HYBRID MUL

TICHANNEL (1756 – 1791)

Sinfonia concertante for , and Orchestra in E flat, K. 364 1 Allegro maestoso 12. 32 2 Andante 11. 11 3 Presto 6. 13 Rondo for Violin and Orchestra in C, K. 373 (Cadenza by ) 4 Allegretto grazioso 5. 58 Concertone for 2 and Orchestra in C, K. 190 5 Allegro spiritoso 8. 23 6 Andantino grazioso 10. 41 7 Tempo di menuetto (Vivace) 8. 23

Julia Fischer- violin Gordan Nikolić- violin (K. 190) / viola (K. 364) Hans Meyer- (K. 190) Herre Jan Stegenga- (K. 190) Chamber Orchestra conducted by:

Total playing-time: 63. 35

Biographien auf Deutsch und Französisch finden Sie auf unserer Webseite. Pour les versions allemande et française des biographies, veuillez consulter notre site. www.pentatonemusic.com Fun for two have come down to us, of which the majority were written between 1770 n August 21, 1772 the and 1830. The generally light-hearted Oarchbishop Colloredo appoint- and amusing character of most of ed the 16-year-old Wolfgang Ama- these works is most striking. Mozart deus Mozart as concert master in probably first came into contact with his orchestra, at an annual salary the sinfonia concertante on his trip of 150 gulden. During the following to Paris in 1777/1778: perhaps dur- years, Mozart wrote the majority of ing the journey itself in Mannheim, his concertante works for violin and where mostly concertantes with solo orchestra, beginning with the Vio- wind instruments were being writ- lin Concerto in B flat, K.207 (1773) ten, and otherwise certainly in Paris, and the Concertone for two violins, where Ignaz Pleyel – among others oboe, cello and orchestra, K.190 – was enjoying great success with his (1774). These were followed in 1775 concertantes. If the Sinfonia Concer- by another four violin concertos (in tante K.297b for oboe, clarinet, horn, D, K.211; in G, K.216; in D, K.218; and bassoon and orchestra is indeed by in A, K.219); and a few years later, Mozart, then he must have written during the summer or early autumn this work for his friends in Mannheim. of 1779, he wrote the final work, his However, the authenticity of this work Sinfonia Concertante for violin and is debatable. It has definitely been viola, K.364. established that Mozart began work on a composition for violin, viola and Sinfonia concertante orchestra upon his return to Salzburg, The genre of the sinfonia concer- at a time when he was in fact los- tante – which was usually written as ing interest in the violin. The a three-movement work, in which was increasingly gaining ground as a number of soloists enter into a his favourite instrument. Was this dialogue with the orchestra – was Sinfonia Concertante perhaps a com- hugely popular for a short while. mission for a special occasion? This No less than 500 works in this genre seems the obvious conclusion, as a fragment of 134 bars has also come the viola part is written in D, the instru- down to us, from the first movement mentalist needs to tune his instru- of another Sinfonia Concertante in A, ment half a tone higher (scordatura), for violin, viola, cello and orchestra. producing a more transparent sound, Thus the Sinfonia Concertante in which mixes better with that of the E flat is Mozart’s only authentic con- violin. It also means that the violist is tribution to this genre. And what a able to make use of more open strings, contribution it is! Alas, we remain which almost automatically lifts the largely in the dark with regard to sound above that of the orchestra. the background of this masterpiece. A remarkable feature is that Mozart does not mention it in his let- Mozart regularly employs a serious ters; there are no other documents tone in the work, which is contrary referring to this work; and what to the light-hearted character of the remains of the manuscript is incom- genre. Compared to the five violin plete and also contains parts of vari- concertos written four years previ- ous ‘previous versions’ of the work. ously, this work is far more mature. Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante Then again, a lot had happened dur- forms a lonely highlight in the genre. ing those four years. Mozart’s journey The work is of symphonic dimensions, to Paris had ended in disappoint- yet is also a full-blooded double con- ment; furthermore, he had lost his certo. As in his violin concertos, here mother in the French capital; then Mozart treats both solo strings like he had fallen head over heels for singers in a scene from an opera. The Aloysia Weber, who unfortunately slow movement, especially, could eas- did not reciprocate his feelings. On ily be a duet from one of his operas. his way home, he wrote as follows Furthermore, the Sinfonia Concer- to his father: “Ich habe ein gar zu tante is the only concerto composed empfindsames Herz” (= my heart is by Mozart for the viola, the instru- far too sensitive), a line which could ment he himself loved to play. His have come straight from Goethe’s vast understanding of the instrument book “Das Leiden des jungen Wer- is apparent from the key he chose: as thers”. Although Mozart probably had not read this novel, written five the Sinfonia Concertante: the Concer- years previously, it is tempting to tone for two violins, oboe, cello and recognize a similar melancholy and orchestra. In the development of the ‘Empfindsamkeit’ in the slow move- concertante forms, the concertone is ment of the Sinfonia Concertante. ranked in between the concerto gros- The soloists sing a duet against the so and the sinfonia concertante. The background of an obscure-sounding genre was mainly intended as light orchestra (with divided ). At entertainment, and the soloists are times they comment