Nino Gvetadze - As you like it - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

We are proud to present the fifth disc by Nino Gvetadze on Challenge Classics. After Chopin, Scott, Schumann and Beethoven, we get to Brahms. Nino has selected three masterpieces from three different periods of Brahms's life. Schumann's disc (CC 72855) BBC Music Magazine InchThis is, quite simply, gorgeous.Inch Gramophone InchGvetadze's sensitivity to Schumann's vaunted 'inner voices' is unsurpassedInch The year 1860 represented a turning-point in Brahms's life he issued a 'Manifesto' in which he distanced himself from the Romanticism of the 'New German School' epitomised by Liszt and their association with Wagner's music-dramas. This aesthetic change of heart placed an emphasis on hard work and craftsmanship rather than the more Romantic conception of inspiration, with Brahms taking a particular pride in being both German and a self-made man. This ethos is reflected in the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24. Brahms's two Rhapsodies, Op. 79 were composed in 1879 and were dedicated to his friend Elisabet von Herzogenberg. The title may lull the listener into a false sense of whimsy, when in reality these pieces are founded on clear structural designs. Three Intermezzos Op. 117 Brahms wrote of these three Intermezzos to his friend Rudolf von der Leyen, describing them as 'Wiegenlieder meiner Schmerzen' 'lullabies of my sorrow'. Each has the character of a soliloquy or introspective personal reflection. Nino Gvetadze about this album InchThroughout his life, Brahms was influenced by those he admired the musicians he idolized, and the women with whom he formed powerful bonds. Clara Schumann represented both, and Nino Gvetadze explores their fascinating dynamic in The Muse. Brahms's Two Rhapsodies Op. 79 were dedicated to Elisabet von Herzogenberg, whose loss he mourned in the Intermezzos Op. 117; and he was inspired by Handel to write a phenomenal s

This album offers an overview of four of Peteris Vasks's most iconic works, from the large scale, dramatic Violin Concerto 'Distant light', and the magically dreamy meditation 'Lonely Angel', to his evocation of Latvian landscape and birdsong 'Plainscapes' and the ecstatic 'Dona Nobis Pacem.' Daniel Rowland writes InchThe first piece by Peteris Vasks that I heard, about a decade ago, was his magnificent Violin Concerto 'Distant light', already a modern classic, and I was blown away by the deep emotional impact of this extraordinary music, that seemed to me both wonderfully mysterious, connected to ancient times, touched by a sublime spirituality and at the same time viscerally exciting and with moments of stunning virtuosity. Last summer, when Peteris accepted my invitation to come to the 15th edition of my Stift festival in Holland as Composer in Residence I was truly excited at the chance to work closely with him on several of his pieces. At the festival we performed many of Peteris' works, solo, chamber and orchestral, with wonderful artists. The week culminated with the concert that you now hold in your hands, in the splendid, deeply atmospheric and acoustically wonderful 15th century Plechelmus Basiliek in Oldenzaal.Inch

After a bewitching recording dedicated to several motets (OP30579, 2023) by Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690), Rinaldo Alessandrini and his Concerto Italiano continue their exploration of 17th century Italian motets. This time they bring their attention to a fascinating and highly rewarding composer Alessandro Stradella (1643-1682), principally celebrated today for his oratorios and operas. This album presents five of his seventeen motets, deposited in the Bibliotheque Estense in Modena at the end of the seventeenth century. They are for the most part a world premiere.Rinaldo Alessandrini gathered together motets that are mainly relevant to the cult of the Virgin Mary, written for specific circumstances such as the Nativity (Nascere virgo), or the Immaculate Conception (Convocamini, congregamini), or for more generic feasts (Sixtite sidera, In tribulationibus), on texts chosen for each occasion, including one by Stradella himself (Exultate in Deo fideles).