Miriam Altmann-Rose - 25 Violin Sonatas 1 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812) was a cosmopolitan piano virtuoso who studied with C.P.E. Bach, lived and performed in one European capital after another in a tumultuous progress across the continent, and wrote huge quantities of eclectic music which has largely been forgotten. Dussek's music for his own instrument may now be much better known than half a century ago - not least thanks to the first period-instrument edition of his piano sonatas, produced by Brilliant Classics - but he wrote almost 80 violin sonatas which also deserve revival as the product of a fluent and always inventive mind working on the cusp of eras we now identify as Classicism and Romanticism. The three sonatas gathered here as Dussek's Opus 1 were published around 1780. Each of them is cast in two movements a lively Allegro in sonata form, followed by a Rondo or (in No.1) a set of variations, gentle and even meditative in character, in which Dussek's originality shines through the occasional, recitative-like episodes. The six sonatas of Op.28 belong to the genre of 'accompanied piano sonatas' in which the musical substance is conceived principally for the keyboard instrument, with an obbligato melody instrument (such as the violin or flute) adding or doubling a top line if convenient. By the time he wrote them in 1795, Dussek had been a celebrity of London musical life for six years, having fled revolutionary Paris in a hurry. The dedication to 'Miss Shaw' refers to one of the daughters of the composer Thomas Shaw, and one may imagine the father on the violin accompanying and encouraging his daughter on the piano in Dussek's vivid evocations of rural life and the lively march of a tin-soldier regiment. Dussek's sonatas are played here in new recordings by the German duo of Julia Huber and Miriam Altmann in polished and historically informed performances, using an authentic 1780 fortepiano. Hu

Over the course of his long and eventful career, Dussek composed 38 violin sonatas - or rather sonatas for the keyboard, accompanied by the violin - and the partnership of Julia Huber and Miriam Altmann is acquiring impressive credentials and critical praise as they gradually uncover them for the first time. 'This is one excellent disc,' noted the Fanfare reviewer of Volume 1 (96385). 'Julia Huber and fortepianist Miriam Altmann give wonderful renditions. Each plays off of each other, with clarity, technical acumen, and a good sense of phrasing... You ought to have this as an integral part of any collection of chamber music of the period.' Volume 2 (96588) was received withequal enthusiasm 'This is an outstanding continuation of the series... done with style and verve by Julia Huber and Mariam Altmann... Well worth getting.' Volume 3 presents a contrast of sonatas from the beginning and near the end of Dussek's life. Even the early Op.4 No.3 Sonata, however, shares the qualities of the mature Dussek noted by one contemporary reviewer 'Dussek's strength in composition lies in the idiosyncrasy, the novelty, the striking, brilliant quality of his rich invention, and, as far as the development is concerned, in the fire and the intimacy which his works seldom lack.' Fire and intimacy what else would we expect from a wide-ranging opening movement subtitled 'L'amante disperato' (The forlorn lover), with playing indications such as Amoroso and Lamentabile and dynamic indications from triple piano to triple forte?The sonata's argument is concentrated in the piano part, with the violin marked as 'ad libitum', whereas the two Sonatas Op.69 show more of a partnership, albeit still led from the keyboard in the manner of works in the same genre bv Mozart and (until the 'Kreutzer') Beethoven. Both Op.69 Sonatas take the listener on a gripping narrative through typically bravura p

Limited vinyl LP pressing. J. Cole's last album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, was both a profound personal statement about childhood, sexual insecurities, adult angst, and the follies of success, on top of being an addictive listen with smooth beats that sounded closer to Jay-Z's prime in the early 2000s. But after hints at an early retirement and a declaration in September that he was going to stop performing for Incha long time,Inch it's a real sigh of relief to get this album. Partially recorded at the famous Electric Ladyland studios, J. Cole has made this his most intimate and personal album. He even jams out on the piano and guitar along to some of the tracks.