Ludwig van Beethoven

 

• All of Beethoven’s symphonies attractively presented in one series
• Audio CD included for each symphony
• Each volume includes additional historical and contextual information

 

Just in time for Beethoven’s 250th anniversary, here are his 9 symphonies in the EULENBURG AUDIO+SCORE series, presented in a slipcase and at a special price.

Each volume of this contains a score in excellent print and a CD with the complete recording.

In addition, all editions contain an informative preface on biographical and artistic backgrounds of the symphonies.

12 Easy Pieces for 4 Violins

Annette Read-Becker

 

• Well-known pieces from the Baroque to the Romantic era
• Suitable for beginners
• Encourages the joy of making music together

 

Classical Music for Children contains well-known classical melodies in easy arrangements that are ideally suited for joyful music-making in a group. The arrangements allow students of different performance levels to make music together.

Most pieces and parts can be played in the first position. The third and fourth parts can also be played with viola or cello.

Transcription for Piano Solo

Richard Strauss

 

• Piano transcription of Richard Strauss’ late masterpiece, Metamorphosen
• Advanced level
• Transcription by composer and author Gustave Samazeuilh

 

Discovered in 1990, Strauss’ short score of Metamorphosen was originally conceived for seven strings. He however changed his mind when he received a composition commission for a 23-piece string section from the Paul Sacher Foundation.

This transcription by Gustave Samazeuilh (1877–1967) is dedicated to Dr Ernst Roth, music editor at Boosey & Hawkes, and was approved by Strauss himself.

The manuscript came to light a few years ago during relocation of archived materials at Boosey & Hawkes. A pupil of d’Indy and Dukas, Samazeuilh was a life-long friend and supporter of Strauss and made many piano transcriptions of his orchestral works.

Songs of Mercy and Redemption

Karl Jenkins

 

• New large work for mixed choir in 13 movements
• For intermediate to advanced singers
• Piano reduction for Decca CD (481 8580)

 

Miserere: Songs of Mercy and Redemption is a sequence of reflections on the theme of mercy, in response to the recent and ongoing tragic conflicts in the Middle East and other regions.

Woven around verses selected from Psalm 51, the inspiration for composers from Allegri to Pärt, the work features an eclectic range of settings of Rumi, St Thomas Aquinas, Isaac Watts, Carol Barratt and Dylan Thomas.

Scored for countertenor (or mezzo-soprano), solo cello, mixed chorus, strings, harp and percussion, Miserere: Songs of Mercy and Redemption is a profound meditation on humanity and atonement, from the composer of The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, Requiem, The Peacemakers and Stabat Mater.

On 22 December, Antwerp Cathedral Choir will perform The Fruit of Silence by composer Pēteris Vasks in the splendid setting of Antwerp’s Cathedral of Our Lady. The work, which exists in multiple versions for different instrumentations, will be performed in its version for choir and string orchestra.

The text used in Vasks’ work is based on words by Mother Teresa who often surprised conversational partners with a card containing a short text beginning with the phrase, “The fruit of silence is prayer”. In 2013, Vasks set these words as a prayer for peace in a commission from Schlewig-Holstein Music Festival. Originally composed for mixed choir accompanied by piano, The Fruit of Silence is a densly woven elegiac stream of sound. Vasks has since arranged the work for different forces, including choir and orchestra, and as a wordless settings for string quartet and piano quintet. In 2020, Schott Music will publish a further version of The Fruit of Silence for choir and organ.

Pēteris Vasks – The Fruit of Silence: strong words strengthen 

The Fruit of Silence is a quiet meditative work constructed around a metaphorical road along which are five signs: ‘prayer’, ‘faith’, ‘love’, ‘service’,  and ‘peace’. Vasks points to each sign by musically emphasising the five central words leading to the work’s climactic point on the word ‘peace’.

Silence is a beautiful spiritual condition that can also be expressed in music. I get the sense that events in the world slowly cause a loss of foundations under our feet. God give that the horrors that we see in Ukraine and the Middle East can be extinguished, because otherwise we will be incinerated in this fire. Each of us can do something to stop this craziness. Let us speak good and loving words to one another, because they have much strength. Every smile, every word that is spoken with love, every caress – believe me, that is numerous strength. – Pēteris Vasks

In the New Year, Vasks music will be performed in several concerts around Europe. In January, Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal will perform Vientulais eņǵelis (Lonely Angel) in Wuppertal and Hattingen, and in February a new ballet set to the composer’s Baltā ainava (White Scenery. Winter) will open at Theater Schweinfurt.

