Marina Ontanaya

Following her acclaimed début recital, Marina Staneva returns with a programme of works by the Spanish-Catalan composer Federico Mompou. The programme opens with Paisajes (Landscapes), written in 1942, 1947, and 1960. The first two pieces are dedicated to the Catalan pianist Carmen Bravo, whom Mompou met after his return from Paris to Barcelona in 1942, and subsequently married.

Marina Viotti’s first solo recital, ‘Porque existe otro querer’ (Because there’s another lover), combines French and Hispanic romances in an exploration of the chromatic kaleidoscope of love’s feelings.

Two of today’s most exciting artists on the international opera scene meet for a very personal project. Audax Records has followed Adriana González's career since its beginnings and offered carte blanche to the artist who invited Marina Viotti to join her for this program devised by Iñaki Encina Oyón. A florilegium of French duos by composers such as Fauré, Franck, Chausson, Massenet, Gounod, Lalo, Delibes, Viardot, Widor, Paladilhe, Devéria, Chaminade and Puget, including several world premiere recordings.

Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques make a foray into the Romantic repertoire with this tribute to Pauline Viardot, who was not only the most influential singer of the nineteenth century, but also a pedagogue and composer, whose gifts, personality and incomparable aura made her one of the leading figures of French Romanticism. Together the mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti and Christophe Rousset retrace Pauline Viardot’s versatile career and, taking up her great roles, present a musical portrait of a unique performer, who was unanimously acclaimed by the audiences of her time.

The dignified bearing and quiet wisdom of Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881–1950) gained him the sobriquet of ‘the conscience of Russian music’ – and those qualities are reflected in the unemphatic strength of his music. His orchestral, chamber and instrumental works are regaining the currency they once enjoyed, but his large corpus of songs, many of them understated masterpieces, has yet to attract systematic attention – a situation this series hopes to remedy. The pairing here of his late Violin Sonata with his last two song-cycles for soprano and piano mirrors the Moscow concert in 1947 when all three were given their first performances.

In these uncertain times, when changes seem so profound and unsettling, Marina Rebeka presents us with a selection of some of the most elevating music ever written to comfort and soothe the human spirit. Sacred music pieces by Mozart, Verdi, Stradella, Faur, Durante, Handel, Bach, and more, performed with the delicacy of Sinfonietta Riga and the Latvian Radio Choir, conducted by Modestas Pitrenas. This is music to listen to while reflecting on our own fragility, and understanding what is really important to us in life.

Pianist Marina Baranova looks at Christmas through the eyes of an outsider. “I was born into a Jewish family in Ukraine and am the great-granddaughter of a rabbi. So I've never celebrated Christmas before, which allows me to look at it from the outside.“ On her new album “White Letters“ she makes her experiences audible. “This album reflects those sensations.” In her unique musicality, which combines light-fingered virtuosity with compositional sensitivity, she creates a world between Christian melodies, Ukrainian winter tunes and Jewish festival of lights sounds. All works oscillate between original, sensitive arrangement and free improvisation. The musician feels home in the space between the classical piano repertoire and her own modern classical compositions, both discographically and in concerts. The fact that she now allows such a personal musical look at her origins is also due to the current situation. “I return inwardly to my then peaceful home, the landscape outside covered with snow and inside warmed with parental love.“