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Bach: English Suites [András Schiff]

Hungarian-born British classical pianist and conductor András Schiff plays Johann Sebastian Bach’s English Suites, BWV 806–811, a set of six keyboard suites that the German composer wrote for the clavier (harpsichord or clavichord). They are generally thought to be the earliest of his 19 suites for keyboard.

Bach: French Suites [András Schiff]

Hungarian-born British classical pianist and conductor András Schiff plays Johann Sebastian Bach’s French Suites, BWV 812–817, a set of six keyboard suites that the German composer wrote for the clavier (harpsichord or clavichord) between the years of 1722 and 1725.

Beethoven: Violin Sonata no. 9 “Kreutzer” [Kopatchinskaja, Say]

Moldovan-Austrian violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Turkish pianist Fazıl Say perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9 Opus 47, commonly known as the “Kreutzer Sonata”.

Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini [Kirill Gerstein]

Sergei Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (hr-Sinfonieorchester, piano: Kirill Gerstein)

Accompanied by the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra), Kirill Gerstein performs “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43”, a concertante (a mixture of the symphony and the concerto genres) work written for solo piano and symphony orchestra by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Conductor: Edward Gardner. Recorded live at Alte Oper Frankfurt on September 25, 2015.

Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV 565 [Harp: Amy Turk]

Amy Turk plays Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Bach) on harp

British harpist Amy Turk plays Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565, arguably one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most popular works, originally a piece of organ music, on harp. Transcribed for the harp and performed by Amy Turk herself.

Rachmaninoff: Isle of the Dead [hr-Sinfonieorchester, Gardner]

Conducted by Edward Gardner, the hr-Sinfonieorchester plays Sergei Rachmaninoff Isle of the Dead, Op. 29

Conducted by Edward Gardner, the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) plays Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Isle of the Dead, Op. 29, a symphonic poem inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s painting, Isle of the Dead, which the composer saw in a black-and-white reproduction in Paris in 1907. Recorded live at Alte Oper Frankfurt on September 25, 2015.

Bach: Goldberg Variations (Aria, Canons, and Aria da Capo) [Guitar: Marco Salcito]

Marco Salcito plays J. S. Bach's Goldberg Variations

Italian classical guitarist Marco Salcito plays Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, on classical guitar, in the original tone. It is originally a work written for harpsichord and published in 1781, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. Salcito plays Aria, Canons (Canoni), and Aria da Capo in this home recording video (May 2015). It is a very clearly played, brilliant, virtuoso performance. I especially like the tune of the guitar which is made by the master guitar builder Enzo Guido (Chioggia, Italy).

La Bella Noeva (17th and 18th Century Italian Music) – Tenor: Marco Beasley

Accompanied by the period-instrument ensemble Accordone, Italian tenor Marco Beasley performs 17th and 18th-century Italian arias, primarily late-Renaissance works from various composers. They were popular songs of the time that often competed with opera in terms of popularity and success. From La Bella Noeva (English: The Good One), an album published in 2003. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, music circulated essentially in the form of manuscript copies, and popular songs often sided with opera arias. Marco Beasley and Accordone bring back to life the everyday practice of that period.

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 [Mitsuko Uchida]

Mitsuko Uchida performs Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20

Accompanied by the Austrian chamber orchestra Camerata Salzburg, Japanese naturalised-British classical pianist Mitsuko Uchida performs Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 with Ludwig van Beethoven’s cadenza. Uchida also conducts the orchestra. Recorded in March 2001 in Salzburg.

Ravel: Piano Concerto [Hélène Grimaud]

Accompanied by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the French classical pianist Hélène Grimaud plays Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major, a piano concerto in three movements and is heavily influenced by jazz, which the French composer had encountered on a concert tour of the United States in 1928. Conductor: Vladimir Jurowski. Recorded in 2009.