Rudolf Buchbinder BEETHOVEN Piano Concertos

 

PIANO CONCERTOS

 

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Mariss Jansons STRAUSS - BRAHMS

 

STRAUSS - BRAHMS

 

Diana Damrau RICHARD STRAUSS Vier letzte Lieder - Lieder

                                                  VIER LETZTE LIEDER - LIEDER

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Mariss Jansons SCHOSTAKOWITSCH Symphonie Nr. 10

Mariss Jansons considers Dmitri Shostakovich to be one of the most serious and sincere composers ever, and finds the fifteen symphonies in particular to be deeply moving and captivating. He sees their music as bearing shattering testimony to a traumatic era of political darkness, while remaining a timeless expression of existential human feeling and experience. Over a period of seventeen years, Mariss Jansons has recorded all the Shostakovich symphonies, on each occasion together with the orchestra he was artistically associated with at the time. Six of the performances were with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. In 2006 the cycle was completed in time for the centenary of the composer's birth. The performance of the Thirteenth Symphony was awarded a Grammy in the 'Best Orchestral Performance' category.

Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Mariss Jansons RIHM Requiem-Strophen

More than any other comparable text, that for the Missa pro defunctis has assumed an existence outside of any strictly liturgical consideration. Wolfgang Rihm’s Requiem-Strophen (2016) is no exception, its treatment (rather than setting) informed by an essentially humanist approach reflected in the recourse to other and ostensibly secular writings. In this sense, his piece goes well beyond the conceptual template of Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem to reference such ‘one-offs’ as Delius’s Requiem and Zimmermann’s Requiem für einen jungen Dichter. That the former emerged during the First World War and the latter was finished just over half a century after it may be significant in terms of Rihm’s work, which exudes an unmistakable aura of commemoration through its introspective and (albeit obliquely) devotional content.

Requiem-Strophen divides into four parts, over which the Requiem sequence is interspersed with numerous other writings ranging from the Psalms, via Michelangelo sonnets, to extracts from Rilke and the German lyric poet Johannes Bobrowski. Its consistently inward mood is leavened by the burnished instrumentation (with lower woodwind and brass to the fore) and the restrained fervency of its vocal writing. Reaching its emotional apex in ‘Lacrimosa II’, the work concludes with the poem ‘Strophen’ by Hans Sahl – the idea of ‘passing on’ here made explicit.

The premiere is directed by Mariss Jansons with a keen sense of expressive continuity across the whole. Jan Brachmann essays a detailed booklet note; while there are no translations of the texts, these can be found online. A work which should amply repay repeated listening. (Richard Whitehouse / Gramophone)

Andreas Ottensamer / Yuja Wang BLUE HOUR

Born in 1989, Andreas Ottensamer comes from an Austro-Hungarian family of musicians and was drawn to music early, receiving his first piano lessons when he was four. At the age of ten he began studying the cello at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, then changed to the clarinet under Johann Hindlerin in 2003.

Andreas Ottensamer gained his first orchestral experience as a deputy in the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic and as a member of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. In 2009 he interrupted his Harvard studies to become a scholar of the Orchestra Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic.  He is now the principal clarinettist of the Berlin Philharmonic.

A highlight of this season will be the Europakonzert of the Berlin Philharmonic, in which Andreas Ottensamer will perform Carl Maria von Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No.1 under Mariss Jansons.

