im Moto

Joachim Raff (1822–1882) was regarded by his contemporaries as one of the foremost symphonists of his age, but in his extensive oeuvre of 329 compositions over half of them are for the piano. This selection of 21 works offers a cross section of the best of this large catalogue for the instrument, chosen by acclaimed Raff interpreter Tra Nguyen to showcase the varied aspects of his art. Raff’s melodic generosity, his piquant harmonic sensibility and ravishing textures are all on display in these pieces which span the whole of his career, from the exuberant Douze Romances to the majestic Grande Sonate.

Just in time for his 80th birthday, Daniel Barenboim was honoured with the Gramophone Award 2022 for his life's work. The career of the famous Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor began early, Wilhelm Furtwängler already said about him: "The eleven-year-old Daniel Barenboim is a phenomenon". Later, as chief conductor, Barenboim led world-class orchestras such as the Orchestre de Paris, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and, since 1992, the Staatskapelle Berlin. With the founding of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the UN peace ambassador united musicians from Israel, Palestine and the Arab states. As a soloist, the pianist has worked with renowned conductors; with Sir John Barbirolli, for example, he recorded Brahms’ piano concertos. Barenboim's discography is impressive; with his first wife, the cellist Jacqueline Du Pré, he formed a musical dream team. Other legendary recordings of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Bruckner and Wagner were made with the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Berlin Philharmonic, among others.

Celebrating the 100th Birthday of the “troubadour of the keyboard”, Géza Anda on November 19th, we present a limited edition 17-CD set including memorable recordings of Bartók, Brahms and Schumann, a pioneering Mozart concerto cycle conducted from the piano, and the Beethoven ‘Triple’ Concerto with Wolfgang Schneiderhan and Pierre Fournier.

Aside from his only opera Fidelio, Beethoven’s general link with the theatre in Vienna came about largely with incidental music or songs to be inserted into the works of other composers—insertion arias. König Stephan was written to celebrate the politically significant opening of a new theatre in Pest, its triumphant mood honouring the ruling Austrian Emperor. Standard-bearer of female heroism Leonore Prohaska is commemorated with a Soldier’s Chorus and a Romance with harp accompaniment. In Friedrich von Matthisson’s poem Opferlied (‘Sacrificial Song’), a young man prays to Zeus to bestow upon him beauty and goodness in youth and old age. Two of Beethoven’s four settings are heard on this wide-ranging programme.

It has been so easy over the last century-and-a-half-plus to severely underestimate the creativity of Robert Schumann as a composer because he was so often thought of as a miniaturist, and because he was often plagued by self-doubts and, much more tragically, severe mental illness that caused him to end his life in 1856 at the age of 46, leaving behind a grieving widow in his wife Clara. This was, after all, a composer who wrote four very solid symphonies, a hugely popular piano concerto, an equally popular cello concerto, and various other orchestral works. Schumann also wrote choral works, notably a very inspired C Minor setting of the Latin Mass.