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Engegard Quartet - Edvard Grieg, Jean Sibelius, Olav Anton Thommessen: String Quartets (2015)

Posted By: Designol
Engegard Quartet - Edvard Grieg, Jean Sibelius, Olav Anton Thommessen: String Quartets (2015)

Engegård Quartet - Edvard Grieg, Jean Sibelius, Olav Anton Thommessen (2015)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 327 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 172 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: BIS | # BIS-SACD-2101 | Time: 01:12:23

A string quartet was among the very first works that Edvard Grieg presented after completing his studies in 1861, but the Quartet in G minor, Op. 27, was the only such work to be published in his lifetime. In 1878, while composing it, Grieg wrote that ‘it aims at breadth, to soar, and, above all, at vigorous sound’, and the amplitude of the sound is indeed striking: the generous use of double-stops creates an almost orchestral effect, unusual for the genre. This caused some reviewers to criticize the quartet as being unidiomatic, while others, including Liszt, greeted it with enthusiasm. Some thirty years later, when Jean Sibelius composed his D minor quartet Op. 56, he too had previous experience of writing for the medium, but Op. 56 is the only quartet among his mature works. The often used 'nickname' Voces intimae is often taken to refer to the intimate interchange between the four voices in a quartet, but is probably a more specific allusion to a brief passage in the third movement: Sibelius wrote the remark into a score some time after the work had been published.

Anna Netrebko - Diva: The Very Best of Anna Netrebko (2018)

Posted By: ArlegZ
Anna Netrebko - Diva: The Very Best of Anna Netrebko (2018)

Anna Netrebko - Diva: The Very Best of Anna Netrebko (2018)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 322 Mb | Total time: 64:59 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Deutsche Grammophon | # 483 5791 | Recorded: 2003, 2006-2008, 2015, 2016, 2018

A greatest-hits album ought to stick to the middle of the road, playing to what an artist does best. Yet it ought not simply wallow in past glories: this collection from Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, arguably the best-known soprano of the present day, hits the spot and can safely be recommended to newcomers. Netrebko is at her best in core Italian repertory like Casta Diva from Bellini's Norma or Libiamo ne 'lieti calici from Verdi's La Traviata.

David Geringas & Ian Fountain - Malincolia: Works for Cello and Piano by Edvard Grieg and Jean Sibelius (2015)

Posted By: Designol
David Geringas & Ian Fountain - Malincolia: Works for Cello and Piano by Edvard Grieg and Jean Sibelius (2015)

Malincolia: Works for Cello and Piano by Edvard Grieg and Jean Sibelius (2015)
David Geringas (cello) & Ian Fountain (piano)

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 262 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 160 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Profil | # PH15005 | Time: 01:08:13

The Italian word malinconia was very commonly used in the nineteenth century as a title for melancholy pieces. Yet the idea of malinconia covered a myriad of romantic notions, so that simply translating it as "melancholy" does not do it justice. It subsumes many other emotional states as well - all kinds of dejection, gloom, unknown sadness, desperation, depression and even frustration. Each language has evolved its own terms, and interpretations of the word itself also differ from region to region. Malinconia in sunny Italy or Spain is quite different from melancholy in Norway and in Finland, where the winters are harsh and long. The Nordic variant is expressed here in various musical examples; words alone are anyway inadequate.

Andrew Nethsingha, Choir of St Johns College, Cambridge - Hear My Words: Choral Classics from St John’s (2010)

Posted By: ArlegZ
Andrew Nethsingha, Choir of St Johns College, Cambridge - Hear My Words: Choral Classics from St John’s (2010)

Andrew Nethsingha, Choir of St Johns College, Cambridge - Hear My Words: Choral Classics from St John’s (2010)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 274 Mb | Total time: 77:25 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Chandos | # CHSA 5085 | Recorded: 2010

As exclusive Chandos artists, the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge here presents its second release. The first CD, of choral music by Howells (CHAN10587), was released to rave reviews in March this year. Choir and Organ wrote: ‘There is musicianship here of a rare and moving kind.’ This new release of popular choral classics should meet with a similar reception while at the same time appealing to a wider audience.

