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Home , Nathan Milstein, Piano Concerto (Davies), Steven Isserlis, Yuri Bashmet

ALSO AVAILABLE FROM LINN RECORDS BY THE SCOTTISH CHAMBER MENDELSSOHN Symphony No.3 ‘Scottish’ CKD 216 (SACD) MOZART Requiem CKD 211 (SACD) SIBELIUS Theatre Music CKD 220 (SACD) BRAHMS Violin CKD 224 (SACD) BARTÓK Strings, Percussion & Celeste CKD 234 (SACD) PROKOFIEV Symphony No.1 in D major CKD 219 (SACD) DVORˇ ÁK Violin Concerto CKD 241 (SACD) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wind

Flute Concerto in G (K.313)

1. Allegro maestoso 9.11 2. Adagio non troppo 9.22 3. Rondo: Tempo di menuetto 7.34

Bassoon Concerto in B flat (K.191)

4. Allegro 7.06 5. Andante ma adagio 6.47 MOZART CONCERTOS 6. Rondo: Tempo di menuetto 4.21 Mozart composed concertante works for all the common orchestral instruments, except and double bass (concertos for K.47c and cello K.206a, have been lost). Concerto in A (K.622) It’s fairly certain that all of them were written with a particular performer in mind, and 7. Allegro 12.03 it’s clear he had an exceptional facility for inventing music to suit the characteristics of 8. Adagio 7.29 player and instrument. Four arrangements made in 1767 for his own use, of movements 9. Rondo: Allegro 8.14 from keyboard sonatas by various composers, mark his earliest essays in concerto form; Recorded at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 5-7 June 2005 these were followed by three similar arrangements, of sonatas by J.C. Bach, in 1772. His Produced by Tim Oldham first surviving original concerto (K.207 for violin) was composed in April 1773; then Engineered by Philip Hobbs came the Concerto in D K.175 (December 1773), the Concertone in C for two Post-production by Julia Thomas at Finesplice, UK violins and orchestra (May 1774) and the Concerto (June 1774). By this time, Cover photo Churches of Salzburg by Martin Röse Mozart, aged eighteen, was an experienced, accomplished composer with about thirty Photo of SCO by Jeremy Hardie symphonies, a dozen string quartets and several Italian operas to his credit. It was the arias in his opere serie, perhaps, with their alternation of orchestral and solo sections, their accommodation of bravura passage work and their succession of motifs conveying

