Showing posts with label Liszt. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Plucked pleasures.

The Harp, the Bow and the Guitar

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

The Harp, the Bow and the Guitar

Good morning! For this playlist we dive into some more unusual instrument combinations. Viola and guitar, violin and harp, flute, viola and harp, combinations that rarely meet in the concert hall, but could reward the curious listener very well.

We open with a selection from the Cine Sessions EP by Luosha Fang (viola) and Jacob Kellermann (guitar), featuring intimate miniatures by Joachim (his Hebräische Melodien op. 9), Liszt (Romance Oubliée) and Fauré (Après un rêve). Fang is the winner of the 2018 Tokyo International Viola Competition and the 2019 Classic Strings International Competition in Vienna; Kellermann is a Swedish Grammy-winning guitarist. Together they make the viola-guitar duo sound like the most natural thing in the world.

We follow up with Louis Spohr, a composer who wrote extensively for his harpist wife Dorette Scheidler Spohr. His Sonata for Violin and Harp No. 1 in C minor is performed here by Helga Storck and Kurt Guntner, from their 2024 album Chamber Music with Harp.

The playlist closes with Debussy's late Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp (L. 137), one of the most luminous chamber works ever written for this combination. Magali Mosnier, Antoine Tamestit and Xavier de Maistre are among the finest players on their respective instruments today.

► Open playlist in Spotify

Joseph Joachim

1831 – 1907

Hebräische Melodien, nach Eindrücken der Byron'schen Gesänge, op. 9 (1854–1855)

Arr. for viola & guitar · Recorded: 2026 · Label: Yellow Tone

Luosha Fang (viola) · Jacob Kellermann (guitar)
From the EP Cine Sessions: Luosha Fang & Jacob Kellermann

"Sostenuto" — I. Sostenuto

Franz Liszt

1811 – 1886

Romance Oubliée, S. 132 (1880)

Arr. for viola & guitar · Recorded: 2026 · Label: Yellow Tone

Luosha Fang (viola) · Jacob Kellermann (guitar)
From the EP Cine Sessions: Luosha Fang & Jacob Kellermann

Romance Oubliée

Gabriel Fauré

1845 – 1924

Après un rêve, op. 7 nr. 1 (1878)

Arr. for viola & guitar · Recorded: 2026 · Label: Yellow Tone

Luosha Fang (viola) · Jacob Kellermann (guitar)
From the EP Cine Sessions: Luosha Fang & Jacob Kellermann

Après un rêve

Louis Spohr

1784 – 1859

Sonata for Violin & Harp No. 1 in C minor, WoO 23 (c. 1805)

Recorded: 2024 · Label: Profil Medien

Helga Storck (violin) · Kurt Guntner (harp)
From the album Spohr: Chamber Music with Harp

I. Adagio – Allegro vivace
II. Andante – Allegro

Claude Debussy

1862 – 1918

Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp in F major, L. 137 (1915)

Recorded: 2018 · Label: harmonia mundi

Magali Mosnier (flute) · Antoine Tamestit (viola) · Xavier de Maistre (harp)
From the album Debussy: Les Trois Sonates, The Late Works

I. Pastorale. Lento, dolce rubato
II. Interlude. Tempo di minuetto
III. Finale. Allegro moderato ma risoluto

Thursday, December 28, 2017

An amazing color photo of Franz Liszt plus Beethoven on his favorite instruments

A playlist of a remarkable series of Beethoven Symphonies transcribed by Franz Liszt, played on a 1837 Erard and 1867 Blüthner piano, two of Franz Liszt favorite piano’s.

But first a photo of Franz Liszt a few months before his death in 1886, enhanced and colored by Brazilian computer wizard Marina Amaral. Franz Liszt has never come closer to me, suddenly he looks me in the eyes and the composer becomes a real *person*.

Spine-chilling.

As a worthy complementary, the above mentioned series on authentic Liszt pianos. The series a received “good, with some reservation” review on Classics Today and Classical Net, and ravingly positive reviews on the Classical Music, Guardian and the Gramophone.

Well, here for you to try…

Hope you will enjoy it!

