Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt – Johannes Brahms – The Piano Trios (2015/2016)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:22:57 minutes | 3,27 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: e-Onkyo | Booklet, Front Cover | © CTI2xHD/Ondine Oy, Helsinki
Award-winning violinist Christian Tetzlaff and pianist Lars Vogt are joined together with Tanja Tetzlaff in this exciting new recording of the Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Piano Trios.
The Brahms Piano Trios belong to the very core of the romantic chamber music repertoire. They span a period from the 1850s (the 1st version of Op. 8) to the 1880s, Op. 101 being completed during the last decade of Brahms’ active career as a composer. Piano Trio No. 1 was also revised by the composer as late as in 1889.
Christian Tetzlaff has been considered as one of the world’s leading international violinists for many years, and still maintains a most extensive performing schedule. Musical America named him “Instrumentalist of the Year” in 2005 and his recording of the violin concertos by Mendelssohn and Schumann, released on Ondine in 2011 (ODE 1195-2), received the “Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik”. Gramophone Magazine chose his recording of the Schumann Violin Sonatas with Lars Vogt (ODE 1205-2) as “Disc of the Month” in January 2014. In addition, in 2015 ICMA awarded Christian Tetzlaff as the “Artist of the Year”.
Chamber music plays a significant part in Tanja Tetzlaff’s career. She gives regular recitals in renowned concert series and festivals. In addition to successes in many international competitions, she has collaborated with world-renowed orchestras and conductors.
Lars Vogt was appointed the first ever “Pianist in Residence” by the Berlin Philharmonic in 2003/04 and enjoys a high profile as a soloist and chamber musician.
Read more
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Marek Janowski – Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 4 & Hungarian Dances (2008)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 56:55 minutes | 2,25 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet | © Pentatone Music B.V.
The brotherhood of writers likes to get hold of a slogan in order to effectively and boldly describe a composer and his oeuvre. However, such an abbreviated description is not without danger, if not followed by subtle arguments for the choice of the words. Nevertheless, please permit the undersigned also to mention a catchy phrase in the case of Johannes Brahms, which concentrates the mind on the essential. Therefore, should one wish to label Brahms as a composer, then it would most certainly not bear the inscription of a “symphonic” or “Lied” composer, but – if the word existed – of a “variationalistic” composer. After all, the main purpose of Brahms’ life as a composer was the constant transformation of the musical material at hand, the re-examination of traditional elements and forms. And also during the course of his four contributions to the symphonic genre, which indeed caused him such great problems at first, the variation model was ceded an increasingly important role.
Read more
Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer – Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 4; Hungarian Dances 3, 7 & 11 (2015)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 00:51:15 minutes | 2,02 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDMusic | © Channel Classics Records B.V.
What a wonderful start: a fragmented melody like a hovering leaf blown up and down by the wind. Never has tenderness been composed more movingly. And what a magnificant ending of the same movement: extreme tenderness is matched by extreme drama which grows and grows to gigantic expression. Brahms is not restrained anymore in his last symphony. After the fun and vitality of the third movement the final passacaglia is much more than a sequence of variations. We experience a huge range of dark emotions: from the lonely lamentation of the flute to the defiant, tragic ending. There is no room for the usual jubilation or the usual modulation to a major key. Brahms finishes his symphonic work with prophetic foreboding heralding Spengler’s Der Untergang des Abendlandes (The Decline of the West). –Iván Fischer
Read more
Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer – Johannes Brahms – Symphony no. 2, Tragic Overture, Academic Festival Overture (2014)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:07:45 minutes | 2,7 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Booklet, Front Cover | © Channel Classics Records B.V.
A remarkable, transparent purity can be heard in Brahms’s Second symphony. It is a sharp contrast to the huge arsenal of ideas collected in the First Symphony, which Brahms had worked on for many years. Here in his Second he shows us his masterful skill in developing large-scale architecture from the simplest motifs. To give the first of these to the horns is a logical choice; Brahms always used natural horns and resisted the more modern instruments. Horns can ideally explore the purest of all musical ideas: the journey through the overtones.
