Dvorak: Sonatina for violin and piano in G major, Op. 100

Sony is pleased to announce the first of three albums by British violinist Jack Liebeck, who has recently signed an exclusive recording contract with us.

The first recording under this exciting new agreement features works by Dvorák, namely the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor, Op. 53; Violin Sonata in F, Op. 57 and Violin Sonatina in G, Op. 100, featuring the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Garry Walker with pianist Katya Apekisheva.

Born in 1980 in London, Jack Liebeck studied at the Purcell School of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. Since making his concerto debut with the Hallé Orchestra, he has performed with many orchestras of international repute including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, English Chamber and Royal Scottish National Orchestras, under the baton of renowned conductors including Martyn Brabbins, Sir Neville Marriner, Sakari Oramo, Libor Pesek, Jukka Pekka Saraste and Leonard Slatkin.

Jack Liebeck is a committed chamber musician and in 2002 made his acclaimed London recital debut to a sold-out Wigmore Hall. He is also the leader of the Fibonacci Sequence chamber ensemble and Artistic Director of the Oxford May Music Festival. Collaborations have included performances with Bengt Forsberg, Lynn Harrell, Angela Hewitt, Christopher Maltman, Joan Rodgers and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

Recent performances include the Mendelssohn Concerto with the Indianapolis Symphony under Douglas Boyd and the Lindberg Concerto with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Oslo Philharmonic orchestras; and acclaimed recitals in London’s Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Halls.

“…The name is …Liebeck. And those who know a thing or two about the violin know to be there… when the bow touches the strings… the electricity really sparks” The Times

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.

Partnered by the distinguished pianism of Pavel Gililov, Maisky’s intimacy with Strauss’s and Dvorák’s pieces for cello and piano is the fruit of years of playing and loving these sublime compositions. Maisky’s masterly bowing caresses soulful tone out of his 18th century Montagnana cello. Even in thrall to violent emotion, master cellist Maisky oversees his music making from an altitude of heavenly serenity. Classic FM’s description of Maisky as “one of the world’s leading cellists” qualifies as understatement of the year!

This repertoire is entirely new to the DG catalogue and represents different facets of Mischa’s extraordinary career. These works have accompanied him all over the world and feature regularly in his concert programmes. On 10 January 2008 Mischa Maisky celebrated his 60th birthday, the start of a year that also marks the 25th anniversary of his partnership with Deutsche Grammophon.

This is the second AVIE recording by the powerful, Barcelona-based violin-piano duo of Kai Gleusteen and Catherine Ordronneau in Avie’s Crear Classics series, named for the spectacular studio space on the western coast of Scotland. Their debut recital of works by Janácek, Prokofiev and Shostakovich (AV 0023) was critically acclaimed and caught the attention of music aficionados worldwide. This release features three contrasting yet complimentary works from the second half of the 19th century.