Release Date: 30 June 2016
Label: Somm / Somm Recordings
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 748871015821
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: Brahms
Description
SOMM welcomes this very special new release by Alexander Baillie and John Thwaites, two outstanding artists at the top of their profession. With this CD SOMM pays tribute to Alexander Baillie on his 60th birthday and warmly congratulates the two artists celebrating their 30th Anniversary as a Duo. The Brahms Sonatas have formed part of many a recital by Baillie and Thwaites over the years but what makes their recording so very special is the two artists' choice of pianos. All three instruments were chosen not only to be authentic for their time and the Brahms timeline, but as outstandingly beautiful pianos in their own right. Recorded last May at the famous Gert Hecher Klavier-Athelier in Vienna, the three pianos in the Collection are Hecher's pride and joy for their unique qualities of sound. The E minor Brahms Sonata Op. 38 was recorded on a pure-toned, sweetly singing straight-strung Rönisch piano from the 1860s. The F major, Op. 99 Sonata is on an Ehrbar grand piano built in 1877, whose characteristics are a soft, sensuous sound with a resonant bass and a heavy Viennese action. The Four Serious Songs, Brahms's last work, is played on a cross-strung Viennese Streicher which dates from 1878. The sound is large, dignified, profound and colourful, characteristics typical of all Streicher's instruments.
Tracklisting
Emma Halnan; Ulster Orchestra; Jac van Steen
Sarah Fox; Alon Sariel; Sanja Romic; English Chamber Orchestra; Nimrod Borenstein
Kieran White; Cedric Meyer
Andre Navarra; Munich Philharmonic; Tibor Varga; Bamberg Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Rieger; Jan Koet
Bebbington:Orch Swan:Curtis
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Sir Thomas Beecham
Leon McCawley
Anastasia Prokofieva; Sergey Rybin