Lucas Debargue - Scarlatti, Chopin, Liszt, Ravel (2016)

Posted By: Designol
Lucas Debargue - Scarlatti, Chopin, Liszt, Ravel (2016)

Lucas Debargue - Scarlatti, Chopin, Liszt, Ravel (2016)
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 243 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 181 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Sony Classical | # 88875192982 | Time: 01:17:28

The most-talked about artist of the 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition created huge excitement and world-wide media attention with his riveting background and “genius-like playing” (Boris Berezovksy). Debargue, who is 25, started the piano late at 11 years old, learning mostly in isolation. After dropping the instrument for three years to play in a rock band and study literature, he started formal piano training aged 20. Placed 4th, he was described by media as “the real winner” of the competition and received the Music Critics’ Association award as “the pianist whose incredible gift, artistic vision and creative freedom have impressed the critics as well as the audience.” Valery Gergiev, the competition’s chairman, broke protocol by letting Debargue play in the winners’ gala and not prizewinner Dmitry Masleev. Lucas Debargue's debut album is a live recording at the Salle Cortot in Paris and documents his first concert in his hometown after the competition. The centrepiece of his first recording is Ravel’s monumentally challenging Gaspard de la nuit.

Hakon Austbo - Edvard Grieg: Piano Works (2010) 7CD Box Set

Posted By: Designol
Hakon Austbo - Edvard Grieg: Piano Works (2010) 7CD Box Set

Håkon Austbø - Edvard Grieg: Piano Works (2010) 7CD Box Set
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 1.26 Gb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Brilliant Classics | # 94046 | Time: 07:40:14

Edvard Grieg will always be remembered as the composer of the highly effective Piano Concerto in A minor, and his incidental music to Ibsen's play Peer Gynt. However, it is as a miniaturist that Greig's true genius lies. Grieg was a very capable pianist, and had in fact made his early career as a concert pianist, his songs and solo piano music form the heart of his output. The early piano sonata although interesting shows clearly why the less restricting forms of the miniatures for solo piano suited his genius. The Lyric Pieces and Peasant Dances display his keen ear for traditional folk music, matched probably only by Bartok and Kodaly. The 66 works that comprise the 10 books of Lyric Pieces date from 1867 to 1901, and are extraordinary, exquisitely crafted works that can stand comparison to any of the great sonatas of his contemporaries. This 7 CD set includes the complete Lyric Pieces, the Sonata, The Holberg Suite and the lesser-known piano works of this great composer who captured the very essence of his native Norway in music.

Denis Kozhukhin, Berlin RSO, Vassily Sinaisky - P.I. Tchaikovsky & Edvard Grieg: Piano Concertos (2016)

Posted By: Designol
Denis Kozhukhin, Berlin RSO, Vassily Sinaisky - P.I. Tchaikovsky & Edvard Grieg: Piano Concertos (2016)

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor (2016)
Denis Kozhukhin, piano; Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin; Vassily Sinaisky, conductor

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 245 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 153 Mb | Artwork included
Genre: Classical | Label: Pentatone | # PTC 5186 566 | Time: 01:04:36

After rubbing your eyes and maybe even hitting your forehead with the palm of your hand a few times to convince yourself that, yes indeed, in fact a young pianist has chosen to make his concerto recording debut with the Tchaikovsky and Grieg concertos, go ahead and have a listen. Denis Kozhukhin, who took first prize at the 2010 Queen Elisabeth, here partners with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under Vassily Sinaisky. Out of repertory that has been celebrated, picked over and just about played to death over the course of almost a century and a half, they create magic.