Similar purity is present in all the themes. When at the start the basses step down a semitone and step back again, nobody could guess what a rich new world would develop from this cell. The last movement is also built on a simple tool: repeated, equal notes follow each other in regimental order (a classical tradition often heard in final movements by Haydn or Mozart). Is this Brahms’s most nature-related symphony? Considering the complicated organisms that develop from the simplest cells, yes, it is. Brahms certainly has the divine, creative talent to show us how this process can work in music. –Iván Fischer
Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Ken-ichiro Kobayashi – Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 1; Hungarian Dances (2014)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:08:48 minutes | 2,71 GB | Source: highresaudio.jp
FLAC Stereo 24bit/192kHz | Source: DSD64 (converted at KORG AudioGate 2.3.3 / DSD Filter Soft Roll-off -3dB/50kHz / TPDF Diter) | 3,08 GB
© Tokyo Metropolitan Art Centre on April 22-23, 2014 (DSD Recording) | Genre: Classical Recorded: Tokyo Metropolitan Art Centre on April 22-23, 2014 (DSD Recording)
Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi (小林 研一郎 , born April 9, 1940) is a Japanese conductor and composer. Born in Iwaki, Fukushima, Kobayashi’s father was a high school music teacher, and mother was a primary school teacher. Kobayashi started composing music at the age of 11, studied composition and conducting under Mareo Ishiketa (composition), Kazuo Yamada (conducting), and Akeo Watanabe (conducting) at Tokyo University of the Arts.
Kobayashi won the 1st prize and the special award at the International Conductors Competition on Hungarian television in 1974. He has led orchestras in Germany, Austria, Britain, and Netherlands. Kobayashi has been resident conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and Kyoto Symphony Orchestra. Kobayashi was appointed to the principal conductor of Japan Philharmonic Orchestra (1988–1990), chief conductor (1990–1994, 1997–2004), music director (2004–2007) and conductor laureate since 2010. Kobayashi served the principal guest conductor of Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra and Kyusyu Symphony Orchestra. He was general music director of Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra from 1998 to 2001, music director from 2001 to 2003, is now appointed to the conductor laureate since 2003. Kobayashi was appointed to the special guest conductor of Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in August 2011, appointed to the music director of Tokyo Bunka Kaikan in June 2012.
Read more
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Marek Janowski – Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 1 & Haydn Variations (2007)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:01:24 minutes | 2,45 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet | © Pentatone Music B.V.
There is no doubt about it, great things were expected of Johannes Brahms, as is clear in these sentences penned by Robert Schumann in 1855. Schumann had already showered him with praise in his article “Neue Bahnen”, and now expected Brahms to finally alter course in the direction of the larger-sized works, such as the symphony: it was essential for the young composer to once and for all outdo the “giant” Beethoven in this field. Brahms was under double pressure: on the one hand, his circle of friends led by Schumann, as well as the music world, were anxiously awaiting his first symphony; on the other, he was struggling with himself and with his relentless self-criticism. Was he truly already up to the challenge?
Read more
Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer – Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 1, Hungarian Dance & Haydn Variations (2009)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:07:27 minutes | 2,66 + 2.74 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | © Channel Classics Records B.V.
“An orchestra musician is an artist, not an employee, and artists must be given the chance to take initiatives and to be creative. Only an orchestra of true artists – making music as a highly disciplined team – is able to realize the dreams of the composers and pass on an uplifting experience to the audience, touching all listeners deep in their heart. This is our aim for which the Budapest Festival Orchestra has been created.” –Iván Fischer
Read more
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Marek Janowski – Johannes Brahms – Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 (2008)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:19:13 minutes | 3,14 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet | © Pentatone Music B.V.
With the greatest of approval, critics and audience alike had greeted the première of the symphony, which was given a brilliant performance on December 30, 1877 by the Vienna Philharmonic under Hans Richter. All the worries and problems which had dogged and tormented Brahms for almost 15 years during the composition of his Symphony No. 1 were now forgotten. Finally, the breakthrough had come about, after years of battling with the symphonic form and his own selfdoubt, and this second symphony provided a magnificent confirmation of the fact. The shadow of the “giant” Beethoven had definitely been cast off.
Read more
Swedish Radio Choir, Peter Dijkstra – Johannes Brahms – Mass & Motets (2014)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 57:25 minutes | 2,3 GB | Genre: Classical
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 57:25 minutes | 0,99 GB
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Booklet, Front Cover | © Channel Classics Records B.V.
This programme features highlights of German Romanticism and one of the most familiar and frequently performed composers: Johannes Brahms. More particularly, Brahms’s choral music ‘in all its pureness’, the genre that made him so well-known and well-loved among the countless choirs of the time in Germany and Austria. Four years before Brahms was born in Hamburg, Felix Mendelssohn dusted off Bach’s St Matthew Passion and had it performed again, a hundred years after the premiere in 1729. Brahms likewise cherished the remembrance of Bach. In Vienna he performed his motets and throughout Brahms’s life, Bach remained his primary source of inspiration.
