George Lepauw - Diabelli Variations - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Beniamino Gigli - 1918-1924 1 Operatic Arias [COMPACT DISCS] date 12/02/1992

In the Saxon region of Upper Lusatia, a Baroque musical gem has been preserved the Silbermann organ in the parish church of Crostau. It's builder Gottfried Silbermann is regarded as one of the most important organ builders of all times and had a lasting influence on Saxony's organ landscape with his 50 instruments. The basic prerequisite for achieving this was the wonderful sound of his instruments and their excellent technical design. Lucas Pohle, the current cantor at the parish church, showcases his house instrument with a clever and stylish musical program that includes a performance of the Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 541, by Johann Sebastian Bach and chorales from the Schübler Collection. The chorale arrangements for oboe and organ by Johann Ludwig Krebs, a pupil of Bach, reveal further facets of the excellent tonal characteristics of the Crostau organ. The crowning finale is the Bach Cantata for alto solo InchGeist und Seele wird verwirretInch, BWV 35 - one of the few cantatas by the Leipzig Thomas Cantor with obbligato organ part. Lucas Pohle takes his audience through the soundscape of this beautiful instrument with wonderful technical skill and subtle, imaginative registrations. The alto Britta Schwarz and the oboist Luise Haugk, accompanied by the Dresden Baroque Orchestra, round off the successful program.

Franco-American pianist George Lepauw returns to Orchid Classics with the complete Preludes for piano by Claude Debussy. Lepauw has released several highly successful albums with Orchid, including Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and Beethoven's Diabelli Variations. The ambition of those releases is matched by this recording of both books of Debussy's Preludes, which represent some of the most colorful, intricate and finely-nuanced piano music in the repertoire. As Lepauw explains in the album booklet InchEach one of these preludes is a world unto itself and can easily stand alone. Listening to them individually or as part of the entire set is equally rewarding.Inch George Lepauw was named Chicagoan of the Year in 2012 by the Chicago Tribune for his visionary artistic leadership in music, art and film festival programming, and has been recognized by the New York Times for his Inchsinging toneInch and by the Chicago Tribune as a Inchprodigious pianistInch.