Wolfgang Lenze

Although Korngold’s ‘complete works for violin and piano’ make up a reasonably full disc, it is only fair to point out that the Violin Sonata is the single work that is not an arrangement from one of his other pieces. Yet this Sonata, written at the age of 15 for Carl Flesch and Artur Schnabel no less, is a fine example of his early style, with its echoes of Zemlinsky and early Schoenberg. The young Dutch violinist Sonja van Beek and German pianist Andreas Frölich negotiate its challenges with ease: as in Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata, the pianist has as tough a role as the melody instrument. Much Ado about Nothing is one of several arrangements of a suite of four movements derived from incidental music to Shakespeare’s play written in 1918, performed here with affection and a silken suavity. The remainder of the repertoire is made up of arrangements of Korngold lollipops, hit numbers from his operas, such as the unforgettable ‘Marietta’s Lied’ from Die tote Stadt, arranged by the composer as salon pieces and popularised by Kreisler and his ilk. Here, the almost vocal qualities of van Beek’s tone come into their own. An essential disc for the Korngold addict.

Biber’s sole extant opera, Arminio, was composed c1692 and first performed in Salzburg. Probably intended as a chamber work, its intimate settings are matched by music of subtle delights, with lovelorn laments, comic scenes and splashes of colour. Barbara Schlick leads a fine team of singers and the period-instrument Salzburger Hofmusik provides spirited support. A real Baroque treat.

–Graham Lock

On "Lockdown Releases" you follow the path of Wolfgang Lackerschmid's creative and varied musical history from the late seventies till 2020. All these tracks were either digitally remastered, finally completed or even recorded during the lockdown in spring 2020.

Stars, drive, and heart: Brecker, Landgren, Evans and more – the “Dream Band” of drummer Wolfgang Haffner on a live double album.

Mozarts beliebte Oper "Die Zauberflöte" unter der Leitung von Wolfgang Sawallisch - jetzt erstmals auf DVD erhältlich! 1983 live aufgenommen, zeigt diese Produktion aus der Bayerischen Staatsoper eine der bekanntesten Opern überhaupt - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts "Die Zauberflöte" in der Inszenierung von August Everding. Edita Gruberova als begehrteste Königin der Nacht der Welt, Francisco Ariza als einer der berühmtesten Taminos unserer Zeit, machen neben anderen Weltstars der Oper (Kurt Moll, Lucia Popp, Wolfgang Brendel, u.a.) diese Produktion zu einem Fest für Augen und Ohren. Eingerahmt und kongenial geleitet wird dieses Ensemble von Wolfgang Sawallisch. "Zeigt das Ernsthafte - vergesst aber den Humor nicht" - mit dieser Einstellung beweist Everding in dieser einzigartigen Inszenierung sein Genie auf dem Gebiet der Opernregie. Diese Zauberflöte ist ein absolutes Muss für alle Opernfans.

This 2004 survey of modern settings of the medieval sequence Stabat Mater Dolorosa is part of conductor Marcello Viotti's project to record the little-known but worthy sacred works of the twentieth century, in conjunction with the Munich Radio Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Chorus for their concert series Paradisi gloria. The four works by Francis Poulenc, Karol Szymanowski, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Wolfgang Rihm are dramatically different in conception and musical content, and may be regarded more as reflections of personal faith than as practical works for ecclesiastical purposes.

From fairy tale to great opera: With Die Zauberflöte Mozart made the step from simple Singspiel to a full-blown German opera, thus laying the foundations for an independent opera culture in the German language. The 1973 Electrola recording combines a truly legendary vocal ensemble, featuring first and foremost Edda Moser, whom many people still regard as the best Queen of the Night of all time, Walter Berry as a Papageno oozing Viennese charm, Anneliese Rothenberger as the enchanting Pamina and Peter Schreier as her loving Tamino.