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CHANNEL CLASSICS CCS SA 34913 Bruch Scottish Fantasy Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D NING FENGviolin Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin YANG YANG conductor NING FENG violin orn in Chengdu, China, Ning Feng studied festivals including Gstaad, Schleswig­Holstein, at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music Prague Spring, Tivoli and Kissinger Sommer Bwith Hu Weimin, at the Royal Academy of where he plays nearly every year. He has Music, London, with Hu Kun – where he was the played in many of the major concert halls first student ever to be awarded 100% for his including Moscow’s Great Hall, Berlin final recital – and in Berlin with Antje Weithaas. Konzerthaus and the Vienna Konzerthaus and The reci pient of prizes at the Hanover Inter­ with orchestras in many of the major cities national, Queen Elisabeth and Yehudi Menuhin across Europe including Berlin, Budapest, Inter national violin competitions, Ning Feng Bilbao, Copenhagen, Venice, Strasbourg, Lyon. was First Prize winner of the 2005 Michael He is a regular soloist with the Hong Kong Hill International Violin Competition (New Philharmonic Orchestra both at home and on Zea land), and in 2006 won first prize in the tour and also performs regularly in Canada, Inter national Paganini Competition. South Korea and New Zealand. Regarded Established at the highest level in China, increasingly as an artist of exceptional quality, Ning Feng performs regularly in his native he has been paired with conductors of great country in recital, with the many local esteem such as Vladimir Jurowski, Jaap van orchestras, and with major touring orchestras. Zweden, and Iván Fischer. A keen chamber musician, Ning collaborates His previous recording for Channel Classics, regularly with musicians across the globe and Solo, featuring works by Paganini, Kreisler, in China has recently founded the Dragon Berio, Schnittke and others, received a first­ Quartet with cellist Liwei Qin. Now based in class review by Audiophile Audition: “You will be Berlin and performing concerts worldwide, blown away by the artistry of this album, and Ning is developing a reputation internationally blown away in great sound to boot. This is a as an artist of great lyricism and emotional stunning recording of solo violin works by a trans parency, displaying tremendous bravura variety of composers… and there are really and awe­inspiring technical accomplishment. few violinists who are able to pull it off. Ning In Europe, Ning plays regularly at the major Feng is one of those who can, not only for his Ning Feng photo Felix Broede 2 3 sterling playing but also because of the rabid this is an unqualified recommendation intelligence behind the selection of pieces of a wonderful album that demonstrates here. None of these works is anything the highest artistic and programming less than enthralling, and a few approach skills possible.” the incandescent. Milstein’s arrangement Ning Feng plays a 2007 Stefan­Peter of the Paganiniana has never been bettered… Greiner in this recording. YANG YANG direction ang Yang was born into a musical family. appointed as Principal Conductor and Artistic He studied piano with the renowned Director. Since taking up this position, Yang YChinese teacher Li Qifang, conducting Yang has led the orchestra through four with Xu Xin and Professor Wu Lingfen, and was remarkable seasons and over 300 per for­ admitted with honours to study at the China mances, and has established long­term strategic Central Conservatory of Music, under the partnerships with both the Berlin Philharmonic tutelage of Professor Yu Feng. In 2006, Yang Yang and the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, won first prize in the Dimitri Mitropoulos involving player exchange and training pro­ Conducting Competition, the only Chinese grammes, as well as opera co­productions, conductor ever to have received this honour. and numerous international tours to festivals One of the most active Chinese conductors of such as Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Schleswig­ his generation, Yang Yang maintains close Holstein, Ravello, Taormina and Ljubljana. relation ships with all the major orchestras and In Europe Yang Yang has conducted orchestras opera companies in China. He has worked in cities such as Stuttgart, Cologne, Verona, regularly with the Beijing Music Festival since its Cannes, Bordeaux and Athens, and has colla­ inception in 1998, and from 2000­2005 held the borated with a number of world­renowned position of assistant conductor at China Phil­ artists, such as Lynn Harrell, Alban Gerhardt, harmonic Orchestra. In 2009, he played a vital Augustin Dumay, Renaud Capuçon, Lang Lang, role in the formation of the Hangzhou Phil­ Barry Douglas, Kun Woo Paik, Sumi Jo and Yang Yang harmonic Orchestra, and subsequently was Sabine Meyer. photo Xiaoyang Wen 4 5 Deutsches Symphonie­Orchester Berlin photo Frank Eidel 6 7 Bruch