The Orlando Quartet in Haydn, Mozart, Debussy, Ravel and Schubert. Unity!!

In days of nationalism and disunity, this playlist is an ode to global unity…

The Orlando Quartet was a string quartet with members from Hungary, Austria, Germany, Romania and later on Australia and Norway, playing with other musicians all over the world. Based in Amsterdam, the quartet started in 1976 and slowly gained recognition for being one of the finest chamber music ensembles of that period. The quartet was active till 1997.

recordings below give a nice overview of their interpretation skills. 

A quote from the Gramophone magazine, August 1983:

“Quite exceptional quality, distinguished by a marvellous rhythmic sense, an unusually wide dynamic range, and flawless ensemble and intonation. Their eloquence in the slow movements, which are among Haydn's finest, is matched by an exhilarating vitality in the quick ones. In short, this is magnificent playing and it is supported by an uncannily lifelike recording: an outstanding issue.’ (about the Haydn recordings) 

Hope you will enjoy this selection again! :-) 

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

String Quartet no 63 op 76 no 4 in Bb major, ‘Sunrise' (1795/97)

String Quartet no 65 op 76 no 6 in Eb major, ‘Fantasia' (1795/97)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

String Quintet no 6 in Eb major KV 614 (1791)

with Nobuko Imai (Japan) on viola

Claude Achille Debussy (1862-1918)

String Quartet in g minor op 10 (1893)

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

String Quartet in F major (1903)

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

String Quartet no 14 in d minor “Death and the Maiden” D 810 (1824)

1st violin on the Haydn, Debussy, Ravel and Schubert recording: István Párkányi (Hungary)

1st violin on the Mozart recording: John Harding (Australia)

2nd violin: Heinz Oberdorfer (Germany)

Viola: Ferdinand Erblich (Austria)

Cello Stefan Metz (Romania)

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/6HHF1gnqVki4UHFA5X5IJm

(Spotify Webplayer link)

Oralndo Quartet with Párkányi

Large classical tracks on Spotify

So you might not have actually a Spotify account and want some tracks that do not blast advertisements every five minutes? Well, here are three fine tracks, all lasting around 30 minutes. A fine (even better and fiery than his studio recording) Richard Strauss by Bernard Haitink, a lovely “almost a cello concerto” by Ernő Dohnányi and the son of Richard, yes, the Siegfried from the Siegfried idylle, Siegfried Wagner with one of his more successful works, the violin concerto of 1915.

Hope you will enjoy these works!

Richard Strauss (1864-1949)

Don Quixote, Op. 35 (1897) 

Carter Brey, cello

Cynthia Phleps, viola

New York Philharmonic

Bernard Haitink, conductor

Live recording November 2011

Ernő Dohnányi (1877-1960)

Konzertstück, for cello & orchestra in D major, Op. 12 (1904)

Maria Kliegel, cello

Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia

Michael Halász, conductor

Siegfried Wagner (1869-1930)

Violin Concerto (1915)

Ulf Hoelscher, violin

Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic Orchestra

Werner Andreas Albert, conductor

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/6K7t5U3BGuHwUlDUtm5xt2

(Spotify web player link)

Adult Contemporary Music on Spotify

Why on earth is there a “+16” sticker on this CD with Post Soviet Piano compositions? Is this dangerous, violent modern music not suited for kids or adolescents? Or does the +16 stand for something different… The review of this cd in music web international does not give a clue for this but emphasis on the same merits that attracted me in these recordings as well: what an interesting variety of players and, for me, unknown works! It was also on Spotify so you can explore this CD as well. Note that the recently “hyped” pianist Lukas Geniuas also performs at this record! 

Kirill Volkov (b.1943)

-Sonata No.5 (2010) 

Irina Bogdanova, piano

Tatiana Chudova (b.1944)

-Sonata (1996) 

Nikita Mndoyants, piano

Tolib Shakhidi (b. 1946)

-Picture itude; 'Sufi and Buddha' (2002) 

-Playing Backgammon (2008) 

Ekaterina Mechetina, piano

Yuri Vorontsov (b. 1952)

-Sirius (2005)

Fyodor Amirov, piano

Alexei Sergunin (b. 1988)

-Origami (2012)

Lukas Geniuas, piano

Alexei Sysoyev (b. 1972)

-Antiphases (2009)

Yuri Favorin, piano

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/4n6MrUNIaSgTh3r0DGDlHe

(Spotify Webplayer link)