Mariss Jansons / Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks BRUCKNER Symphonie Nr. 8

The genesis of Anton Bruckner's Eighth Symphony was probably affected by a bout of sudden fame that boosted the composer’s constantly shaky self-confidence. After the performance of Bruckner’s Seventh, the famous conductor Hermann Levi had hailed him as "the greatest symphonist since the death of Beethoven". Frequently ridiculed in Vienna, Bruckner had finally been taken seriously in Munich: his importance had been recognized, and the Austrian emperor had awarded him the Order of Franz Joseph – something that filled Bruckner with very special pride. In the summer of 1884 he set to work on a new symphony, and in August 1887, after three years of work, the symphony was completed. Because of energetic objections from Levi, however, it was not immediately performed. Bruckner revised his work thoroughly between October 1887 and March 1890, and the premiere of the Eighth Symphony in its new version finally took place on December 18, 1892, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under Hans Richter. It was an extraordinary success. Hugo Wolf described the concert as follows: "It was an absolute victory of light over darkness, and the storm of delighted applause was like some elemental manifestation of nature. In short, it was a triumph as complete as any Roman emperor could have wished for." Since then, Bruckner's Eighth Symphony has been an integral part of the symphonic repertoire, yet it still continues to present a huge challenge to performers. Mariss Jansons and the musicians of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks are however more than equal to the extraordinary demands made by this masterpiece. The recording of the Munich concert event of November 2017 has now been released by BR-KLASSIK: it is an exemplary performance of one of the most important compositions of the Late Romantic symphonic repertoire, in its version of 1890.

Mariss Jansons / Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks TSCHAIKOWSKY Pique Dame

While Eugene Onegin is Tchaikovsky’s most popular opera, there’s a fair argument that The Queen of Spades is his best. A gripping drama, it requires performances where you believe in Herman’s psychological descent as the desire to learn the secret of the three cards from the old Countess consumes everything, including his love for Lisa.

The opera has been lucky on disc, dominated in recent decades by recordings from Valery Gergiev and Seiji Ozawa, both from the early 1990s. They are joined by this resplendent account from Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, recorded in concert. Jansons has a fine pedigree in Tchaikovsky (his cycle of the symphonies for Chandos still holds strong) and he paces the opera unerringly well, building tension superbly. His Bavarians respond with atmospheric playing, burnished strings and dark woodwind coloration to the fore.

Alexandra Maria Dielitz’s excellent booklet essay explains how the Mariinsky director tried to persuade Tchaikovsky to set Pushkin’s story as an opera, ‘a Russian Carmen’. Parallels are drawn in deciphering fate from cards, but Tchaikovsky also channels Bizet in his children’s mock-soldier chorus. The Bavarian State Opera children’s choir offer characterful singing, if not as earthily Russian as Gergiev’s urchins. Jansons keeps the Mozartian pastiche light and fleet-footed, and even employs a fortepiano for Lisa and Polina’s duet to give a period feel.

Tatiana Serjan is a vibrant, fearless Lisa, as one might expect from a soprano who tackles the roles of Abigaille and Lady Macbeth. Hers is a voice with plenty of ‘blade’ when required, yet she can shade it beautifully. Her aria by the River Neva, as she awaits her final confrontation with Herman, is heartfelt. I prefer her to Mirella Freni, past her best when recording the role for Ozawa, while she matches Maria Guleghina (Gergiev) for drama. Misha Didyk, a less than convincing Manrico at La Monnaie (Bel Air, 2/15), surprises with his baritonal depths here as Herman, as well as a ringing top. There’s vivid characterisation too, thrilling in his encounters with Serjan’s Lisa, without the occasional spills of Vladimir Atlantov (Ozawa) or Gegam Grigorian (Gergiev).

Larissa Diadkova’s Countess happily relies more on secure vocal technique than scary histrionics and Oksana Volkova is a rich-voiced Polina. When it comes to the baritones, Jansons can’t quite compete with Ozawa. Alexey Markov is less refulgent of tone than Dmitri Hvorostovsky but sings a noble account of ‘Ya vas lyublyu’. Similarly, Alexey Shishlyaev lacks Sergei Leiferkus’s sardonic bite as Tomsky, but his narration of the legend of the three cards is effective, despite his upper notes being pushed.

With an excellent recording – despite applause and some stage noise – this is a highly recommendable version of Tchaikovsky’s opera which pulls the listener into the drama. (Gramophone)