Christian Tetzlaff / Lars Vogt BEETHOVEN Sonatas Op. 30

 

SONATAS OP. 30

 

Lars Vogt JANÁČEK On an Overgrown Path - In the Mists - Sonata 1.X.1905

 

PIANO WORKS

 

Lars Vogt / Royal Northern Sinfonia BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2 - Handel Variations

                                   PIANO CONCERTO No. 2 - HANDEL VARIATIONS

Lars Vogt / Royal Northern Sinfonia BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 - Four Ballades

Lars Vogt continues his series of concerto recordings with the Royal Northern Sinfonia with this new recording of Johannes Brahms’ (1833–1897) First Piano Concerto together with Four Ballades (Op. 10) for solo piano. As in previous albums, Lars Vogt conducts from the keyboard. The evolution of Brahms’ 1st Piano Concerto took several steps. Originally conceived to become a Sonata for Two Pianos through orchestration it was developed into a four-movement Symphony until reaching into its final form of a Piano Concerto in three movements. During the process, which lasted from 1854 to 1856, some movements were also discarded and replaced by new material. This music is packed with much drama. No wonder since these years were particularly tumultuous in Brahms’ personal life: it was during this period when his great mentor Robert Schumann was sent into an asylum and ultimately died. It was also time when Brahms formed a close, lifelong friendship to Clara Schumann. Some of these feelings might well be echoed in the peaceful 2nd movement, Adagio. Brahms’ Four Ballades, Op. 10 are works written in 1854 by a young composer barely in his 20s, yet these pieces are technically mature and profound in such a manner that they could even be compared to his final piano opuses. Lars Vogt was appointed the first ever “Pianist in Residence” by the Berlin Philharmonic in 2003/04 and enjoys a high profile as a soloist and chamber musician. His debut solo recording on Ondine with Bach’s Goldberg Variations was released in August 2015 and has been a major critical success. Lars Vogt started his tenure as Music Director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia in September 2015. Lars Vogt was nominated for Gramophone’s Artist of the Year award in 2017. His recordings of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 4 together with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and an album of Dvorak’s Piano Trios received Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice in May 2018 and in December 2018. His most recent album on Ondine featuring four Mozart’s Piano Sonatas (ODE13182) was also chosen Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice in July 2019.

London Symphony Orchestra / Bernard Haitink BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2 - Triple Concerto

LSO Live celebrates the 90th birthday of one of the conducting world’s greats, Bernard Haitink. 

Few artists have a deeper understanding of the music of Beethoven than the celebrated Dutch conductor, who is known for his mastery of the great symphonic repertoire. This album focuses on Haitink's interpretations of Beethoven's concerto writing, coupling a new recording of Piano Concerto No 2 by Maria João Pires with a virtuosic performance of the Triple Concerto by Lars Vogt, Gordan Nikolitch and Tim Hugh, which was originally made alongside Haitink's now iconic cycle of the composer's complete symphonies.

Lars Vogt MOZART Piano Sonatas K280 - K281 - K310 - K333

After a cycle of Beethoven Piano Concertos, solo albums of works by Bach and Schubert in addition to a number of award-winning recordings of piano chamber music on Ondine label, pianist Lars Vogt releases an album of Piano Sonatas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). In this album, two baroque-influenced and virtuosic early sonatas are coupled together with a touching A minor Sonata K. 310 – written at the time of the composer’s mother’s death – and a delightful, Haydnesque Sonata K. 333. 

 Mozart wrote Piano Sonatas K. 280 and K. 281 (Nos. 2 & 3) most likely in 1774, at the age of 18. The elements of Baroque influence are clearly evident in the K. 280 Sonata. A prominent feature in the K. 281 Sonata is, besides its virtuosity, the beautiful slow-movement, “Andante amoroso”. The K. 310 Sonata (No. 8) was written four years later, during the summer of 1778, and is written in a minor key: a rarity among Mozart’s Sonatas. The K. 333 was published in 1784, but the time of its composition might have been earlier. This joyful work with virtuosic passages can be described almost as a Piano Concerto for the solo piano.

Christian Tetzlaff / Tanja Tetzlaff / Lars Vogt ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Piano Trios Nos. 3 & 4, "Dumky"

This fruitful collaboration by three eminent chamber musicians, Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff and Lars Vogt, brings together two Piano Trios by the Czech master, Antonín Dvorák (1841–1904). During the last eight years, artists forming this unique trio have recorded eight albums of chamber music for Ondine with great acclaim, including some of the Romantic standard works. These two chamber music masterpieces by Antonín Dvorák express great emotional depth and dark passion. The two piano trios by Dvorak featured in this album have remarkable similarities as well as differences. Piano Trio No. 3, nearly symphonic in its character, hints to the world of Johannes Brahms, while the Piano Trio No. 4 includes folkloric elements. The third piano trio might not only be considered as an homage to Brahms; it was written by the composer in 1883 shortly after the death of his mother which might well explain the sorrowful musical expression in the slow movement of the work. The ‘Dumky’ trio has a very unusual structure in its six movements. This intense and intimate work was written just prior to the composer’s departure to New York in 1891 and serves as a great climax for Dvorak’s series of piano trios.

