Ludwig van Beethoven Friedrich Kuhlau Kühl, nicht lau Tami Krausz eight-keyed flute Shuann Chai fortepiano BLACK SERIES Programme Ensemble English text German text French text Imprint ^menu Kühl, nicht lau LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Serenade in D Major for Piano and Flute op. 41 1 Entrata. Allegro 4:05 2 Tempo ordinario d'un menuetto 5:09 3 Allegro molto 2:26 4 Andante con variazioni 6:36 5 Allegro scherzando e vivace 2:17 6 Adagio – Allegro vivace e disinvolto – Presto 5:55 FRIEDRICH KUHLAU (1786–1832) 7 Capriccio in D Minor for Flute op. 10b no. 9 3:02 FRIEDRICH KUHLAU Grande Sonate Concertante in A Minor for Piano and Flute op. 85 8 Allegro con passione 14:03 9 Scherzo. Allegro assai 5:08 10 Adagio 8:18 11 Rondo. Allegro poco agitato 8:08 LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN 12 Canon Kühl, nicht lau WoO 191 1:46 Realisation for three voices, fl ute and piano by Joris Weimar (2019) TOTAL 67:14 ^menu TAMI KRAUSZ eight-keyed fl ute Rudolf Tutz, Innsbruck 2000 aft er Heinrich Grenser, Dresden c.1810 SHUANN CHAI fortepiano (1–6, 12) Johann Zahler, Brünn (Brno) c.1805 restored by Gijs Wilderom (Collection Gijs Wilderom) fortepiano (8–11) Michael Rosenberger, Vienna c.1820 restored by Edwin Beunk (National Musical Instruments Foundation of the Netherlands) JOÃO MOREIRA tenor (12) MATTIJS VAN DE WOERD baritone (12) MARC PANTUS bass-baritone (12) ^menu Shuann Chai & Tami Krausz Flautist TAMI KRAUSZ performs worldwide as a renowned specialist in Baroque, Classical and Romantic music on historical fl utes. Born in Israel, Tami’s interest in early music and historically informed performance practice began during her studies at the Tel Aviv Music Academy with Yossi Arnheim and in Jerusalem with Idit Shemer. She was the recipient of an instrument grant (a Baroque Traverso made by Rudolf Tutz) from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and won a scholarship from the Dutch educational organisation Nuffi c to further her studies under Barthold Kuijken at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague. Completing a soloist master’s degree in early music, Tami graduated cum laude in 2001. 4 A prizewinner of early music competitions in both Brugge and Tel Aviv, Tami has collaborated with ensembles such as Le Concert de la Loge, Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, B’Rock, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Holland Baroque, Das Kleine Konzert, Capriccio Stravagante, Les Inventions, Academia Daniel, Capella Cracoviensis, Capella Augustina, and Le Cercle de l’Harmonie; and under such fi gures as Philippe Herreweghe, Ton Koopman, René Jacobs, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Raphaël Pichon and Richard Egarr. Chamber music partners include violinist Julien Chauvin, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and soprano Sandrine Piau. Tami has recorded CDs on CPO, Brilliant Classics, Naïve, Aparté and Pentatone. Her solo play- ing in François Devienne’s Symphonie Concertante (Aparté, 2018) was warmly received by the music press. Based in Europe, she is regularly invited to give recitals and masterclasses worldwide and serves as a guest jury member at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague. SHUANN CHAI is an engaging performer recognised for her interpretations on historical and mod- ern pianos. Amongst her teachers she counts inspiring mentors such as Claus-Christian Schuster, Norma Fisher, and Anton Kuerti. As a young pianist she also studied with Jack Radunsky, himself a former student of legendary pianist-composer Percy Grainger. His lessons instilled a deep admiration of early recordings and the Romantic Tradition of piano playing. With his encouragement, she was introduced to fortepianos through a masterclass given by Malcolm Bilson. These were the sparks that led to her enduring involvement with early pianos and expressive historical interpretation. She has earned strong reviews in publications such as Fanfare (“truly remarkable”), BBC Music Magazine, and the Classical Music Sentinel (“played with a determination and urgency that makes Beethoven’s music sound larger than life”). By Beethoven’s 250th birthday in December 2020 she will have achieved a personal milestone of having performed all 35 of the composer’s sonatas for solo piano as well as his collected works for both piano/violin and piano/cello. Upcoming projects include performing the complete chamber music of Brahms for violin, cello and piano on historical instruments with Shunske Sato and Hidemi Suzuki as well as a collaboration with Belgian-Iranian photographer Mashid Mohadjerin, featuring contemporary photography synced with a live perform- ance of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Shuann is grateful for her musical companions: a Steinway D signed by jazz legends Herbie Hancock and Ahmad Jamal, an original Érard piano (1861), and an original 1820 Rosenberger forte- piano generously loaned by the National Musical Instruments Foundation of the Netherlands (NMF). 