TEUFELSKINDER von Jules Amedée Barbey D'Aurevilly
András Schiff: Diabelli-Variationen
Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations are considered a magnum opus of the piano repertoire, a towering contribution to the genre and an entire Encyclopedia of pianism.
Following his monumental exploration of the 32 Sonatas, András Schiff has now recorded – on two period instruments – remarkable, contrasting versions of the Diabelli Variations alongside major late works with intrinsic ties to them. The Sonata Op. 111 and the Diabelli Variations (CD 1) are played on an original Bechstein grand from 1921, and the second reading of the Diabelli Variations, (paired with the op. 126 Bagatelles on CD2) on a Hammerflügel fortepiano from Beethoven's own day. This gives listeners a unique opportunity to compare the rich range of these highly contrasting sonic universes, a world apart from modern day instruments.
In his liner note András Schiff acknowledges the value of having been able to consult the previously unknown original manuscript of the Variations which provided invaluable insight into Beethoven's compositional process and intentions.
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Zsófia Boros: En otra parte
The evocative ECM debut of the outstanding Hungarian guitarist Zsófia Boros addresses a broad range of composition for her instrument, drawing on music of the Americas. “Often I think I am holding the choice of music in my own hands, but later I wonder if the music has chosen me as a medium. My approach is always very intuitive; when a piece of music grips or touches me, I want to reflect it – to become a mirror and convey it.” At the centre of “En otra parte” is music of Leo Brouwer, the Cuban composer who once declared that the guitar has “no limits”, a major reference for Boros from the beginning of her musical journey. Her sensitive solo recital also includes Ralph Towner’s “Green and Golden”, Vicente Amigo’s tribute to the spirit of flamenco (“Callejón de la luna”), a waltz by Dilermando Reis, Quique Sinesi’s “Cielo Abierto”, inspired by the rhythms of candombe and milonga, and much more. Named for the poem by Roberto Juarroz, “Todo comienza en otra parte” (“Everything b egins somewhere else”), Boros’s album was recorded in Lugano in 2012 and produced by Manfred Eicher.
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Johann Sebastian Bach: Six Sonatas for Violin and Piano
Johann Sebastian Bach began work on his six sonatas for violin and harpsichord (BWV 1014-19) while at the courts of Weimar and Köthen and returned to the compositions over several decades, revising and polishing until the years before his death. C.P.E. Bach would later pronounce the pieces “among the best works of my dear father.” Prefiguring the classic duo sonata, violin and keyboard meet on equal terms in this music, and both are challenged by Bach’s compositional demands.
Violinist Michelle Makarski invited Keith Jarrett to join her in exploring these pieces, the two musicians – friends since Jarrett’s “Bridge of Light” recording – meeting frequently over a two year period, simply for the pleasure of playing the Sonatas. The idea of documenting them came late in the process: in November 2010 Makarski and Jarrett recorded the sonatas at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York. This is Jarrett’s first ‘classical’ recording since his Mozart Piano Concertos discs of 1996, and only the second occasion on which he has recorded Bach on piano rather than harpsichord.
Keith Jarrett’s earlier Bach recordings include “Das Wohltemperierte Klavier” (Buch 1, 1987; Buch II, 1990), “Goldberg Variations” (1989), “3 Sonaten für Viola da Gamba und Cembalo” (1991, with Kim Kashkashian), and “The French Suites” (1991). Michelle Makarski’s New Series recordings include the recital discs “Caoine” (1995, with music of Bach, Biber, Hartke, Reger and Rochberg), “Elegio per un’ombra” (1999, with music of Tartini, Dallapiccola, Berio, Carter and Petrassi) and “To Be Sung On The Water” (2004, with music of Tartini and Crockett).
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