Dvoark Serenade

"Serenade to the Dawn" is an SACD release featuring works by Burkhard, Haug, Rodrigo, Bozza, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Villa-Lobos. Andrea Lieberknecht and Frank Bungarten present some of the most enthralling compositions of the twentieth century for flute and guitar. Beautifully recorded and finely played, this is something new and exciting from MDG.

After two stylistically diverse anthologies - In Motion and Renewal - the United Strings of Europe and their director Julian Azkoul have chosen to devote their latest project to a single composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. They open with the composer's Serenade, a tribute to Mozart's divertimentos, but infused with Tchaikovsky's characteristic pathos and melancholy. It is one of his most popular works, with the especially beloved Waltz as it's second movement, and a finale featuring Russian folk songs. The other works included on this recording are arrangements tailor-made for the ensemble by Julian Azkoul.

Celebrated tenor Mark Padmore joins the Britten Sinfonia in some of the most beautiful English music for voice and orchestra. The centrepiece is Britten's magical evocation of twilight and nightfall, the 'Serenade' (with Stephen Bell, horn). In Gerald Finzi's war-time cycle 'Dies natalis', the ecstatic mood reflects a child's wide-eyed wonder at the world. Britten's poignant 'Nocturne' completes the programme.

Hagen Quartett - Janacek: String Quartets / Wolf: Italian Serenade
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 230 MB | Full Artwork: 50 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Deutsche Grammophon # 427 669-2 | Country/Year: Germany 1989
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Early 20th Century, Chamber Music

"…The Hagens play with almost impossibly precise technique, virtually spotless intonation, and a fluid sense of balance that allows every line and every note of Janácek's scores to easily be heard. What's more, they brilliantly convey the emotional, autobiographical nature of the two works in such a way that even someone unfamiliar with their origins can sense the tension, drama, and angst. The disc concludes with an equally enjoyable performance of Hugo Wolf's Italian Serenade." 5/5 ~allmusicguide