5 KÜHL, NICHT LAU the second quarter of the nineteenth century, the one-keyed (so-called ‘baroque’) fl ute had evolved The last decades of the eighteenth century into a multi-keyed instrument with a conical brought widespread instability to continental bore which facilitated chromatic fi ngerings and Europe. As the next century began, rampant opened new possibilities in tone production. Pi- warfare and political upheaval disrupted daily anos, similarly, underwent remarkable changes: life on every level but also became catalysts for builders were constantly searching for ways to dramatic transitions in literature, art and music. increase the instrument’s range and volume Composers in and around the cultural centers while experimenting with a variety of pedals. of Paris, London, and Vienna in particular were striving to fi nd new paths of musical ex- These developments in instrument-making pression to convey the shifting aesthetic. The were clearly palpable in the concurrent music. development of a wide range of musical forms, This album illustrates some of the most sig- tonal and harmonic possibilities, and a deeply nifi cant aspects in music for fl ute and piano, individualistic artistry announced the advent of spanning three groundbreaking decades of the a new ‘Romantic’ era. This artistic expansion was nineteenth century. coupled with rapid innovations in both instru- ment design and manufacturing, bringing new Born in 1786 to a family of military musi- possibilities in sonority and technique. Buyers of cians in Uelzen, Germany, Friedrich Kuhlau’s these instruments – mostly amateur musicians of destiny was shaped by a gruesome childhood aristocratic social standing and affl uent fi nancial accident that caused him to lose his right eye. To means – became an infl uential force in the cul- provide some distraction during the painful and tural environment of Europe. The performance protracted recovery period, Kuhlau’s parents of chamber music in private domestic salons, acquired a keyboard instrument for the young often hosted and played by these accomplished boy. Showing promise in his unexpected ven- amateurs, became a fashionable activity amongst ture, young Friedrich moved to Hamburg and the Habsburg and English elite. studied piano and counterpoint with Christian Schwencke, whose teachers had been the musi- The combination of fl ute and piano was cal luminaries Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and one of the most popular in this period, as both Johann Kirnberger. When Napoleon invaded instruments were acoustically suited to the inti- Hamburg in 1810 Kuhlau fl ed to Copenhagen, mate setting of an aristocratic music room. By acquiring Danish citizenship in 1813. He made 6 his living there as a concert pianist and enjoyed eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The considerable popularity as a pedagogue while Capriccio in D minor (op. 10b) comes from composing occasional music for the Danish such a collection of twelve solo-variations for the court. In posterity, Kuhlau is best known for his fl ute published in Hamburg in 1810. Based on impressive oeuvre of chamber-music, most of well-known French and German folk tunes, this which was written with soloistic fl ute parts. opus marked the beginning of Kuhlau’s endur- ing bond with the fl ute and lays the foundations Having composed such an abundance of of his musical language. fl ute repertoire that he earned the nickname ‘Beethoven of the fl ute’, it is curious that Kuhlau Stylistically, the Capriccio is an obvious hardly played the instrument himself. In a let- predecessor to the Grande Sonate Concertante ter from 1813 he wrote: “I play this instrument in A minor (op. 85), one of Kuhlau’s most only a little, but I know it perfectly”. Not only elaborate works for piano and fl ute. The Sonata’s did he understand the instrument in a way strong character and dramatic gestures were that distinguished him from other composers, clearly inspired by two other pillars of the early but his way of writing for it shaped the fl ute Romantic era: Mendelssohn’s concert ouverture concert-repertoire for generations. Character- A Midsummer Night’s Dream as well as Carl ised by displays of high virtuosity combined Maria von Weber’s opera Oberon, both of which with colorful lyrical passages, the works of later Kuhlau heard for the fi rst time shortly before the fl utist-composers such as Fürstenau, Böhm, composition of this Sonata in 1827. Köhler, Dorus, and Taffanel undoubtedly bear the infl uence of Kuhlau. The fi rst movement opens with a simple theme with a fragile and yearning sentiment A substantial part of Kuhlau’s output – and which is interrupted by an explosive statement indeed of many of his contemporaries – was of virtuosity. The constant shifting between comprised of themes and variations, improvisa- these extremes of character is mirrored in the tions, or fantasies based on national airs, folk thematic dialogue of the two instruments. The melodies, and popular songs. These borrowed second movement is a lively scherzo with a themes and their original texts conjured familiar contrasting trio section reminiscent of a waltz; emotions such as love, jealousy, or patriotism, an open invitation to dance and to explore more and were greatly appealing to both amateur freedom in rhythm and rubato.