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Susan Tomes, The Gaudier Ensemble - Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 11, 12 & 13 (2009)

Posted By: tirexiss
Susan Tomes, The Gaudier Ensemble - Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 11, 12 & 13 (2009)

Susan Tomes, The Gaudier Ensemble - Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 11, 12 & 13 (2009)
EAC | FLAC (image+.cue, log) | Covers Included | 70:39 | 270 MB
Genre: Classical | Label: Hyperion | Catalog: CDH55333

No, not another Mozart piano concerto disc! No indeed, for this pioneering recording gives us intimate, almost domestic versions of three of the composer’s masterpieces, versions that have scarcely been played, let alone set to disc, in the modern concert era. Moreover they give us the opportunity to hear Susan Tomes show her mettle in strong light as concerto soloist—and bring to a wider repertoire the distinct communicative magic that has made her one of the foremost chamber pianists of today.

The Gaudier Ensemble, Susan Tomes - Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Quintet; Piano Quartet; Trio (2005)

Posted By: Designol
The Gaudier Ensemble, Susan Tomes - Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Quintet; Piano Quartet; Trio (2005)

Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Quintet; Piano Quartet; Trio (2005)
The Gaudier Ensemble, Susan Tomes, piano

EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 309 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 189 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Hyperion | # CDA67464 | Time: 01:13:08

Weber’s chamber music – just these three pieces if you don’t count the duos – clearly shows him on the cusp between Classical and Romantic. The Quartet for piano and strings, written in his early twenties between 1807 and 1809, begins with a Haydnesque gracefulness and politeness which is gradually invaded by more unruly harmonies and textures; the dramatic slow movement looks ahead to Schumann, while the closing fugue of the finale dresses 18th-century procedures in 19th-century colours. Then there’s the element of virtuosity which is a hallmark of the early Romantic era, in the showy piano part of the Quartet, which Weber wrote for himself, the concerto-like clarinet part in the Quintet with strings, designed for the pioneering Heinrich Baermann, and all three parts of the tuneful Trio for flute, cello and piano. The talented members of the pan-European Gaudier Ensemble are perfectly equipped to convey these different aspects of Weber’s musical personality, with the fleet-fingered pianist Susan Tomes leading the way in the Quartet and Trio, and Richard Hosford in the Clarinet Quintet recalling contemporary descriptions of Baermann’s own effortless brilliance.

The Gaudier Ensemble - Jean Francaix - Chamber Music: L'heure du berger; Divertissement; Clarinet Quintet; A huit (1998)

Posted By: Designol
The Gaudier Ensemble - Jean Francaix - Chamber Music: L'heure du berger; Divertissement; Clarinet Quintet; A huit (1998)

The Gaudier Ensemble - Jean Françaix: Chamber Music (1998)
L'heure du berger; Divertissement; Clarinet Quintet; A huit

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 241 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 144 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical, Chamber | Label: Hyperion | # CDA67036 | Time: 01:02:35

Jean Françaix: a quintessentially French composer following in the tradition of Saint-Saëns, Poulenc and Satie; composer of some one-hundred-and-fifty works; and virtuoso pianist in his own right. The four works on this recording were composed between 1942 (the Divertissement—very much a 'distraction' during the Nazi Occupation of France) and 1977 (the Clarinet Quintet). All four share a high degree of compositional mastery, but this is always embedded within an air of grace, of profound charm, and of wit. It is perhaps this sense of humour which has so endeared Françaix's music to generations of musicians and music-lovers. But despite the facts that L'heure du berger was composed in honour of a Parisian restaurant who were to use it as 'background' music, that Françaix self-deprecatingly passed off A huit as a 'stop-gap to fill a programme' for the Vienna Octet, and that the Divertissement contains unashamedly blatant musical jokes, these compositions are unmistakably the work of an expert, a distinctively 'Gallic' artist.

The Gaudier Ensemble, Susan Tomes - Franz Berwald: Chamber Music (2006) 2CDs [Re-Up]

Posted By: Designol
The Gaudier Ensemble, Susan Tomes - Franz Berwald: Chamber Music (2006) 2CDs [Re-Up]

The Gaudier Ensemble, Susan Tomes - Franz Berwald: Chamber Music (2006) 2CDs
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 448 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 307 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Hyperion Dyad | # CDD22053 | Time: 02:06:33

Listening to the music on this two-disc set, you may wonder why the chamber works of Swedish Romantic composer Franz Berwald are not more frequently recorded. It can't be because of his themes, which are strong, sweet, and distinctive; or because of his harmonies, which are powerful, rich, and cogent; or because of his forms, which are innovative, inventive, and indestructible. The only possible reason for this music's neglect is that there's only so much room in the world for great music, and unfortunately, Berwald, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Dvorák have apparently already occupied all the space allocated to chamber music of the Romantic period. Still, anyone listening to the music on this two-disc set will have to wonder if there's not enough room for Berwald, too.