Carmina Quartet

These performances of Szymanowski's String Quartets and Webern's Langsamer Satz by Carmina Qt are hard to describe with words. The ensemble captures varying shade and light of Szymanowski's magical soundscape by vivid imagination and formidable technical refinement. There is a wondefully crafted performance of Langsamer Satz by Leipziger Qt (MDG), but this one surpasses it by the sheer beauty of tonal blend and the emotional depth and intensity. It doesn't surprise me that this disc received 1992 Gramophone Award in chamber music category and was nominated for Grammy award.

This is not CPO’s first Farrenc recording. The company has already issued a disc of Farrenc symphonies and another of her large-scale chamber works. Those recordings were well received, and I have no doubt that this new solo piano disc will also garner fine reviews. I should also relate that being a pianist, Farrenc’s early compositions consisted primarily of piano music, and that the works on the new disc are from her early career.

Ever since it was founded, the Swiss chamber ensemble Trio Fontane has consisted of Andrea Wiesli , Noëlle Grüebler and Jonas Kreienbühl. The trio was formed in 2002 and received instruction from Ulrich Koella and Stephan Goerner (Carmina Quartet) at the Musikhochschule in Zurich. The ensemble was judged the best piano trio at the 2007 Migros Culture Percentage chamber music competition and accepted into the “Young Musicians” artist exchange. The three performers received further support from the Thiébaud-Frey Foundation, the Hans Schaeuble Foundation and the International Herzogenberg Society.

Wolfgang Sawallisch was a German conductor and pianist, known for his refined interpretations of orchestral and opera repertoire. As a pianist, he was a revered accompanist and chamber musician, as well as an accomplished soloist. He was born in 1923 in Munich to Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch, and had a brother named Werner who was older by five years. He started learning the piano at age five, and by the age of ten he had already decided that he wanted to be a concert pianist as an adult. Upon graduating high school in Munich in 1942, he studied piano with Wolfgang Ruoff until he was drafted into the military, where he served in France and Italy with the Wehrmacht, a branch of the Nazi armed forces. During the final stages of World War II in 1945 he was captured and held in a British POW camp.

The music world associates Humperdinck first and foremost with his fairy-tale operas. Chamber music accounts for only a relatively small portion of his oeuvre, but should not be underestimated in its importance. This release presents the String Quartets and première recording of the Piano Quintet. In the Piano Quintet especially, the catchy themes and its wonderfully melodious middle movement, represent a valuable contribution to late-romantic literature off the beaten track.

2009 Marks The 111th Anniversary Of Deutsche Grammophon. Over 11 Decades, The Label's Philosophy Has Always Been 'The Greatest Recordings By The Greatest Artists In The World' And Now They Showcase This With This Incredible 55 Cd Box Set. This Unique Collection Forms Dg's Major Release In Its 111th Anniversary Celebrations. The Limited Edition Box Set Gathers Together Many Landmark Recordings, From The Past To The Present. Most Of Them Appear Complete, As Originally Programmed, In Their Original Cover Art And Several Include Additional Material.