Markus Becker & Ma'alot Quintett
Release Date: 14 January 2022
Label: C-Avi
Packaging Type: Digipak
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 4260085530434
Genres: Classical Chamber Music
Description
This is the twin recording to the 2020 release of Beethoven, Piano & Winds. Mozart only wrote one original work for piano and winds (KV 452) - the G major concerto, the E flat symphony and the Overture are arrangements by the group's oboe player Ulf-Guido Schafer, of other works by Mozart.
"Playing with other instruments is always fascinating: it's not only great fun, but also an important experience for me as a pianist, every time. The piano is actually just a mechanical toolbox that we can operate without having to use our breath. Thanks to its mechanism, the sound is immediately produced; once the hammers have struck, it can no longer be influenced, and the note unavoidably fades away. It is thus essential for a pianist to imagine what it is like to play another instrument, and to study the sound of other instruments in depth. They can be wind or string instruments, or the human voice. Sometimes I imagine I am playing with a string quartet; at other times it can be a full orchestra.
With a woodwind quintet as musical partner, I cannot help but breathe with the music: my colleagues are constantly putting that ability on display. It starts with the very first attack. If I just "played piano" as usual, we would never be together on the beat; thanks to the piano's immediate mechanism, my note would always be there a little earlier. But if I imagine the gentle attack of a bassoon or a clarinet while listening closely, I can make an attempt not to be overly "on time" when I strike the key. I can also execute certain chords as a quick arpeggio, with the notes not quite together. Of course, such a mental image of breathing while playing can also be of great help when I am giving solo recitals: imagining wind attacks, or the upbow and downbow on the violin. The piano is an instrument designed to create illusion: the toolchest produces the most wonderful things, but to achieve them, we, as players, are required to use our imagination….." (from the remarks, written by the artists)
"It is a pleasing programme and a refreshing change" – Gramophone, February 2022
Tracklisting
Andreas Willwohl & Daniel Heide
Laurence Kilsby & Ella O'Neill
Kilian Herold, Barbara Buntrock, Florian Donderer, Tanja Tetzlaff
Kathrin Zukowski, KammerMusikKoln
Katharina Konradi, Catriona Morison, Ammiel Bushakevitz
Antje Weithaas, Denes Varjon
Premysl Vojta, Florence Millet, Ye Wu
Herbert Schuch, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne
Karolos
The Counterpoints
Narratio Quartet
Danbi Um; Juho Pohjonen
Engegard Quartet, NyNorsk Messingkvintett
Flute Alors
Louise Bessette
Jonas Batstrand, Jorn Fossheim
