Franziska Heinzen – Les Six – Works by Auric, Durey, Honegger, Milhaud, Poulenc and Tailleferre (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 49:42 minutes | 822 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Solo Musica
Then as now, the music of Les Six is a fascinating kaleidoscope of musical ideas and friendship; an idiosyncratic preciousness full of musical avant-garde, everyday melancholy, profound curiosities, virtuosity and passion that is in need of rediscovery. The collaborative work LAlbum des Six was created in 1920, to which each of the six composers Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc and Germaine Tailleferre contributed a piece. Arranged alphabetically, the album summarizes the composers through their connection with various aesthetic ideas, different personalities and lifelong friendship. 100 years later, the LAlbum des Six is expanded with corresponding song cycles from their oeuvres: In addition to well-known compositions by Francis Poulenc and Darius Milhaud, the first releases of the song cycles by Georges Auric (1940) and Louis Durey (1920) enrich the album in a special way.
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Franziska Andrea Heinzen – Komponistinnen (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 57:49 minutes | 914 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Solo Musica
The award-winning song duo with the Swiss soprano Franziska Andrea Heinzen and the British-Polish–German pianist Benjamin Malcolm Mead has now thrilled audiences from Barcelona to Düsseldorf, Cologne, London and Switzerland with its finely tuned song programs – and on Swiss radio SRF Kultur as well as on BBC Radio 3.
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Franz Welser-Möst & Wiener Philharmoniker – New Year’s Concert 2013 (Neujahrskonzert 2013) (2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:55:52 minutes | 2,24 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Classical
Sony Classical are proud to release the recording of one of the world’s most famous classical music events: the New Year’s Concert 2013 with the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of celebrated conductor, Franz Welser-Möst. He returns to direct the 2013 celebrations after his acclaimed debut in 2011. Maestro Welser-Mőst is the former Music Director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Includes the famous waltz “The Blue Danube” & the “Radetzky March”. Usual promo & marketing activity across specialist media.
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Franz Vorraber – Romantic Piano, Vol. 2 (Live) (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:03:41 minutes | 1,11 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © K&K Verlagsanstalt
Franz Vorraber (born August 24, 1962 in Graz, Austria) is an Austrian–German pianist and composer.
Live recordings featuring works for Piano and Piano with Orchestraby Schubert, Mozart, Schumann, Brahms & Haydn
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Franz Vorraber, Castle Chamber Orchestra – Franz Vorraber: Concerto classico for Piano & String Orchestra, Op. 37 (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 22:47 minutes | 451 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © K&K Verlagsanstalt
The “concerto classico” op. 37 refers, as it can be seen from the title, back to the classical structure and the motives in terms of Haydn. As customary habit at the time, rhythmic set phrases and harmonic collocations of today have been used and processed. In the theme of the first movement can easily be noticed. Thus, the formal arrangement between tutti and solo is obliged to the classical model. Some surprising twists, especially the intensifying rhythm throughout the piece, combine typical formula of the First Viennese School to contemporary elements. The simple theme of the second movement is enriched with complex harmonic turns. Due to the interjections of the piano, a harmonically opposed dialogue is created. The pianos’ harmonics, conducted with whole tones and additionally colored by the fifths of the strings, comes finally to a quiet ending. After a virtuosic opening, the third movement is designed concerto-grosso-style. The tutti is dominating the string orchestra. It is interrupted by the pianos’ soloist tours with a rather “groovy” basso continuo. The contrabass is taking the bass line in the middle part to calm the ensemble. After a wild cadence of the piano, the strings return with momentum and vividly end the work with copious virtuous piano figures. –Franz Vorraber
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Franz Konwitschny – Wagner: Ouvertures, Preludes & Orchestral Works (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:26:10 minutes | 906 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Jube Classic
Franz Konwitschny (14 August 1901, Fulnek, Moravia – 28 July 1962, Belgrade) was a German conductor and violist of Moravian descent.
He started his career on the viola, playing in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtw”angler. In 1925, he moved to Vienna, where he played the viola with the Fitzner Quartet. He also began teaching at the Wiener Volkskonservatorium. He later became a conductor, joining the Stuttgart Opera in 1927. From 1949 until his death he was principal conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. From 1953 until 1955 he was also principal conductor of the Dresden Staatskapelle and from 1955 onward he led the Berlin State Opera.