on each others’ not expected to perform any virtuoso words, at others they sing together antics. In Austria and in the north of in consonant intervals. During the Italy, the concertone flourished for a third movement, all melancholy dis- short period, but apart from Mozart’s appears as if by magic. In this work compositions, few other concertones too, Mozart avoids the minor key. At have come down to us. However, a certain moment, when the music Leopold Mozart used the title ‘con- threatens to change to the key of C certone’ when referring to certain minor, he suddenly breaks off and compositions by Mozart’s colleague, shamelessly permits the viola to con- Josef Myslivecek. It is interesting tinue in the key of A flat. Instead that the manuscript of the Concer- of a cadenza, this movement ends tone is part of a collection of three with a passage in which each solo- bundles of manuscripts which were ist shoots up, in turn, like a rocket compiled by Leopold Mozart, and to the highest register: an effect that came into the possession of the pub- Haydn was to imitate in his own Sin- lisher August Cranz via Schubert’s fonia Concertante dating from 1792. friend Leopold von Sonnleithner, among others. Apparently, Leopold Concertone Mozart compiled the three bundles The trunk which Mozart took with according to genre. The first part him on his journey to Mannheim and contains the great Serenade K.185 Paris probably also contained anoth- with the corresponding March K.189. er work, which is closely related to The third part contains nine sym- phonies, written between April 1773 ed the work to be an independent and April 1774. In the second part concert rondo. Brunetti played the we encounter three serenades (K. composition on April 8, 1781 dur- 203, K.204 and K.250), as well as the ing an Academy in the residence Concertone. Leopold Mozart prob- of Prince Rudolph Joseph Colloredo, ably considered the genre of the the father of the Salzburg archbishop concertone to be an extension of the who gave Mozart such a hard time. great serenades: after all, these also contain a number of movements with Ronald Vermeulen one or more instrumental soloists. English translation: Fiona J. Stroker-Gale It is not inconceivable that Mozart performed the Concertone in Man- nheim or Paris: after all, he had writ- Zu zweit vergnügt ten this earlier in 1774, i.e. directly after his first . How- m 21. August 1772 stellt der Salz- ever, as in the case of the Sinfo- Aburger Erzbischof Colloredo den nia Concertante, there are no known sechzehnjährigen Wolfgang Amade- documents that can provide any us Mozart als Konzertmeister ein. further information in this respect. Das Jahresgehalt beträgt 150 Gul- den. In den folgenden Jahren kompo- Rondo niert Mozart den Löwenanteil seiner The fact that Mozart wrote alternative konzertanten Werke für Violine und movements for two concerts proves Orchester: 1773 entsteht das Violin- that his violin concertos were per- konzert B-Dur KV 207, im Jahr darauf formed not only by himself, but also das Concertone C-Dur KV 190 für by others (for instance, by his Salz- 2 Violinen, Oboe, Violoncello und burg colleague, Antonio Brunetti). Orchester. Die anderen vier Violin- There is nothing to relate the Rondo konzerte stammen aus dem Jahr in C, K.373 with one of Mozart’s 1775: D-Dur KV 211, G-Dur KV 216, own violin concertos; therefore, it is D-Dur KV 218 und A-Dur KV 219. more probable that Mozart intend- Den Abschluss dieser Werkreihe bil- det schließlich mit einigem zeitlichen lich. Belegt ist nur, dass Mozart nach Abstand die Sinfonia concertante Es- seiner Rückkehr in Salzburg an einem Dur KV 364 für Violine und Viola, die Stück für Violine, Viola und Orches- im Sommer oder frühen Herbst 1779 ter arbeitete und zwar exakt zu dem entstand. Zeitpunkt, an dem er das Interesse an der Violine zu verlieren begann. Sinfonia concertante Stattdessen wurde nun das Klavier In einer stets dreisätzigen Sinfonia zu seinem Lieblingsinstrument. War concertante dialogisieren mehrere diese Sinfonia concertante vielleicht Soloinstrumente mit dem Orchester. ein Auftragswerk? Diese Annahme Das Genre genoss für einen kurzen liegt insofern nahe, als dass aus die- Zeitraum eine ungeheure Populari- ser Zeit auch noch ein 134 Takte tät. So sind uns heute aus den Jah- umfassendes Fragment überliefert ren 1770 bis 1830 über 500 Werke ist, nämlich für den Kopfsatz einer bekannt, meist von einem locker Sinfonia concertante A-Dur für Violi- leichten und unterhaltenden Charak- ne, Viola, Violoncello und Orchester. ter. Mozart muss den Typus der Sinfo- Die Sinfonia concertante Es-Dur nia concertante auf seiner Paris-Reise KV 364 ist somit Mozarts einziger der Jahre 1777/1778 kennen gelernt authentischer Gattungsbeitrag. Und haben; womöglich in Mannheim, wo ein gewichtiger dazu! Über die Ent- Concertante überwiegend für Bläser- stehung dieses Meisterwerks ist nur soli geschrieben wurden, oder in Paris wenig bekannt. Mozart erwähnt es selber, wo unter anderen Ignaz Pleyel nicht in seinen Briefen, außerdem mit seinen Stücken wahre Triumphe liegen keine anderen Dokumen- feierte. Wenn die Sinfonia concertan- te vor, in denen das Stück erwähnt te Es-Dur KV 297b für Oboe, Klarinet- wird, und zu guter Letzt ist das te, Horn, Fagott und Orchester wirk- handschriftliche Material nicht nur lich von Mozart stammen sollte, dann unvollständig, es enthält auch noch schrieb er dieses Werk mit Sicherheit Teile verschiedener „Vorversionen“. für Freunde in Mannheim. Die Autor- Mozarts Sinfonia concertante bil- schaft dieses Werkes ist freilich frag- det den unbestrittenen Höhepunkt der Gattung. Das Werk hat sympho- deutlich erwachsener, reifer. In