BUSONI : Piano Music • 1 — Fantasia Contrappuntistica · An die Jugens (Wolf Harden) (2001) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Busoni's music for solo piano embraces the virtuosity of Liszt and the technical discipline of Bach. Nowhere are these characteristics more apparent than in his works drawn from or inspired by Bach, as this disc magnificently shows. The centrepiece is the massive Fantasia Contrappuntistica, an extraordinary series of fugues which stretch both pianist and piano to the limit. The suite An die Jugend contains original compositions and transcriptions inspired by Bach, Mozart and Paganini. Two majestic single works, one by Busoni and the other a transcription by him from Bach, round off an immensely satisfying programme. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1. Toccata & Fugue In D Minor, BWV 565 (9:26)
Adapted By [Transcribed By] – Ferruccio Busoni
Composed By – J.S. Bach
2. Prelude & Fugue In C Minor    4:19
3-7.    An Die Jugend    (25:32)
8-13. Fantasia Contrappuntistica    (30:38)
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden

BUSONI : Piano Music • 2 — Variation and fuga on Chopin's Prelude in C minor · Transcription of J.S. Bach for solo violin (Wolf Harden) (2001) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Busoni was one of the most important composers of the early twentieth century, with a distinct and profound aesthetic of his own. His music for solo piano embraces the virtuosity of Liszt and the technical discipline of Bach. Nowhere are these characteristics more apparent than in his works drawn from or inspired by Bach, as this disc magnificently shows. It opens with Busoni’s magisterial transcription for piano of Bach’s powerful Chaconne in D minor, in which Busoni presents an entirely legitimate late romantic version of the original composition for solo violin. Equally impressive are the Variations and Fugue in free form on Chopin’s in C, inspired by Chopin’s visionary twentieth prelude from his set of twenty-four. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1.    Chaconne For Solo Violin, B24 (13:36)
Composed By – Johann Sebastian Bach
Transcription By – Ferruccio Busoni
2.    Etude En Forme De Variations, Op.17 K.206 (9:04)
3.    Variations On "Kommt Ein Vogel Geflogen", K.222 (6:19)
4.    Theme And Variations In C Major, K.6 (1873) 3:50
5.    Inno Variations, K.16 (1874) 2:54
Variations And Fugue On Chopin's Prélude In C Minor, Op.22 K.213
6.    Theme And Variations     (25:24)
7.    Fugue (5:49)
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden

BUSONI : Piano Music • 3 — Indian Diary · Trois Morceaux · Two Dance · Pieces Ballet Scenes (Wolf Harden) (2007) FLAC (tracks), lossless

The music of Ferruccio Busoni was comparatively neglected for many decades, perhaps because he didn't fit any of the "-isms" that were contending to be the main line of musical development. There was too much Liszt in his music for him to be part of the neo-Classical crowd. Now that it's clear that that effort was itself a big part of classical music's problems, Busoni is showing up on more programs and recordings. He wrote tonal music, which for some disqualified him right off the bat. And there was a dry, rigorous quality even to his slightest compositions that placed him far from late Romanticism. Annotator Richard Whitehouse puts it nicely here when he writes that Busoni was "neither inherently conservative nor demonstratively radical," and that his innovations "were bound up with a re-creative approach to the musical past that has only gained wider currency over recent decades." In a way, John Adams is one of his heirs.
This disc, part of a series of Naxos releases covering all of Busoni's piano music, introduces some of Busoni's diverse impulses, all of them tied together by his devotion to contrapuntal art and artifice. There is a relatively straight Bach transcription; a set of Three Pieces, Op. 4-6, that use concise scherzo, prelude, and fugue forms; five virtuoso works Busoni called Ballet Scenes; some light waltz music intended as a tribute to Strauss but actually closer to Ravel's La valse (though not so grim); and finally an Indianische Tagebuch (Indian Diary) that is entirely different in effect from so-called Indianist compositions in the U.S. Hear the second part, "Song of Victory" (track 14), which uses an ostinato as the basis for the subtle motivic evolution present in many of Busoni's pieces. The Fourth Ballet Scene in the Form of a Concert Waltz, Op. 33a, is a good introduction to Busoni in general, with neither its waltz opening nor its thunderous conclusion ever really letting the listener sit back and relax -- there's always too much going on at the local level. German pianist Wolf Harden has the equipment to handle the pianistically thorny passages, with a powerful, bass-heavy sound, and he had a fine feel for the unique mixture of intellect and showmanship in Busoni that is sounding better and better every year. A good choice as part of the Naxos set or for anyone curious about this composer. James Manheim  

The essence of Busoni’s music lies in a synthesis of his Italian and German ancestry: emotion and intellect, imagination and discipline, often allied with a re-creative approach to the musical past. His arrangement of Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in D minor, BWV565 represents the virtuoso transcription, derived from Brahms and Liszt, at its most commanding. Tanzwalzer, dedicated ‘to the memory of Johann Strauss’ is a homage to the golden age of the Viennese waltz. Drawing on Amerindian rhythms and melodies, the Indian Diary depicts life among the North American Indians whose wretched plight Busoni had witnessed on a visit to America in 1910. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1-3. Organ Toccata, Adagio And Fugue, BWV 564 (13:07)
Arranged By – Ferruccio Busoni
Composed By – Johann Sebastian Bach
4-6. Trois Morceaux, Op. 4-6, K 197    (9:40)
7. (First) Ballet Scene, Op. 6 (3:39)
8. Second Ballet Scene, Op. 20, K 209 (5:31)
9-10. Two Dance Pieces, Op. 30a, K 235a (6:18)
11. Fourth Ballet Scene (In The Form Of A Concert Waltz), Op. 33a, K 238    (7:39)
12. Tanzwalzer, Op. 53, K 288 (8:42)
Transcription By – Michael Von Zadora
13-16. Indianische Tagebuch, Book 1 (Indian Diary), K 267    (10:58)
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden

BUSONI : Piano Music • 4 — Élégien · Fantasia nach J. S. Bach · Toccata (Wolf Harden) (2008) FLAC (tracks), lossless

In the fourth volume of his cycle of Busoni's piano music for Naxos, pianist Wolf Harden tackles some of the most important pieces in Busoni's solo repertoire; the Six Elegies, the Toccata: Preludio -- Fantasia -- Ciaccona, and the Fantasia nach J.S. Bach. Harden fills out the program with appropriate, contextually related choices; the Bach/Busoni Prelude and Fugue in D, BWV 532, originally for organ, and the seldom recorded piano solo version of the Berceuse Elegiaque, subtitled by Busoni as "Elegy No. 7." One would expect in such emotionally wrought Busoni -- the Berceuse is a memorial to his mother, as is the Fantasia to his father -- that Harden would be firing on all cylinders here. In a technical sense, he is; the execution aspect of the whole disc is impressive apart from a transition or two that come off as abrupt. However, Harden takes the Elegies a shade faster than most, and the underlying dance rhythms -- usually muted owing to slower tempi -- become the detail that plays to the foreground. In making such tempo choices, Harden's Elegies come off as being rather strident and he loses the sense of shrouded mystery that these pieces are normally associated with, and that doesn't seem like an appropriate trade-off. This may be the result of a conceptual misunderstanding; though Busoni was a pioneer of neo-classical thinking in music, the Elegies in particular are closer to the realm of Liszt than they are of Prokofiev. In any event, it is somehow encouraging that twenty first century pianists are able to take piano pieces once thought barely possible and perform them in a manner that's almost blasé. In this matter, a bit more give would've yielded expressive results in this music, such as is customary, but one cannot fault Harden for playing such extraordinarily difficult piano music with such proficiency, it's just an additional flair for drama, mood, and suspense that is lacking. Uncle Dave Lewis  

Performance occupied much of Busoni’s attention until the turn of the twentieth century, when composition began to assume a new importance in his career. Busoni regarded his Elegien as the point where he discovered his true identity as a composer. Even at his most radical, however, Busoni never rejected what had gone before; the Elegien alternate between new works and transcriptions of older pieces. Drawing on Bach organ pieces, Fantasia after J.S. Bach may sound backwardlooking in context, but its concept points determinedly towards the future. Toccata was completed while Busoni was engaged in earnest on his crowning achievement, the music-drama Doktor Faust, whose essence pervades this most virtuosic yet also aggressive of the composer’s later piano works. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1-2. Prelude And Fugue In D Major, BWV 532 (11:14)
3-8. Elegien, K.249 (29:09)
9. Berceuse, "Elegie No. 7", K.252 (4:32)
10. Fantasia Nach J. S. Bach, K.253 (9:43)
11. Toccata, K.287 (Preludio - Fantasia - Ciaccona) 9:39
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden 

BUSONI : Piano Music • 5 — Six Études · Six Pieces · Ten Variations on Chopin's C Minor Prelude (Wolf Harden) (2009) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Wolf Harden returns to Busoni for Naxos in this, his fifth volume of Busoni's piano music for the label, and Harden seems to be more on his game here than in the fourth volume. While flanked by Busoni's familiar transcription of J.S. Bach's "St. Anne" prelude and his extraordinary 1922 rewrite of his much earlier Variations on Chopin's C minor Prelude, the real jewels in this crown are a couple of obscure suites, the Six Etudes, Op. 16 (1883), and the Six Pieces, Op. 33b (1895-1896). The first set is a wild and wooly series of etudes Busoni composed when he was only 17 years of age, and it contains so many seeds of his mature style that certain pieces -- such as the fifth etude "Fuga" -- could nearly be mistaken for the Busoni of 30 or so years later. The Six Pieces date from just before the Violin Concerto and Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 36a, which Busoni cited as representing a stylistic breakthrough for him. The virtuoso textures he achieves in these pieces -- "Frohsion" utilizes a sweeping figure Busoni returned to in the elegy entitled "Meine Seele bangt und hofft zu Dir" from the Sechs Elegien of 1907 -- are ones that he would revisit. The rest of it -- its comparatively conservative harmonic style and stern, seriously minded post-romantic posture -- are things Busoni would leave behind for good.

