Final Fantasie

Itzhak Perlman must surely be considered one of the most popular violinists currently performing and recording, perhaps even one of the most beloved. His triumph over polio, which he contracted at age four, his warmth and engaging personality, his constant emphasis on teaching, have all contributed to his popularity. In honor of his approaching 70th birthday (August 31, 1945), DGG is releasing this limited edition 25 CD box set: Itzhak Perlman Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon. Between 1968 and 2001, Perlman recorded 25 albums for DGG and Decca - many of them now considered to be classics.

Like so many female composers of bygone centuries, the music of Luise Adolpha Le Beau has been slow to come to light. She was a composer/pianist of the late 19th century who toured throughout Europe and associated with the top echelon of musicians, composers, and critics of her day. Very few of her chamber works have been re-published in the early 21st century, but not much else of her music, nor information about her or her oeuvre …….

Patsy Morita @ Allmusic

Wibi Soerjadi - Plays Chopin (1998)
Classical | 1998 | FLAC (single files) | 293 MB
RS.com | 4 files | booklet scans | 01:17:22 | Philips

Wibi Soerjadi was born in 1970 in Leiden, Netherlands. After only four years of studying at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam, he took an early exam as performing musician. He obtained the highest result possible, an A with honourable degree. In 1985, he won first prize at the Princess Christina Concours in The Hague. In 1988, he won first prize at the National Eurovision Competition for young musicians. Being the youngest contestant and the only Dutch person in the final, he won the third prize at the International Franz Liszt Piano competition in Utrecht in 1989, which is known as one of the hardest piano competitions in the world…..

This attractively presented disc is not the same one recorded by Japanese-French lutenist Yasunori Imamura for the Capriccio label in 1998, even though the keys of the two lute sonatas, and the presence of a central pair of shorter works, makes the program look almost identical. Sylvius Leopold Weiss was nearly an exact contemporary of Bach's, and the notes by Beat Hänggi contend that were it not for the difficulty and obscurity of the lute, he would be nearly as well known as today. That's hard to swallow, considering the versatility of Bach's talents and the fact that Weiss occupies one small corner of the Baroque musical universe. Nevertheless, Bach is thought to have admired Weiss' playing, and may have written lute music for him. The comparison has some validity.

Musically, Franz Liszt (1811–1886) is one of the most written about but least understood composers of the 19th century. As for his life—Felix Mendelssohn observed that Liszt's character was "a continual alternation between scandal and apotheosis." "Scandal and apotheosis"? What could that possibly mean? Join music professor Robert Greenberg for these lectures, and go on a fascinating journey in search of the truth about both. "Franz Liszt, Both Sides Now," you might call it.

Johannes Schenck - "Les Fantaisies bisarres de la Goutte": Works for Viola da Gamba
Classical, Baroque | 1 CD | EAC | FLAC, CUE, LOG | Scans | 368 MB | Rapidshare
Recorded: Feb. 1999, Schlingen (Baden), Germany | Released: 2000 | Label: cpo 999 682-2 | TT: 67:18
Lorenz Duftschmid, Sophie Watillon - viola da gamba | Rolf Lislevand - theorbe & guitar |
Wolfgang Zerer - harpsichord & organ positive

Is it too early to start my "Recordings of the Year" list? The music and performances on this release are nothing short of a revelation. CPO is always willing to take a chance on a rare composer, and this gamble hits the jackpot. […] This is among the most brilliant, sophisticated music to come out of the Baroque, and Schenck's mastery of the possibilities of the viola da gamba surely rivals Saint-Colombe and Marais. His style shows all the usual French, German, and Italian influences, with a slight emphasis on the French but with a decidedly Germanic attitude toward the dance forms. (David Preiser, ClassicsToday.com)

Barenboim and Boulez celebrate Liszt’s 200th birthday with gripping readings of the Concertos no. 1 in E flat major and no. 2 in A major.