die- nische Dimensionen, ist gleichzeitig sen vier Jahren gab es gravierende aber auch ein vollblütiges Doppel- Einschnitte in Mozarts Leben. Seine konzert. Genau wie in seinen Vio- Parisreise endete enttäuschend, linkonzerten behandelt Mozart die seine Mutter war in der französischen beiden Solostreicher wie Sänger in Hauptstadt gestorben, und er hatte einer Opernszene. Vor allem der lang- sich bis über beide Ohren in Aloysia same Satz könnte auch als Vokal- Weber verliebt, die seine Liebe nicht duett in einer seiner Opern stehen. erwiderte. Auf der Rückreise schrieb Die Sinfonia concertante ist darü- Mozart an seinen Vater: „Ich habe ein ber hinaus das einige Konzert für die gar zu empfindsames Herz“. Diese Viola, die Mozart selber gerne spielte. Zeile könnte ohne weiteres aus Goe- Wie gut er das Instrument kannte, ist thes Die Leiden des jungen Werther aus der vorgeschriebenen Stimmung stammen. Obwohl sicher ist, dass ersichtlich: Die Violastimme ist in Mozart den fünf Jahre vorher erschie- D notiert und der Solist muss das nenen Roman nicht gelesen hatte, ist Instrument einen Halbton höher stim- man versucht, im langsamen Satz men („scordatura“). Als Folge dessen der Sinfonia concertante eine ähnlich wird der Klang nicht nur transparen- geartete Melancholie und „Empfind- ter, sondern auch besser mit dem samkeit“ zu hören. Vor dem dunkel der Violine gemischt. Des weiteren gefärbten Orchesterhintergrund mit kann der Solist öfter leere Saiten geteilten Violen singen die Solisten nutzen, was den Klang wie von selbst ein Duett. Mal kommentieren sie die über den des Orchesters erhebt. Worte des anderen, dann wiederum Es ist bemerkenswert, dass singen sie einmütig. Im Finale ist alle Mozart in diesem Werk regelmäßig Schwermütigkeit mit einem Schlag einen ernsten Ton anschlägt, was verschwunden. Mozart vermeidet nicht zum unterhaltsamen Charakter hier die Molltonarten. Immer dann der Gattung passen will. Verglichen wenn die Musik nach c-moll abzu- mit den vier Jahre früher komponier- gleiten droht, unterbricht er plötzlich ten Violinkonzerten wirkt dieses Stück und lässt die Viola dann ohne mit der Wimper zu zucken in As-Dur weiter- legen Josef Myslivecek verweist. Das spielen. Statt mit einer Kadenz endet Autograph des Concertone ist Teil der Satz mit einer Passage, in der einer von Leopold Mozart zusam- beide Solisten nacheinander raketen- mengestellten dreiteiligen Manu- gleich in das jeweils höchste Register skriptsammlung, die ihren Weg unter emporschießen. Diesen Effekt sollte anderen über Schuberts Freund Leo- Haydn auf seine ganz individuelle pold von Sonnleithner in die Hände Art in seiner Sinfonia concertante des Verlegers August Cranz fand. Es aus dem Jahr 1792 nachahmen. scheint so, als ob Leopold Mozart die drei Teile der Sammlung jeweils nach Concertone Gattungen sortiert hat. Teil 1 umfasst Mit im Gepäck auf der Reise nach die große Serenade KV 185 mit dem Mannheim und Paris war höchstwahr- dazugehörigen Marsch KV 189. Teil scheinlich ein weiteres Werk, das der 3 beinhaltet neun Symphonien, die Sinfonia concertante eng verwandt alle zwischen April 1773 und April ist: das Concertone für zwei Violi- 1774 komponiert wurden. In Teil 2 nen, Oboe, Violoncello und Orches- sind drei Serenaden (KV 203, 204, ter. Betrachtet man die Entwicklung 205) sowie das Concertone zu finden. konzertanter Formen, so steht das Wahrscheinlich bewertete Leopold Concertone genau zwischen Concerto Mozart den Typus des Concertone grosso und Sinfonia concertante. Das als eine Weiterführung dieser großen Concertone war ein lockeres Vergnü- Serenaden, die stets mehrere Sätze gen und von den Solisten erwartete mit einem oder mehreren Solisten man keine Wunderdinge. In Öster- aufweisen. Es ist nicht undenkbar, reich und Nord-Italien erlebte das dass Mozart das sofort nach seinem Concertone eine kurze Blütezeit, aber ersten Violinkonzert entstandene neben Mozarts Werk sind nur einige Concertone in Mannheim oder Paris wenige Concertones überliefert. Leo- aufgeführt hat. Aber wie im Fall der pold Mozart benutzt die Bezeichnung Sinfonia concertante mangelt es hier „Concertone“ gleichwohl, wenn er an aussagekräftigen Dokumenten. auf Kompositionen von Mozarts Kol- Rondo Plaisir pour deux Mozarts Violinkonzerte wurden nicht nur von ihm selbst gespielt, sondern e 21 août 1772, Wolfgang Ama- auch von anderen Musikern wie etwa Ldeus Mozart, qui était alors âgé de seinem Salzburger Kollegen Antonio 16 ans, fut nommé par l’archevêque Brunetti. Das erklärt auch die Existenz Colloredo de Salzbourg, maître de von Alternativsätzen für zwei Konzer- chapelle de son orchestre, avec un te. Das Rondo C-Dur KV 373 steht in salaire annuel de 150 florins. C’est au keinem direkten Zusammenhang mit cours des années qui suivirent que einem der Mozartschen Violinkonzer- Mozart composa la majeure partie de te. Es ist daher anzunehmen, dass ses œuvres concertantes pour violon Mozart es als eigenständiges Konzer- et orchestre, à commencer par le trondo geplant hatte. Brunetti spielte Concerto pour violon en Si bémol, das Rondo am 8. April 1781, in einer KV 207 (1773) et le Concertone pour Akademie im Palast von Prinz Rudolph 2 violons, hautbois, violoncelle et Joseph Colloredo, dem Vater des Salz- orchestre, KV 190 (1774). En 1775 vin- burger Erzbischofs, mit dem Mozart rent ensuite les quatre autres concer- noch aneinander geraten sollte. tos pour violon (en Ré, KV 21, en Sol, KV 216, en Ré, KV 218 et en La, Ronald Vermeulen KV 219). La Symphonie concertante Aus dem Niederländischen von Franz Steiger pour violon et alto, KV 364 ferma quant à elle la marche un peu plus tard, au cours de l’été ou au début de l’automne 1779.

