Fugue

Bálint Karosi is a Hungarian organist and composer, especially noted for his expertise in period-style improvisation. He was educated at the Liszt Academy in Budapest and Oberlin Conservatory in the United States, and he earned his master's and doctoral degrees at Yale School of Music. His career has taken him across Europe and the United States, and he has performed at major festivals, such as the International Bach Festival in Leipzig, the Boston Early Music Festival, and the Magadino International Organ Festival in Switzerland. He has played many historic instruments, including J.S. Bach's organ at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, the organ played by Dietrich Buxtehude at the Marienkirche in Lübeck, and Gottfried Silbermann's organ at Freiburg Cathedral. As a composer, Karosi has written music for orchestra, chamber ensembles, choir, voice, and organ, and received commissions for works from the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Hungarian State Opera, and the National Concert Hall in Budapest. Karosi has also taught organ and organ improvisation at Boston University, Oberlin, and Yale.

Irresistible and insurmontable challenge. After his acclaimed interpretation of Messiaen’s Catalogue d’oiseaux, pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard records Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata and "Eroica" Variations. The Hammerklavier Sonata is one of the pinnacles of Beethoven’s creative output, and arguably one of the highest mountains to climb for any pianist. To Aimard, it poses one of the most frightening tests of a performer’s life, but one that is as irresistible as it is insurmountable. The dazzling "Eroica" Variations are nicknamed after Beethoven’s iconoclastic Third Symphony, and employ the melody he would later use as the main theme of the symphony’s finale. Beethoven’s fondness for this melody is evident, as he also used it in his ballet music for The Creatures of Prometheus, as well as in the seventh of his 12 Contredanses.

After his acclaimed interpretation of Messiaen’s Catalogue d’Oiseaux, pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard returns to PENTATONE with a recording of Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata and Eroica Variations.

Born in Poland in 1949, Emanuel Ax moved with his family to Canada before settling in New York City in 1961. There, beginning in 1966, he studied piano with Mieczyslaw Munz at the Juilliard School of Music. He made a concert tour of South America in 1969; in the year that followed he completed a bachelor's degree in French at Columbia University and became an American citizen.

If any work should deserve the title “The Art of Listening” then this is it. It stands today as one of the mysteries in music literature, one of Bachs greatest achievements. It certainly is his most complex work, a musical journey with a beginning, middle and end. The fugues can be dramatic and intense as each part enters, while the music accumulates its steady power. In each fugue we hear a development of his technical genius together with an extraordinary emotional spirit. Listen to the dramatic ending where Bach had to stop, probably because of failing eyesight or approaching death. As for so much concerning Bach, we don't know for sure.

Richter Ensemble is a chamber music initiative in which the members share a mutual passion for bold artistic expression.

Richter Ensemble is a new chamber music initiative in which the members share a mutual passion for bold artistic expression. Emphasising flexibility and freedom, the group works mainly as a string quartet, but can expand to a larger chamber orchestra. It is fervent about highlighting hidden connections in music ranging from the 17th to the 21st centuries, demonstrated through its innovative programming. Benefitting from members' vast experiences of performing with leading period ensembles, the Richter Ensemble presents a fresh palette of colors by playing uniquely on gut strings. It seeks to bring spontaneity and new light to every performance and is enthusiastic about collaborating with artists from other fields such as dance and visual media (i.e. projections, installations, art exhibitions, and film). The ensemble has a particular affinity for music from Fin-desiècle and the Second Viennese School, and strives to reintroduce that music to audiences through a new lens.