Igor Levit - Brahms: Piano Concertos & Solo Piano Opp 116-119 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Celebrated soloists Roderick Wiliams and Christopher Glynn perform a new English translation of Franz Schubert's Winterreise. Composed in 1827 whilst in the grip of the illness that would ultimately kill him, Schubert's setting of Wilhelm Muller's poetry takes on an added tragic interpretation as it follows the narrative of a spurned lover travelling through a cold and barren landscape. Christopher Glynn writes on this new recording InchWe hope this Winter Journey can offer English-speaking listeners a way to experience the story's sense alongside the music's sound, with something of the same directness that Schubert surely intended when he sat down at the piano in 1827 and sang these songs for the first time to his friends.Inch This is the first in a series of three English language programmes of Schubert's song cycles. Future releases include The Shepherd on the Rock (Der Hirt auf dem Felsen) and The Fair Maid of the Mill (Die schöne Müllerin).

J. Brahms - Piano Concertos & Piano Solo Works [COMPACT DISCS] date 04/19/2005

Johannes Brahms (1833-1896) absorbed and integrated the musical legacy of his time, as did J.S. Bach before him. The music of Brahms is intimately connected to and rooted in the German-Austrian tradition that he inherited. For Brahms, this tradition was very much alive and relevant; he constantly measured his own efforts against the achievements of Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, trying to live up to and continue their legacy. He was not looking back to the past, but InchprogressingInch (to use the terminology of Schoenberg's essay InchBrahms the ProgressiveInch) towards a past that was yet to be fulfilled. There is a precious sense of inevitability in great art, as if every masterpiece was meant to be created exactly as it is. The works of Brahms are amazingly organic, meticulously calculated and very human at the same time. This fusion of intellect and feeling, sincerity and reserve, heartfelt emotion and impeccable taste is unique to Brahms. It makes his music inevitable and indispensable. Pianist and conductor Vladimir Feltsman is one of the most versatile and constantly interesting musicians of our time. His vast repertoire encompasses music from the Baroque to 20th century composers. A regular guest soloist with leading symphony orchestras in the United States and abroad, he appears in the most prestigious concert series and music festivals all over the world.