Antonitas d'Havila - Flamenco Fiesta - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Buck Ramsey - Ramsey Buck Hittin the Trail [COMPACT DISCS] date 09/13/2005

Begoña Uriarte of Spain and Karl-Hermann Mrongovius of Munich, where he is professor for piano at the Hochschule für Musik, form together a piano duo which has won international prizes and which avoids every kind of flashy publicity. For years they were an insider's secret among connoisseurs and music journalists, but their infrequent performances nevertheless became special events. Thus, the InchSüddeutsche ZeitungInch wrote in autumn 1998 InchThe standing ovations in the Prinzregenten theater prove it this Basque-Bavarian piano coalition is a pianistic institution that demands all the respect of the competition... it belongs in the major leagues of the piano duos of international reputation... quite simply splendidly performed.Inch The concert tour through Germany together with the four composers represented on this CD already was a big success and thus let the plan for this recording arise. Lacking a programmatic background, Josep Soler's InchCoronación de espinasInch (Crowning with thorns) is part of a series of works with biblical or mythological motifs that derive from an archetypal abstraction. InchNuevas PolifoníasInch reflects Ramón Barce's consideration of the problems of Gestalt psychology and the utopia of objective form in art. InchFlamencoInch by Joan Guinjoan forms a triptych with sound elements from Andalusian folk songs which reflects the balance between an intuitive creativity and a rigorous exploration that oversteps traditional limits of sound, rhythm, expressive intensity, instrumental possibilities, and the ability to hear. The fandango in it's multiple variations, the Portuguese fado, and the archetypal tango from Argentina have a virtual presence in Tomás Marcos InchFandangos, Fados y TangosInch. In his InchGlasperlenspielInch (Glass bead game) the overcoming of time with a reduced set of basic materials is achieved by the use of minimal vari

Tchaikovsky's contemporaries tell us that he was good enough to become a concert pianist, if he had chosen to follow that path. But he preferred to focus on composition, and rarely performed in public concerts. His interest in the piano is mainly to be found in his many pieces for the instrument, and since most of these were suitable for amateurs with solid skills, they sold well and played an important role in building up his fame. Despite this, some view Tchaikovsky's solo piano works are not performed as regularly as his orchestral works. Peter Donohoe disagrees with this take on Tchaikovsky's solo piano works, insisting that all music requires performers to find the right approach, so he does not see Tchaikovsky as any kind of exception. He writes InchIt is inexplicable to me that Tchaikovsky's solo piano music should remain so infrequently performed, containing as it does all of the composer's characteristic harmony, his wonderful melodic gift, his capacity for majestic gesture, magically beautiful moments, immense sadness, and passages of extreme excitement. His piano writing is often orchestral in texture, but also demonstrates the direct but very diverse pianistic influences of Liszt and Schumann, and incorporates in an almost naive way folk-style dance rhythms and melodies from Russia. This treasure trove is immensely rewarding to play, whether it be a small-scale salon piece such as the Humoresque Op. 10 No 2, or large in scale, such as is the gigantic Grand Sonata in G Major.Inch