Macherel

Make a recording of two of Mozart’s three flute concertos? For Helena Macherel, it felt like an obvious thing to do. “How could one say no to such an offer?” The patron of the arts, now deceased, who backed her for years, encouraged her in this direction. “I’m not looking for originality at any price, just to let myself be carried away by the beauty of the music, in a quest for truth and authenticity.” To achieve this, she can count on the accompaniment of English musicians well-versed in this kind of challenge: the London Mozart Players, whose experienced members provide not only the ensemble’s conducting but also the chamber partners for the Quartet in D major. “Far from coming up with a fixed vision of the works, I have, on the contrary, encouraged dialogue and exchange with them, and I am delighted with the spirit of freedom that permeates these recordings.”

Alfred Schnittke made a name for himself internationally in 1977 with the world premiere of his Concerto grosso No. 1. The composer’s aesthetic is defined in this work, which blends serious and popular music, jazz and tango, where baroque accents coexist with micro-intervals, and in which heterogeneous elements and quotations are inserted or even pasted into the musical discourse. For Schnittke, this polystylism is a means of broadening his art’s expressive possibilities, of overcoming the divisions and rigidity of specific schools, and a desire to question and modify the language and forms borrowed from the past.

Alfred Schnittke made a name for himself internationally in 1977 with the world premiere of his Concerto grosso No. 1. The composer’s aesthetic is defined in this work, which blends serious and popular music, jazz and tango, where baroque accents coexist with micro-intervals, and in which heterogeneous elements and quotations are inserted or even pasted into the musical discourse. For Schnittke, this polystylism is a means of broadening his art’s expressive possibilities, of overcoming the divisions and rigidity of specific schools, and a desire to question and modify the language and forms borrowed from the past.

Make a recording of two of Mozart’s three flute concertos? For Helena Macherel, it felt like an obvious thing to do. “How could one say no to such an offer?” The patron of the arts, now deceased, who backed her for years, encouraged her in this direction. “I’m not looking for originality at any price, just to let myself be carried away by the beauty of the music, in a quest for truth and authenticity.” To achieve this, she can count on the accompaniment of English musicians well-versed in this kind of challenge: the London Mozart Players, whose experienced members provide not only the ensemble’s conducting but also the chamber partners for the Quartet in D major. “Far from coming up with a fixed vision of the works, I have, on the contrary, encouraged dialogue and exchange with them, and I am delighted with the spirit of freedom that permeates these recordings.”

Alfred Schnittke made a name for himself internationally in 1977 with the world premiere of his Concerto grosso No. 1. The composer’s aesthetic is defined in this work, which blends serious and popular music, jazz and tango, where baroque accents coexist with micro-intervals, and in which heterogeneous elements and quotations are inserted or even pasted into the musical discourse. For Schnittke, this polystylism is a means of broadening his art’s expressive possibilities, of overcoming the divisions and rigidity of specific schools, and a desire to question and modify the language and forms borrowed from the past.

Derived from the viole da braccio family rather than that of the viols, the cello gained its independence in the Cremona cradle of Italian instrument making between the 16th and early 18th century. It adopted the shape of a large violin – so large that it cannot rest on the shoulder like a violin or viola and is therefore held between the legs; an adjustable pin planted in the ground was added from the middle of the 19th century to make it more stable and easier to hold.

Swiss flutist, Helena Macherel, is a versatile musician who enjoys her career as a chamber musician and soloist. At the age of nineteen, she was awarded the Paul Streit Prize of the Concours de Genève (Switzerland).

THE THOUSAND AND ONE LIVES OF THE CELLO IN THE 20TH CENTURY
Alfred Schnittke made a name for himself internationally in 1977 with the world premiere of his Concerto grosso No. 1. The composer’s aesthetic is defined in this work, which blends serious and popular music, jazz and tango, where baroque accents coexist with micro-intervals, and in which heterogeneous elements and quotations are inserted or even pasted into the musical discourse. For Schnittke, this polystylism is a means of broadening his art’s expressive possibilities, of overcoming the divisions and rigidity of specific schools, and a desire to question and modify the language and forms borrowed from the past.

THE THOUSAND AND ONE LIVES OF THE CELLO IN THE 20TH CENTURY
Alfred Schnittke made a name for himself internationally in 1977 with the world premiere of his Concerto grosso No. 1. The composer’s aesthetic is defined in this work, which blends serious and popular music, jazz and tango, where baroque accents coexist with micro-intervals, and in which heterogeneous elements and quotations are inserted or even pasted into the musical discourse. For Schnittke, this polystylism is a means of broadening his art’s expressive possibilities, of overcoming the divisions and rigidity of specific schools, and a desire to question and modify the language and forms borrowed from the past.

THE THOUSAND AND ONE LIVES OF THE CELLO IN THE 20TH CENTURY
Alfred Schnittke made a name for himself internationally in 1977 with the world premiere of his Concerto grosso No. 1. The composer’s aesthetic is defined in this work, which blends serious and popular music, jazz and tango, where baroque accents coexist with micro-intervals, and in which heterogeneous elements and quotations are inserted or even pasted into the musical discourse. For Schnittke, this polystylism is a means of broadening his art’s expressive possibilities, of overcoming the divisions and rigidity of specific schools, and a desire to question and modify the language and forms borrowed from the past.