Vitali, T: Chaconne in G minor (Ciaccona, spurious)

An old-world interpretation of Baroque sonatas and concert pieces, which shine and shimmer in Grumiaux's telling interpretations. The works by Leclair, Vivaldi, Nardini and Veracini's Sonata in B minor are the first international releases on CD.

The initial inspiration for this project came with the discovery of a wealth of extravagant salon music written for a now obsolete wind instrument called the czakan (or csakan / csakany). Originating in Hungary, the earliest examples of these instruments were essentially baroque recorders of simple, streamlined profile, usually pitched in the key of A.

This forgotten musical heritage has been a springboard for the remainder of the works on this album, which need little introduction in their own right, yet open up a new panorama for an instrument stuck in the annals of time. The art of transcription has been a key weapon in every romantic virtuoso’s arsenal, allowing the soloist to bring his own touch to music from many different genres (indeed much of the czakan’s original repertory comprises orchestral and operatic arrangements in this vein), and the tradition of making personalised versions of well-known works was to continue well into 20th century through such eminent musicians as Busoni and Kreisler. It has been a challenge and often a pleasure to see how the recorder responds to the demands of the grand romantic style. Michael Dawson’s super-voiced recorders have helped to alleviate problems of balance with a modern grand piano, and creative arrangement of both solo and accompanying parts has been required to counteract the instrument’s limited pitchrange; but in return, the recorder brings its own unique, expressive – and occasionally heroic - voice to some of our best loved classics.

The Petri/Hannibal duo first appeared on stage in the winter of 1991, and performed their first full concert in the summer of 1992 at the Monastery La Cartuja de la Sierra in Andalusia, Spain. Since then, they have appeared in concert halls and festivals around the world, giving nearly 1500 concerts in programs of music from the late renaissance and early baroque, the classical and romantic periods, to contemporary works written especially for them. Together, they have released five CDs including Kreisler Inspirations (2001) which received the prestigious Deutscher Schallplattenpreis. In 2006, the duo formed OUR Recordings, to present the continuing musical adventures of two most imaginative musicians. In celebration of their 20th anniversary, the duo has newly recorded a program of their most popular Baroque repertoire as a very special gift to the audience, their friends and fans around the world!

Michaela Paetsch Neftel and Wieslaw Pipczynski perform favourites from the virtuosic violin repertoire including Vitali's Chaconne, Paganini's Campanella, Kreisler's Liebeslied and Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy. All are excellently suited to an accordion accompaniment.

The first release from ‘The SODRE Collection’ features legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz with pianist Brooks Smith. Although Jascha Heifetz’s vast discography contains a recording of Vitali’s Chaconne in G Minor with orchestra and organ, this duo recital represents the only occasion he recorded it with piano accompaniment. The live recording was made in Montevideo, Uruguay on 12 May, 1955.

Radulovic’s recording of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto received excellent reviews: “Radulovic (taped live) soars aloft in these glorious pieces with a seamless purity guaranteed to set the heart fluttering and pulse racing.” Classic FM Magazine. This new CD is selling 200 copies per day in France and is receiving fantastic reviews in the French Music press.

Shannon Lee is a young violinist who is tipped for great things. In the summer of 2005, she made her stunning orchestral debut at the age of 12 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, performing the Chausson “Poeme” and Franz Wexman’s extremely challenging Carmen Fantasy. Later that same year, she was the featured soloist for the Dallas Symphony’s Texas Tour, and in 2006 she made her European debut with the Nuremberg Philharmonic Orchestra.

Introducing Shannon Lee is a wonderful collection of pieces that include the well known and the rare. Each of the works spotlights the versatility and musicianship of this young violinist and her ability to work well with accompanist Pamela Mia Paul. Highlights include Wieniawski’s notoriously difficult “Scherzo-Tarantelle”, Elgar’s much-loved “Salut d’amour” and the most weighty work on the disc, Brahms’ “Sonatensatz”.

This disc is the first opportunity to hear a young violinist poised to become one of the great artists of tomorrow. As Telarc President Robert Woods puts it “There is a dearth of fantastic talent in young artists today, so why does any one person stand out from another? To a great extent, it’s the preference of the listener – the person who discovers someone’s playing for the first time. When that happened for me with Shannon, I had the sense I was listening to a very old soul in a young person’s body. Shannon’s maturity was well beyond what I had heard from other young performers.”

Accompanist Pamela Mia Paul has performed with the world’s great orchestras. She has given concerts throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia, both as soloist and as chamber musician. In the studio, or in the setting of a master class, she is an internationally sought-after pedagogue whose students have participated in and won competitions including the Naumburg International Piano Competition.

recorded in New York, 26 January 1955