Ksenija Sidorova - FairyTales (2013)

Posted By: Designol
Ksenija Sidorova - FairyTales (2013)

Ksenija Sidorova - FairyTales (2013)
with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Clark Rundell

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 266 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 157 Mb | Scans ~ 145 Mb
Classical | Label: Champs Hill Records | # CHRCD055 | Time: 01:08:36

Accordion sensation Ksenija Sidorova in a showcase demonstrating the full range and emotional power of her instrument. 'As an accordionist you sort of have to carve your own path, so I consider it my mission in this way to introduce the instrument to a wider audience', she says. The CD contains old and new repertoire, transcriptions and original works. Fairy Tales concerto by Vaclav Trojan, recorded with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, is written in an enchanting and approachable style with beautiful, heartfelt melodies. Arrangements and transcriptions of virtuosic showpieces include Moszowski’s Caprice Espagnol, the scherzo from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (a transcription that has its roots in Rachmaninov’s arrangement) and Grieg’s Holberg Suite. Contemporary composition Who’s the Puppet? was written for Ksenija by Russian composer Artem Vassiliev. Petr Londonov’s Scherzo-­Toccata is a popular piece with accordionists but little-­known to wider concert audiences.

Claudio Arrau, RCO, Christoph von Dohnanyi - Edvard Grieg & Robert Schumann: Piano Concertos (1989)

Posted By: Designol
Claudio Arrau, RCO, Christoph von Dohnanyi - Edvard Grieg & Robert Schumann: Piano Concertos (1989)

Edvard Grieg & Robert Schumann: Piano Concertos (1989)
Claudio Arrau, piano; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam; Christoph von Dohnányi

EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 304 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 181 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Philips | # 426 079-2 | Time: 01:06:55

Claudio Arrau recorded these concertos twice for Philips, the present performances in 1963, and then again in 1980 with Colin Davis and the Boston Symphony. There's very little to choose between them. Tempos are almost identical, and contrary to what one might expect, the slow movement of the Schumann concerto is actually a bit faster in the later version. Arrau's way with the music is wholly characteristic of the man: serious, even reverential (at the beginning of the Schumann), and played with drop-dead gorgeous tone. The result enhances the stature of both works, but the Grieg in particular. The climax of the finale has an epic grandeur without a hint of bombast that you simply won't find in any other performance. Dohnányi's accompaniments are also distinguished: he lets Arrau lead but isn't afraid to permit the orchestra to assert itself where necessary; and of course the playing of the Concertgebouw is top-notch. If you haven't heard Arrau in this music, it really doesn't matter which of his recordings you wind up with, but do try to get at least one of them.

Vilde Frang, Michail Lifits - Bela Bartok, Edvard Grieg, Richard Strauss: Violin Sonatas (2011)

Posted By: Designol
Vilde Frang, Michail Lifits - Bela Bartok, Edvard Grieg, Richard Strauss: Violin Sonatas (2011)

Béla Bartók, Edvard Grieg, Richard Strauss: Violin Sonatas (2011)
Vilde Frang (violin), Michail Lifits (piano)

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 321 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 188 Mb | Scans included
Classical | Label: EMI Classics | # 50999 9 47639 2 8 | Time: 01:18:50

One of the leading young soloists to emerge from Scandinavia in recent years, noted particularly for her superb musical expression, as well as her well-developed virtuosity and musicality. Young Norwegian violinist, Vilde Frang brings together a diverse, yet complimentary selection of sonatas for her second EMI Classics release. The youthful, spirited Grieg: Violin Sonata No.1 in F Major, Op. 8 and Richard Strauss: Violin Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18 are paired with Bartók’s technically challenging, musically complex Sonata for Solo Violin, BB 124, Sz. 117. Frang frequently performs the later, which Bartók composed as an homage to Bach, with the Strauss in concert. Vilde is joined by pianist Michail Lifits for this recording.

Lorin Hollander - The Complete RCA Album Collection [8CDs] (2022)

Posted By: ArlegZ
Lorin Hollander - The Complete RCA Album Collection [8CDs] (2022)

Lorin Hollander - The Complete RCA Album Collection [8CDs] (2022)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 1.64 Gb | Total time: 06:00:30 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Sony Classical | # 19439928782 | Recorded: 1958-1973

The American pianist Lorin Hollander was only 14 years old in 1958 when he recorded his first album for RCA, a personal selection of “22 Favorites” entitled Discovering the Piano. Its success led to a sequel the following year. Over the next eight years he produced an acclaimed series of releases for the Red Label, establishing an international career which would eventually encompass more than 2,500 appearances as a pianist, conductor and passionate advocate for arts education. Hollander has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras and collaborated with conductors such as Bernstein, Szell, Ormandy, Leinsdorf, Previn, Haitink, Ozawa and Mehta. Sony Classical is now pleased to present a new 8-disc box set offering Lorin Hollander’s complete RCA discography for the first time on CD.