Ludwig van Beethoven, transcribed for piano by Franz Liszt

Track 01-05 Symphony, S 464: no 6 in F major

(1837)

Track 06-09 Symphony, S 464: no 2 in D major

(1863-1864)

Track 10-13 Symphony, S 464: no 7 in A major

(1837)

Track 14-17 Symphony, S 464: no 1 in C major

(1863-1864)

Track 18-21 Symphony, S 464: no 3 in E flat major

(1863-1864)

Track 22-25 Symphony, S 464: no 8 in F major

(1863-1864)

Track 26-29 Symphony, S 464: no 4 in B flat major

(1863-1864)

Track 30-33 Symphony, S 464: no 5 in C minor

(1837)

Track 34-37 Symphony, S 464: no 9 in D minor

(1863-1864)

Yury Martynov,

1837 Erard and 1867 Blüthner piano

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/3TtG8oXN2ErrY0FycOfBLM (Webplayer link)

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Carl Schuricht part II - Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Liszt, Wagner ea on Spotify

April of this year, I posted the Spotify link to a 20 CD box with the German born conductor Carl Schuricht (1880-1967). Here is the follow up of that box, with more recordings from the archive of the South-German SWF radio. More about there recordings can be read here:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2013/July13/Schuricht_collectionII_CD93292.htm

Hope you will enjoy these performances as well!

Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Carl Schuricht, conductor

Tracks: 01 to 08 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 3/7/1961 (23:29). Symphony No. 3 2/29/1952 (45:56)

Tracks: 09 to 16 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4 4/8/1959 (33:47). Symphony No. 5 4/10/1953 (31:22)

Tracks: 17 to 25 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 2/14/1957 (37:20). SCHUBERT Symphony No. 5 4/11/1960 (24:28)

Tracks: 26 to 33 BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 9/18/1963 (42:55). Symphony No. 3 12/2/1954 (34:47)

Tracks: 34 to 39 BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 3/6/1964 (43:46). Alto Rhapsody Lucretia West (alt); SWR Vocal Ensemble Stuttgart; 3/5/1964 (12:16). Tragic Overture 1/29/1954 (13:08)

Tracks: 40 to 49 SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3 9/15/1960 (29:44). R. STRAUSS Sinfonia domestica 12/14/1960 (42:05)

Tracks: 50 to 55 WEBER Euryanthe: Overture 2/19/1962 (8:46). Oberon: Overture 4/10/1953 (9:32). WOLF Italian Serenade 2/14/1957 (7:17). TCHAIKOVSKY Hamlet Overture 10/24/1952 (19:05). VON REZNIEK Donna Diana: Overture 2/12/1960 (5:44). BLACHER Concertante Music for Orchestra 10/29/1951 (9:42)

Tracks: 56 to 64 DEBUSSY La Mer 5/23/1952 (23:28). RAPHAEL Sinfonia breve 3/14/1952 (21:20). OBOUSSIER Violin Concerto Roman Schimmer (vn); 1/4/1955 (13:29)

Tracks: 65 to 78 LISZT Ce qu’on entend sur la montagne 3/7/1961 (27:30). REGER Variations and Fugue on a Merry Theme by Johann Adam Hiller 1/10/1953 (39:54)

Tracks: 79 to 82 Rehearsal Excerpts from: BRAHMS Symphony No. 2: Finale 3/15-16/1966 (17:48). WAGNER Parsifal: Act I Prelude, Act III Good Friday Music and Conclusion 3/15-16/1966 (32:20)

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/0uupc6ECJ8sPfR6YhUf8Mn

(Spotify Webplayer link)

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Queen Elisabeth competition Elisabethwedstrijd 75 years on Spotify

And yes, sooner than I expected the circus of the Queen Elisabeth competition ( #kew2016 on Twitter) has started again! For me, in 1983, it was the first time I ever came across classical music. If you think the Eurovision song contest is alienating, try the full week of piano madness when you are in your early teens ;-)

Especially the winner of that year, Pierre-Alain Volondat, with his robot-slow-bows is for ever imprinted in my memory…
The nice thing about the 75 years of QEC CD box is that not only the winners are on it, but also some fine 2nd or 4th place performances, just like on the CD box with the violin performances.

