by Janacek under the collected title: “Intimate Studies”.

Born in Pilsen in the Western part of the Czech Republic, Lada Valešová is a graduate of the Prague Conservatoire, Prague Music Academy and Guildhall School of Music and Drama (where she is now a professor). Lada has won many prizes including two awards at the International Smetana Piano Competition. Her teachers include the Russian pianist and pedagogue Valentina Kameníková and Eugene Indjic, the outstanding pianist and pupil of Arthur Rubinstein. Her playing has received high recognition from various artists including the late Sir George Solti, and she has had the honour of working with Galina Vishnevskaja and Mstislav Rostropovich.

A'Lestampida was The Dufay Collective's first CD, recorded in 1991 and re-released on Avie to mark the 15th anniversary of the band. It remains one of the Dufay's most popular recordings. The content is a mixture of instrumental pieces from French, Italian and English sources which represent the full sound world of the medieval minstrel, from gentle flute and harp to blasting shawms, trumpet and percussion. That idea has been the m.o. for all subsequent medieval recordings the group has made.

A well-known recording artist with over 50 CDs to his credit, lutenist Jacob Heringman has received particular praise for his numerous solo recordings, all of which have been unique in the marketplace and have rightly earned Jacob his reputation for revealing undeservedly neglected repertoire from the renaissance era. The Art of the Lute Player contains Jacob’s personal selection of his favourite tracks from his acclaimed catalogue. Whilst catering to the specialist early music market, the CD’s widespread appeal is in its intimate, contemplative and relaxing mood.

This release introduced the stunning young Romanian pianist Luiza Borac. Presenting a disc of works by her compatriot George Enescu, the combination of Luiza’s artistry and this little-known repertoire is a revelation.

Luiza Borac has won more than a dozen prizes, including top prize at the Oslo International Piano Competition in 2002, and the 1991 International Festival and Competition in Bucharest. In 2001, she received a grant from the German Ministry of Culture to pursue her studies of Enescu’s music. She has been surrounded by Enescu’s sound world all her life, growing up listening to his own recordings and studying with musicians who had direct links to the composer. Her explorations of Enescu’s manuscript scores, documentary films and personal letters have sealed her interpretations with an absolute authority.

Enescu’s Suites are a spellbinding array of Baroque dance forms, Romanian folk idioms and a style one critic has characterised as “French Brahms.” The Suites have never been presented on a single CD, making this release completely unique.

Jeff Khaner’s first solo CD, American Flute Music (AV 0004), garnered international critical acclaim and earned Jeff a place alongside the world’s most famed flutists. Following this notable debut is British Flute Music, a unique overview of the best-known 20th-century British composers. Principal flute of the Philadelphia Orchestra, this release continues to seal Jeff’s reputation as a superb solo artist.