![King Crimson - Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (40th Anniversary Edition) (1973/2023) [High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-Ray Disc]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2024/05/12/138741_front.md.jpg)
Ben Kim, Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra – The First Vienna Concertos | Piano Concertos Nos. 11-12-13 (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:13:20 minutes | 686 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Challenge Classics
Concertos No. 11, 12, and 13 were Mozart’s first Concertos written upon moving to Vienna from Salzburg. In a letter addressed to his father Leopold, he described them as “a happy medium between too easy and too difficult; very brilliant, pleasing to the ear, and natural, without being vapid.” By then, Mozart was free of his father’s dominating presence. He wrote them to win over Vienna, and they did, firmly establishing him as Europe’s premier composer. But with these pieces, he was also seeking confirmation from his father. And the desire for parental approval is a basic one. Indeed, there are many moments in the Concertos, whether sublime or gallant or majestic, where one still feels a sense of child-like wonder.
Read more
Niek Baar & Ben Kim – Robert & Clara Schumann: Solitude (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:03:25 minutes | 1,97 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Channel Classics
The album Solitude features music of Robert Schumann and Clara Schumann. Dutch violinist Niek Baar and American pianist Ben Kim tell us: “Robert Schumann brought us together as duo partners and as friends. His writing, obsessively swinging between fiery turmoil and tender longing, gave us a common language to communicate with one another”. On this recording, Robert Schumann’s Violin Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3 are paired with Clara Schumann’s 3 Romances, Op. 22. Listening to her romances, we note that Clara quotes Robert’s Violin Sonata No. 1. This romantic gesture underlines the artistic bond between Clara and Robert Schumann.
Read more![Ben Kim - Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 & 25 (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download](https://i0.wp.com/imghd.xyz/images/2023/03/09/mjbz7xulxu1gc_600.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1)
Ben Kim – Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 & 25 (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:04:41 minutes | 1,09 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Challenge Classics
If in my previous recording of Mozart Concertos I tried to say something valid and truthful, albeit sincere, with this album I wanted to simply be.
For me, Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 24 and 25 are a testament to the beauty and imperfection of the human experience and about finding joy and meaning in the midst of pain and hardship.
Even though they are considered today to have pushed the boundaries of the genre, the premiere of the 24th concerto in 1876 left listeners puzzled and uneasy. It wasn’t an opera, yet it sounded like one. What was a piece of passionate lament doing in a solo concerto expected to dazzle more than move audiences? By the time he wrote the 25th, unapologetically symphonic in scope, Mozart had lost enough subscribers that he had to postpone his performance by an entire season. The concerto would not be performed again until nearly 150 years later by Arthur Schnabel.
(more…)