Harden is very sharp throughout this whole recording, even as his piano seems to have something of a hiccup here and there. In the Bach transcription and Chopin variations, Harden is entering the market with some already stiff competition afoot, for example Demidenko in the Bach and Kaoru Bingham in the Chopin. However, in the other works Harden is running practically unopposed, and while no "world premiere" is claimed for the Six Pieces Op. 33b, this does seem to be the first complete recording of that set, from which the "Fantasia in modo antico" is usually singled out and played as a separate entity. If Harden may feel the competition, he doesn't show it, as he treats all of the music here with the same level of respect and has obviously put a lot of hard work into this production. Uncle Dave Lewis  

Wolf Harden’s Busoni Piano Edition has been warmly applauded for its ‘spacious aural frame’ (Vol. 1—8.555034), ‘stunningly authoritative’ playing (Vol. 2—8.555699), ‘lightness of touch and excellent phrasing’ (Vol. 3—8.570249) and ‘prestidigitatory prowess’ (Vol. 4—8.570543). For this fifth volume, Busoni’s magisterial transcription of Bach’s ‘St. Anne’ Prelude and Fugue and his inspired variations on Chopin’s famous ‘Choral’ Prelude flank two equally powerful, subtle and wide-ranging sets of shorter yet equally virtuosic works, the splendid Études and the harmonically adventurous Six Pieces. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1-2.     Prelude And Fugue In E Flat Major, BWV 552, 'St. Anne' (13:56)
Arranged By – Ferruccio Busoni
Composed By – J.S. Bach
3-8.     6 Études, Op. 16    (22:22)
9-14. 6 Pieces, Op. 33b    (24:22)
15. 10 Variations On Chopin's C Minor Prelude (Revised 1922 Version Of Op. 22)    12:48
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden 

BUSONI : Piano Music • 6 — Fantasy and Fugue on 'Ad nos, ad salutarem undam' (Liszt-Busoni) · Piano Sonata in F Minor · Prélude et étude en arpèges (Wolf Harden) (2009) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Naxos continues its edition, with pianist Wolf Harden, of Ferruccio Busoni's piano music, of which there is a lot, with most of it written at a very high level of difficulty and some invested in rather long pieces that require almost superhuman endurance. Volume six contains three rather uncommon pieces, starting with Busoni's piano transcription of Liszt's organ work Fantasy and Fugue on "Ad nos, ad salutarem undam," a piece recorded in part by Busoni's pupil Leo Sirota as early as the mid-'20s, but seldom visited since. Liszt created his own four-hand version of the piece that is far more frequently played over Busoni's solo piano edition. This is followed by Busoni's early Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 20a, composed in 1883 when Busoni was 17, a relative rarity hardly known before the 1980s. The Prélude et Etude en Arpèges (1923) is a very late Busoni composition and the best-known work on the program; it is a highly regarded piece that bears some kinship with his never-finished opera Doktor Faustus. All of these pieces are well worth hearing; as in the case of the Spanish Rhapsody, although it's technically a transcription of Liszt, no one would mistake the Fantasy and Fugue on "Ad nos, ad salutarem undam" for being Liszt because it has Busoni's special gestures and approach to piano technique all over it. Although Busoni rejected all of his pre-1893 works for what he felt was their precocity and lack of finish, as it turns out the F minor Piano Sonata is a fully mature and ambitious statement that is unusual for an Italian composer in the opera-obsessed 1880s and written in a time when the piano sonata itself was a form suffering from a brief eclipse.
The Naxos Busoni piano music edition has some strong advantages over other, similar projects; Busoni's piano music is so expansive and confusing that some editions have found ways to curtail the overall project in some way -- the Bach/Busoni or other kinds of transcriptions are left out, or made a different project on its own, or -- as Gunnar Johansen did on his Artist's Direct label in the 1960s -- limiting it only to fully original compositions. In Johansen's day, though, it was practically impossible to access the earlier Busoni works in manuscript that were extant; by the twenty-first century most of these efforts had found their way into print. Naxos' edition is pretty much all-inclusive of everything and combines works on individual volumes in an intelligent way; certainly the recordings are technically superior to anything that appeared on Artist's Direct. However, one genuinely wishes the label could have employed a pianist just a little more on the ball than Harden; it sounds like he is reading these scores, and it's a very good reading, but he often seems behind Busoni's music and there really isn't a strong interpretive sense at play in these renderings. To his credit, Johansen had his personal contact with Busoni to draw from and his passion for the project, so it's easy to forgive the bad sound and occasional finger slips here and there. Harden seems a bit lacking on the passion front and during the Prélude et Etude en Arpèges -- stated almost entirely in arpeggios -- we hear an arpeggio that has a note missing from it; Harden simply wasn't able to place his finger on the key at that moment. Naxos should have retaken it, but didn't; with Roland Pöntinen, Carlo Grante, and Ronald Stevenson already out there in this work, this recording simply doesn't have a competitive edge. Uncle Dave Lewis  

The sixth volume of Busoni’s piano music features two major projects from the earlier part of his career. The Liszt transcription powerfully recreates the composer’s grandest work for organ in terms of the piano, while the Piano Sonata in F minor is an exhilarating example of late-Romantic virtuosity that remained unknown until recent decades. In total contrast, the brief Prélude et étude en arpèges finds Busoni’s late musical language at its most concentrated and refractory. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1-3. Fantasy And Fugue On 'Ad Nos, Ad Salutarem Undam' (26:41)
Arranged By – Ferruccio Busoni
Composed By – Franz Liszt
4-6.     Piano Sonata In F Minor, Op. 20, K204 (28:34)
7-8.     Prelude Et Etude En Arpeges, K297 (9:36)
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden

BUSONI : Piano Music • 7 — Concert fantasy on motifs from Goldmark's 'Merlin · Chamber Fantasy on Bizet's 'Carmen' (Wolf Harden) (2013) FLAC (tracks), lossless