Symphonie concertante La Symphonie concertante – géné- ralement une œuvre en trois mou- vements, durant laquelle plusieurs solistes engagent le dialogue avec l’orchestre – connut brièvement une forte popularité. On connaît plus de nous reste encore de cette période 500 œuvres de ce genre, la plupart un fragment de 134 mesures, des- écrites entre 1770 et 1830. L’un des tiné à la première partie d’une autre traits communs à la majorité d’entre Symphonie concertante en La pour elles est leur caractère généralement violon, alto, violoncelle et orchestre. léger et divertissant. C’est certaine- La Symphonie concertante en Mi ment durant son voyage à Paris, bémol est donc la seule authentique en 1777-1778, que Mozart entendit contribution de Mozart au genre. Et pour la première fois des Sympho- quelle contribution! Malheureuse- nies concertantes. Mannheim, où l’on ment, nous ne savons que très peu des composait surtout des concertantes origines de cette œuvre magistrale. avec solos de cuivres, est également Mozart n’en parle pas dans ses lettres une possibilité, mais je pencherai et elle n’est mentionnée dans aucun davantage pour Paris où Ignaz Pleyel, autre document. Le matériel autogra- notamment, triomphait. Si la Sym- phe dont nous disposons est en outre phonie concertante KV 297b pour incomplet et comprend différentes hautbois, clarinette, cor, basson et versions préparatoires de l’œuvre. orchestre est vraiment de Mozart, La Symphonie concertante de il l’écrivit sans doute pour ses amis Mozart est un véritable point fort de Mannheim. L’authenticité de cette dans ce genre. De dimensions sym- œuvre est toutefois contestée. Ce phoniques, elle est en outre un dou- dont on est certain, c’est qu’à son ble concerto pur-sang. Comme dans retour de Salzbourg, Mozart entreprit ses concertos pour violon, Mozart la composition d’une œuvre pour vio- se sert des deux solos de cordes lon, alto et orchestre, alors qu’il était comme de chanteurs d’une scène en train de se désintéresser du violon. d’opéra. Le mouvement lent, notam- Le piano était en passe de devenir son ment, aurait très bien pu figurer à instrument préféré. Cette Symphonie titre de duo dans l’un de ses opéras. concertante lui fut-elle commandée La Symphonie concertante est pour une occasion spéciale ? C’est également le seul concerto que une conclusion qui s’impose, puisqu’il Mozart composa pour l’alto, l’in strument dont il aimait jouer. Sa très rait croire tout droit sortie du roman grande connaissance de l’instrument de Goethe, « Les souffrances du jeune s’exprime à travers les accords pre- Werther ». Bien que Mozart n’ait pro- scrits. La partition de l’alto est en effet bablement pas lu ce roman, qui avait notée en Ré et le musicien doit accord- été écrit cinq ans plus tôt, il est er son instrument un demi-ton plus tentant de percevoir une mélancolie haut (« scordatura »), afin d’obtenir similaire et d’entendre une certaine « un son plus transparent, se mêlant sensibilité » dans le mouvement lent mieux à celui du violon. Ainsi, l’altiste de la Symphonie concertante. Avec peut également employer davantage en toile de fond un orchestre en tin- de cordes ouvertes, le son étant ainsi tes sombres (avec altos partagés) les presque tout naturellement soulevé solistes chantent en duo, commentant au-dessus de celui de l’orchestre. ici les paroles de l’autre, puis chan- Le ton grave régulièrement tant ensuite ensemble en intervalles employé par Mozart dans cette œuvre consonants. Dans le troisième mou- est particulièrement surprenant, car vement, toute mélancolie a disparu en contradiction avec le caractère comme par enchantement. Mozart y divertissant du genre. Cette œuvre évite le mineur. Et lorsque la musique est beaucoup plus mûre que les cinq menace à moment donné de passer concertos pour violon qu’il avait com- au Do mineur, il rompt soudainement posé quatre ans plus tôt. Ces quatre la mélodie et laisse sans sourciller années avaient aussi été riches en continuer l’alto en La bémol majeur. évènements. Le voyage de Mozart à Au lieu de conclure sur une cadence, Paris avait été décevant. De surcroît, ce mouvement s’achève par un passa- il avait perdu sa mère dans la capitale ge dans lequel les solistes se lancent française. Il s’était ensuite éperdu- des tirades fusant dans les plus hauts ment épris d’Aloysia Weber, qui ne registres : un effet que Haydn imite- répondait pas à ses sentiments. Sur rait à son tour dans sa propre Sym- le chemin du retour, il écrivit à son phonie concertante, datant de 1792. père : « Mon cœur est beaucoup trop sensible », une phrase que l’on pour- Concertone genre. Le premier contient la grande La valise que Mozart emporta lors Sérénade KV 185, avec la remar- de son voyage de Mannheim à Paris quable Marche KV 189, la troisième contenait probablement aussi une les 9 symphonies, écrites entre avril autre œuvre, fortement apparentée 1773 et avril 1774. Dans le deuxième, à la Symphonie concertante: le Con- nous trouvons trois sérénades (KV certone pour deux violons, hautbois, 203, 204 et 250), ainsi que le Con- violoncelle et orchestre. Dans le certone. Peut-être Léopold Mozart développement des formes concer- considérait-il le genre comme un pro- tantes, le concertone se trouve entre longement de ces grandes sérénades, le concerto grosso et la Symphonie qui présentent elles aussi, il est vrai, concertante. Dans ce genre de diver- plusieurs mouvements contenant un tissement léger, aucune cabriole vir- ou plusieurs solos instrumentaux. tuose n’est attendue des solistes. Le On peut donc imaginer que concertone connut un bref épanou- Mozart interpréta le Concertone - qu’il issement en Autriche et au Nord de avait d’ailleurs écrit dès 1774, donc l’Italie, mais outre l’œuvre de Mozart, immédiatement après son premier peu d’autres concertones ont survécu. concerto pour violon - à Mannheim Léopold Mozart emploie toutefois le ou à Paris, mais comme pour la nom de « concertone » lorsqu’il se Symphonie concertante, nous ne réfère à des compositions de Josef disposons d’aucun document nous Myslivecek, un collègue de Mozart. Il informant davantage à ce sujet. est intéressant de noter que le manu- scrit du Concertone fait partie d’une Rondo collection de trois recueils manuscrits Le fait que Mozart écrivit des mou- que composa Léopold Mozart et qui vements alternatifs pour deux con- vinrent – entre autres par le biais certs montre bien qu’il ne fut pas de l’ami de Schubert, Léopold von le seul à les interpréter, mais que Sonnleithner – aux mains de l’éditeur d’autres aussi (comme son collègue August Cranz. Léopold Mozart sem- de Salzbourg, Antonio Brunetti) s’y ble avoir classé les trois recueils par essayèrent. Le Rondo en Do, KV 373 ne peut être mis en rapport avec Winning the international Yehudi un seul des concertos pour violon Menuhin Competition in 1995, with composés par Mozart. Il est donc the great violinist himself conduct- beaucoup plus probable qu’il ait ing, was a significant milestone in voulu écrire un concerto-rondo à part her lightning career. The following entière. Brunetti le joua le 8 avril pour year, she won the 8th Eurovision un cercle d’initiés, à la résidence du Competition for Young Instrumental- Prince Rudolph Joseph Colloredo, le ists. Since then, Julia Fischer has père de l’archevêque de Salzbourg, performed with reputed conductors avec lequel Mozart avait tant à faire. and leading orchestras throughout the world. Many of her concerts have Ronald Vermeulen been recorded for and/or broad- Traduction française : Brigitte Zwerver- cast live on radio and television. Berret Julia Fischer receives regu- lar invitations from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the National Julia Fischer Symphony Orchestra in Washing- ton D.C., the Philadelphia Orches- ulia Fischer is ranked as one of the tra and the Jleading violinists of the day, cap- Orchestra, among others, to perform tivating audiences world-wide with in the USA. She also plays with the her music. She was born in leading European orchestras, includ- in 1983, of German-Slovak parents, ing the Vienna Symphonic, the St. and began her musical training at Petersburg Philharmonic, the Staat- just four years old. At nine, she began skapelle Dresden and the London receiving lessons from the renowned Philharmonic Orchestra. She has an violin teacher Ana Chumachenco. In especially close relationship with the 2006, she was appointed professor Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, at the “Hochschule für Musik und which she first led in January 2006 Darstellende Kunst” in am during a tour of Germany, with which Main. she made history later on in the autumn, performing in Frankfurt to larly with Jean-Yves Thibaudet and celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Daniel Müller-Schott, among others. reopening of the Alte Oper. Anoth- She receives invitations to play at the er major tour of Germany, Austria major international festivals, such as and the Benelux is planned for 2009, London’s Mostly Mozart Festival, the to celebrate the 50th Anniversary Aspen Music Festival, the Ravinia of the foundation of the Academy. Festival, the Spring Festi- Julia Fischer was appointed val, the St. Petersburg Winter Fes- Artist in Residence at the Nether- tival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music lands Philharmonic Orchestra, under Festival, and the Mecklenburg-Vor- Chief Conductor Yakov Kreizberg, pommern Festival, where she was for the 2006/2007 season. Further awarded the Soloist Prize in 1997. joint projects with Maestro Kreizberg In 2004, her first CD was released include her first appearance at the by - the label for which London PROMS in summer 2008. Julia Julia Fischer records exclusively - Fischer also forms a chamber-music entitled Russian Violin Concertos duo with Yakov Kreizberg at the piano: with the Russian National Orchestra they will first perform as a duo in May (under Yakov Kreizberg), which was 2007 in recital in Valencia. Further- awarded the 2005. Her more, Julia Fischer has so far record- latest recording - Tchaikovsky’s Violin ed all her CDs with orchestral music Concerto - was released in November together with Maestro Kreizberg. 2006, with the same orchestra and Other major conductors with conductor. All CD releases of the whom Julia Fischer has performed young violinist have received major include: , Christoph recognition and awards – many have Eschenbach, , Sir received a Diapason d’Or as well as a , , Jun Choc from the Monde de la Musique. Märkl, Ruben Gazarian, Emmanuel Her recording of Bach’s and Krivine and . Partitas for Solo Violin was even Julia Fischer is an ardent cham- voted the BBC Music Magazine ber musician, and performs regu- Award as “Best Newcomer 2006” and the Diapason d’Or de l’Année. Gordan Nikoli´c Meanwhile, PentaTone has released the second CD of Mozart Violin Con- ordan Nikoli´c was born in 1968 certos featuring Julia Fischer with Gand began playing violin at the the Netherlands Chamber Orches- age of seven. In 1985, he entered the tra; Piano Trios by Mendelssohn-Bar- Musikhochschule Basel to study with tholdy, together with Daniel Müller- violinist/conductor Jean-Jacques Schott and ; and the Kantorow. Four years later, he gradu- Brahms Violin Concerto and Dou- ated with the highest honours, as ble Concerto, together with Daniel both teacher and soloist. He also Müller-Schott. Further recordings are worked with Lutoslawsky and Kurtág soon to be added to her discography. and developed an interest in both Most recently, Julia Fischer has Baroque and contemporary music. also been concentrating on contem- He is the recipient of several inter- porary music. As a