Mingtong Gu

Peter Lichtenthal, born Wolfgang Mayer in 1779 in Bratislava, was not only a physician, but also a composer and author, including of two Mozart biographies, to which high authenticity can be attributed due to his acquaintance with Constanze Mozart and his two sons Carl and Franz. As a great admirer of the genius Mozart, he created numerous transcriptions of Mozart’s works. On its first CD of a two-part series by the title “Doktor Lichtenthals MOZART”, which is now released, the Pandolfis Consort presents piano works by W.A. Mozart in arrangements by Lichtenthal. On period instruments, the Consort takes over the function of the entire orchestra as a string quartet in the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra no.20 in D minor, K466, featuring the Romanian pianist Aurelia Vişovan on the likewise historic fortepiano. The Fantasy for Piano no.4 in C minor, K475, and the Piano Sonata no.14 in C minor, K457, also included on the CD, were extended by Peter Lichtenthal with a cello part, which is interpreted by Günter Schagerl.

The first CD recording of the duo Benjamin Beck (viola) and Marie Rosa Günter (piano), released by GENUIN, extends beyond all horizons – namely, from a perspective that links this world with the hereafter and that asks about the possibilities of eternal love. Beck's velvety yet pithy viola tone coaxes out the nuances that make the thoughtful compositions of Robert Schumann, Ralph Vaughan-William, Sergei Prokofiev and Benjamin Britten so appealing. And with music from three centuries, this CD is by no means monotonous since it is about artistic realizations of borderline human experiences. Among these, a composition by Francois-Hugues Leclair, which is available on this CD as a world premiere recording and is dedicated to Benjamin Beck, is of particular importance.

After the tremendous success of the 7th Symphony, François-Xavier Roth and the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln continue their Bruckner complete symphonies cycle. The "Romantic", as Anton Bruckner himself entitles his 4th Symphony, was composed in 1874 in the midst of a period of personal defeat. And he immediately doubted his work, describing some parts as "unplayable" and finding "the instrumentation here and there overloaded and too turbulent". It was only years later, after numerous revisions, that the Fourth was premiered and Bruckner achieved the success he had longed for with the public of the time.

The city of Petersburg has a complex history, merging diverse cultural influences into a distinct profile. The forces generated amid the constant interplay of repression and the yearning for freedom find expression in experimentation. This led the Günter-Kim duo to explore the cosmopolitan city in search of traces. In the process, the cello-piano duo has discovered various compositions related to Dmitri Shostakovich: Boris Goltz, Galina Ustvolskaya, Boris Arapov… and, as a world premiere recording, Leonid Gorokhov. The duo's arrangements of Shostakovich's Spanish and Jewish songs symbolize a thoughtful approach to foreign cultures. This stands in stark contrast to the current somber reality: Petersburg, once the gateway to Europe, is on the brink of closing itself off.