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Franz Kirmann & Tom Hodge – McMafia (From The BBC TV Programme) (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 46:38 minutes | 442 MB | Genre: Soundtrack
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
We’re kicking off the year in style with the soundtrack to McMafia. Tom Hodge joins forces with long-time collaborator Franz Kirmann to score the brand new eight-part BBC / AMC drama starring James Norton, the first episode aired on New Year’s Day. A word for the soundtrack, composed by Tom Hodge and Franz Kirmann, particularly effective in a twisted, electronic passage at the conclusion which aptly conveys “McMafia”.
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Franz Hauk – J.S. Bach from Ingolstadt (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:19:20 minutes | 1,27 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Priory Records
This release follows on from Priory occasional series featuring the music of J.S.Bach. Previous releases have highlighted the playing of this composer on an English cathedral organ and not an instrument of his time. This splendid organ is not in this category and is a new instrument by the firm of Wegscheider and is in complete contrast to the more famous Klais organ at the west end of the Minster.
The organ has been captured well by the engineers, which in turn produces a magnificent sound. While the playing might not be for purists, there are certainly many admirable moments and it is worth a listen.
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Franz Halász & Débora Halász – Beethoven: Works for Guitar & Piano (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:14:40 minutes | 1,06 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © BIS
Around 1800 Vienna was, alongside Paris, one of the European centres for guitar performance. The instrument was well suited for the idiom of Viennese classicism and ideal for domestic music-making and it was promoted by figures such as the virtuoso Mauro Giuliani and the composer/publisher Anton Diabelli. But Beethoven, the towering giant of musical Vienna, seems to have been unmoved by the charms of the guitar – while instead composing for its sibling, the mandolin.
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Franz Halász – Spain (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:21:40 minutes | 1,15 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © BIS
In June of 1922, a cultural fiesta took place on the grounds of Granada’s Alhambra palace, organized by Manuel de Falla and Federico García Lorca. The aim of the event was to preserve the “purity” of flamenco art and the opening performance was given by 29-year-old guitarist Andrés Segovia. Ironically, Segovia played de Falla’s Hommage to Claude Debussy (featured on this album – a work which can hardly be described as pure flamenco. But this can be seen as symptomatic of an important trait in the music of 20th-century Spain: Certain composers defended what they believed to be a noble, gallant and Castilian ideal, while others embarked on an quest to restore the “lost purity” of the peasantry, but embracing Modernism and Impressionism as stylistic tools in order to do so.
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Ansgar Krause – J.S. Bach: The Lute Suites (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:22:45 minutes | 1,27 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © BIS
There is no reason not to play Bach’s solo lute suites on a guitar. Even beyond the usual Baroque propensity for transcribing and arranging works freely, the lute suites were not composed as a set and are of murky origins; it’s not even known whether they were originally for the lute at all. Guitar heavyweights including John Williams have played these pieces, but Franz Halász here delivers beautiful, highly expressive readings that can stand with any other out there. Halász takes each movement as its own expressive whole. He applies a good deal of tempo rubato, but he always establishes a basic tempo firmly, and sometimes he dispenses with the rubato for the most part. Sample the liquid Prelude of the Suite for lute in E minor, BWV 996, which harks back to the prelude’s improvisatory origins. On the other hand, the Sarabande from the late Suite (or Partita) in C minor, BWV 997, is a somber, passionate piece, with the tempo varied expressively but held in perfect control by Halász. He adds substantial ornamentation on repeats, but it neither draws attention to itself nor lets you hear the effort on the part of the performer. These are performances that respect both Bach’s grace and his depth, and they are augmented by superior sound engineering from BIS, accomplished at the Großer Saal of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. A standout Bach recording.
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Franz Ferdinand – Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (Deluxe Edition) (2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:22:20 minutes | 1012 MB | Genre: Indie Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Domino Recording Co
The multi-Grammy winning, million selling four-piece Franz Ferdinand release their fourth studio album titled Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action. This exuberant, unencumbered record is the first from the band in four years. In their time away, they’ve rediscovered the imagination, vitality and fun found on their classic, era-encapsulating debut album Franz Ferdinand. The ten songs that make up the album contain all the hallmarks of Franz Ferdinand’s sound- heavyweight hooks, painterly lyrical detail and precise aesthetic vision all packed into pop punch. This deluxe edition expanded with 13 bonus live tracks.