2 3 different shades of emotion, which provided the closest models at the start of Mozart’s enters it’s with the beginning of a variation soon, however, branching off into new ideas. career as a writer of concertos. Two further episodes, separated by shortened repeats of the orchestral minuet, are heard The main theme in the Bassoon Concerto’s first movement, heard at the start before the soloist gets a chance to play this main theme. It’s a crucial moment, preceded and repeated by the solo on its first entry, centres on the bassoon’s most vocal tenor register, by a pause and a short , and gives the movement an extra dimension. but with an initial motif of a bold descent through two octaves designed to demonstrate It’s not known for whom Mozart wrote his Bassoon Concerto, but the genesis the instrument’s wide range. This theme, in the Concerto’s opening bars, also brings into of the Flute Concerto K.313, is well documented in the family correspondence. On his striking prominence the orchestra’s high-pitched B flat horns. The opening tutti already arrival in Mannheim in October 1777, Mozart had quickly made friends with the flute shows Mozart’s knack of presenting an extended series of contrasting ideas in such a way virtuoso Johann Baptist Wendling (1723-97), who introduced him to a wealthy amateur, that the succession has the naturalness and spontaneity of a lively conversation. The end Ferdinand Dejean, a surgeon with the Dutch East India Company. Dejean commissioned of the tutti is signalled by an emphatic unison rising scale used as punctuation throughout Mozart to write “three small, easy and short concertos and several quartets for the flute”. the movement. In the middle section, where it appears most frequently, Mozart cleverly The results of this commission are the K.313 Concerto, the D major Concerto K.314 (an shortens this idea by degrees so its appearance is never predictable. Another idea, which arrangement of the C major Concerto he’d written some months earlier) and one, serves as second subject, is first heard as a single violin line with accompaniment. Instead possibly two quartets for flute and strings. Mozart famously expressed his dissatisfaction of repeating this the bassoon adds a counterpoint, only playing the original theme when with the flute as a solo instrument – “Whenever I have to write music for an instrument it returns for a final time, when the violins play the counterpoint. I dislike, I immediately lose interest” – but one would never guess this from the K.313 The Andante ma adagio (the unusual indication means “moving, but slowly”) Concerto, the Quartet K.285 or the Andante (K.315), which he probably composed takes the form of an aria, its soft, sensuous mood enhanced by the colour of muted to please Dejean as a simpler alternative to K.313’s elaborate Adagio. The Concerto’s strings. Again the solo melodies concentrate on the bassoon’s plangent tenor register; opening Allegro maestoso, with pointed, march-like rhythms, has a character that occasional lower notes act as a dramatic reinforcement of the bass line, with a particularly balances vivacity and stateliness. The first tutti is compact – just thirty bars – but this is memorable passage in which a series of these bass notes leads down to the bassoon’s the only concession to the requirement for a “small, short concerto”; these opening ideas very lowest pitch. In an era when many concerto slow movements were accompanied by are expanded by flute and orchestra to generous proportions. Indeed, the majestic style strings alone, Mozart characteristically gives prominence to the , not just in the tutti of the movement suggests that maybe Mozart had in mind the playing of the experienced sections but accompanying and in dialogue with the soloist. professional, Wendling, rather than the amateur, Dejean. In his earlier concertos, Mozart often favoured finales in Minuet tempo (the last The enchanted atmosphere of the Adagio recalls the mood and sonorities of example is in the Piano Concerto K.413 of 1782). The Bassoon Concerto’s Rondo begins the slow movement of the G major Violin Concerto of 1775 (K.216); both pieces are in with what sounds like a complete minuet played by the orchestra, and when the bassoon D major, with muted strings and flutes instead of oboes in the orchestra’s wind section.

4 5 And in both movements the soloist projects a calm cantilena above an accompaniment In the thirteen years since the Flute Concerto, Mozart’s style had changed that’s full of movement, and both feature a final return by the soloist after the cadenza considerably. Instead of the slightly formal air of the earlier work’s opening, the Clarinet to the opening melody. The solemn rising unison at the start, however, comes as a pre- Concerto starts quietly and without seeking any dramatic effect. The music’s atmosphere echo of the great Adagio in the Gran Partita (K.361) for wind instruments. The finale, is more romantic, with an increased range of modulations and chromatic harmonies. another rondo in minuet tempo, brings the soloist in at the outset, contrasting the lightly Interestingly it’s the solo clarinet that introduces this aspect of the music, shortly after accompanied solo statement of the theme with the sonorous orchestral version that its first entry – the opening tutti remains firmly in A major. In doing this, Mozart shows follows. This same sequence recurs whenever the theme is repeated, but each time the great confidence in Stadler’s ability to perform the elaborate cross fingerings needed on flute finds a new way of ornamenting the melody, the decorations then repeated by the an eighteenth-century clarinet for notes outside the home key. These excursions add orchestra. In between, the episodes feature several brilliant solo passages, but Mozart is an element of shadow and of melancholy to the bright A major chords that define the never content for long to leave the orchestra just to provide an accompaniment, delighting Concerto’s dominant mood. Indeed, the whole work can be seen as an essay in light in bringing it forward to share in lively dialogue with the soloist. and shade: in the solo part, between the bright upper register and the dark lower notes, In the 1770s, as we’ve seen, Mozart wrote concertos for a number of different with the two often opposing one another in dramatic fashion. Then there’s the contrast instruments, but in the next decade we find him focussed more narrowly on his career between the full, mellifluous orchestral sound and the intimate effect of many delicately as pianist/composer; the horn concertos written for Joseph Leutgeb are the only non- scored passages for clarinet with upper strings, like the opening of the rondo finale. The keyboard ones from the 1780s. In 1791, however, he turned to an instrument for which characteristic sound of this concerto relates to its unusual orchestration, with pairs of he had not previously written a concerto. For his friend, the court clarinettist Anton flutes, and horns added to the strings – Mozart clearly didn’t want to oppose Stadler, he had already written two magnificent chamber works – the Trio with piano the clarinet’s sound to the more incisive tone of the oboe. The most glorious orchestral and K.498 and the Quintet K.581 – plus unfinished drafts for two other quintets, moments come in the Adagio where the clarinet’s statements of the hymn-like theme and, of course, remarkable clarinet parts in operatic and orchestral music (where are taken up by the orchestra, which plays the role of a chorus inspired by a solo singer. the two clarinettists would have been Stadler and his brother Johann). The Clarinet This Adagio’s simplicity of design, with regular phrase lengths that are only broken once Concerto was not composed for a standard clarinet in A but for an instrument Stadler or twice by the soloist, to avoid monotony and for expressive effect, contrasts with the had developed, extending the instrument’s lower range by four notes. The autograph elaborate, typically Mozartean play of different motifs in the outer movements. score has not survived and, when the Concerto was first published after Mozart’s death, Mozart completed his Clarinet Concerto on about October 8th, 1791. Stadler the solo part was adapted to suit an ordinary clarinet. For this performance, Maximiliano was to give the first performance in Prague on 16th October – the score would have to be Martín plays a clarinet with the usual range, but has adapted the text of the first edition to sent there and parts made, so he was only just in time. Between then and 20th November, make the best use of the clarinet’s lowest register. after which his fatal illness prevented further work, Mozart composed the Little Masonic