Ruth Slenczynska - My Life in Music: Rachmaninov, Barber, Chopin, Grieg, Debussy, Bach (2022)

Posted By: ArlegZ
Ruth Slenczynska - My Life in Music: Rachmaninov, Barber, Chopin, Grieg, Debussy, Bach (2022)

Ruth Slenczynska - My Life in Music: Rachmaninov, Barber, Chopin, Grieg, Debussy, Bach (2022)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 208 Mb | Total time: 67:41 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Decca | # 485 2255 | Recorded: 2021

Few pianists can claim such an extraordinary career and life as Ruth Slenczynska. She began performing in public at the age of 4, and, 92 years later, she is still playing. She studied with some of the 20th century's greatest pianists including Rachmaninoff, performed for Presidents Kennedy, Carter, and Reagan as well as Michelle Obama, and even played a duet with President Truman. For her new retrospective, My Life in Music, Slenczynska has chosen some of her favorite, most personal pieces.

Stephen Hough - Edvard Grieg: Lyric Pieces (2015)

Posted By: Designol
Stephen Hough - Edvard Grieg: Lyric Pieces (2015)

Stephen Hough - Edvard Grieg: Lyric Pieces (2015)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 224 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 172 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Hyperion | # CDA68070 | Time: 01:13:07

As a world-renowned piano virtuoso, Stephen Hough has demonstrated time and again his prodigious skills in brilliant performances of the great concertos, though as a recording artist, he has revealed a wider range of repertoire and unexpected interests. This Hyperion release of Edvard Grieg's Lyric Pieces is an example of how Hough sometimes ventures into quiet, less familiar byways that offer him a variety of expressive possibilities. These miniatures are far removed from blockbuster showpieces, and their picturesque scenes and delicate melodies suggest the careful handiwork of the craftsman. They also reflect Grieg's nostalgia for the Romantic past and love for Norwegian fairy tales and folkways, which he expressed with disarming simplicity and succinctness. Hough's program of 27 selections from the larger collection of 66 pieces, published in 10 books, extends from the early Arietta of 1867 to Remembrances of 1901, giving a generous representation of Grieg's intimate musings and evocative character studies.

Polyphony, Stephen Layton - 'At Twilight': Choral music by Percy Grainger and Edvard Grieg (1995) Reissue 2006

Posted By: Designol
Polyphony, Stephen Layton - 'At Twilight': Choral music by Percy Grainger and Edvard Grieg (1995) Reissue 2006

'At Twilight': Choral music by Percy Grainger and Edvard Grieg (1995) Reissue 2006
Polyphony, conducted by Stephen Layton; David Wilson-Johnson, baritone; Paul Agnew, tenor

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 243 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 173 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical, Choral | Label: Hyperion/Helios | # CDH55236 | Time: 01:15:12

Grainger’s mastery of choral textures shines out of this wide-ranging collection of folk-song arrangements, each highly individual and memorable. Plus his friend Grieg’s finely scored religious settings. Superior performances by Stephen Layton and Polyphony.

Takako Nishizaki, Jenő Jandó - Franck, Grieg: Violin Sonatas (1991)

Posted By: ArlegZ
Takako Nishizaki, Jenő Jandó - Franck, Grieg: Violin Sonatas (1991)

Takako Nishizaki, Jenő Jandó - Franck, Grieg: Violin Sonatas (1991)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 246 Mb | Total time: 60:28 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Naxos | # 8.550417 | Recorded: 1990

The Violin Sonatas of César Franck and Edvard Grieg are delightful chamber works and are sensitively played by Takako Nishizaki and pianist Jenő Jandó.