With its 32 professional singers, the Swedish Radio Choir forms an instrument with a range from the most delicate a cappella tones to oratorios of enormous power and versatility. Every individual is allowed his or her place in the group, resulting in an exclusive expressiveness – the Swedish Radio Choir’s unique sound. The Swedish Radio Choir, which is one of the world’s most respected a cappella ensembles, was founded in 1925, but it was not until 25 years later (1952), under the leadership of their new principal conductor Eric Ericson, that the choir began to develop into the flexible instrument that it has now become. And every principal conductor after him has also contributed to the character of the choir, adding new colour and accomplishments. The present principal conductor, since the autumn of 2007, is Peter Dijkstra.
Read more
Arabella Steinbacher, Robert Kulek – Johannes Brahms – Complete Works for Violin & Piano (2011)
DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,82 MHz | Time – 01:18:49 minutes | 3,11 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet | © Pentatone Music B.V.
“Arabella Steinbacher and Robert Kulek approach these timeless scores with a velvet-gloved tenderness and affection that dispels any sense of Brahms being an ‘intellectual’ composer. Steinbacher produces a sensuous sound of beguiling purity that sends Brahms’s rich cantabile lines soaring aloft and receives wonderfully sympathetic support from Kulek…in terms of sheer beauty of sound Steinbacher and Kulek have no rivals.” –Classic FM
Read more
Nat Birchall – Ancient Africa (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 39:49 minutes | 425 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Ancient Archive of Sound
Tucked away in the rural north of England, and so doubly off the media radar, tenor saxophonist Nat Birchall is one of Britain’s best kept secrets. His specialism is the strand of spiritual jazz pioneered by John Coltrane in the mid 1960s. Since the turn of the millennium, Birchall has released a string of albums ringing that bell with increasing resonance.
Read more
Naomi Raine – Journey (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:06:21 minutes | 722 MB | Genre: Soul, Jazz, Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Tribl Records
Naomi Raine’s TRIBL Records debut full-length album, The Journey, is a collection of transparent and vulnerable deep cuts that detail Raine’s mental health battle in beautifully crafted lyrics. The 22-track album features interludes of Naomi discussing her journey of self-discovery interwoven between musical layers. Her debut solo single, “Not Ready,” showcases the Urban Inspirational sound of Naomi Raine over transparent and vulnerable lyrics – Raine sings of a yearning for the love of God and touches on her silent battle with mental health and struggle in longing for personal change. Raine’s, “Not Ready” is a nod to 90’s feel-good music and will easily become a fan favorite. An undeniable bop – “World on Fire,” the second single lifted, showcases Raine’s lower register and features Ryan Avery.
Read more
Mychael Danna – Where The Crawdads Sing (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 45:13 minutes | 487 MB | Genre: Soundtrack
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Decca (UMO)
Where the Crawdads Sing is a 2022 American mystery drama film based on the novel of the same name by Delia Owens. It is directed by Olivia Newman from a screenplay written by Lucy Alibar, and produced by Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter.Mychael Danna composed the film’s musical score.Mychael Danna is a Canadian composer of film and television scores. He won both the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Original Score for Life of Pi. He has also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score) in his work on the miniseries World Without End.American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift wrote and performed the original song “Carolina” for the film. When the film’s promotional trailer was first released, she said that she “got absolutely lost in [the book] when I read it years ago” and “wanted to create something haunting and ethereal”.
Read more
My Morning Jacket – MMJ Live Vol. 1: Live 2015 (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:42:25 minutes | 2,13 GB | Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ATO RECORDS
My Morning Jacket has announced the launch of their new MMJ LIVE vinyl series, kicking off with ‘LIVE 2015’, collecting 16 previously unreleased live tracks recorded during 2015’s THE WATERFALL Tour.
Read more
Münchner Philharmoniker & Sergiu Celibidache – Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat Major Op. 82 & Stravinsky: The Firebird (Suite) [Live] (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:03:26 minutes | 1,05 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © MUNCHNER PHILHARMONIKER GBR
The Munich Philharmonic and Sergiu Celibidache share an exceptional legacy. He started his work as principal conductor in 1979 and remained in this position for as long as 17 years. Sergiu Celibidache played an integral part in making the Munich Philharmonic what it is today: an orchestra of worldwide renown.
Read more