Hope you will enjoy the list, also notable for the inclusion of conductor Belgian conductor Franz André, who’s LP’s are often well sought after collectors item.
All recordings are live recordings from the competition!

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/6wb2exli6NhAqzx5h82zxC

(HTTP web link to 7 hours of Queen Elisabeth history)

-Pjotr Iljitsj Tsjaikovski

Piano concerto no 1 in Bb major

Valery Afanassiev, Russia, 1st prize 1972

Orchestre National de Belgique

Rene Defossez, conductor

-Franz Liszt

Piano concerto no 1 in Eb major

Vladimir Ashkenazy, Russia, 1st prize 1956

Orchestre National de Belgique

Franz Andrér, conductor

-Franz Liszt

Piano concerto no 2 in A major

Pierre-Alain Volondat, France, 1st prize 1983

Orchestre National de Belgique

Georges-Elie Octors, conductor

-Sergei Rachmaninov

Piano concerto no 2 in c minor op 18

Wolfgang Manz, Germany, 2nd prize 1983

Orchestre National de Belgique

Georges-Elie Octors, conductor

-Sergei Rachmaninov

Piano concerto no 3 in d minor op 30

Andrei Nikolsky, Russia, 1st prize 1987

Orchestre National de Belgique

Georges-Elie Octors, conductor

-Ludwig van Beethoven

Piano concerto no 4 in G major op 58

Frank Braley, France, 1st prize 1991

Orchestre National de Belgique

Ronald Zollman, conductor

-Johannes Brahms

Piano concerto no 1 in d minor op 15

Leon Fleisher, USA, 1st prize 1952

Orchestre National de Belgique

Franz André, conductor

-Johannes Brahms

Piano concerto no 2 in Bb major op 83

Denis Kozhukhin, Russia, 1st prize 2010

de Filhamonie

Edo de Waart, conductor

-Sergei Prokofiev

Piano concerto no 2 in g minor op 16

Anna Vinnitskaya, Russia, 1st prize 2007

Orchestre National de Belgique

Georges-Elie Octors, conductor

-Sergei Prokofiev

Piano concerto no 1 in Db major op 10

Malcolm Frager, USA, 1st prize 1960

Orchestre National de Belgique

Franz André, conductor

-Frédéric Chopin

Piano concerto no 1 in e minor op 11

Jeffrey Swann, USA, 2nd prize 1972

Orchestre National de Belgique

Rene Defossez, conductor

-Frédéric Chopin

Piano concerto no 2 in f minor op 21

Cécile Ousset, France, 4th prize 1956

Orchestre National de Belgique

Franz André, conductor

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Jerome Rose, virtuoso pianist

On page 106 of the Gramophone magazine October issue, there is a one-page advertisement of
"I play the piano". It's not the website that attacked my attention, but the names attached to that webstite; Michel Beroff, Jean Marc Luisada, Jaques Rouvier and one Jerome Rose. Jerome who? "Professor at the New York Mannes College". Eh, ok... I started to google and one record kept on popping up when you filled in the name of the pianist —> „The Vox Liszt recordings" <—.
Are they on Spotify? Yes... And wow, there was some awesome amount of virtuosity in Liszt's Etudes transcendante! Unfortunately, his later records show the same daredevil approach as the early Vox record, but seem to go a bit overboard, damaging structural integrity (as can be heard in the Liszt concerto included, but on the other hand, some old world charm there in the slow part…!). What I found very successful was his recording of Chopin's 3rd sonata, dating somewhere from the 80’s. Hope you will enjoy this selection! Click the link, and if Spotify does not start automatically then, click on the big square on the left.

-Franz Liszt 12 Etudes transcendante
-Franz Liszt Piano concerto no 1 with the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Ricco Saccani conducting
-Frederyk Chopin Piano Sonata no3 b minor op. 58

(one hour fifty-four minutes thunderous piano sounds…)
http://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/2rt7iVvijJasmfa2zvv071