Weber

At age 90 Lee Konitz is truly a living legend of Jazz. At an age when most people are sitting back enjoying the view from God's waiting room, Konitz is still active touring the world. Later this month Lee will be back in Europe for a number of concerts in the UK, Germany, Spain and France. Joining Lee on the tour will be German pianist Florian Weber together with long term Konitz compatriots, New York based bassist Jeremy Stratton And drummer George Schuller.

Through much of history the language of women has been told through men, but La Femme turns this narrative upside down. All of these composers share an unrelenting will to be artistic, often in opposition to the societies in which they found themselves. From the very earliest medieval verses by Kassia via the blind virtuoso Maria von Paradis’ famed Sicilienne and holocaust victim Ilse Weber’s moving Wiegla, to powerful modern statements by the likes of Niloufar Nourbakhsh and Flaka Goranci’s own contribution, The Speech of Love- this entire project is dedicated to all creative women in music.

Robert DiLutis and the Mellifera Quartet give sparkling performances of beloved classics such as Weber’s Clarinet Quintet along with delightful but lesser-known works such as Erland von Koch’s Monolog 3 for Solo Clarinet and Heinrich Joseph Baermann’s Adagio for Clarinet and Strings (known for decades as “Wagner’s Adagio”).

The radio recordings between 1939 and 1945 with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Wilhelm Furtwangler are among classical music's most compelling sound documents. Created at the peak of the collaboration between orchestra and conductor, Furtwangler's artist personality is conveyed more vividly than anywhere else. What can be heard is music in which inspiration and the expressive will know no bounds and in which, not least, the existential experience of the Second World War reverberates. For the first time, the Berliner Philharmoniker are releasing a complete edition of these recordings.

For many years Bruno Walter was a friend and collaborator of Gustav Mahler, and his interpretations of the composer’s symphonies are generally considered unsurpassed models. The „official“ studio recordings of Mahler’s works, however, were made towards the end of his life and perhaps do not give a good enough idea of the Bacchic frenzy that characterised the German conductor’s early interpretations of them. In this beautiful 1939 live recording, instead, the Bacchic frenzy is all there, fascinating from the first measures and reaching an apex in the powerful and impressive Finale.

Koch first studied at the Conservatory of the City of Vienna (now the Music and Art Private University of the City of Vienna), later at the University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart and from the year 2000 at the University of the Arts in Berlin.

“Guitar wonder Metheny has made an astoundingly tasteful and free flowing record here” the Massachusetts Valley Advocate declared.

I really love the piano trio,” says Aki Takase, with a passion that mirrors her playing. “But not the old idea, where the pianist is king, and the bassist and the drummer are just sidemen.

For every musician connected with church music, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio is a highlight of the liturgical year, and it was at a performance of this very work that we first met. Playing together in the continuo unit requires a seventh sense for one’s fellow musicians and a heightened awareness of the musical breath of the soloists. In short, it requires non-verbal communication. The feeling of being able to rely on each other, and the perfect rapport in our musical understanding, kindled our desire to record a completely novel kind of music album.