The essence of Ferruccio Busoni’s music lies in its synthesis of his Italian and German ancestry, emotion and intellect, imagination and rigour. This seventh volume in Naxos’s highly-praised series brings together several virtuosic operatic transcriptions, paraphrases and fantasies, as well as demanding studies and two piano sonatinas. ‘Wolf Harden is a stupendous pianist who can deliver what Busoni demands and then some’ (American Record Guide on Vol. 2, 8.555699). naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1. Concert Fantasy On Motifs From The Opera "Merlin" By Goldmark    17:40
2. Fantasy On Motifs From The Comic Opera "Der Barbier Von Bagdad" By Peter Cornelius    9:38
3. Variation-Study After Mozart No. 1: Canzonetta From "Don Giovanni"    1:39
4. Funeral March From "Götterdämmerung" 8:07
Arranged By – Ferruccio Busoni
Composed By – Richard Wagner
5. Sonatina No. 3: 'Ad Usum Infantis Madeline M. Americanae    6:45
6. Sonatina No. 6: Chamber Fantasy On Bizet's "Carmen"    7:59
7-11. Five Short Pieces For The Cultivation Of Polyphonic Playing 16:24
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden 

BUSONI : Piano Music • 8 — 24 Preludes, Op.37 · Macchiette medioevali, Op.33 (Wolf Harden) (2013) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Ferruccio Busoni’s Preludes, Op 37 and Macchiette medioevali, Op 33 were a product of his teenage years (1881–83), but they are far from being derivative juvenilia. In these charming and engaging works Busoni moves away from the Baroque and Classical models of his earlier works towards a more inventive and personal accommodation with the Romanticism of the mid-nineteenth century. Wolf Harden’s playing in this series has been described as “the clear current benchmark” (BBC Music Magazine on Volume 2 / 8.555699). naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1-24. 24 Preludes, Op. 37 (Kind. 181) (1881) 52:23
25-30. Macchiette Medioevali, Op. 33 (Kind. 194) (1882-83) 12:54
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden 

BUSONI : Piano Music • 9 — Una festa di villaggio · Racconti fantastici · Danze antiche · Suite campestre (Wolf Harden) (2017) FLAC (tracks), lossless

All the works on this recording were composed when Busoni was between the ages of eleven and fifteen. Full of charm and wit, they reveal his precocious absorption of earlier models—principally Bach, Mozart, Weber and Schumann—as well as exceptional technical finesse. Una festa di villaggio charts the day’s events of a village festival whilst Suite campestre, one of his most distinctive early compositions, possesses moments of inwardness that presage the mature works to come. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1-6. Una Festa Di Villaggio, Op. 9 (Kind.185)    (23:36)
7-9. Racconti Fantastici, Op. 12 (Kind. 100)    (9:43)
10-13. Danze Antiche, Op. 11 (Kind. 126)    (11:48)
14. Gavotte, Op. 70 (Kind. 152)    3:13
15-19. Suite Campestre, Op. 18 (Kind. 81)    (13:05)
20-24. Cinq Pièces, Op. 3 (Kind. 71)    (10:35)
Credits :
Piano – Wolf Harden

BUSONI : Piano Music • 10 — Transcriptions of Works by J.S. Bach, Brahms, Cramer, Liszt and Mozart (Wolf Harden) (2018) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Busoni embodied an essentially recreative approach to the music of the past. His Bach transcriptions reveal an absolute command of intricate polyphony and a limpid clarity. Mozart stood as an aesthetic and technical exemplar while Cramer’s little-known Etudes are adapted for modern piano technique. Busoni preserved the Lutheran austerity of Brahms’s Chorale Preludes for Organ, Op. 122 whereas in the Mephisto Waltz No. 1 he augments Liszt’s heady writing with a super-virtuosity of his own. naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
1-3.     Fantasia, Adagio e Fuga (after J.S. Bach's BWV 906 and 968)
 Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-Flat Major, K. 271, "Jeunehomme": II. Andantino
4.    Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-Flat Major, K. 271, "Jeunehomme": II. Andantino
5-12.    Klavierübung in 5 Teilen (first edition, 1917-22), Part IV: 8 Etudes after Cramer
Johannes Brahms /  Ferruccio Busoni - Arranger
13-18.     11 Chorale Preludes, Op. 122 (arr. F. Busoni for piano) (excerpts)
Franz Liszt, / Ferruccio Busoni - Arranger
Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke, S110/R427, "Mephisto Waltz No. 1" (arr. F. Busoni for piano)
Credits :
Wolf Harden - Piano 

BUSONI : Piano Music • 11 — Ten Chorale Preludes · Sonatina brevis Nº.5 · Preludio al Corale e Fuga (Edizione minore) Prelude, Fugue and Allegro (Wolf Harden) (2019) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Transcriptions occupied Ferruccio Busoni from early in his career, but his famously Romantic version of the Chaconne in D minor (Naxos 8.555699) contrasts with the later and more austere Sonatina brevis based on Bach’s Fantasy and Fugue in D minor, BWV 905. Music from Bach’s The Art of Fugue is invoked in the rarely heard Edizione minore version of the Fantasia contrappuntistica, and the Ten Chorale Preludes include the glorious Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme. Sir Edward Elgar considered Busoni ‘the greatest musical mind of his time’, and Wolf Harden’s playing of Busoni has been described as ‘the clear current benchmark’ (BBC Music Magazine on Volume 2, 8.555699). naxos

