Howard Griffiths, Münchener Kammerorchester – Danzi: Ouverture, Cello Concerto & Piano Concerto (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Howard Griffiths, Münchener Kammerorchester – Danzi: Ouverture, Cello Concerto & Piano Concerto (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 58:38 minutes | 524 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Sony Classical

The stunning new album from Howard Griffiths and the Munich Chamber Orchestra. Compositions by Franz Danzi, Mozart’s contemporary, acclaimed composer of early classical music. The Cello Concerto in E minor is performed by young French cello virtuoso Aurélien Pascal. The Paris musician, born in 1994, began his musical education at the Paris Conservatory and took masterclasses with János Starker. The second soloist on this album is Armenian pianist Nareh Arghamanyan, who won the famous Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow sensationally at just 19 years old and at the young age of 15, was admitted to the Vienna University of Music as the youngest student. The rarely performed Overture in D major completes this interesting Danzi programme; a well balanced collection of repertoire rarities.

Danzi was a productive composer, and even though his main musical interests lay in German-language opera, he also composed in all the genres that were common at the time, among which his concertos are particularly noteworthy. In his works for solo instruments and orchestra, Danzi’s focussed on just a few instruments : four concertos for the flute, five for bassoon, three for cello, two for horn, and just a single concerto for piano. This Piano Concerto in E-flat major was probably composed in 1799 for the wedding of his niece, the pianist Sophie Dulcken, to whom the work is also dedicated. We surely do not offend the memory of Danzi if we note that Mozart’s piano concertos were clearly his model in both the design and realisation of his own. By contrast, the Cello Concerto in e minor, written in 1809 for the famous cellist Philipp Moralt, engages far more freely with classical models, with abrupt, unexpected harmonic shifts, unusual thematic constellations and highly original instrumental ideas.

Pianist Nareh Arghamanyan, born in Armenia in 1989, studied at the Tchaikovsky Music School for Talented Children in Yerevan and became the youngest student to be admitted to the University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna. She is a laureate of many international piano competitions including first prize winner at the 2008 Montréal International Music Competition. Highly acclaimed for her unique style, colourful tone and dazzling virtuosity, Arghamanyan has given debut concerts with orchestras such as Vienna Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo. French cellist Aurélien Pascal was awarded all the first prizes at the 2014 Emanuel Feuermann Competition. Already, at the age of 11, Aurélien was named winner of the first Rostropovitch Junior Competition. In 2015, he made his début in the Zurich Tonhalle together the Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra and Vladimir Fedoseyev, followed by highly acclaimed concerts in Tokyo and Osaka where he performed the Dvorák Concerto. He also performed at the Beethoven Festival in Bonn, Russian Chamber Music Festival in Hamburg, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Nuremberg Symphony, the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrucken, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and gave his debut recital at the prestigious Berlin Konzerthaus.

Tracklist:

01. Howard Griffiths & Münchener Kammerorchester – Piano Concerto in E-Flat Major, Op. 4, P. 229: I. Allegro (12:42)
02. Howard Griffiths & Münchener Kammerorchester – Piano Concerto in E-Flat Major, Op. 4, P. 229: Piano Concerto in E-Flat Major, Op. 4, P. 229: II. Andante moderato (06:44)
03. Howard Griffiths & Münchener Kammerorchester – Piano Concerto in E-Flat Major, Op. 4, P. 229: Piano Concerto in E-Flat Major, Op. 4, P. 229: III. Allegretto (07:59)
04. Howard Griffiths & Münchener Kammerorchester – Overture in D Major, P. 228: I. Allegro (02:10)
05. Howard Griffiths & Münchener Kammerorchester – Overture in D Major, P. 228: Overture in D Major, P. 228: II. Andantino (01:33)
06. Howard Griffiths & Münchener Kammerorchester – Overture in D Major, P. 228: III. Allegretto ma non troppo (02:28)
07. Howard Griffiths & Münchener Kammerorchester – Cello Concerto in E Minor, P. 243: I. Allegro (13:36)
08. Howard Griffiths & Münchener Kammerorchester – Cello Concerto in E Minor, P. 243: Cello Concerto in E Minor, P. 243: II. Larghetto (04:23)
09. Howard Griffiths & Münchener Kammerorchester – Cello Concerto in E Minor, P. 243: III. Allegretto (06:59)