Finger / Rawson - Music for European Courts - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Paillard / Paillard Chamber Orch - Brandenburg Ctos [COMPACT DISCS] date 05/03/2011

Alexei Kornienko writes InchAt the center of our present recording lies the InchromanticInch perception and since strictly speaking, only Brahms can be counted to the romantic period, it is much rather the interpretation of very personal and intimate pieces, Bach and Beethoven included. In my personal opinion there is no so-called authenticity in interpretation, which explains the maybe not so traditional but rather romantic approach to Bach and Beethoven. From an early age on, I developed a special relationship to Brahms, played and performed many of his works, and in this context it was very interesting for me to create my own cycle of his Intermezzi. Although they are from different times from Brahms's life and thus from different emotional phases, it feels to me that they harmonize ideally with each other, as well as in the overall program. They form the core of the idea for this album. Specifically, the Partita No.6 by Bach has a very personal touch - even the Fuga does not sound as strict as one is used to it otherwise, but rather leads to the romantic empathy. Stylistically, the work differs from the romantic, but in spirit it is very similar... Each program has a heart and this is basically a concert program and not a classic album production. So I would like to encourage you, my dear listeners, to actively respond to the programmatic content and especially to the soul of the music.Inch

Joly Braga Santos (1924-88) was one of the most important composers in twentieth-century Portugal. In his early works his fondness for modal harmony, absorbed from the Portuguese masters of the Renaissance, and his busy counterpoint combine to make him sound surprisingly close to such particularly English composers as Vaughan Williams and Moeran. Although his harmonic language became more astringent with time, it retained a burly sense of humor and a powerful charge of energy. In these recordings Portugal's premier string quartet is joined in the Braga Santos Sextet by the composer's daughter on viola. This is the first in a series of three which will present - for the first time ever - Braga Santos' complete chamber music.