The four soloists in this Sinfonia concertante are members of the Mozarteum Orchestra who also appear regularly as soloists and chamber musicians: Isabella Unterer studied in Munich and became a member of the Mozarteum Orchestra in 1996; she is solo oboist there. Reinhard Gutschy joined the Mozarteum Orchestra in 1980. The Vienna native studied clarinet at the Musikhochschule of his hometown. Wilhelm Schwaiger studied in Salzburg and has been solo horn player of the Mozarteum since 1986. Eduard Wimmer studied the bassoon at the Mozarteum and has been solo bassoonist there since 1974. The Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg has been the orchestra of the city and Land of Salzburg since 1958 and regularly concertizes at the Salzburg Festival and the Mozartwoche. The principal conductor is the Dutch-born Hubert Soudant, who led the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de France in Paris from 1981 to 1983 and the Utrecht Symphony Orchestra from 1983 to 1986. In addition to his activities in Salzburg, Soudant is also the principal conductor of the Orchestra and Opéra des Pays de Loire in Nantes and Angers, France.
Schubert, String Quartet No.13 in a minor, D.804 “Rosamunde” (Mozartwoche 2000)
Within just a few years, the Hugo Wolf Quartet has transformed itself from an insider’s tip to one of the most sought-after ensembles of the younger generation. “New stars in the quartet firmament” was the headline of a review of the quartet’s debut in the Vienna Musikverein in 1995. Tours have taken the ensemble to the most important concert halls of the world: Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie in Cologne, Megaron in Athens, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Symphony Hall in Birmingham and Carnegie Hall in New York. Moreover, the Hugo Wolf Quartet has also guested at the Edinburgh Festival, the Schubertiade Feldkirch, the Carinthian Summer, the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Herkules-Saal in Munich and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. The basis for this international success was laid by four students who got together in 1993 in Vienna and devoted themselves to a joint training with the Alban Berg Quartet, members of the Amadeus Quartet and Walter Levin (LaSalle Quartet). They then won the first prize at the String Quartet Competition in Cremona and made their highly acclaimed debut at the Vienna Konzerthaus. Further awards have confirmed their exceptional artistic status. Today, the Hugo Wolf Quartet consists of the founding members Jehi Bahk (Violin I), Régis Bringolf (Violin II), Florian Berner (Violoncello) and Vladimir Kossyanenko, who has been the violist of the ensemble since 1998.
Ravel, String Quartet in F major (Mozartwoche 2000)
The Hagen Quartet, consisting of the siblings Lukas, Veronika and Clemens Hagen along with the violinist Rainer Schmidt, attracted great attention and scored impressive successes while its members were still students at the Salzburg Mozarteum. Their international career began with their appearance at the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival in 1981. The quartet is now internationally known for its inspired performances, especially of works by Mozart. The Hagen Quartet performs Maurice Ravel’s F-major String Quartet with otherworldly sensuality while keeping it touchingly of this world.
Mozart, Clarinet Quintet in A major, K.581 (with Weber, Clarinet Quintet, Part III)(Mozartwoche 2000)
Recorded at the Salzburg “Mozartwoche” 2000, Mozart’s “Stadler Quintet” is played by the Hagen Quartet and the phenomenal clarinetist Sabine Meyer. She “enhances the dazzling splendor of the quartet with a warm and graciously noble voice”, rhapsodized one Austrian daily. Sabine Meyer took her first lessons from her father. After studying in Stuttgart and Hanover, she joined the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Following her engagement as solo clarinetist with the Berlin Philharmonic, Sabine Meyer began her solo career, which has taken her throughout the world. The Hagen Quartet, consisting of the siblings Lukas, Veronika and Clemens Hagen along with the violinist Rainer Schmidt, attracted great attention and scored impressive successes while its members were still students at the Salzburg Mozarteum. Their international career began with their appearance at the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival in 1981. The quartet is now internationally known for its inspired performances, especially of works by Mozart.
Twilights of the Gods: Comparison of Productions
Interview with Wolfgang Wagner
Interview with Siegfried Jerusalem
Mozart, Piano Concerto in D major, K.537 “Coronation Concert”, and Sonata in A minor, K.310, III. Presto (Mozartwoche 1999)
The Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg has been the orchestra of the city and Land of Salzburg since 1958 and regularly concertizes at the Salzburg Festival and the Mozartwoche. The principal conductor is the Dutch-born Hubert Soudant, who led the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de France in Paris from 1981 to 1983 and the Utrecht Symphony Orchestra from 1983 to 1986. In addition to his activities in Salzburg, Soudant is also the principal conductor of the Orchestra and Opéra des Pays de Loire in Nantes and Angers, France. Gianluca Cascioli is the soloist in the Piano Concerto K. 537, the “Coronation Concerto.” Mozart wrote this work, his penultimate piano concerto, in 1788, perhaps in an attempt to revive his now waning popularity in Vienna. It owes its name “Coronation” to the assumption that it was performed by Mozart in Frankfurt in 1790, during the festivities for the coronation of Leopold II as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Haydn, Serenade in D major, MH 86 (Mozartwoche 1999)
The former “Camerata academica Salzburg” was renamed simply “Camerata Salzburg” in 2001. It was founded in 1951 by Bernhard Paumgartner, who was its head and mentor for many years. From 1978 to 1997 its artistic director was Sándor Végh and in 1997 Roger Norrington was appointed principal conductor of the ensemble. The Camerata Salzburg can be heard every year at the Salzburg Mozartwoche and Salzburg Festival. Alexander Janiczek, who conducts this concert, comes from Salzburg and has been the concertmaster of the Camerata Salzburg since 1991.
Beethoven, Trio in B flat major, op.97 (“Erzherzog-Trio”) (Mozartwoche 1999)
The Wiener Klaviertrio was founded in 1988 by the pianist Stefan Mendl, the cellist Marcus Trefny and the violinist Wolfgang Redik. In addition to intensive studies with the Trio di Trieste, the Beaux Arts Trio and the Haydn Trio Wien, the three musicians also worked with Isaac Stern, Joseph Kalichstein and members of the LaSalle and Guarneri Quartets. The ensemble has been undertaking extensive concerto tours throughout Europe, in the United States and Canada since the early 1990s. Moreover, the three musicians regularly appear at many festivals, such as the “Flanders Festival” and the “Schubertiade Feldkirch”. After its successful concert cycle in Vienna’s Konzerthaus with the entire piano trio oeuvre of Ludwig van Beethovens, the Wiener Klaviertrio presented all of Schubert’s piano trios in London’s Wigmore Hall as well as in Vienna’s Musikverein in the 1996/97 season. This concert was recorded in late January 1999 at the Mozartwoche Festival in Salzburg.