Elegie

Released on the 'Sony Clasical' label - "Élégie" is the second album from Anita Rachvelishvili, showcasing her in the song repertoire to which she has a special connection despite being best known as a star of the world's greatest opera houses.

Fauré’s two cello sonatas are compact, beautifully written works whose musical language, with its many subtle changes of tonality and gift for melody, has been described as conveying ‘the power of tranquil thought’. Written in the summer of 1917, during the First World War, the neglected First Sonata begins with a troubled Allegro, followed by an eloquent Andante and a sparkling Finale. The C minor Andante of the Second Sonata has its origin in a Chant funèbre commissioned for the celebration in May 1921 of the centenary of the death of Napoleon.

Fauré’s two cello sonatas are compact, beautifully written works whose musical language, with its many subtle changes of tonality and gift for melody, has been described as conveying ‘the power of tranquil thought’. Written in the summer of 1917, during the First World War, the neglected First Sonata begins with a troubled Allegro, followed by an eloquent Andante and a sparkling Finale. The C minor Andante of the Second Sonata has its origin in a Chant funèbre commissioned for the celebration in May 1921 of the centenary of the death of Napoleon.

In this mimodrama inspired by a Russian tale, Stravinsky and Ramuz revisit the myth of Faust : by selling the devil his violin in exchange for the book that guesses the future, the soldier will lose his soul.

Swedish composer Melcher Melchers (1882–1961) has been largely forgotten by music history. Melchers studied composition in Paris and his circle of friends included, among others, Matisse, Picasso, Modigliani, Guillaume Apollinaire, Erik Satie, and members of Les Six. Among the Nordic composers he had the biggest impact on the French music life but his aesthetics in music were quite conservative: d’Indy, Chausson and César Franck were his greatest influences.

Fauré’s two cello sonatas are compact, beautifully written works whose musical language, with its many subtle changes of tonality and gift for melody, has been described as conveying ‘the power of tranquil thought’. Written in the summer of 1917, during the First World War, the neglected First Sonata begins with a troubled Allegro, followed by an eloquent Andante and a sparkling Finale. The C minor Andante of the Second Sonata has its origin in a Chant funèbre commissioned for the celebration in May 1921 of the centenary of the death of Napoleon.

During his studies with Paul Kuën and Raimund Grumbach, Christian Gerhaher attended the Opera School at the Munich Hochschule für Musik and, together with Gerold Huber, studied lied interpretation with Friedemann Berger. While completing his medical studies Christian Gerhaher perfected his vocal training in master-classes given by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Inge Borkh. Currently Christian Gerhaher himself teaches occasionally at the Munich Academy of Music and Theatre and at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Together with his regular piano partner Gerold Huber, he has dedicated himself to the interpretation of Lieder for 30 years now - in concerts and recordings - and has been awarded important prizes for many years. Elegie is his newest release.

When the Trío Arriaga perform, the careers of three internationally renowned soloists converge. As well as appearing together at the major European festivals, its individual members have worked with virtually every Spanish orchestra and some of the finest orchestras elsewhere in Europe. Their acclaimed solo recording projects, amounting to more than 25 albums, some for labels as prominent as Naxos or Sony, along with the many awards they have won in national and international competitions, endorse the Arriaga’s position as one of the leading trios of its generation.

All four compositions of Ørenslyd are developed from an exploration of acoustic and vocal sound formation and the active participation of our listening ability in this formation. The four pieces represent different manifestations of the tonal expression of the human voice and the acoustic richness of the double bass. Ørenslyd (from “øre”, ear, and “lyd”, sound) means “the opportunity to hear something being said or to be heard yourself”.

Released in time for the great Ukrainian composer's 80th birthday (on 30 September), the album 'Hieroglyphen der Nacht' features Valentin Silvestrov's music for solo violoncello and for two cellos. German cellist Anja Lechner has had a long association with Silvestrov, first documented on the Grammy-nominated 'leggiero, pesante' in 2001. Here she plays, alone, Augenblicke der Stille und Traurigkeit (of which she is the dedicatee), Lacrimosa, Walzer der Alpengöckchen, and Elegie (which calls for her to play both cello and tamtams).