Ferruccio Busoni (1899-1924)
1.    Sonata Brevis (No. 5) 'In Signo Joannis Sebatiani Magni', BV.280 (1919) 5:11
2-6.    Preludio Et Corale E Fuga Sopra Un Frammento Di Bach (Edizione Minore Della Fantasia Contrappuntistica), BV. 256a (1912) 18:57
7.    Prelude, Fugue And Allegro In E Flat Major, BWV 998, BV B.36 (1915) 8:36
J.S. Bach / Ferruccio Busoni - Arranger
8-17.    Ten Chorale Preludes, BV B. 27 (1898)
J.S. Bach / Transcription By – Ferruccio Busoni
Wolf Harden - Piano

BALDASSARE GALUPPI : Keyboard Sonatas • 1 (Matteo Napoli) (2011) FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

A leading figure in the development of opera buffa, Baldassare Galuppi was also much admired as a keyboardist, though his many sonatas largely remain unpublished and unknown today. Usually comprising two or three contrasting movements, these graceful and charming works juxtapose the melodious and the bravura, the melancholy and the ebullient, often recalling the music of Domenico Scarlatti or the young Mozart. Matteo Napoli enjoys a busy international career and plays on a number of highly praised Naxos recordings. Volume 2 will be issued on 8.572490. naxos
Baldassare Galuppi (1706–1785)
1-3.     Sonata In F Major, Illy 28
4-6.     Sonata In F Minor, Illy 9
7-8. Sonata In C Minor
9-11. Sonata In C Major, Illy 57
12-13. Sonata In B Flat Major, Illy 32
14-15. Sonata In G Major, Illy 53
16-19. Sonata In D Major, Illy 45
20. Sonata In C Major, Illy 98
Credits :
Piano – Matteo Napoli
Cover photo: Burano, Venetian Lagoon

BALDASSARE GALUPPI : Keyboard Sonatas • 2 (Matteo Napoli) (2011) FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

Venetian composer Baldassare Galuppi’s reputation rests principally on his pioneering series of comic operas. But, trained by Antonio Lotti, Galuppi was also a keyboard player of distinction who served at the court of Catherine the Great in St Petersburg. Twelve keyboard sonatas were published during his lifetime, but Hedda Illy’s catalogue lists over 100 and reveals that Galuppi not only inherited the brilliance and panache of Domenico Scarlatti but anticipated the expressive writing of Mozart. The first volume in Matteo Napoli’s series (8.572263) was commended as “a good choice for connoisseurs of 18th century keyboard music.” (MusicWeb International) naxos
Baldassare Galuppi (1706–1785)
1-3. Keyboard Sonata In B-Flat Major, Illy 14     (11:03)
4-5. Sonata In D Minor, Illy 2     (5:13)
6-8. Piano Sonata in C Minor, Illy 34     (7:56)
9-11. Keyboard Sonata In C Major, Illy 27     (12:54)
12-14. Keyboard Sonata In E-Flat Major, Illy 24 (11:51)
15-16. Keyboard Sonata In D Minor, Illy 56 (7:24)
17-19. Keyboard Sonata In D Major, Illy 1     (11:26)
Credits :
Piano – Matteo Napoli
Cover photo: Burano, Venetian Lagoon

BALDASSARE GALUPPI : Keyboard Sonatas • 3 (Matteo Napoli) (2012) FLAC (tracks) lossless

Known as Il Buranello after his island birthplace of Burano, opera composer Baldassare Galuppi was also admired as a keyboard player. His sonatas are quiet, refined gems of the utmost elegance and lyricism, with expressive contrasts ranging from poignant operatic aria style movements to the energetic influence of Scarlatti. This selection includes late works from the Passatempo al Cembalo. Matteo Napoli has been praised for his “enviable poise” (International Record Review) in volume 1 (8.572263) and “finely nuanced” playing (Fanfare) in volume 2 (8.572490). naxos
Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1785)
1-4. Keyboard Sonata in D Minor, Illy No. 66 (10:27)
5. Keyboard Sonata in C Major, Illy No. 30: II. Presto (3.:39)
6-7. Keyboard Sonata in C Minor, Illy No. 38 (5:56)
8-10. Keyboard Sonata in F Major, Illy No. 36 (10:43)
11-13. Keyboard Sonata in B-Flat Major, Illy No. 23 (8:30)
14-15. Sonata In A Minor     (5:43)
16-17. Sonata In F Major, Illy 50 (3:45)
18-19. Sonata In A Minor, Illy 43 (Walsh: Op.1, No. 3)    (6:46)
20-21. Sonata In E Major, Illy 41     (9:14)
Credits :
Piano [Steinway D Model] – Matteo Napoli
Cover photo: Burano, Venetian Lagoon

MYASKOVSKY : Violin Concerto in D Minor | VAINBERG : Violin Concerto in G Minor (Ilya Grubert · Russian Philharmonic Orchestra · Dmitry Yablonsky) (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Without fail, these are two works that should jump to the top of any list of alternatives to the warhorse violin concertos. Here are two powerful works that possess every quality that defines `classic' except perhaps the passage of sufficient time. Bold, lyrical, rhythmic, charming, dramatic and thought-provoking are just a few of dozens of adjectives that could describe this music. Add to that a superb performance at a fantastic price and you have your newest must-own compact disc.

