In early 20th Century music history, she was Mrs. Robert Schumann, wife of a Great Composer. Later histories noted her prodigious talent as a pianist. As the century progressed, Clara’s own compositions were re-evaluated, performed, and recorded. This release adds to our understanding of Clara Wieck Schumann — both as a performer and a composer. […]
Chamber music
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Romantic Piano Fantasies — entertaining if not elevating
In the early 1800s, Sir Walter Scott was a wildly popular writer. As wildly popular as J.K. Rowling would be in the early 2000s. His “Waverly” series started a new genre, historical fiction. Scott would write between 30-48 novels set in historic Scotland, all best-sellers. Carl Czerny published a series of four piano duets inspired […]
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100 Menuets showcase Telemann’s brilliance in miniature
In music, as with most things, quantity doesn’t always equal quality. But sometimes it does. As in the 100 menuets of Georg Philip Telemann. These pieces were published in two collections, titled “Seven times seven plus one Menuet.” The first collection appeared in 1728, the second in 1730. What makes this release so fascinating is […]
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Singular music from Kalevi Aho
The subtitle for this release is “Seven instrumental solos by the Finnish symphonist.” And that’s significant. Kalevi Aho seems to naturally think in orchestral terms. To date, he’s composed 17 symphonies and almost 40 concertos for a wide variety of instruments. That concerto experience comes into play with his series of solos. Aho’s collaborated with […]
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Newberry Consort’s lively Mexican Christmas
This is a live recording of a December concert given by the Newberry Consort. The program blends two strains of 17th Century Mexican music. One is the European-inspired sacred music of the church. The second is the folk-inspired music of the streets. This recording captures the raw energy and exquisite beauty of the performances. The […]
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Laura Netzel Chamber Portrait worth admiring
Laura Netzel is one of those composers who should be better known. And that’s what the artists on this release hope to do. Netzel (1839-1927) was from Finland, but her family moved to Sweden when she was an infant. Netzel showed musical talent early on. She studied voice, piano, and composition (the latter with Charles-Marie […]
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Lady Viola succeeds on all levels
Violist Kristina Fialová outlines her mission with this release in the liner notes. 1) Feature works for an under-represented solo instrument — the viola. 2) Select those works from an under-represented segment of composers — females. 3) Perform said works with an under-represented segment of classical instrumentalists — females (again). What makes this an exciting […]
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Filippo Farinelli steers Hindemith Sonatas for Wind Instruments and Piano project
To my knowledge, this is the first time all Paul Hindemith’s wind sonatas have been released as a group. Pianist Filippo Farinelli collaborated with several well-known Italian instrumentists for this project. Having the same pianist throughout the set provides a degree of performance continuity. The album was also recorded in the same studio with the […]
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Quartetto Ascanio explores Paganini’s influence
This release, in part, shows the direct influence Paganini had on chamber music. The Quartetto Ascanio begins with music by Camillo Sivori, Paganini’s only known pupil. They continue with a quartet by Giovanni Serra, another teacher of Sivori. Also included is a quartet by Carlo Andrea Gambini. He was a fellow Genoese violinist and composer, […]