LSA Schola Cantorum - Choral Works - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Beethoven's three most famous sonatas have received hundreds of recordings. Why another, especially from a company like Divine Art which usually avoids duplicating repertoire? Because we believe that each piece of music demands a performance tailored to the composition, and that recently, every recording of a major work seems to sound the same. Beethoven's sonatas are fiery, storm-filled works which require playing not only of consummate skill but also total passion and commitment. They receive that here, together with a piano of individual character, with a InchvisceralInch quality (to quote Goldstone), and ideal for this music. But this CD contains two special tracks We offer the world premiere recording of Moscheles' arrangement of the Overture to InchFidelioInch. And also, two alternative versions of the first movement of the InchPathetiqueInch Sonata, one incorporating Goldstone's belief regarding the correct execution of the exposition repeat. We could not pack any more onto a disc!

This new album by the Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Sigvards Klava on Ondine is devoted to choral works by the legendary American composer and music pioneer John Cage (1912-1992), one of the most leading figures in 20th Century music. John Cage is the dictionary definition of an avant-garde composer. Choral music and John Cage might seem like an odd pairing. And indeed, strictly speaking, Cage wrote only two compositions for chorus, both of which appear on this album Hymns and Variations (1979) and Four2 (1990). The other works on the album are written for ensembles that are more or less open-ended and which have been interpreted here for choral forces. One reason Cage and choruses did not mix well may have been his notorious hostility to harmony in music. Arnold Schoenberg told Cage that he lacked any feeling for harmony, and that this would be a wall between him and his goal of being a composer. Given all this, it is no wonder that Cage and choruses didn't tend to mingle together. And so it was not until Cage was 67 years old that he wrote his first work for choral forces Hymns and Variations.

From song to symphony, from the Bim-Bom theatre to radio orchestral recordings, from theatre music to performances at the 'Warsaw Autumn' International Festival of Contemporary Music. Indeed, it was a career 'on it's own note,' as the subtitle of Edward Pallasz's (1936-2019) memoirs says. Surprisingly, the memoirs are devoid of regret that the creator of the Symphony '1976' was not allowed to complete his studies in composition, despite having studying music at lower levels. The road to a genuine success was complicated, winding and full of adventures and discoveries; moreover, the composer's style that emerged on that journey was free from temporary trends or ideological obligations. The present album includes a number of works that perfectly illustrate the ease with which Edward Pallasz employed various types of compositional techniques related to the choral music.