Witold Rowicki - Isaac Stern Live 11 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

A new album of chamber works by Sergei Rachmaninoff. This outstanding recording was made at two venues in Poland the Lódz Academy of Music, and the Czestochowa Philharmony. The principal performer is pianist Barbara Karaskiewicz who has made several highly praised recordings for Divine Art (and before that the esteemed Polish tag Acte Preable). She performs two piano duos with her musical partner Michal Rot. The chamber works are played by the Huberman Piano Trio whose Divine Art recording of 20th Century Chamber music was also acclaimed by critics. Both the performances and the perfectly engineered recording offer a sumptuous program of Rachmaninoff that will delight listeners. The Huberman Trio was formed at the initiative of Barbara Karaskiewicz, named in honour of the great Polish artist Bronislav Huberman, famed for his performances and transcriptions of works by Chopin and others.

One of the 20th century most admired and respected violinists, Isaac Stern's career as a solo artist, chamber musician, and much else (he led the movement to save Carnegie hall) was remarkable. These albums, of his live performances is an eloquent testament to his musical insights, technical command and his gorgeous, luminous tone. Isaac Stern was born in 1920, in Krzemieniec, now in Ukraine. A year later his parents came to San Francisco. Violin lessons began at eight, with Naoum Blinder. Two years later he made his debut, playing Bach double concerto with his teacher. His Town Hall debut in 1937 was followed by a Carnegie Hall debut in 1943. He was the first American artist to tour the former Soviet Union-and as a result became a deeply respected figure there. The campaign to save Carnegie Hall began in 1960. The Six-Day War of 1967 saw his iconic performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with Leonard Bernstein on Mount Scopus. His involvement with Hollywood, which began in 1948 with his performance in Humoresque, was followed up in 1971, when he played on the soundtrack of Fiddler on the Roof. His travel to China in 1979 led to a resurgence of classical music in that country. He recorded prolifically and received countless honors and tributes. Isaac Stern passed away at the age of 81 in 2001.

La Sombra del Agua is the fourth studio album by Tajak. It was recorded in Coatepec, Veracruz, from March till December 2020 during an isolated residency in the cloud forest. The recording process was quite different from previous experiences. Aside from not being recorded in a studio, it was a much more patient, meticulous and intimate process. The main tracks (drums, bass and guitar) were recorded outdoors at the side of the Pixquiac river, a fact which is not very usual. After recording the main tracks, there were several weeks spent afterwards editing, recording overdubs and mixing. In this case a lot more instruments were used than they had used on the previous LPs. They kept the traditional bass, guitar, drums and vocals , then added lots of layers of texture including field recordings, synths and other instruments like ocarina, sitar, flute, twelve string guitar, thunder drum and tape effects, the last one being a very important and special contribution from Pedro T