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Wytske Holtrop, Frans Douwe Slot – Cello Frysienne (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 58:34 minutes | 1,20 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Aliud Records
This new release features rare cello music by contemporary composers from Nothern Holland performed by Wytske Holtrop. In 2018, Wytske Holtrop graduated cum laude for her master’s degree at the Haute École de Musique de Genève (Geneva University of Music), where she studied with professor François Guye. She obtained a highly distinguished bachelor’s degree at the Koninklijk Conservatorium of Brussels (Royal Conservatoire of Brussels) with professor Jeroen Reuling. As of the 2019 – 2020 concert season, Wytske will be playing with the Konzerthausorchesterin Berlin, as a member of the Kurt Sanderling orchestra academy. She actively took part in numerous masterclasses with, among others, Natalia Gutman, Gary Hoffman and Nicolas Altstaedt. Wytske performed as a soloist with several Dutch orchestras and regularly plays solo recitals. She appeared internationally in festivals as the Internationaal Kamermuziekfestival Schiermonnikoog (The Netherlands) and the Ars SummerFest in Vilnius (Lithuania). In 2015 – 2016, Wytske wasselected for the orchestra academy of the National Orchestra of Belgium. She won several prizes contesting in the Stichting Jong MuziektalentNederland (a foundation that stimulates talented young musicians in The Netherlands) and the Prinses Christina Concours. In addition, she won the Prix du Musée Bonnat during the Académie Ravel in Saint Jean de Luz (France). In 2018, Wytske was awarded the Frisian Emmy ‘Runner-up Award’, named after and from the hands of the renowned Dutch violinist Emmy Verhey. Wytske plays a cello by Tanguy Fraval, Brussels (2011) and uses a bow by Doriane Bodart, Paris (2016).
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Frankie Yankovic and His Yanks – Polkas & Waltzes: Just for Fun (1965/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 26:40 minutes | 514 MB | Genre: Folk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia – Legacy
Frank John “Frankie” Yankovic (July 28, 1915 in Davis, West Virginia – October 14, 1998 in New Port Richey, Florida) was a Grammy Award-winning polka musician. Known as “America’s Polka King,” Yankovic was considered the premier artist to play in the Slovenian style during his long career.
Born to Slovene immigrant parents, Yankovic was raised in South Euclid, Ohio. He released over 200 recordings in his career. In 1986 he was awarded the first ever Grammy in the Best Polka Recording category. He rarely strayed from the Slovenian-style polka, but did record with country guitarist Chet Atkins and pop singer Don Everly. He also recorded a version of the “Too Fat Polka” with comedian Drew Carey. –wikipedia
Frankie Valli – ‘Tis The Seasons (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 42:49 minutes | 919 MB | Genre: Pop, Soft Rock, Vocal, Holiday
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino
There isn’t a lot Frankie Valli hasn’t done in a career that’s spanned seven decades (so far). One of those things used to be making a Christmas album as a solo act, but Valli has crossed that off his bucket list with the release of 2016’s ‘Tis the Seasons, with the title punningly reminding us that this is the work of the leader of the unendingly popular vocal group the Four Seasons. While Four Seasons’ fans may be part of the target audience for this, except for a cover of “Frosty the Snowman,” ‘Tis the Seasons doesn’t bear much resemblance to Valli’s chart hits of the ’60s and ’70s. Instead, this album is focused on contemporary pop in various flavors, though none so strong they would disrupt a normal family get-together. The production is polished and primarily built around electronic drums and keyboards (likely in a bid to sound modern but possibly to save money), and there are a few moments where Valli’s voice seems to have been lightly tweaked with Auto-Tune. The song selection is devoted entirely to various holiday classics, ranging from the twinkling electro-pop of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and the grand-scale spectacle of “Oh Come All Ye Faithful/Angels We Have Heard on High” to the somber tone of “Blue Christmas” and the romantic mood of “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” And Valli and producer Bob Gaudio bring in legendary guitarist Jeff Beck to lay smooth but rootsy blues figures over “Merry Christmas, Baby.” As for Valli, his voice is in a good shape for a guy who was over 80 years old when this album came out, but while he can still hit the notes he reaches for (and he’s smart enough to avoid his falsetto), his vocals aren’t as strong as they once were (not unexpected), and his singing is often low in the mix and surrounded by backing vocalists, which doesn’t help the fragile edge of his tone. There doesn’t seem to be much of Valli’s musical personality in ‘Tis the Seasons, surprising given how strong his personality can be, but it’s still the work of a show business professional who is going to put on a good Christmas show for his fans. If you like Frankie Valli and you like Christmas music, chances are you’ll like ‘Tis the Seasons just fine, though purists might opt for the reissue of the 1963 Yultide effort The Four Seasons Greetings. ~ Mark Deming
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