Stern 09.2015

Angela Hewitt’s legion of fans will be delighted at this eagerly awaited third volume of Beethoven sonatas. Her first two releases in this series were praised for their ‘clarity, intelligence and elegance’ … ‘fusing poetry and passion’, and all these trademark qualities of her playing are fully present in this third disc.

Alfred Schnittke - Symphonies Nos. 6 & 7 (1995) {BIS Schnittke Edition, BIS-747} (Item #19)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 184 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 134 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 42 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1995 Grammofon AB BIS | BIS-CD-747
Classical / Contemporary Classical / 20th Century

Symphony No. 6. Life and work come together in a particularly disturbing way in Alfred Schnittke's Sixth Symphony. Schnittke wrote the work in 1992, after sustained his second major stroke; he suffered his first in 1985, would suffer another in 1994, and, eventually, a fourth in 1998 would take the composer's life. While Schnittke's debilitation was constant and cruel, his fortitude was more astonishing, and his post-1985 "late period" bore a tremendous spring of new music: 3 operas, 4 symphonies, 6 concerti, and many smaller works.

Peter Cornelius was born to actor parents and destined from early life to have a career centred on words and music. He had early contact with the stage and dramatic literature, and like others of the time (such as Schumann), Cornelius immersed himself in German literature at an early age. At the same time he developed an interest in music. After early influences from Beethoven and Schubert, and studies of form and the composition of sacred music in Berlin, Cornelius's musical style matured under the tutelage of Liszt in Weimar.