Lars Vogt / Christian Tetzlaff / Tanja Tetzlaff / Royal Northern Sinfonia BEETHOVEN Triple Concerto - Piano Concerto No. 3

Lars Vogt continues his cycle of Beethovens Piano Concertos with the Royal Northern Sinfonia. On this second volume, the recording also includes Beethovens Triple Concerto where Lars Vogt is joined together with his longtime artistic partners Christian Tetzlaff and Tanja Tetzlaff. Vogts recordings of chamber music with the trio have gathered astonishing reviews and recording awards, including a Grammy nomination for the recording of Brahms Piano Trios (ODE 1271-2D). Beethovens Triple Concerto for Piano, Violin, and Cello in C major, Op. 56 is a work radiant with joy, described by many as a concerto for piano trio and orchestra. The work, completed in 1803, has standed unrivaled in its genre. Beethovens Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 is a slightly earlier work and it was premiered together with his Symphony No. 2 in a concert in 1804. It has been noted that the theme in the first movement of the concerto is possibly a quotation from Mozarts Piano Concerto No. 24 written in the same key, and the both works do ressemble each other in formal, rhythmic, and thematic aspects. C minor key is also a key in which Beethoven wrote many of his most important works, including the 5th Symphony, the Pathétique Sonata and Piano Sonata, Op. 111. Lars Vogt was appointed the first ever 'Pianist in Residence' by the Berlin Philharmonic in 2003/04 and enjoys a high profile as a soloist and chamber musician. His debut solo recording on Ondine with Bachs Goldberg Variations (ODE 1273-2) was released in August 2015 and has been a major critical success. The albums tracks have also been streamed online over 6 million times. Lars Vogt started his tenure as Music Director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia in September 2015. In June 2017 Lars Vogt was nominated for Gramophone's Artist of the Year 2017 Award.

Christian Tetzlaff / Lars Vogt BRAHMS The Violin Sonatas

Christian Tetzlaff and Lars Vogt first recorded the three Brahms violin sonatas for EMI at the 2002 ‘Spannungen’ chamber music festival in Heimbach, Germany – spirited, occasionally restless performances that thrillingly capture the adrenalin rush of a live concert. This new studio account from Ondine preserves much of the ‘incisiveness, urgency and lightness of touch’ that Edward Greenfield justly praised in his review of that EMI disc, along with a breathtaking balance of poise and daring.

As in their live recording, Tetzlaff and Vogt favour flowing tempi, yet there’s an even greater sense of spontaneity and elasticity here than before – as the opening movement of Op 78 illustrates so beautifully. Although it’s marked Vivace ma non troppo, the players start out serenely; indeed, there’s little if any sense of vivace at all. Rather, one becomes aware of a growing ebullience. It’s signalled subtly at the beginning, as liquid streams of quavers gather into a gentle cascade, and reaches fruition only in the coda, which surges exultantly. In between, though, there’s an ebb and flow, a multiplicity of swirling currents that are somehow contained as an uninterrupted, unified body. Listen at around 2'58", where the instruments trade searching, syncopated melody and breathless accompaniment. Tetzlaff and Vogt imbue this intertwining dance with tender intimacy, and the resulting feeling of anticipation is exquisite.

In numerous passages throughout the programme, in fact, the players find ways to hold even the most expansive melodies or phrases taut (but not rigidly so) and thereby create enormous tension. There’s a section near the end of the Adagio of Op 78 (at 5'17") where – after some intricate figuration – the texture suddenly becomes drastically simplified to something like a distantly remembered, decelerated march. Vogt doesn’t stiffen up here and grip the dotted rhythms, as György Sebők does, say, in his classic Philips recording with Arthur Grumiaux, but instead seems to feel his way forwards, step by step. Sebők’s approach dissipates the emotional pressure, Vogt’s heightens it. And when, over this slow-moving procession, Tetzlaff entreats with a warm, beacon-like song, the effect is mesmeric.

Vogt can be almost reticent at times. His soft playing is very soft, although its presence is felt even at its quietest, perhaps because his touch is so varied and articulate. In the finale of Op 78, note how he distinguishes between the delicate pitter-patter of the right hand’s semiquavers and the left’s pizzicato-like interjections. Tetzlaff, for his part, employs a similarly diverse tonal arsenal. That glorious E flat major melody (at 3'50") is rendered with a silky legato, the double-stops amplifying the effect through texture, not volume, as if a single tone could not contain such emotion. And then at the movement’s end – first at 6'40", with its ravishing dolcissimo playing, and then at 7'29", where Tetzlaff reduces his sound to a confessional whisper – every phrase is intensely, memorably expressive.