Myaskovsky's fame lies predominantly in his work as a symphonist. With twenty-seven such works to his credit, he is considered by many to have been one of the leading exponents of the genre in the twentieth century. His violin concerto was his first attempt at such a work, and he spent considerable time studying the similar works of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, his friend and schoolmate. The late 1930s were a fertile time for violin music in Russia, due mostly to the rise of the so-called "Russian violin school," with David Oistrakh and Leonid Kogan at its helm, winning competitions all over Europe.

Myaskovsky wrote his concerto for and dedicated it to Oistrakh. A large sweeping work in three movements, the first of which is longer than the latter two combined, the concerto owes far more to the composer's nineteenth century predecessors Rimsky-Korsakov and Balakirev, than to any sort of modernist ideal. The opening movement is both dramatic and lyrical and as its title implies, passionate. The adagio is tuneful and circumspect, while the rollicking third movement is very dance-like.

Although Mieczylaw Vainberg was a disciple and pupil of Myaskovsky, his style, although still conservative, leans more toward his friend and colleague Shostakovich than to any nineteenth century composer. Born in Poland in 1919, Vainberg's early promise was as a pianist, but his hopes for a major career were dashed by the Nazi invasion of Poland during the Second World War. He fled to, and was accepted warmly in Russia, although on more than one occasion he ran afoul of the authorities. At one time he was arrested for being an "enemy of the state" only to be rescued by Shostakovich’s intervention and ultimately, the death of Stalin.

His concerto is of much tighter construct than the Myaskovsky, consisting of four movements nearly equal in technical challenge, musical expression and length. Of particular note is the passionate, melancholy Adagio. Although not particularly melodic, (you are not likely to leave the room whistling the tunes) there is a formal and thematic unity about the work that makes the listener eager to find out what comes next.

And what of Ilya Grubert’s playing? In short, it is utterly refreshing. Here is a soloist that takes command of the stage, is not afraid of a risk or two, and plays in a manner that reflects his feelings for the music. When called for, his playing can be as lyrical as the finest soprano, yet he never shies away from putting forth a bit of gypsy abandon, allowing his tone to even at times be a bit gritty. This is by no means a criticism. Grubert digs into the strings, coaxing every last ounce of sound and spirit out of them. This is indeed a player worth watching, and if this recording is harbinger at all, there are great things yet to come.

Dmitry Yablonsky leads a finely honed instrument in the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra. Gone is the customary Russian blatting and out of tune wailing in the brass section. His strings are warm and lush, and there is a rhythmic tautness to the playing. He paces both concerti perfectly, never hurrying the fast passages and never belaboring the slow ones.

Recorded sound is excellent. Program notes by Per Skans hold the reader’s interest, and provide the correct balance of analysis, historical background and anecdote.

These are two composers who deserve further attention. Hopefully, a few more successful recordings such as this one will propel this music off the silver disc and into the concert hall. Go buy this one and enjoy some unusual yet highly accessible delights. (Kevin Sutton, naxos)
Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881-1950)
1-3.  Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 44
Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996)
4-7.   Violin Concerto in G Minor, Op. 67
Credits:
Orchestra – Russian Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor – Dmitry Yablonsky
Violin – Ilya Grubert

JIE CHEN = 陳潔 – Chinese Piano Favourites = 中國鋼琴名曲集 (2007) Serie Chinese Classics | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

 While the piano is a western invention, it has come to occupy a special position in Chinese musical life. The earliest Chinese piano pieces date from the first half of the twentieth century; many remain popular in the concert hall today. This latest release in Naxos' Chinese Classics focuses on piano works from the Republican period (1911-1949), featuring Jie Chen, Bronze Medal Winner of the 2005 Santander Piano Competition. The music draws on well-known ancient melodies or folk-tunes, as reflected in the titles.  naxos
Tracklist :
1    Liu Yang River = 瀏陽河 3:50
Arranged By – Wang Jian-zhong
Composed By – Tang Bi-guang
2    A Hundred Birds Paying Respect To The Phoenix = 百鳥朝鳳 5:52
– Traditional
Arranged By – Wang Jian-zhong
3    Silver Clouds Chasing The Moon = 彩雲追月 3:10
Arranged By – Wang Jian-zhong
Composed By – Ren Guang
4    Flute And Drum At Sunset = 夕陽簫鼓 8:25
– Traditional
Arranged By – Li Ying-hai
5    Autumn Moon Over The Calm Lake = 平湖秋月 4:00
Arranged By – Chen Pai-xun
Composed By – Lu Wen-cheng
6    Glowing Red Morningstar Lilies = 山丹丹花開紅艷艷 5:03
– Traditional
Arranged By – Wang Jian-zhong
7    The Second Spring Bathed In Moonlight = 二泉映月 7:45
Arranged By – Chu Wang-hua
Composed By – Hua Yan-jun
8    Celebrating Our New Life = 翻身的日子 2:01
Arranged By – Chu Wang-hua
Composed By – Zhu Jian-er
Children Suite = 兒童组曲
Composed By – Ding Shan-de
9    I. Going To The Suburb = 郊遊    1:27
10    II. Butterfly Chasing = 撲蝶    0:59
11    III. Jumping Rope = 跳繩    1:41
12    IV. Hide And Seek = 捉迷藏    1:45
13    V. Holiday Dance = 節日舞蹈    2:47
14    The Sound Of Big Waves = 濤聲 7:52
Composed By – Wang Li-san
15    Farewell = 陽関三疊 4:50
– Traditional
Arranged By – Li Ying-hai
16    Soldiers Of The Southern Sea = 南海小哨兵 3:54
– Traditional
Arranged By – Chu Wang-hua
Credits :
Piano – Jie Chen

