The Last Three Minutes

More than three decades have elapsed since Frans Brüggen set down his earlier visions of the three final symphonies by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with his Orchestra of the 18th Century. Now, he has chosen to release his new views of these contrasting yet complementary works as part of his Grand Tour series on Glossa. The Dutch maestro has been regularly engaging with the music of the Salzburg genius throughout the time of his musical journey with the Orchestra of the 18th Century and the symphonies of Mozart have frequently appeared in their concert schedules.

Large industrial complexes, built of solid brick tell the story of industrialization of 19th century Leipzig. Where spinning wheels once rattled, chimneys smoked and thousands of workers carried out their daily work, new life has moved in over the past few years. Today, former factories are home to artists' studios, galleries and manufactories.

In 1799, Haydn undertook the composition of a six quartet series dedicated to the Prince Lobkowitz. The two quartets Op.77 Nos.1 and 2 were the first outcome of this project. Kept busy by the composition of his Seasons and the Harmoniemesse, Haydn couldn't complete the entire series before his passing, but he left two fragments of a third quartet, which make up the Op.103. These three last quartets, bold and full of wit, are the final goodbye of an old master.

Of Beethoven and his worlds in music, some will remember more the herald of pure music or of programme music, the Dionysian bearer of joy, or the man suffering from suicidal impulses, the builder or the destroyer. In any event, the creator stopped writing piano sonatas in 1822, the year of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s death. All the transgressions that are propounded by Beethoven’s Promethean output would be unable to conceal his faithfulness to the ideals of Aufklärung, his classic desire to lead, beyond the asperities, to a resolution and, beyond darkness, to light.’says Brigitte François Sappey, a famous musicologist.

On the occasion of Ludwig van Beethoven's 250th Anniversary year one of the greatest pianist of our time, Maurizio Pollini, returns to the miracle and enigma of Beethoven's Last Sonatas: 42 years after the first recording of these masterpieces under studio conditions and with the fantastic acoustics of the Herkulessaal at the Residence in Munich, Maurizio Pollini came back to the very same place for this new and unique project.

Award-winning world beat guitarist Lawson Rollins ponders the last three minutes of his day, concentrating on the urgency of the moment, the exhilaration of the speed of sound, the poignancy of the remaining time and the mystical power of the number three. Rollins wrote these dozen multicultural compositions, all in the three minute range and illuminated by his prodigious fingerstyle guitar play. The recording is stripped down, punchy and concise, a radical departure for an artist usually known for creating elaborate, lavishly produced tracks that are at least twice as long.