consequence, national awards, which include the she has already given the first per- Tibor Varga, Niccolò Paganini, Cità di formance of Matthias Pintscher’s Brescia, and Vaclaw Huml prizes. together with Jean-Yves In 1989, he was appointed Leader Thibaudet and Daniel Müller-Schott. of the Orchestre d’Auvergne, which During the 2006-2007 season, she he conducted regularly from his lead- is performing Maazel’s Violin Con- er’s chair: for instance, during a tour certo, accompanied by the Nether- of Germany in 1993. In 1996, he was lands Philharmonic Orchestra, as appointed Leader of the Lausanne well as Nicholas Maw’s Violin Con- Chamber Orchestra, and later he certo at the Aspen Music Festival. also became Leader of the Cham- Julia Fischer plays on an Ital- ber Orchestra of Europe. In 1997, ian violin made by Giovanni Battis- he was invited to become Leader ta Guadagnini, dating from 1750. of the London Symphony Orchestra. www.juliafischer.com In 2005, Gordan Nikoli´c was invit- ed by the London Symphony Orches- tra to be the soloist in three important projects: Schumann’s Violin Concerto Consort Professor” for string ensem- under Daniel Harding, Brahms’s Vio- bles at the Royal College of Music. lin Concerto under Sir Colin Davis, Since September 2003, he has also and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, been a professor at the Guildhall with Emmanuel Ax and cel- School of Music. In the Netherlands, list Tim Hugh, under Bernard Haitink Nikoli´c also teaches at the Rotter- at the Barbican Centre in London. dam Academy for Classical Music. He has conducted the Chamber Gordan Nikoli´c has a special inter- Orchestra of the London Symphony est in chamber music, and is regularly Orchestra, the Orchestre National invited to perform at various festivals. d’Île-de-France, the Manchester These include the Musique à l’Empéri Camerata, and the Rotterdam Phil- Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Daytona harmonic Orchestra, among oth- Music Festival, Chaise-Dieu Festival ers: during the 2005/2006 season, and the London Proms, where he he conducted the Orchestre de Lille. has performed with such musicians Since 2004, he has been Artis- as Vladimir Mendelssohn, Pieter tic Director of the Nederlands Kam- Wispelwey, Christophe Coin, Eric Le erorkest (= Netherlands Chamber Sage, Maria João Pires, Mikhaïl Plet- Orchestra), which is based in Amster- nev, Emmanuel Ax, Leif Ove And- dam. With this orchestra, he has snes and Tim Hugh. Recently, he has programmed various memorable joined the Vellinger String Quartet. productions, such as Stravinsky’s He has performed as a soloist with L’histoire du soldat with kinetic paint- the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, er Norman Perryman, and Weill’s the Orchestre Symphonique de Bâle, Die sieben Todsünden with thea- the Combattimento Consort Amster- tre company Dogtroep. Nikoli´c has dam, the Israel Chamber Orchestra already recorded several CDs with and the London Symphony Orches- the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, tra. In 2001, he played the Walton Vio- which include works by Britten, Bar- lin Concerto with the London Sym- tók and Hartmann, among others. phony Orchestra under André Previn. In 2000, he was appointed “Prince In 2003, he performed the Brahms with the London Nederlands Kamerorkest Symphony Orchestra under Bernard Haitink, which was recorded for the he Nederlands Kamerorkest (= ‘LSO Live’ label, as well as Paganini’s TNetherlands Chamber Orchestra) Violin Concerto No. 1 in five concerts was founded in 1955 and gave its in Holland. He gave the première first concert that year during the Hol- of James MacMillan’s Violin Con- land Festival. Szymon Goldberg – the certo, Deep But Dazzling Darkness, legendary violinist, conductor and under the baton of the composer with pedagogue – was artistic director of the London Symphony Orchestra. the ensemble for the first 22 years. Gordan Nikoli´c has made many Goldberg then appointed David Zin- recordings for various labels (includ- man as second conductor (along- ing Olympia, Lyrinx and Syrius), side himself) and, jointly, they raised exploring the lesser-known violin the level of the orchestra to equal repertoire. One of his recordings, that of any top international cham- dedicated to Vivaldi, was nomi- ber ensemble. They were succeeded nated «Recording of the Month» in 1979 by Antoni Ros Marbà, who in Holland, and his Bach record- led the orchestra until 1986. From ing received an award from DRS3, 1986 to 2002, Hartmut Haenchen was Switzerland’s cultural radio channel. chief conductor of the ensemble, with Gordan Nikoli´c plays a Loren- Philippe Entremont as permanent zo Storioni violin dating from 1794. guest conductor. Since 2003, Yakov Kreizberg has been chief conductor of the Nederlands Kamerorkest. In Sep- tember 2004, top violinist Gordan Nikoli´c was appointed Artistic Direc- tor and Leader of the Nederlands Kamerorkest. As such, he regular- ly leads the orchestra from within. The Nederlands Kamerorkest many festivals, including the Wiener gives about 25 concerts per year Festwochen, Prager Frühling, Edin- in the major Dutch concert halls, burgh Festival, Granada Festival including the . Each and La Folle Journée (Nantes 2002). season, the orchestra also accom- Since its foundation, the Neder- panies a number of productions of lands Kamerorkest has worked with the Nederlandse Opera at the Muz- prominent guest conductors such as iektheater in . Apart from Darius Milhaud, Rudolf Barshai, Carlo the many Rossini and Mozart operas, Maria Giulini, Erich Leinsdorf, Yehu- the orchestra has performed numer- di Menuhin, Hans Vonk and Edo de ous contemporary operas to great Waart. The numerous world-famous critical acclaim. For instance, the soloists who have performed with world-première of Alexander