On the live EMI recording, Tetzlaff’s sound was wiry and slightly edgy. Here, in Bremen’s Sendesaal, Ondine’s engineers do him full justice. He does not have a big, fat, voluptuous sound; it’s on the lean side, yet focused, gleaming, and capable of a completely un-saccharine sweetness. Notable, too, is his eloquent use of portamento – in the Allegro amabile of Op 100, where he moulds the first theme so elegantly (0'34"), and then, more impressively still, in the Adagio of Op 108, which is so heartfelt and noble.

Tetzlaff and Vogt take obvious pleasure in details without losing sight of the larger picture, whether it’s a phrase, a movement or an entire work. Indeed, they sharply delineate the individual character of each sonata. Opp 78 and 100 are both overwhelmingly sunny and lyrical, yet there’s greater vulnerability in the former and more confident ardour in the latter. Op 108, on the other hand, is anxiety-ridden and turbulent – and this interpretation aptly broods and frets, seethes and squalls. Even the eerie molto legato passage that introduces the first movement’s development (at 2'16") harbours a deep disquiet. The finale is explosive, rhythms bristling, dynamic contrasts starkly illuminated, and with an unrelenting dramatic thrust.

Similarly, in the propulsive, Hoffmann-esque Scherzo Brahms composed for the collaborative FAE Sonata (along with Schumann and Albert Dietrich), Tetzlaff and Vogt go for broke. Tetzlaff makes his violin spit and whine like a fiddler possessed, while Vogt stabs at the jagged syncopations with gusto. It’s an exhilarating encore to a superbly satisfying disc. No matter that the catalogue is crammed with recordings of these sonatas; this one will sit proudly on my shelf alongside Szeryng/Rubinstein, Mullova/Anderszewski and Dumay/Pires. (Andrew Farach-Colton / Gramophone)

Christian Tetzlaff / Tanja Tetzlaff / Lars Vogt BRAHMS The Piano Trios

Award-winning violinist Christian Tetzlaff and pianist Lars Vogt are joined together with Tanja Tetzlaff in this exciting new recording of the Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Piano Trios.

The Brahms Piano Trios belong to the very core of the romantic chamber music repertoire. They span a period from the 1850s (the 1st version of Op. 8) to the 1880s, Op. 101 being completed during the last decade of Brahms' active career as a composer. Piano Trio No. 1 was also revised by the composer as late as in 1889.

Christian Tetzlaff has been considered as one of the world's leading international violinists for many years, and still maintains a most extensive performing schedule. Musical America named him "Instrumentalist of the Year" in 2005 and his recording of the violin concertos by Mendelssohn and Schumann, released on Ondine in 2011, received the "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik". Gramophone Magazine chose his recording of the Schumann Violin Sonatas with Lars Vogtas "Disc of the Month" in January 2014. In addition, in 2015 ICMA awarded Christian Tetzlaff as the "Artist of the Year".

Chamber music plays a significant part in Tanja Tetzlaff's career. She gives regular recitals in renowned concert series and festivals. In addition to successes in many international competitions, she has collaborated with world-renowed orchestras and conductors.

Lars Vogt was appointed the first ever "Pianist in Residence" by the Berlin Philharmonic in 2003/04 and enjoys a high profile as a soloist and chamber musician. (Ondine)

Christian Tetzlaff / Lars Vogt SCHUMANN Violin Sonatas

Robert Schumann's late music has undergone a revival, with its main traits of monothematicism, dense, close motivic work, and a certain spiky unpredictability having been redefined from faults into virtues. A good way, perhaps, to think about works like these three violin sonatas is that the young Brahms, visiting the Schumann household and mooning over the unavailable Clara, might easily have heard them and been directly influenced by them. Indeed, these pieces have the kind of long-range connections you find in Brahms, combined with a somewhat gnarly level of local detail, without the memorable tunes of Schumann's earlier works. Consider the motivically pregnant opening chords of the Violin Sonata No. 2 in D minor, Op. 121, which Brahms could easily have written. The movement is not immediately appealing, but it yields its logic on repeated hearings. Recordings of them are not overly abundant, and violinist Christian Tetzlaff and his usual Romantic-music duet partner, pianist Lars Vogt, explicitly state their intention of reviving the music here. They succeed in general, for Tetzlaff is an excellent fit with this repertory. He has a rich, deliberate tone, never emotionally overwrought, that seems to delve calmly into this music's complexities, and Vogt is unfazed by the somewhat unidiomatic piano writing in the Violin Sonata No. 3, left unpublished perhaps precisely because it did not showcase Clara at her best. With fine sound Ondine's engineers, working in a Bremen studio, this release is recommended to anyone interested in the new directions in Schumann's music in the years before he succumbed to mental illness, in Brahms, or in the chamber music of the Romantics in general. (James Manheim)