6 7 Cantata (K.623) and as much of the Requiem as he was able to complete. He must have The SCO enjoys a close relationship with Conductor Laureate Sir Charles been very keen to start work on the Requiem, commissioned with a generous fee, but we Mackerras, which has resulted in many successful recordings including a Grammy- can be grateful he took the time to finish this wonderful concerto for his friend. nominated set of Brahms’ symphonies, seven Mozart operas, Beethoven’s Fidelio, symphonies by Schubert, Brahms’ serenades, four CDs of Mozart Piano Concertos with © Duncan Druce, 2006 and, on Linn Records, Mozart’s Requiem and a disc of Kodály and Bartók. The Orchestra has worked closely with many leading composers, including Composer Laureate Sir , Mark-Anthony Turnage, Lyell Cresswell and SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA James MacMillan. The SCO also collaborated with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra in a Conductor Laureate Sir four-year programme of joint commissions from and Karin Rehnqvist. Conductor Emeritus Joseph Swensen The SCO has led the way in the development of music education, with a unique Managing Director Roy McEwan programme of projects, providing workshops for children and adults across Scotland. 4 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 5AB This CD is the eighth in a series of recordings which the SCO is producing in tel: 0131 557 6800 partnership with Linn Records, and the first of two Mozart discs directed by Alexander fax: 0131 557 6933 Janiczek, a former Leader and regular Guest Director with the Orchestra. e-mail: [email protected] web: www.sco.org.uk 1st VIOLIN Alexander Janiczek, Ruth Crouch, Lise Aferiat, Elin Edwards, Lorna McLaren, Cheryl Crockett, Joanne Green, Catherine James The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is internationally recognised as one of the world’s 2nd VIOLIN Claire Sterling, Liza Webb, Rosemary Ellison, Robert McFall, foremost of its size and for its innovative approach to music-making Niamh Lyons, Roddy Long and programme planning. Formed in 1974 with a commitment to serve the Scottish VIOLA Catherine Marwood, Simon Rawson, Brian Schiele (Flute Concerto only), community, it is also one of the country’s major cultural ambassadors. The Orchestra Steve King, Rebecca Wexler, Kathryn Jourdan (Clarinet Concerto only) performs throughout Scotland, including an annual tour of the Highlands and Islands, and appears regularly at the Edinburgh, St Magnus and Aldeburgh Festivals and the BBC ’CELLO Su-a Lee, Alison Lawrance, John Davidson, Donald Gillan Proms. Its busy international schedule has recently included Belgium, Germany, Austria, BASS Anthony Alcock, Adrian Bornet Switzerland, Spain, the USA, Portugal and The Netherlands. FLUTE Alison Mitchell, Elisabeth Dooner, Janet Larsson Following nine successful years as the SCO’s Principal Conductor, Joseph OBOE Robin Williams, Virginia Shaw Swensen became the Orchestra’s first Conductor Emeritus in 2005. He and the SCO have CLARINET Maximiliano Martín, Ruth Ellis built a reputation for exuberant and dynamic performances and, with Swensen as soloist, BASSOON Ursula Leveaux, Alison Green have performed – and recorded – a number of the great violin concertos together. HORN Robert Cook, Harry Johnstone

