Classical Essentials

Liebesfreud by Rachmaninov/Kreisler (Piano Transcription)
Raluca Stirbat, Piano
Released by Gramola, Viena 2011
https://www.gramola.at/de/Magazin/Artists/RalucaStirbatKonzert/
http://www.amazon.de/s?_encoding=UTF8&field-artist=Raluca%20Stirbat&search-alias=music-de

Liebesfreud by Rachmaninov/Kreisler, Raluca Stirbat, Piano

Ah vous dirais-je maman (12 variations) - Mozart

Liszt: Six Consolations, S. 172, No. 3: Lento, Placido

Schumann Waldszenen Op. 82 III. Einsame Blumen

Released 4th May - Preorder 'Live in Riga' http://thomasgould.bandcamp.com/

THOMAS GOULD Live in Riga
Sinfonietta Riga

1-3 VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D, OP. 61 - LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN 
I. Allegro ma non troppo 
II. Larghetto 
III. Rondo (Allegro)

4 THE LARK ASCENDING - RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

‘Violinist Thomas Gould is one of a new generation of classical musicians who refuses to be defined by a single genre’. GUARDIAN

‘One of the most talented and charismatic British violinists of the younger generation’. LONDON EVENING STANDARD

‘The young British violinist Thomas Gould seems intent on becoming the Nigel Kennedy of his generation… Scythingly scintillating playing from a young virtuoso with a magpie mind’. THE TIMES

‘Live in Riga’ is the major new album from the celebrated 31 year old British violinist Thomas Gould.  Recorded live in concert with Sinfonietta Riga on April 11th 2014 at the Great Guild Hall in Riga, Latvia, it confirms Gould’s enormous potential as one of the most inventive and colourful instrumentalists of his generation.  Gould is no ordinary classical musician but one of a new generation who refuse to be defined by a single genre.  He has developed impressive jazz credentials, but it is in this environment as soloist/director of classical repertoire where he really excels.  The Times recently described Gould as “intent on becoming the Nigel Kennedy of his generation”.  Gould, however, is incomparably his own musician.  Bold and courageous enough to forge his own path and follow his singular vision, he steps outside the footsteps of the greats.

‘Live in Riga’ is a defining album for Gould, his first disc of a three-album deal with forward-thinking British jazz and classical record label Edition Classics.  Over the last decade he has been in demand as a soloist with major orchestras worldwide, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra and LA Phil New Music Group.  He is also much in demand as a leader/director, working with Britten Sinfonia, Aurora Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s ACO2, but it’s when he brings these disciplines together that the magic happens.  As Gould explains, “It means that everyone plays in a more engaged way. There is a group commitment to making it work, so the process is much more collaborative than when working with conductor.”

Sinfonietta Riga is an orchestra with a story to tell.  Formed in 2006, their vision is as bold as Gould’s.  Equally happy to play in concert dress or T-shirts they are intent on building new audiences for the music while reaching for the highest artistic standards.  Their collaboration is a perfect match and a unique experience for both the orchestra and for Gould.  This live concert recording bears witness to this special musical symbiosis.

To release an album featuring Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending is a bold decision.  As two cornerstones of the violin repertoire, there are plenty of performances to compare, but Gould’s versions demonstrate a brilliance of tone and colour that demands attention.  His flexibility and breadth of musical interests is fully evident.  Gould’s playing has the clarity you would expect from any major performer but radiates a freedom in its expression as though improvised with an immediate elegance and poise.

For Gould it’s all about achieving the right balance.  Whether it’s jazz or classical, written or improvised, as soloist or director, Gould is right in the eye of the storm.  If the dark clouds gathering in the wider music world imply that the days of the single-minded virtuoso are coming to an end; if to succeed in that brave new world we need to attract more diversity and brighter colours, then in Thomas Gould we may have found the lightning conductor to spark a new generation.


THOMAS GOULD Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending

Jun Keller, violin // Hiroshi Kato, piano // live recording

Kreisler: Schön Rosmarin

Johann Sebastian Bach - Aria Da Capo,  Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (Fine Classical Music)

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Audius

Piano Sonata No.15 in F-Major, K. 533: III. Rondo Allegretto

From the album 'Schubert: Fantasie in C Major, Op. 15, D. 760 "Wanderer"; Chopin: 4 Ballades'. 
More information: http://sophiagranovich.com/discography
Buy: http://amzn.to/1PmG9qn

Frederic Chopin: Ballade No.1 in G minor, Op. 23

Chopin - Waltz Op. 64 No. 2

Ward, Tanisha, "September," Richard Strauss, Vier Letzte Lieder

Although the “Kreutzer” Sonata, Op. 47, is dedicated to Rodolphe Kreutzer, the original dedication was to George P. Bridgetower (1779-1860), for whom the piece was written. Bridgetower, an African-Polish violinist who lived in London.
Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831) was a French violinist of great renown whom Beethoven met in Vienna in 1798.

Beethoven’s decision to dedicate the sonata to Kreutzer instead of Bridgetower was probably related to his intended move to Paris and a wish to ingratiate himself with French musical luminaries. Legend has it that Beethoven changed the dedication because he and Bridgetower quarreled over a woman. Kreutzer most likely never knew of the dedication, and it is almost certain that he never played the piece.

The “Kreutzer” Sonata was published in 1805. Beethoven described the piece as “written in a very concertante style, like that of a concerto,” explaining the internal conflict generally associated with his larger works.

Beethoven’s “new path” is everywhere evident in the first movement of the “Kreutzer” Sonata. The only slow introduction Beethoven ever wrote for a violin sonata is actually the only portion of the movement in A major, which gives way to A minor at the beginning of the Presto sonata-form section. Development of the first theme does not occur until the lengthy, weighty coda, which is much more symphonic than chamber-style in conception.

Ludwig van Beethoven. Sonata No. 9 "Kreutzer" for violin and piano, op. 47

Chopin Etude Op10-4 (Recorded in 2007)

Colburn School - Junior Solo Recital - February 2012

11 Robert Schumann  Kinderszenen, Op. 15 - 7. Träumerei

Chopin: Étude opus 25 No. 1 in A flat "Aeolian Harp" played by Bernard Pulham

"Aeolian Harp" Étude opus 25 No. 1 in A flat: Chopin

Chopin: Prelude No. 15 in D-flat Major
Recorded at WGBH studios, Boston, May 2012. 
Produced by Dan Gurin
Photo: Winchester, after Nemo Blizzard Feb. 2012

Schumann Waldszenen Op. 82 III. Einsame Blumen

Scott Sherman

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