PÄRT — Piano Music · Ralph van Raat · NRCP · JoAnn Falletta (2011) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Dutch pianist Ralph van Raat's collection of Arvo Pärt's piano music spans nearly 50 years of his career, from student pieces written in 1958 to a work from 2006. This would not be the right album for listeners looking primarily for Pärt's legendary austere simplicity, but it would be ideal for anyone already familiar with the composer looking for exposure to the broad stylistic and expressive range of which he is capable. The two Sonatinas, Op. 1, are often reminiscent of Prokofiev's vivacity and lyricism, and are witty, engaging pieces. The 1959 Partita, Op. 2, while employing serial procedures, is still largely tonal and nowhere near as daunting as the cutting-edge avant-garde of the period. Für Alina, from 1976, was one of Pärt's breakthrough pieces, in which he wholeheartedly embraced the principles of simplicity, quiet, and the significance of the silences between notes; this work marks the beginnings of the revolutionary sound for which Pärt is best known. Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka, in six very brief movements, written the following year, inhabits the same contemplative, uncluttered, unhurried soundworld. Much of it, in fact, consists of a single melodic line. The most recent piece on the album, the entirely tonal, gently arppegiated Für Anna Maria, from 2006 has a sweetness that sounds almost new age. Lamentate: Homage to Anish Kapoor and his sculpture "Marsyas," (2002), at 35 minutes, is essentially a piano concerto and stands in stark contrast to the other works both in scope and tone. The sculpture is phenomenally large, ten stories high and nearly 500 feet long, and Pärt's work is appropriately monumental. It's not particularly grand in traditional terms, but its long silences and dramatic timbres still convey a sense of vastness. Van Raat, a champion of new music, plays with sensitivity and appropriate simplicity in the later works and has no trouble making the virtuosic sonatinas sparkle. JoAnn Falletta expertly leads Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic in the spare acompanhamento in Lamentate. Naxos' sound is clean, present, and realistic. Stephen Eddins

Arvo Pärt’s piano works range from his first public statement as a composer, the Zwei Sonatinen, to his latest, the life affirming miniature Für Anna Maria. Moving away from his 1960s atonal language, Pärt found an essence of truth in music embodied in the simple lines of Für Alina. Lamentate is a vast monument which the composer has described as a lament ‘not for the dead, but for the living’. Multi award-winning pianist Ralph van Raat has been praised for his ‘sensitive and technically refined’ playing of Hans Otte’s Book of Sounds (8.572444) (MusicWeb International). naxos
Arvo Pärt (b. 1935)
1-2    Zwei Sonatinen fur Klavier, Op.1, Nr.1 (1958-9) 6:29
3-5    Zwei Sonatinen fur Klavier, Op.1, Nr.2 (1958-9) 5:42
6-9    Partita, Op. 2 (1958) 7:07
10-17    Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka (1977) 6:39
18-27    Lamentate: Homage to Anish Kapoor and his Scultpure 'Marsyas',
for piano and orchestra (2002) 35:29
Credits :
Conductor – JoAnn Falletta (tracks: 18 to 27)
Orchestra – Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic (tracks: 18 to 27)
Piano – Ralph van Raat

HINDEMITH : Complete String Quartets (Amar Quartet) 3CD (2017) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

From the bracing dynamism of the earlier quartets to the technical sophistication of the later works, Paul Hindemith’s seven String Quartets include some of his supreme chamber music masterpieces and form one of the 20th century’s greatest quartet cycles. The award-winning Amar Quartet is named after Hindemith’s own eminent ensemble of the 1920s, and their acclaimed performances explore and express every aspect of the composer’s passion and intellectual rigour in this genre. ClassicsToday.com considers these recordings ‘outstanding… an endless source of pleasure… there is little doubt that this will become the reference edition in this music.’ naxos
 Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
CD1    String Quartet No. 2 In F Minor, Op. 10 (1918)    (33:13)
    String Quartet No. 3 In C Major, Op. 16 (1920)    (31:26)
CD2    String Quartet No. 5, Op. 32 (1923)    (30:17)
    String Quartet No. 6 In E Flat (1943)    (24:34)
    String Quartet No. 7 In E Flat (1945)    (16:22)
CD3    String Quartet No. 1, Op. 2 (1914-15)    (41:25)
    String Quartet No. 4, Op. 22 (1921)    (25:58)
    Ensemble – Amar Quartet
    Viola – Hannes Bärtschi
    Cello – Péter Somodari
    Violin – Anna Brunner, Igor Keller

EDWARD ELGAR : Symphony Nº.2 • Cello Concerto (Beatrice Harrison · London Symphony Orchestra · Edward Elgar) (2007) Serie Great Conductors | APE (image + .cue), lossless

