Liszt Ference Chanber Orchestra Vivaldi

All recordings of Liszt's symphonic poems should be compared to the fabulous set by Kurt Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhash Orchestra. They are near perfection in their spontaneity and authenticity. These are good recordings - even great - although it would be hard not to perform such notables as Hungaria, the Mephisto Waltz and Hunnenschlacht.

Though the name "Schoenberg" makes some people cringe, the Schoenberg piano concerto is a wonderful and highly expressive work. Though composed in the 12-tone style, it contains the same degree of lyricism and rhythmic drive that other, non-12-tone pieces have. Ax gives this concerto what it deserves- a highly sensitive performance that shows the concerto is a true piece of music rather than the product of a mechanical compositional process.

When Max Richter’s Recomposed first exploded into our collective ears almost a decade ago, a 59-minutes-28-seconds sonic starburst, the effect for so many people was total. We hadn’t heard anything like that, ever. Experiencing it felt as though we were being catapulted onto another plane, reverberated through the cosmos by this epiphanic soundworld. In this “alternative rendering”, Chineke!, the groundbreaking British ensemble consisting of majority Black, Asian and ethnically diverse musicians, and the brilliant soloist, Elena Urioste, are playing on gut strings and period instruments: the sort that Vivaldi would have heard, and played, in his own time.

“For this recording we have created an imaginary ‘battle of the bows’ between Vivaldi, Veracini, Tartini and Locatelli, the ‘four musketeers’ of the violin in Venice during the first half of the 18th century”, said Chouchane Siranossian and Andrea Marcon. “Corelli died in 1713 and passed the torch on to his heirs… Venice then became the setting for merciless rivalries. The violin became an instrument of confrontation, an ideal weapon for demonstrating virtuosity and technical prowess. The player’s ultimate goal was to astonish the listener and to demonstrate his own bravura, to the point that certain narcissistic tendencies of the player were often exaggerated.” Chouchane Siranossian, whose virtuosity was described as "diabolical" by the Sunday Times and who “hit the nail on the head” according to Classica on her Tartini recording (Alpha596, Choc), is the ideal interpreter of these high-risk concertos, with the fresh and knowledgeable support of Andrea Marcon and his Venetian ensemble.

Daniel Rowland is a charismatic and adventurous violinist, director and chamber musician. With irrepressible energy, he musically intoxicates the musicians he plays with and those who listen to his performances and recordings. The members of his Stift Festival Orchestra mirror that energy and make this brilliant piece of Max Richter sound as cool, passionate, rough and intimate as it can be.

As the eighteenth century progressed, Trondheim experienced strong economic growth. The Great Nordic War was over, and merchants set about exporting timber, stockfish, and copper from the mines of Trøndelag. They maintained close contact with their networks in the main cities of Northern Europe, and Trondheim's luxury and extravagance characterised its social milieu. Thus, the latest fashions, literature and music from the Continent found their way to Trondheim.