Puccini: Madama Butterfly

Description

Schubert composed these three charming violin and piano sonatas (also called 'sonatinas') when he was nineteen, and like much of his early work they are suffused with the spirit of Mozart. When they were published eight years after his death, they were advertised as 'sonatinas', doubtless as a lure to the lucrative amateur market, but the term is misleading. The three-movement D major has something of the miniature about it, but the more substantial four-movement A minor and G minor sonatas are certainly not light-weight. The graceful and melodious D major sonata is very Mozartian in derivation. The Sonata in A minor, Schubert's favourite key for expressions of pathos, has a more individual flavour, and like the Sonata in G minor, hints at the poignancy and passion of the composer's maturity. The soloists on this recording are the outstanding Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer and Russian-Austrian pianist Oleg Maisenberg. They have been regular recital partners for many years, and give stylish and insightful performances of these works.'...the two artists are very well attuned, and Maisenberg is an admirable pianist. The recording is well balanced and very natural.' Gramophone

Description

Schubert's last great masses - No.5 in A flat and No.6 in E flat - are his greatest achievements in this genre, both seeking to reconcile Christian liturgical grandeur with new-found romantic expression. They are much more substantial than the composer's earlier masses, which still lie firmly within the classical tradition of Haydn and Mozart. Schubert was very proud of his sublime A flat mass, which took him three years to write, and was the only completed major work of the so-called 'crisis' years. It features some of Schubert's most beautiful and complex writing for choir and orchestra. His last and most ambitious mass, the Mass No.6 in E flat, was once considered something of a Cinderella among the great works of his final year. However, it is increasingly acknowledged as a powerful and disquieting masterpiece, more monumental than the A flat. Wolfgang Sawallisch is renowned for his performances of Schubert's church music, and these glorious recordings from 1971, made with the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Rundfunkchor Leipzig, were released to great acclaim. The team of legendary soloists are all experienced performers of oratorio: soprano Helen Donath, mezzo-soprano Ingeborg Springer, tenor Peter Schreier and bass Theo Adam.'the...Dresden sound is first class: spacious, with plenty of depth and a very good overall balance. The conductor has chosen a superb team of soloists...Helen Donath sings very beautifully...undoubtedly Sawallisch is at his most inspired throughout.' Penguin Good CD Guide review