Search
Special Offers
Awards
Online Payment
Visit us
Presto News - 14th September 2009Julia Fischer plays Schubert |
 As regular readers will probably have already discerned, one of my biggest loves is chamber music, but until very recently I’ve never really been able to get on with Schubert’s Violin Sonatas. I have always wondered why this has been the case as I find his other chamber music fantastic, and I couldn’t live without his great String Quintet or any of his later String Quartets. If they were particularly early works I could probably understand it, but they are not and, written in 1816, postdate all ten Violin Sonatas of Beethoven, a composer whom Schubert greatly admired. However, their style is much more Mozartian, with the violin still playing a somewhat subordinate role to that of the piano. In fact they’re written as if Schubert was unaware of Beethoven’s Sonatas but from all the reading I’ve done I simply cannot believe that was the case.  Julia Fischer It seems that they have always been somewhat on the sidelines of the mainstream repertoire. Even when they were first published in 1836 they were called ‘sonatinas’ rather than ‘sonatas’ even though Schubert himself only ever referred to them with the latter. I suspect this was done mainly to make them attractive to the amateur players who were doubtful of their own technical abilities, but it nonetheless also somewhat suggests a belittling of the depth and value of the compositions themselves. I remember a couple of years ago when Harmonia Mundi released a recording with Andrew Manze (a violinist whom I admire very much) I thought it would be an opportunity to really get to know and love the works, but I found the recording a bit too clinical and was left somewhat cold still wondering whether my problem lay with the recordings I’d heard or the works themselves. However, in the last couple of weeks I’ve been listening to Julia Fischer’s new recording on Pentatone (out today), and it is really good, offering by far the most convincing performances I’ve heard of these works. When she plays them you hear all the little mysteries and moments of wonder that Schubert wrote. These are beautiful performances, played with a real love and respect for what they contain while not trying to make them into something they’re not. I’ve found myself quite enchanted and I’ve put a link to the whole of the last movement of the G minor Sonata for you to enjoy below. Finally I should also mention that we are currently running a Julia Fischer special offer where you can buy most of her catalogue of recordings at up to 35% off.
|
Share
|
 Schubert - Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Volume 1Julia Fischer (violin) & Martin Helmchen (piano)
|
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
listen - Schubert - Sonata (sonatina) in G minor, D408 (IV. Allegro moderato)New Releases14th September 2009 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 Jonas Kaufmann sings Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven & WagnerJonas Kaufmann (tenor), Mahler Chamber Orchestra & Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Claudio AbbadoJonas Kaufmann is now established as the most successful and versatile tenor of his generation, attracting rave reviews for his live performances and recordings. Following the international success of Romantic Arias, Jonas Kaufmann returns with this album of outstanding arias from German opera, music of his homeland which he grew up hearing. |
 Sa Chen plays Rachmaninov & MussorgskySa Chen (piano)Sa Chen’s previous CD of the Chopin Piano Concertos on PentaTone got excellent reviews: "Sa Chen has that rare unteachable ability to tug at the heart-strings." Classic FM Magazine. Here she plays Pictures in their original piano version and Night in Rimsky-Korsakov’s version but transcribed for piano by Konstantin N. Chernov. |
 Mozart - Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 24Mitsuko Uchida (piano and conductor), Cleveland OrchestraWidely regarded as one of the foremost Mozart interpreters of our time: Mitsuko Uchida returns, conducting the orchestra herself from the piano, with live performances of two of Mozart's most popular concertos. "we still had the thrill of Uchida, embodying Mozart’s recollections of joy and sorrow with dancing subtlety and love" The Times, London |
 Porpora AriasKarina Gauvin (soprano), Il Complesso Barocco, Alan CurtisWith her enchanting voice, profound musicality and extraordinary vocal range, the Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin has been seducing audiences and critics around the world. Following the immense success of her CD Handel Arias, she returns with a new recording of arias, most never recorded, from the operas of Nicola Porpora (1686-1768). |
 Mendelssohn & Enescu - Octets for StringsChristian Tetzlaff, Isabelle Faust, Antje Weithaas, Lisa Batiashvili, Kathrine Gowers (violins), Rachel Roberts, Ori Kam, Antoine Tamestit (violas) & Tanja Tetzlaff, Quirine Viersen, Gustav Rivinius (cellos)These are live performances form the Spannungen Festival in Heimbach. It is hard to believe that Mendelssohn was only sixteen when he wrote this wonderfully optimistic piece. Enescu was only nineteen when he wrote his octet 75 years later. An outstanding line-up of soloists. |
 Tasmin Little plays Elgar & BaxTasmin Little (violin) & Martin Roscoe (piano)This is a reissue of highly acclaimed performances from one of the world’s leading violinists, renowned for her interpretations of English music. “Little and Roscoe give a thrillingly intense and eloquent rendering.” (Bax) Gramophone |
 Mendelssohn - Complete String Symphonies Volume 4Heidelberger Sinfoniker, Thomas FeyThe Heidelberger Sinfoniker and Thomas Fey are already well-known for their critically acclaimed Haydn recordings and this is a stunning recording of Mendelssohn’s symphonies. |
 Handel: Partenope, HWV 27 - DVDAndreas Scholl, Inger Dam-Jensen & Tuva Semmingsen, Royal Danish Opera & Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik MortensenA major contribution to ‘Handel Year’: countertenor star Andreas Scholl returns to the Decca label in Handel’s comedy Partenope. “the finest countertenor of his generation” Opera News |
Your details will be used only in accordance with our Privacy Policy. |
Copyright © 2002-13 Presto Classical Limited, all rights reserved.