Johannes Ludwig

The three friends and colleagues Andreas Kurz, Johannes Ludwig and Alex Parzhuber have used the last three years intensively to round off their day of teaching at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich with a trio rehearsal. This has developed into a working band in the true sense of the word, which seeks and finds a common language. They have established an open forum in which anyone can contribute anything that seems valuable and that they would like to try out.

Like Mozart, Brahms was a bit uncomfortable writing string quartets, where the desire to maintain an absolutely democratic discourse among the participants often led to overly dense textures and rhythmic heaviness. The extra viola part offered by the quintet medium, however, allowed both composers to relax a bit and write music with the richness of texture they both loved, without forcing. These two works really don't seem to get the attention that they deserve, either on recordings or in concert, but they are both vintage Brahms. Fortunately, Naxos seems to be dedicated to a complete survey of the chamber music of the great composers, and they are working with a very fine stable of artists.

She sang all the major mezzo roles, and also some in the dramatic soprano repertory, notably Leonora in Fidelio, Lady Macbeth and the Marschallin. Her voice is a rich, expressive mezzo capable of dramatic incisiveness and even throughout its considerable range. Her upper register in mezzo music is excintingly projected. Although this compilation is composed of different recordings in different settings in different years, all of them show a young Ludwig when she had not yet acquired her prime and her status of, arguably, the best mezzo of the world, which would arrive in the years to come.

This release focuses on a unique selection from Beethoven's late period: works for piano with an optional flute part - ad libitum - that reveal a rarely explored, yet all the more fascinating side of the composer. Framing Beethoven's monumental Hammerklavier Sonata, the two sets of folk song variations form the greatest conceivable contrast to this pianistic summit work. While the sonata, with its formal and technical radicalism, is considered the epitome of Beethoven's late style, the surrounding pieces are characterised by cantabile lines, accessible virtuosity and a sense of chamber-like lightness.