Kna- the orchestra include , ifel’s Alice in September 2001; and Maurice André, , the production of Tea by the Chinese/ Vladimir Ashkenazy, Alfred Brendel, American composer Tan Dun in Janu- Gidon Kremer, , Anne- ary 2003 was also a major success. Sophie Mutter, Isabelle van Keulen, In March 2005, the orchestra accom- Jean-Pierre Rampal, Marie-Claire panied Bellini’s opera Norma, and Alain, Han de Vries and Mstislav Ros- performances of Rossini’s Il barbiere tropovich. During a successful three- de Siviglia are scheduled for January year project, Christian Zacharias 2006. In autumn 2006, the orches- performed Mozart’s complete piano tra will accopany the Nederlandse concertos from behind the piano. Opera in the Mozart-Da Ponte tril- The Nederlands Kamerorkest has ogy at the Amsterdam Muziektheater. an extensive repertoire available on The Nederlands Kamerorkest has CD. Some recordings dating from the toured extensively to countries such LP era – which include a Mozart Piano as the United States, Middle and Concerto featuring Martha Argerich, South America, Canada, Australia, and Szymon Goldberg’s Bach pro- Japan, China and almost all Euro- grammes – have since been re-re- pean countries. It has performed at leased on CD for their historic value, and new CD recordings on the Penta- In demand across the globe, Yakov Tone label are scheduled. (Please surf Kreizberg has conducted orchestras to www.orkest.nl to view the orches- such as the Royal Concertgebouw, tra’s comprehensive discography.) Leipzig Gewandhaus, Berlin Philhar- During the 2005-2006 season, the monic, WDR Köln, NDR Hamburg, Nederlands Kamerorkest celebrated Staatskapelle Dresden, BBC Sympho- its 50th anniversary with an anni- ny, London Philharmonic, Philharmo- versary concert at the Amsterdam nia, Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Concertgebouw, among others. Berlin, Bayerische Rundfunk and the www.orkest.nl Zürich Tonhalle. He has also been a frequent guest at the BBC Proms. Within North America, Yakov Kreiz- berg regularly works with prestigious orchestras, including the Philadelphia Yakov Kreizberg Orchestra (with which he toured the Americas in 2003), Pittsburgh Orches- he Russian-born American con- tra, Cincinnati Orchestra, and Minne- Tductor Yakov Kreizberg currently sota Orchestra: he has also conducted holds the posts of Chief Conductor the Los Angeles and New York Phil- and Artistic Advisor of the both Neth- harmonic Orchestras, and the Chica- erlands Philharmonic Orchestra and go and Boston Symphony Orchestras. the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Forthcoming plans include a tour as well as Principal Guest Conductor of Spain, Germany and Switzerland of the Orchestra. with the Vienna Symphony Orches- From 1995 to 2000, he was Principal tra, the NHK Symphony and the Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, Lon- Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. don Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre At the end of the 2000/01 season, de Paris and Munich Philharmonic. he relinquished the post of General- As well as having recorded for musikdirector of the Komische Oper Decca and Oehms Classics, Yakov Berlin. Kreizberg’s collaboration with Pen- taTone Classics and the Netherlands Born in St Petersburg, Yakov Philharmonic Orchestra has been Kreizberg studied conducting private- extremely successful – their fourth ly with Ilya A. Musin (the renowned release, Tour de France, was issued Professor of Conducting at the St. in June 2005. Also with PentaTone Petersburg Conservatory), before Classics, Maestro Kreizberg has emigrating to the United States in recorded an award-winning disc with 1976. There, he was awarded conduct- Julia Fischer and the Russian Nation- ing fellowships at Tanglewood with al Orchestra, whilst his first recording Leonard Bernstein, , Erich with the Vienna Symphony Orches- Leinsdorf, and at the Los Angeles Phil- tra, Bruckner’s Symphony no. 7, has harmonic Institute. In 1986, he won been nominated in two categories first prize in the Leopold Stokowski (including best orchestral perform- Conducting Competition in New York. ance) for the 2006 Grammy Awards. www.yakovkreizberg.com Yakov Kreizberg established a fine reputation at the Komische Oper, Berlin in a wide variety of reper- toire. Elsewhere, he has conducted for Canadian Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, English National Opera and, on a number of occasions, with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. He has recently conducted Iolanthe with the Netherlands Opera and will return in 2007/08 for Janácek’s Katya Kabano- va. As part of the 2004 Bregenz Fes- tival, he conducted Kurt Weill’s Der Protagonist and Royal Palace with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. The year 2006 includes performances of Macbeth at the Royal Opera House. Polyhymnia specialises in high-end recordings of acoustic music on location in concert halls, churches, and auditoriums around the world. It is one of the worldwide leaders in producing high-resolution surround sound recordings for SA-CD and DVD-Audio. Polyhymnia’s engineers have years of experience recording the world’s top classical artists, and are experts in working with these artist to achieve an audiophile sound and a perfect musical balance. Most of Polyhymnia’s recording equipment is built or substantially modi- fied in-house. Particular emphasis is placed on the quality of the analogue signal path. For this reason, most of the electronics in the recording chain are designed and built in-house, including the microphone preamplifiers and the internal electronics of the microphones. Polyhymnia International was founded in 1998 as a management buy- out by key personnel of the former Classics Recording Center. For more info: www.polyhymnia.nl

