Huber

Vieuxtemps transformed the technique and aesthetic of violin playing in the 19th century, and as a virtuoso exponent and composer he was considered a worthy successor to Paganini. His works for violin and orchestra illustrate two notable features – a liking for variation form and the fusion of emotional density with virtuosic flair. These can be heard in the impressive Variations on a Theme from Beethoven’s Romance No. 1 and his Fantasie in E major ‘La Sentimentale’, one of his very greatest concert fantasies, where the music is influenced by bel canto. All of the works on this album were discovered after the composer’s death apart from the the unfinished Violin Concerto No. 8 – one of Vieuxtemps’ last compositions and dedicated to his most illustrious pupil, Eugène Ysaÿe.

The two piano quintets, composed seven years before and seven years after 1900, point to two special features in Huber’s development as a composer. If in the earlier quintet he was still endeavoring to find his place in the European music world in keeping with the best of his times, then in the later quintet he self-confidently went his own way as a Swiss composer who did not hesitate even to incorporate native folk songs into his music. The fact that the earlier quintet was first performed some eight years after its composition possibly had to do with Huber’s recognition that during his earlier years he had much too thoughtlessly published compositions that had proven to be not quite finished.

"Frage" is the new album by sensational baritone Christian Gerhaher. This new album is the first of many highly anticipated projects to record all of Robert Schumann’s songs. This project will be the first time since the 1970s where a singer has devoted themselves to comprehensively perform and record Robert Schumann’s complete lieder output. Frage is produced by the Bayerischer Rundfunk and the Deutsches Liedzentrum Heidelberg. Also featured in the project are fellow singers: Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Sybilla Rubens, Camilla Tilling, Julia Kleiter and Martin Mitterutzner as well as pianist Gerold Huber. Christian Gerhaher is set to perform at the prestigious Wigmore Hall in London on January 16 2019. He has won many awards including the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera and the Midem Special Prize.