Eldbjørg Hemsing is releasing a new album of Edvard Grieg’s violin sonatas. The album follows the acclaimed recordings of concertos by Dvořák and Shostakovich, by Tan Dun and Josef Suk. The Norwegian violinist is joined by Simon Trpčeski at the piano. Grieg’s violin sonatas mark a decisive phase in the composer’s artistic development. He completed the F major Sonata at the age of 22, after completing his studies at the Leipzig conservatory and it still bears the stamp of German romanticism. Two years later, in 1867, Grieg created Sonata No. 2 with a goal of a national culture, [...]
The excellent virtuoso pianist Nelson Freire celebrated his 75th birthday in 2019. To commemorate this event, Decca Classics is releasing an album titled Encores. With a musical repertoire that spans seventy years as a professional pianist, Freire has a wealth of material to choose from that he has mastered over his long career. The program is thirty tracks spanning over an hour and fifteen minutes, presenting well-known compositions, light fair, technical masterpieces, and rare gems. Twelve of the selections come from Evard Grieg’s Lyric Pieces with the other selections coming from Sgambati, Purcell, Scarlatti, Stojowski, Paderewski, Godowsky, [...]
A solo release gives every artist and an opportunity to display the salt within their core artistry. There is nowhere to hide within the cover of other instruments. Pianist James Fernando has crafted his first solo album, The Lonely Sailor. Stylistically Fernando leans heavily into the classical genre with an electronically altered piano. The album features eight original compositions that Fernando describes as a journey of personal growth. This is depicted by the piano at the onset of the album; the piano is pure and acoustic; as the album progress, each piece becomes more augmented until almost entirely electronic.
Opening with the [...]
Everyone knows the joy and musicality that Mozart has in his music. Combine that with three masterful performers and a great sounding concert hall, and you have Complete Mozart Trios by Daniel Barenboim, Kian Soltani and Michael Barenboim. This is a live album on the Deutsche Grammophon label that was recorded at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal. Barenboim, his son Michael, and cellist Kian Soltani deliver a fascinating reading of Mozart’s joyful music. The eighteen tracks cover the material of the six piano trios by Mozart and span a delightful two and a half [...]
