Letectvi a Kosmonautika 1983 24

Chamber music was a crucial element in Enescu’s output and these two works, separated by seven years, represent very different phases of his compositional development. The large-scale Piano Quartet No. 1 marks the climax of his early maturity. The Piano Trio in A minor, however, was unknown until 1965 and represents a more transitional stage – a compact but intricately expressive work with an animated and compelling sequence of variations at its heart.

This album offers a new approach to the character of Scheherazade, with Rimsky-Korsakov’s musical masterpiece transcribed for the forces of Ensemble K and a previously unpublished text, freely adapted from the Thousand and One Nights and ancient love poems, which tells the story of Scheherazade. The Franco-Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani plays Scheherazade, while Kristin Winters is her sister, Dinarzad: ‘For me, this story is a literary and historical treasure of humanity. But our collective imagination has seen Scheherazade as either a seductress or a submissive woman who told stories to survive. The greatness of this character goes far beyond that, and in fact represents the ancient figure of the “hero”, or rather the heroine!’, says Simone Menezes, who is artistic director of this project. For this second collaboration with Alpha Classics (after Amazônia, ALPHA990), she presents two versions of the programme, one with music and texts, the other with Rimsky-Korsakov’s music alone.

he String Quintet No. 4 in G minor, K. 516, written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is like all of Mozart's string quintets a "viola quintet" in that it is scored for string quartet and an extra viola (i.e., two violins, two violas, and cello). The mood of the piece is dark and melancholic, typical of Mozart's G minor works.

This tenth volume of violin concertos marks the return of Julien Chauvin and his Concert de la Loge to the Vivaldi Edition, with works linked to Pisendel, a major musical figure in the court of Dresden in the 18th century. Julien Chauvin and his Concert de la Loge released a hugely successful volume of Vivaldi concertos with a theatrical theme in 2020.

Richard Wagner began composing his Wesendonck Lieder during a stay in Zurich between November and December 1857. Originally conceived for female voice and piano alone, the five songs were later orchestrated, first by the Austrian conductor and composer Felix Mottl in 1893, and then later in 1976 by the German composer Hans Werner Henze, in a chamber setting.

The Deutscher Kammerchor with its conductor Rainer Held present the world's first album exclusively with works by the Swiss composer Markus Fricker (*1943). The album shows the versatility and range of this composer, who is very well known and highly popular in Switzerland and has already won numerous prizes for his works. It contains sacred and secular pieces, arrangements of folk songs from various countries as well as original compositions for mixed choir and men's choir. Fricker does not rely on rhythmic or even arhythmic avant-garde, but wants to create a tangible sense of togetherness with his music, especially for the listeners who sing in a choir themselves.

Composer and Harpist Anne Vanschothorst’s music has been described as innovative, minimal, lyrical, cinematic, and touching yet intense. The same rings true in THAT I DID ALWAYS LOVE, the artist’s musical ode to the great American poet Emily Dickinson. Featuring seven of the poet’s works set to music, Vanschothorst fosters an intimate listening space where two art forms reach a soothing synthesis, amplifying the elegance of Dickinson’s texts with the graceful nature of the harp, a perfect pairing.

This album is a late recording by the legendary Thomas Beecham. Much like some of his contemporaries (such as John Barbirolli), Beecham enjoyed composing witty pastiches and transcribing the old masters.

he String Quintet No. 4 in G minor, K. 516, written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is like all of Mozart's string quintets a "viola quintet" in that it is scored for string quartet and an extra viola (i.e., two violins, two violas, and cello). The mood of the piece is dark and melancholic, typical of Mozart's G minor works.

This album offers a new approach to the character of Scheherazade, with Rimsky-Korsakov’s musical masterpiece transcribed for the forces of Ensemble K and a previously unpublished text, freely adapted from the Thousand and One Nights and ancient love poems, which tells the story of Scheherazade. The Franco-Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani plays Scheherazade, while Kristin Winters is her sister, Dinarzad: ‘For me, this story is a literary and historical treasure of humanity. But our collective imagination has seen Scheherazade as either a seductress or a submissive woman who told stories to survive. The greatness of this character goes far beyond that, and in fact represents the ancient figure of the “hero”, or rather the heroine!’, says Simone Menezes, who is artistic director of this project. For this second collaboration with Alpha Classics (after Amazônia, ALPHA990), she presents two versions of the programme, one with music and texts, the other with Rimsky-Korsakov’s music alone.