Beethoven / Bernstein / Boston Sym - Sym - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Being able to my first solo CD with the hänssler CLASSIC tag is simply fantastic. The assembled works on this CD reflect my musical focus. The juxtaposition of globally renowned and beloved compositions with the quest for seldom-performed musical treasures captivates me in my profession. I have recorded a journey through the colorful world of fantasy. The sound journey with Beethoven, Schubert and Mendelssohn Bartholdy shows famous, rarely played and unfinished piano works, which, besides a reference to nature, find their nucleus in Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata'. The three composers are united by the search for new possibilities of expression. There are (almost) no limits to the imagination. Ludwig van Beethoven takes center stage. His contrasting works Fantasy for piano Unv 12, an unfinished sketch, and the universally known 'Sonata quasi una fantasia' op. 27 No. 2, more familiar to most as the 'Moonlight Sonata', are an exciting combination. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Phantasie op. 28 'Scottish Sonata' harks back to Beethoven's love of nature. He wrote this fantasy in 1833 on his cultural journey through Italy, France and Great Britain. Here, Mendelssohn Bartholdy sets his impressions of the mood and landscape of Scotland to music. Franz Schubert's Fantasy op. 15 D 760 'Wanderer Fantasy' is a work that is close to my heart. - Maximilian Schairer

In the year of Leonard Bernstein's centenary, Sony Classical is pleased to present the perfect introduction to this legendary American musician. Many of the conductor-composer's most celebrated interpretations and works are sampled here, every track chosen to display a facet of his unparalleled dynamism and versatility. There is music by Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Mahler, Shostakovich and Copland, with great soloists like clarinettist Benny Goodman and mezzo Frederica von Stade, violinists Joshua Bell and Zino Francescatti, pianists Glenn Gould and Philippe Entremont, not to mention Bernstein himself playing and conducting Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Writing about these benchmark 1960s and 1970s New York interpretations, The Guardian's reviewer declared InchThere's a raw ebullience to the performances that is typical of Bernstein at his best... They are all historic performances.Inch Bernstein the composer is represented also. InchFew composers capture their time and become the iconic voice of their age,Inch wrote conductor John Mauceri, in a tribute to his late mentor. In addition to highlights from concert works such as the Age of Anxiety, Serenade and Mass, there are selections from Bernstein's ballets and musicals, including excerpts from the original Broadway cast recording of West Side Story from 1957 as well as his later New York Philharmonic recording of the InchSymphonic DancesInch. Bernstein's friend and colleague, composer Ned Rorem, summed up Leonard Bernstein's achievement admirably when he said in 1987 InchIf he were not a composer he would not be the world's best conductor. Alone among conductors he knows that the essence of music is not what it sounds like, but what the sounds are intended to communicate. Since he too is a composer, he knows that the magic lies not in the communication of sound, but in the sound of communication.Inch

Bernstein - Beethoven Concertos [COMPACT DISCS] date 03/18/2010