8 9 Alexander Janiczek director Boris Pergamenschikow, , Till Fellner, Thomas Adés and Christian Zacharias. Alexander Janiczek, highly sought after as a director, soloist, In 2005 he was invited by and Richard Goode to tutor at the Marlboro guest leader and chamber musician, was born in Salzburg Music Festival. into a musical family of Polish and Czech descent. He Alexander Janiczek plays the “Baron Oppenheim” Stradivarius from 1716, began his violin studies at the age of four and went on to which is on loan to him from the National Bank of Austria. study with Helmuth Zehetmair at the Salzburg Mozarteum. He also participated in masterclasses with Max Rostal, Alison Mitchell flute , Ruggiero Ricci and Dorothy Delay. Originally from Melbourne, Alison Mitchell was appointed He first came to public attention when he won Principal Flute of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in 2003. first prize in the National Competition of Austria at the age Since leaving Australia to continue her studies in Basle of nine and appeared soon after as soloist with conductors with the renowned Swiss flautist, Peter-Lukas Graf, she has such as Jiri Belohlávek, Michael Gielen, Hans Graf and Manfred Honeck. He has since maintained a very successful professional career between appeared as soloist with renowned artists such as Sir Roger Norrington, , Europe and Australia playing with many major orchestras , Yuri Bashmet, Andrew Litton, Ton Koopman and James MacMillan. on both continents. From the age of twenty a close association with Sándor Végh and the Camerata Shortly after arriving in the UK, Alison was Salzburg led to extensive tours as leader, director and soloist to most of the major festivals appointed to the position of Principal Flute with the across Europe and the Americas. Recordings released at that time include the Haydn Orchestra of Scottish Opera with whom she performed for Sinfonia Concertante and Mozart’s G Major Concerto - played on Sándor Végh’s famous five years before embarking on a freelance career dedicated to solo and chamber music Paganini Stradivarius. performances. From there, an opportunity arose for her to return to Australia to take up Alexander Janiczek established a close relationship with the Scottish Chamber the position of Associate Principal Flute with the Sydney Symphony. During a seven year Orchestra as its leader from 1999-2002 and has since been invited back as director on period with the Symphony, Alison also regularly performed as guest principal flute with numerous tours throughout Scotland and Europe. He has also been a regular guest leader/ the highly regarded Australian Chamber Orchestra and pursued a varied mix of chamber director with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe with whom he has toured extensively music, recordings, broadcasts for the ABC and solo recitals. throughout Europe and the Far East. Since her return to Scotland as Principal Flute with the Scottish Chamber Apart from guest leading many major symphony orchestras, Alexander Janiczek Orchestra, Alison has performed regularly with SCO chamber ensembles and as a is a dedicated chamber musician and has appeared with artists such as , concerto soloist. Her performances have included Mozart’s Concertos in G and D, the

