Jan Vogler – Brahms, Rihm, Harbison: Double Concertos (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:17:32 minutes | 1,46 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Sony Classical

The cellist Jan Vogler, who lives in New York and Dresden, has recorded three Double concertos for violin, cello and orchestra with his wife, the outstanding violinist Mira Wang, with the renowned Royal Scottish National Orchestra under direction of Peter Oundjian. Brahms’ famous Double concerto captivates with wonderfully sweeping melodies, romantic sounds, eloquent solos and great orchestral sound. The English press wrote about one of the previous concerts: “”Vogler, in particular, treated his solo sections like an operatic recitative, even in the faster Vivace sections of the finale, and Wang, his wife, matched him both in virtuosity and in beauty of tone. The highlight, however, was the opening of the slow movement, which produced sensational legato tone, soloists and orchestra slotting into one another like concentric circles, and creating a sound like molten chocolate. The American composer John Harbison (born 1938), whose cello concerto premiered by Yo-Yo Ma has already caused a sensation, composed the Double concerto for the Boston Symphony Orchestra commissioned by the Friends of the Dresden Festival. The highly praised world premiere with Jan Vogler and Mira Wang took place on April 8th 2010 in Boston under the direction of Carlos Kalmar. Now this colorful, dynamic work full of glittering virtuosity can be heard for the first time in a recording. The German composer Wolfgang Rihm (born 1953) is considered one of the most important composers of our time. His “”Duo Concerto””, performed at Carnegie Hall in New York by Jan Vogler and Mira Wang with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in 2015, completes this fascinating new recording of three Double concerts with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
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Jan Vogler – Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme & Souvenir de Florence (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:12:31 minutes | 751 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Sony Classical

Cellist Jan Vogler could have used the Pezzo Capriccioso, Op. 62, in this group of pieces by Tchaikovsky; unlike the two short pieces here. There are also a fragmentary Tchaikovsky Cello Concerto and a Gaspar Cassadó “Tchaikovsky cello concerto” from 1940, arranged from piano pieces. But rather than try to collect every last scrap of Tchaikovsky’s cello music, Vogler pursues a course that leads to a more coherent program: the use of the cello in a variety of works that explore the lighter, Mozartian side of Tchaikovsky’s output. At the center of the program are the Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33, Tchaikovsky’s largest work for cello and orchestra. Vogler plays a hybrid between Tchaikovsky’s original and the commonly played version by cellist William Fitzenhagen; he reintroduces Tchaikovsky’s original finale in the middle of the work (sample track 7). This might not be an ideal solution in all cases, but it lightens the piece and fits with the rest of the program. The unusual item on a solo cello release is the Sextet for strings in D minor, Op. 70 (“Souvenir de Florence”), but this breezy work is an ideal complement to the Variations. Each of these larger works is introduced by an arrangement; the version of the Sérénade Mélancolique in B flat minor, Op. 26, is by Vogler himself, and you could easily imagine it entering the repertory. The Frankfurt Radio Symphony and Moritzburg Festival Ensemble hew to Vogler’s light, almost easygoing tone, and the result is a satisfying Tchaikovsky recital.
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Jan Vogler – Songbook (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 58:21 minutes | 1,08 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Classical

Vogler’s passion for the Songbook project comes to the fore the moment he speaks about it. “In our age, when all the key classical works have been recorded numberless times, a new album should convey a message and present something new.” In this case, the “newness” is an ardent plea for a combination of instruments that may seem puzzling at first glance, and was long underappreciated, but which, on close listening, unveils a wealth of delights.
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