Elgar’s second recording of his Symphony No. 2, made only eighteen months after the previous, acoustic set had been released, coincided with the innovation of electrical technology and the opportunity to mark the composer’s seventieth birthday on 2nd June 1927. Both the Symphony and the equally famous recording of the Cello Concerto offer unique insights from being composer-conducted. The tumultuous energy of the opening of the symphony’s first movement, the refusal to indulge the second movement and Elgar’s natural command of the art of transition, so crucial in this of all his works, add significantly to the poignancy and emotional thrust of the work as a whole. Taken at a quicker pace than most modern recordings, the Cello Concerto is a far cry from the sentimental resignation frequently associated with it in recent times. NAXOS
Tracklist :
1-5    Symphony No. 2 in E Flat, Op. 63    (48:03)
6-9    Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85    (25:11)
Credits :
Cello – Beatrice Harrison (tracks: 6-9)
Conductor, Composed By – Sir Edward Elgar
Orchestra – London Symphony Orchestra (tracks: 1-5), The New Symphony Orchestra Of London (tracks: 6-9)

JOSEF SUK : About Mother · Moods · Song of Love (Risto Lauriala) (2001) FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

Josef Suk belongs to the second generation of Czech nationalist composers, after Smetana and Dvořák. He was born in 1874 in Křečovice, the son of a village schoolmaster. He began to play the violin at the age of eight and later the piano, writing his first composition, a Polka, in 1882. At the age of eleven he entered the Prague Conservatory, studying the violin with the director Antonín Bennewitz and theory with Josef Foerster, Karel Knittl and Karel Stecker. His chamber-music teacher, during an extra year of study in 1891, after his graduation with his Piano Quartet No.1, was Hanus Wihan, for whom Dvořák wrote his famous Cello Concerto and who trained the distinguished Czech Quartet. Wihan himself played in the quartet for twenty years, from 1894 until 1914, and Suk played second violin from the foundation of the ensemble in 1892 until his retirement in 1933, two years before his death. It proved impossible to replace him and the quartet consequently disbanded, after giving a final concert in honour of their colleague’s sixtieth birthday. During its existence the Czech Quartet gave over four thousand concerts at home and abroad. Suk studied composition first with Karel Stecker and after his graduation in 1891 with Dvořák, whose favourite pupil he became. In 1898 he married the latter’s daughter Otilie, whose death in 1905 brought him great sadness. He taught composition at the Prague Conservatory, of which he later became director, and as a teacher exercised a strong influence over a whole generation of Czech composers.

In spite of his long professional association with chamber music, Josef Suk also wrote a quantity of vocal and orchestral music, as well as music for piano, an instrument that he himself played, finding in this last a means of heartfelt self-expression. His Six Piano Pieces, Opus 7, were written between 1891 and 1893. The first of these, the relatively well-known Song of Love, marked Adagio, non troppo lento, opens in a gently romantic mood, moving forward from D flat major to a more intense and grandiose F major, before returning to the mood of the opening and eventually to the home key. The charming B flat major Humoresque, marked Allegretto grazioso, is in a lively waltz rhythm and is followed by Recollections, with the direction Andante con moto quasi improvisando and in C minor, inspired by memories at times sad, then mounting to a passionate climax, before subsiding once more. The first of the two Idylls, marked Moderato and in F major, has the mood of a nostalgic waltz, and the second, marked Tempo comodo and in F minor, suggests the same feeling, at a more relaxed pace. The D minor Dumka follows the example of Dvořák, who had made use of this form of Slavonic lament in his writing for the piano and in chamber music. The melancholy of the opening section follows precedent in the introduction of a rapid major section, a contrasting dance of lively character, before the return of the initial mood. The set of pieces ends with Capriccietto, marked Allegro scherzando, a lilting A minor triple metre conclusion.

About Mother, Opus 28, was written in 1907 and consists of five pieces, described as simple pieces for his son, presumably to be heard rather than played, since they make increasing demands on a performer. The first of these has the title When mother was a little girl and has much of the gently nostalgic mood of the first of the Opus 7 pieces. The second of the series, Once in spring, in F sharp major, offers changes of mood and has a central F sharp minor section that suggests sadder memories. How mother sang at night to her sick child maintains a throbbing accompanying B flat in an insistent rhythm in the lower part throughout the piece, while ambiguous harmonies weave their way above. This is followed by From mother’s heart, with its own constant rhythmic octave repetitions, at first in the upper part, giving a feeling of urgency that gives way, in a middle section, to a brighter mood. The set of pieces ends with Souvenirs, again set against a repeated accompanying rhythm, gently tender memories of his wife, who had died two years before and whom his son would never know, as he grew up.

Moods, Opus 10, was written in 1895. The first of the pieces, all of which are relatively simple in structure, is Legend, its opening section marked by arpeggiated accompanying chords and suggesting a dumka. There is a shift from the opening key of D flat major to C sharp minor, giving a darker hue to the central section, before the varied return of the earlier thematic material. Capriccio offers a whimsical E flat minor framework for a central Allegro scherzando in the tonic major key. This leads to the contrasted B major Romance, in a tenderly wistful mood. The fourth piece of the set, the A major Bagatelle, is delicately subdued in character, and the series ends with the E flat major Spring Idyll, with a more delicate central section in C major. The more elaborate material of the opening returns, bringing further reminiscences of what has gone before. Keith Anderson
Tracklist & Credits :