10 11 Poulenc Sonata (orch. Berkeley), Concerto for Flute (1980) by Nigel Osborne and Bach’s A busy chamber musician, Ursula is a member of the Nash Ensemble of Brandenburg Concerto No.4. As well as her work in Scotland, Alison has a continuing London and the Hebrides Ensemble in Scotland. She is a regular participant at the relationship with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and in 2005 she joined with Angela prestigious Marlboro Music Festival in the USA. As well as regular appearances with the Hewitt and the ACO to produce recordings and performances throughout Australia of SCO, Ursula’s solo work has included concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.5 and the Triple Concerto for flute, violin and piano. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and, most The recording was subsequently a Gramophone Editor’s Choice. recently, at the 2005 Mostly Mozart Festival at the Barbican with the Academy of St Martin- Alongside her busy SCO schedule Alison performs regularly as a soloist and in-the-Fields. chamber musician. She is also a lecturer in Flute at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music A regular contributor to Radio 3, Ursula’s CD recordings include the complete and Drama. chamber music of Poulenc and of Saint-Saëns, Beethoven Septet and Schubert Octet, all with the Nash Ensemble. She can also be heard on the complete recording of Chabrier Ursula Leveaux bassoon Songs with Dame Felicity Lott and Graham Johnson. With the SCO she has recorded Ursula Leveaux, a former pupil at Chetham’s School of Music, the Vivaldi Bassoon Concerto in D minor, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ Bassoon Concerto, furthered her studies with Martin Gatt in London, Brian Strathclyde Concerto No.8 which was written especially for her. Pollard in Amsterdam and also studied Baroque bassoon with Danny Bond in The Hague. Whilst still a student in Maximiliano Martín clarinet London she was the winner the Shell-London Symphony Young Spanish clarinettist Maximiliano Martín is rapidly Orchestra Scholarship and also became a member of the establishing himself as one of the most talented and European Union Youth Orchestra working with conductors charismatic musicians of his generation. After being such as , , Leonard appointed Principal Clarinet for the Scottish Chamber Bernstein and . In 1987 she returned from the Orchestra and winning the Young Artists Platform 2002, Netherlands to join the SCO as Principal Bassoon. he has since made debuts at the London, As well as her work in Scotland, Ursula is frequently asked to appear as guest Queen’s Hall Edinburgh, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, St principal with major orchestras in Britain and throughout Europe. She is also in demand George’s Bristol, Turner Sims Concert Hall Southampton, as a performer on Baroque and Classical Bassoon playing regularly for , Brighton and Newbury Festivals and overseas at the Tallin, including taking part in his Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000. In 2005 she appeared at the Bucharest, Torreilles (France) and Tenerife Festivals. He Proms with Andrew Manze and The English Concert. has consistently received exceptional reviews: He has

12 13 poetry in his soul… a recital filled with warmth and perception, backed up with conspicuous technical accomplishment. The Herald. Born in Tenerife, Martín studied in Barcelona with Joan Enric Lluna and at the Royal College of Music in London with Robert Hill and Richard Hosford, where he held the Linn is an independent precision engineering company specialising in prestigious Wilkins-Mackerras Scholarship, graduated with Distinction and received the top quality audio and video reproduction. Founded by Ivor Tiefenbrun, MBE in Glasgow, Scotland in 1972, the company grew out of Ivor’s love of Frederick Thurston Prize and Golden Jubilee Prize for his contribution to college life. music and the belief that he could vastly improve the sound quality of his As a soloist Martín has performed with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, own hi-fi system. Now a global brand employing over 350 people, Linn is unremittingly committed to manufacturing products for applications where European Union Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife and Macedonian sound quality matters. Philharmonic under eminent conductors such as Antonini, Swensen, McGegan, Canev Linn strives to thrill customers who want the most out of life with demonstrably and Halfter. higher fidelity complete audio and video entertainment solutions. Our As a chamber musician he has performed with the London Winds, Concord standards also ensure that even the most affordable Linn system can communicate the sheer thrill and emotion of the performance. Ensemble, Hebrides Ensemble and collaborated with renowned artists including Michael Collins, Alexander Janiczek, Artur Pizarro and Christian Zacharias. As a guest principal Linn has earned a unique reputation in the world of specialist hi-fi and multi- channel sound recording and reproduction. The company can now satisfy clarinettist he has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra the demanding requirement of any discriminating customer who cares about of Europe, Orquesta de Cadaques, Bergen Philharmonic, Munich Kammerorkester, sound quality, longevity and reliability. Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia under the baton of Abbado, Haitink, , Mackerras, Visit www.linn.co.uk for more information Berglund, Lopez Cobos, Krivine and Litton. He has been member of the National Youth and to find your nearest Linn dealer.

Orchestra of Spain and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. LINN PRODUCTS LTD, FLOORS ROAD, WATERFOOT, GLASGOW G76 0EP His debut recital CD with Spanish pianist Javier Negrin will be released on Linn t: +44 (0)141 307 7777 f: +44 (0)141 644 4262 e: [email protected] Records in 2006. Martín is also active in the education field – he currently teaches at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and regularly gives masterclasses in Spain. @ www.linnrecords.com discover the world of linn records Linn Records, Glasgow Road, Waterfoot, Glasgow G76 0EQ, UK t: +44 (0)141 303 5027/9 f: +44 (0)141 303 5007 e: [email protected]

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