• Pēteris Vasks – profile


• The Fruit of Silence – work details


• Antwerp Cathedral of Our Lady 


• Playlist on Spotify: Discover the music of Peteris Vasks

 

Photo: Adobe Stock / delbars

On 13 December, the Hong Kong Philharmonic and conductor Jaap van Zweden will give the first performance in nearly 100 years of Willem Mendelberg’s reconstruction of the Adagio and Purgatorio from Gustav Mahler’s Symphony Nr. 10. Mengelberg, once chief conductor of the Concergebouw Orchestra, devoted himself to the promotion of Mahler’s music following the composer’s death. In 1924 he gave the first performance of his version of Mahler’s unfinished tenth symphony in Amsterdam.
The music of the symphony, which Mahler wrote in his ‘composing cottage’ in South Tyrol during 1910, is coloured by the discovery that his wife, Alma, had been engaged in an affair with an architect while staying in Styria. His discovery of the affair caused him severe distress causing him to seek help from Sigmund Freud. The music that arose from this period constitutes a desperate declaration of the composer’s love for Alma Mahler.

Mahler/Mengelberg – Symphonie Nr. 10: from drafted particell to full score 

Mahler died before he could complete the symphony leaving his drafts and sketches to Alma. The work, which consists of five movements in various stages of completion, centres on a central Purgatorio, itself framed by two scherzi. The work opens and closes with two large-scale adagio movements. Alma allowed Mendelberg to edit two movements of the symphony to create a performing version.

The concert will be repeated by the orchestra on 14 December. In January 2020 the Zweden will conduct the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in two performances the Mendelberg’s completion in Amsterdam.

• Gustav Mahler – profile 


• Symphonie Nr. 10 – work details


• Hong Kong Philharmonic

 

Marco Stroppa views composition as musical research and is constantly aware of the dual nature of artistic thought, “the discourse about the thought and the thought itself.” As a philosopher of sound, all sonorities are for him instruments of epistemology; as a musical poet, he tells stories with sensual, tactile, dynamic, and constantly changing sounds, the interpretation of which is always left up to the individual listener.

On December 8th he will celebrate his 60th birthday.

Released by WERGO: Space (WER 73722)

 

Schott Music is thrilled to announce that Lei Liang has been awarded the prestigious University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Music Composition for his orchestral work A Thousand Mountains, A Million Streams.

In two movements, A Thousand Mountains, A Million Streams meditates on the loss of landscapes of cultural and spiritual dimensions and implies an intention to preserve and resurrect parallel landscapes, both spiritual and physical. Norman Ryan, Schott Music New York, comments:

Lei Liang’s richly expressive compositional voice reflects the depth and diversity of human experience. Th e exquisite fusion of narrative, symbolic, and lyrical forms in his music heightens our consciousness of the world around us and invites us to embrace a universal humanity. All of us at Schott are deeply proud of Lei Liang and heartily congratulate him on this welldeserved honor.

• Lei Liang - Composer Profile


• A Thousand Mountains, A Million Streams - Details, Audio Stream and Online Score

On 8 December Anno Schreier’s Der Zauberer von Oz will receive its world premiere at the Theater Aachen. Christopher Ward will conduct the cast and orchestra in director Ute M. Engelhardt’s new production. Schreier’s family-orientated ‘magicopera’, liberally sets the famous story initially told in Lyman Frank Baum’s novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and popularised by the 1939 film adaptation.
Dorothy is caught in tornado that blows her from Kansas to the fantastical land of Oz. Meeting friends along the way, Der Zauberer von Oz follows Dorothy as she begins a journey to find the wizard who will help her to return home. Just as Dorothy is met by a series of unexpected events during her journey to the Emerald City, Schreier’s score is full of many different musical styles including baroque, country, and reggae.

Anno Schreier – Der Zauberer von Oz: A magician takes his audience on a wonderful journey

If I had to describe myself with one of the characters, I would describe myself first of all as the cowardly lion who cannot trust his own strength at the beginning of a new project. Later, I would select Dorothy who searches for allies and is able to confront witches and the Hammer-Heads. In my role of composer, I also attempt to be a wizard who takes his audience on a wonderful journey. – Anno Schreier

Der Zauberer von Oz runs at Theater Aachen until March 2020.

• Anno Schreier – profile


• Der Zauberer von Oz – work details


• Theater Aachen 

The EDA CD " Poland Abroad Vol. 7" with compositions by Ignatz Waghalter, Ignace Strasfogel and Karol Rathaus has been awarded the Quarterly German Record Critics’ Award, List of Best Recordings 4/2019, category "Chamber Music".

Having regarded Germany as their artistic and intellectual home at the beginning of the 20th century, these three Jewish composers from Poland were driven into exile by the National Socialists: Ignatz Waghalter, Ignace Strasfogel and Karol Rathaus. Although they survived the holocaust, they could not continue on their career or could only do it under arduous conditions. Whereas Waghalter prefers the tonal, late Romantic-Impressionist idiom – though in a very personal and imaginative way –, Strasfogel and Rathaus are close to the Second Viennese School. The passion of the Polish String Quartet for the brilliantly composed and very rewarding works by the three composers is clearly noticeable. The ensemble captivates the audience with an impressively homogeneous sound and structural clarity. A real find! (For the jury: Elisabeth Richter)

Poland Abroad Vol. 7 – String Quartets 2
Sring quartets by Ignatz Waghalter, Ignace Strasfogel and Karol Rathaus
Interpreters: Polish String Quartet Berlin
EDA 43