Polyhymnia ist eine Aufnahmefirma, die sich spezialisiert hat in der Einspielung hochwertiger musikalischer Darbietungen, realisiert vor Ort in Konzertsälen, Kirchen und Auditorien in aller Welt. Sie gehört zu den international führenden Herstellern von High-resolution Surroundaufnahmen für SA-CD und DVD-Audio. Die Polyhymnia- Toningenieure verfügen über eine jahrelange Erfahrung in der Zusammenarbeit mit weltberühmten Klassik-Künstlern und über ein technisches Können, das einen audi- ophilen Sound und eine perfekte musikalische Balance gewährleistet. Die meisten von Polyhmynia verwendeten Aufnahmegeräte wurden im Eigenbau hergestellt bzw. substanziell modifiziert. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit gilt dabei der Qualität des Analogsignals. Aus diesem Grunde wird der Großteil der in der Aufnahmekette verwendeten Elektronik in eigener Regie entworfen und hergestellt, ein- schließlich der Mikrophon-Vorverstärker und der internen Elektronik der Mikrophone. Polyhymnia International wurde 1998 als Management-Buyout von lei- tenden Mitgliedern des ehemaligen Philips Classics Recording Centers gegründet. Mehr Infos unter: www.polyhymnia.nl

Polyhymnia est spécialisé dans l’enregistrement haut de gamme de musique acoustique dans des salles de concerts, églises et auditoriums du monde entier. Il est l’un des leaders mondiaux dans la production d’enregistrements surround haute résolution pour SA-CD et DVD-Audio. Les ingénieurs de Polyhymnia possèdent des années d’expérience dans l’enregistrement des plus grands artistes classiques internationaux. Travailler avec ces artistes pour obtenir un son audiophile et un équilibre musical parfaits fait partie de leurs nombreuses expertises. La plupart du matériel d’enregistrement de Polyhymnia est construit ou considérablement modifié dans nos locaux. Nous mettons notamment l’accent sur la qualité du parcours du signal analogique. C’est la raison pour laquelle nous élabo- rons et construisons nous-mêmes la plupart du matériel électronique de la chaîne d’enregistrement, y compris préamplificateurs et électronique interne des microphones. Polyhymnia International a été fondé en 1998 suite au rach- at de l’ancien Philips Classics Recording Center par ses cadres. Pour de plus amples informations : www.polyhym

Technical Information

Recording facility: Polyhymnia International BV Microphones: Neumann KM 130, Schoeps mk25, DPA 4006, with Polyhymnia microphone buffer electronics. Microphone pre-amps: Custom build by Polyhymnia International BV and outputs directly connected to Meitner ADC-8 mkIV DSD AD converter. DSD recording, editing and mixing: Pyramix Virtual Studio by Merging Technologies Surround version: 5.0

Monitored on B&W Nautilus loudspeakers.

Microphone, interconnect and loudspeaker cables by van den Hul. PTC 5186 064

PTC 5186 094

HYBRID MUL

PTC 5186 072

TICHANNEL PTC 5186 085

PTC 5186 098