close friend of Bruch. The dark and threaten ing DEutsches SYmphonie- Violinists visiting Max Bruch to play him his introduction portrays an old bard at the ruins 1st Violin Concerto (the violin concerto, of a castle, reflecting gloomily on the good Orchester BErlin though he wrote three) were chased away times of the past. The second solo in stru­­ment, by the composer, who shouted that he had the harp, responds regularly to the violin. Both written a lot more than just that. The great instruments are characteristic of folk music or more than 65 years the Deutsches the artistic responsibility for the orchestra. success of this delightful piece has cast a of northern England and Scot land. The Adagio Symphonie­Orchester Berlin (DSO He was succeeded by Riccardo Chailly shadow over his other music. And those cantabile incorporates a Scottish love song FBerlin) has distinguished itself as one of (1982­89), Vladimir Ashkenazy (1989­99), who know the work – or hear it for the published in 1863 by Bruch. The Scherzo, Germany’s leading orchestras. The number of Kent Nagano (2000­06) and Ingo Metzmacher first time – understand only too well why, expressly called ‘dance’ in the score, is based renowned Music Directors, the scope and (2007­10). Since the start of the 2012­13 for it is rightly one of the most popular of all on the tune to The dusty miller. In the following variety of its work, and its particular emphasis season the 34­year­old Ossetian conductor romantic violin concertos. However, Bruch Andante we hear the song I’m a’down for lack o’ on modern and contemporary music, makes Tugan Sokhiev is DSO Berlin’s new Music wrote another work for violin and orchestra Johnnie. The final movement is entitled Allegro the ensemble unique. It was founded in 1946 Director. He has already held the title of which is per haps even more special. For the guerriero, which Bruch proba bly borrowed as the RIAS­Symphonie­Orchester by the Music Director Designate since the beginning soloist it is technically more more difficult from Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony, and broadcasting station in the American sector of the 2010­11 season. than the 1st Violin Concerto, and it is a in it he quotes the war song Scots wha hae. of Berlin. In 1956 the orchestra was renamed The Deutsches Symphonie­Orchester Berlin free fantasy rather than a traditional three­ the Radio Symphonie­Orchester Berlin and its history have become emblematic movement concerto. It is the Scottish Fantasy (RSO Berlin), and in 1993, to avoid confusion of the democratic and cultural renewal of op. 46 for violin and orchestra (1880), written Tchaikovsky in Berlin’s newly reunited cultural landscape, Germany following the defeat of National for the legendary virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate, In the mid 1870s, on discovering Edouard the orchestra decided to relinquish its familiar Socialism and the end of World War II. a Spaniard who spent his entire life in France. Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, Pyotr Ilyich name in favour of its present one. That is how the orchestra has been perceived Shortly before, Edouard Lalo had composed Tchaikovsky was prompted to write a violin Ferenc Fricsay became the orchestra’s first at its concerts in Berlin and on tours through­ his exotic and daredevil Symphonie Espagnole concerto. As a sort of preliminary study he Music Director. He set the standard and out Germany and the rest of Europe, North (1875) for De Sarasate. This is another first composed some smaller works for violin defined the repertoire. The orchestra’s sound and South America, and in the Near, Middle strange mixture of symphony, solo concerto and orchestra, the Sérénade mélancolique was characterized by transparency, structural and Far East. Its groundbreaking radio and suite. Bruch hesitated to use the title opus 26 (1875) and Valse­Scherzo opus 34 clarity and plasticity. It quickly became well and recording productions have further ‘fantasy’, since this is usually a rather short (1877). Under the title Souvenir d’un lieu known for its commitment to 20th century solidified this image. In 2011 the orchestra piece in free form, while he had written a cher opus 42 he also pu blish ed three pieces music, and its ability to attract first­rate was awarded a Grammy Award for the considerable work lasting half an hour, with for violin and piano in 1878. He wrote these conductors. In 1964, Lorin Maazel took on Best Opera Recording. a range of contrasting moods. as a reminiscence of Brailov, the country The Scottish Fantasy was inspired by the house of his pen­friend and patroness writings of Sir Walter Scott, as we learn from Nadeshda von Meck which he often visited – Wilhelm Altmann, a Berlin researcher and though without ever meeting her, having 8 9 agreed never to do so in order to avoid any Auer, but he turned it down as “unplayable”, vriend van Bruch. De duistere en dreigende en piano.

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