Bolshoi is Russian for great, an often over-worked adjective, but in the case of the Bolshoi Ballet, it is a worthy description of the world’s most famous ballet company. On this tour to the UK, the Bolshoi proved that it is a company of absolutes, in flamboyance and daring, brilliance and technical execution; and these triumphant qualities are captured for posterity in a divertissement programme which shows off the Bolshoi’s top ranking soloists at their bravura best.
Liszt, Années de Pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage) Book 2: Italy With introduction by Alfred Brendel
The Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel was born in 1931 and began his international career around the middle of the 20th century. His extensive repertoire comprises works of the classical, romantic and modern eras. Brendel, who has also made a name for himself as a musicologist, author of music books, and poet, is often called a philosopher of music.
Liszt, Années de Pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage) Book 1: Switzerland With introductions by Alfred Brendel
The Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel was born in 1931 and began his international career around the middle of the 20th century. His extensive repertoire comprises works of the classical, romantic and modern eras. Brendel, who has also made a name for himself as a musicologist, author of music books, and poet, is often called a philosopher of music.
Bach, Suite for Solo Cello in D major, BWV 1012
The six suites for violoncello solo by Johann Sebastian Bach are a pillar in this instrument’s repertoire. Just as a pianist will always confront himself with a standard work such as Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier,” so does a cellist keep tackling these highly demanding solo suites throughout his life. Mischa Maisky recorded the complete cycle for television in 1986.
Bach, Suite for Solo Cello in C minor, BWV 1011
The six suites for violoncello solo by Johann Sebastian Bach are a pillar in this instrument’s repertoire. Just as a pianist will always confront himself with a standard work such as Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier,” so does a cellist keep tackling these highly demanding solo suites throughout his life. Mischa Maisky recorded the complete cycle for television in 1986.
Strauss, Lieder
The internationally acclaimed baritone Hermann Prey was born in Berlin in 1929. He made his breakthrough in 1956 as Figaro in the Vienna State Opera’s production of Rossini’s “Barber of Seville”. He has since Hermann performed at all of the world’s great opera houses and festivals. Hermann Prey has always loved lieder, especially the works of Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann. In spite of his many engagements on the opera stage or in the concert hall, in the TV and recordings studios, Hermann Prey always takes the time to pass his knowledge and experience on to younger generations by giving master classes in lied singing all over the world. In this selection of Strauss songs, Hermann Prey spans a broad arch from Strauss’s extensive romantic repertoire – for he also set to music poems by Heinrich heine – to his early modern works. Accompanying him is the renowned pianist Oleg Maisenberg.
Bach, English Suite No. 2 in A minor, BWV 807
Ivo Pogorelich is perhaps the only great pianist who became an instant celebrity for the prize he didn’t win. It was in 1980, when he was eliminated in the third round of the Warsaw Chopin Competition. An argument ensued among the jurors, and Martha Argerich, a member of the jury, resigned in protest, claiming “Pogorelich is a genius!” The scandal provoked by Argerich’s reaction made him famous overnight. The eyes of the musical world were soon upon young Ivo Pogorelich, and they have yet to be disappointed. Ivo Pogorelich was born in Belgrade in 1958 and began playing the piano at the age of seven. After his classical training at the Moscow Conservatory, he took master classes from Aliza Kezeradze, who passed on to him the tradition of the Liszt-Siloti school. In an interview with the German weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”, Pogorelich once listed the four most important things he learned from Kezeradze: “First, technical perfection as something natural. Second, an insight into the development of the piano sound, as perfected by the pianist-composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, composers who understood the piano both as a human voice … and as an orchestra with which they could produce a variety of colors. Third, the need to learn how to use every aspect of our new instruments, which are richer in sound. Fourth, the importance of differentiation.” Pogorelich won the Casagrande Competition in 1978 and the first prize of the International Music Competition in Montreal in 1980. Since the Warsaw scandal, Pogorelich has been pursuing a brilliant international career. His debuts in London, Paris, New York, Madrid, Brussels, Amsterdam, Rome, Milan and Tel Aviv were triumphs. He has performed with practically all the major orchestras in the world, and his recitals are almost always sold out. Comparing him with Horowitz, the New York Times once wrote: “He was an entire orchestra.” His often controversial and always stunning interpretations confirm the originality of his talent and intellect. In 1986 and 1987, when Pogorelich was in his late 20s, Unitel recorded a series of six recitals with the artist in venues of particularly striking beauty. The fact that the young pianist chose several pieces that are not among the most spectacular or frequently performed of the piano repertoire already hints at the unique and uncompromising character of this young pianist.
Mozart, Kyrie in D minor, K.341
The Vienna State Opera Chorus’s All Saints’ Day concert has become an institution in Vienna. Although the superbly homogeneous and subtly shading chorus plays the most important role throughout this concert, the orchestra also unfolds its warm and colorful and, at times, forceful personality. The concert in which this work was recorded took place on All Saints’ Day 1986 under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado. Mozart’s Kyrie in D minor K. 341 is a monumental torso written most likely in Vienna in 1788. It dispenses with all traditional restrictions and conventions of church music; for example, it contains no solo vocal parts, includes clarinets and four horns for the first time in Mozart’s sacred music, and prefigures the tragic solemnity of the Requiem with the use of the same key of D minor.
Mozart, Aria of the Angel from “Funeral Music”, K. 42
The “Grabmusik” (Funeral Music) K. 42 was composed in 1767, when Mozart was 11 years old. Its style reflects the Italian influence predominant in church music at that time. The Vienna State Opera Chorus’s All Saints’ Day concert has become an institution in Vienna. Although the superbly homogeneous and subtly shading chorus plays the most important role throughout this concert, the orchestra also unfolds its warm and colorful and, at times, forceful personality. The concert in which this work was recorded took place on All Saints’ Day 1986 under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado. The soloist here is the Finnish soprano Karita Mattila, whose “splendid timbre” was singled out by the reviewer of Vienna’s leading daily “Die Presse.”
Mozart, Laudate Dominum, K. 339
The “Laudate Dominum” is part of the “Vesperae solennes de confessore” K. 339, written in Salzburg in 1780. The strikingly sensual beauty of the long soprano cantilena, highlighted by the filigree of the violin melody and supported by the rich bassoon tone, has undoubtedly been responsible for the enormous popularity this work has always enjoyed. The Vienna State Opera Chorus’s All Saints’ Day concert has become an institution in Vienna. Although the superbly homogeneous and subtly shading chorus plays the most important role throughout this concert, the orchestra also unfolds its warm and colorful and, at times, forceful personality. The concert in which this work was recorded took place on All Saints’ Day 1986 under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado. The soloist here is the Finnish soprano Karita Mattila, whose “splendid timbre” was singled out by the reviewer of Vienna’s leading daily “Die Presse.”