Oehler

The Venezuelan pianist Teresa Carreño was one of the most virtuosic artists of her age. A child prodigy, she won the admiration of Gottschalk and Anton Rubinstein, and gave sold-out concerts throughout America, Europe and Australasia. This selection of piano compositions, the earliest of which was written at the age of nine, reveals exacting technical demands allied to an impressively expressive arsenal, exemplified by the Rêverie-Impromptu and the little-known Caprice-Études. Elements of bel canto infuse Plaintes au bord d’une tombe whilst Mendelssohnian warmth can be savoured in the Elégie.

German pianist Alexandra Oehler, whose name has come to stand for high keyboard skill and an extraordinarily varied repertoire, now turns to the music of Ferdinand Hiller. His piano sonatas represent a special case in that their three movements continue without a break. His contemporaries Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn universally agreed that his sonatas and other piano compositions possessed a great wealth of imagination.

The two long works are very much worth hearing, and the whole recording is a treat. The pianist is very good, and more power to her in bringing out the works of Ries and other composers, many recognized in their day but since fallen into obscurity. There is much neglected 19th century music that deserves to be heard. Ries is fully comparable to Mendelssohn, Grieg, and others in the "standard" repertoire.

Since 1822 the Royal Academy of Music has inspired generations of musicians to connect, collaborate and create. This recording of Bach Partitas continues this mission, reuniting renowned harpsichordist and conductor Trevor Pinnock with students from the Royal Academy of Music and The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory in Toronto. Following the success of Goldberg Variations (arr. for small orchestra by Józef Koffler), the Principal of the Academy, Jonathan Freeman-Attwood commissioned ‘re-imaginings’ of three of Bach’s most celebrated keyboard Partitas for the same scoring, by alumnus composer Thomas Oehler. The creative challenge – to bring a fresh perspective to some of Bach’s most elegant resourceful and refined keyboard writing – pays off in the hands of wonderfully talented musicians, and reveals how Oehler’s faithful response to Bach’s score allows the music to glow as brightly as ever.

Nothing we know of comes remotely close to matching the wealth of knowledge found in this six-hour three-DVD set. The design course taught in DVD two is worth hundreds of times the cost of the set in the increased light, views and air. It will benefit your subterranean home, and the resale value will skyrocket.