Jan Gunnar Hoff - Home - VINYL LP

?What do Bedrich Smetana and Miloslav Kabelác have in common that they feature on Jan Bartoš's new album? Both of them were distinguished composers, conductors and pianists. Both of them created modern and timeless music for piano, which, however, remains overshadowed by their symphonic works. Smetana was writing his cycle Rêves (1875) at the time when he was completing Šárka and From Bohemian Fields and Groves, perhaps the most remarkable of the six tone poems comprising Má vlast. Kabelác was composing the two piano cycles, Op. 30 and Op. 38, while also focusing on Mystery of Time, his symphonic magnum opus, which in recent years has been discovered by some of the world's most renowned orchestras, in Berlin, Cleveland, London and elsewhere. Kabelác's life serves as a prime example of the fates that befell the Czech humanists, artists and intellectuals from the 1930s to the 1970s amid the turbulent historical events. While his music garnered success worldwide, he was silenced by the Communist regime in his homeland. Kabelác's style evolved from complex to simple, thus in many respects ushering in the accession of post-modernism and minimalism. As attested to by his cycle Motifs from Exotic Lands, he was boldly inspired by non-European traditional music. Following on from critically acclaimed Leoš Janácek (Gramophone Editor's Choice) and Vítezslav Novák albums, Jan Bartoš is now presenting Kabelác and Smetana in live recordings made at the Dvorák Hall of Prague's Rudolfinum. Jan Bartoš presents to the world little-known Czech piano gems. Album Tracks 1. Eight Preludes for Piano, Op. 30 2. Rêves. Six Morceaux Caractéristiques Pour Le Piano 3. Motifs from Exotic Lands for Piano, Op. 38

LIVING is Jan Gunnar Hoff's first solo piano album. His personal blend of different styles and influences is presented in it's purest form - simply music. Some of Hoff's pieces are meditative and expressive while others have a strong rhythmic nerve, creating contrast and variation in the program. As a sideman Hoff has contributed to numerous recordings in different genres. He was the arranger and ensemble leader of Quiet Winter Night, Grammy-nominated for Best Surround Sound in 2013, an album where he successfully merges elements of jazz, folk and popular music.

MOZART SONATAS is the moving final collaboration between Pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico and violinist Jacques Israelievitch. Battling late stage cancer, Israelievitch rallied his strength to finish this complete recording of Mozart's piano and violin sonatas just months before passing away. The album shows how Mozart's compositional style developed; his early sonatas favor the piano, but the violin gradually grows in importance as we reach the later sonatas. This ambitious five-volume collection includes noted violin-piano sonatas like the Palatine Sonatas and the Auernhammer Set. These masterful performances are a proud final entry in Israelievitch's recorded catalog and stand as a powerful testament to the human spirit.