SACDs - Schulhoff

Amsterdam Sinfonietta has combined a romantic masterpiece of the string orchestra repertoire with two wild compositions from the inter-war period. Dvorák, Haas, and Schulhoff hardly make a conventional mixture, but all three of these composers had their roots in a region which was known for many centuries as “Bohemia.” One can hear this common ground in the rhythmic diversity, the influence of folk music, and the melodic inventiveness that characterizes their music.

Amsterdam Sinfonietta occupies a unique position on the Dutch music scene as professional string orchestra. It is regularly invited to perform in concert halls throughout the world as one of the very few large-scale string ensembles on the international scene. What sets Amsterdam Sinfonietta apart from the ‘regular’ chamber orchestras is the top priority it gives to a ‘chamber music mentality’. Every one of its musicians assumes the responsibilities of a solo player. This approach gives a high level of involvement on the part of the musicians when they perform as an ensemble, resulting in performances of rare dynamism and intensity that involve the listener in a vibrant live music experience. Usually the ensemble plays without conductor under the direction of Candida Thompson, concertmaster since 1995, who was appointed artistic director in 2003.

The Amsterdam Sinfonietta’s Walton/Beethoven disc CCSSA23005 was a Gramophone Editor’s Choice in 2005.

On this CD the father and daughter combination of cellist Dmitry and violinist Liza Ferschtman perform three major pieces from the 20th century. The featured works are duos by Kodaly, Ravel, and Schulhoff.

Violinist Liza Ferschtman released her debut recording for Challenge Classics in 2007 with music for violin and piano by Beethoven and Schubert (CC72174), and this was was followed in early 2010 by a disc devoted to the solo violin music of Bach and Ysayë (CC72351). In 2010 she made a critically acclaimed recording of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Netherlands Philharmonic and conductor Jan Willem de Vriend (CC72384).

Liza Ferschtman’s father The Russian-born cellist Dmitry Ferschtman co-founded the Glinka String Quartet which toured the Soviet Union, Europe and the United States for twenty three years. All through his career Ferschtman has been an active chamber-music player, performing at many international festivals with artists such as Gidon Kremer, Mark Kaplan, Leonidas Kavakos, Boris Berman and Nobuko Imai.