Ondine

03/07/2024

KlassikHeute: "10 / 10 / 10" 💥⚡️

"[Erkoreka's] piano concerto is one of the very best contributions to the genre from the last 25 years." (KlassikHeute)

New album of orchestral works by Gabriel Erkoreka from Euskadiko Orkestra (Basque National Orchestra), conductor Juanjo Mena and three soloists receives an excellent review from Klassik Heute:

"[Erkoreka's] writing style, especially for large orchestra, is highly elaborate with enormous colorfulness and expressiveness. - -

His first piano concerto Piscis (2021-22) demonstrates an extremely chromatic style of writing with a multitude of extremely different textures both in the solo piano — not only in several cadenza-like sections spiced with the highest technical difficulties — and in the often very dense orchestral setting. In the three continuously connected movements, one can hear complex, cluster-like formations in the piano in the extreme positions, which then usually radiate into the entire sound spectrum and generate very lively, incredibly variable movement patterns. (...) Alfonso Gómez (...) does an astonishing job and is absolutely convincing with his committed performance. For the reviewer, this piano concerto is one of the very best contributions to the genre from the last 25 years. - -

In the cello concerto, (...) the solo cello goes through a great development, which manifests itself, among other things, in the upward spiral from the lowest register to extreme harmonics. The fantastic Asier Polo has to master a multi-layered cadenza in the second movement. Without even coming anywhere close to direct quotations, the composer also incorporates elements of Basque folklore into the successful work: clearly audible in the corresponding rhythmic foundations and especially in some Mediterranean melodies in the last movement. Overall, there is significantly more microtonality or glissando effects in Ekaitza than in the piano concerto. The conductor Juanjo Mena (...) encourages the 90-strong orchestra to perform at their best in all three works, is obviously very familiar with Erkoreka's music and masterfully realizes the enormous range of expression. - -

[In] Tres Sonetos de Michelangelo (...) Erkoreka has apparently found the perfect interpreter for his take on Michelangelo Buonarroti's unusual texts. [Carlos] Mena's voice (...) impresses with its extraordinary assertiveness and beautiful tone in the high registers, as well as striking androgyny in the middle and lower registers (...). The second setting (Sonetto XI) with accompaniment only by wind instruments (...) deserves special mention. - -

With a good booklet (...) and, as expected, impeccable recording technology from the Ondine label, this release offers three first-class opportunities to get to know the fascinating Basque composer in all his maturity." (Klassik Heute)

Full review (in German):
http://www.klassik-heute.de/4daction/www_medien_einzeln?id=24770&CDS30

Album: https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14422OW!fb

01/07/2024

"The result is a harpsichord rendering that feels monumental." ⚡️

The July issue of the Gramophone magazine includes an excellent review for Aapo Häkkinen's new recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Die Kunst der Fuge':

"Aapo Häkkinen’s very fine rendition on a 1614 Ruckers harpsichord leaves nothing wanting in terms of expressive power and transparency of line. I listened to this side by side with Gustav Leonhardt’s 1969 version and found myself equally satisfied by both versions. - -

None of the formidable demands made by the keyboard arrangement are daunting to the performer. Häkkinen’s use of agogic accents is particularly impressive, lending crystalline independence to the musical line without ever lapsing into affectation. Even the most chromatically complex of the fugues is rendered with ease, poise and sensitivity. The Ruckers instrument is an ideal choice, mellow but full of colour and warmth. The result is a harpsichord rendering that feels monumental without ever becoming severe or monochromatic." (Gramophone)

Review: https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/js-bach-die-kunst-der-fuge-aapo-hakkinen

Album: https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14372OW!fb

24/06/2024

Did Puccini leave his opera 'Turandot' unfinished? ❓

Conductor Robert Trevino has written a fascinating article on Puccini's final masterpiece for the BBC Music Magazine ⚡️

You can read the article under the following link:

Conductor Robert Treviño argues that all attempts to provide an ending to Puccini's 'unfinished' opera Turandot have been misjudged

10/06/2024

'ALBUM OF THE WEEK' 💥by Norman Lebrecht

The first volume in a Ferdinand Ries symphony cycle by Tapiola Sinfonietta and conductor Janne Nisonen is Norman Lebrecht's 'album of week':

"The Tapiola Sinfonietta, conductor Janne Nisonen, play with vim, vigour and a fleeting smile."

https://www.ludwig-van.com/toronto/2024/06/07/lebrecht-listens-mixed-results-beethovens-contemporaries-ries-clement-two-new-releases/

07/06/2024

NEW ALBUM 🔥

We are proud to release a new album from the Basque National Orchestra (Euskadiko Orkestra) and conductor Juanjo Mena featuring orchestral works by award-winning composer Gabriel Erkoreka (b. 1969). This album includes three works with Asier Polo, Carlos Mena and Alfonso Gómez as soloists.

Erkoreka studied composition with Michael Finnissy at the Royal Academy of Music in London and after graduating, his works have been performed in important festivals across the globe. In 2021 Gabriel Erkoreka received the National Music Award given by the Spanish Ministry of Culture.

Erkoreka’s music, alongside references to folk music and nature, shows a genuine preference for dramatic structures with an extreme use of dynamics and registers that are condensed into a language of great timbral richness and musicality. This album offers first recordings of three important orchestral works by Erkoreka, including his recent Piano Concerto. Two of the works were premiered by the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, and the Cello Concerto by the Basque National Orchestra on its 30th anniversary, and all by the same soloists. Given that the first compositions in Gabriel Erkoreka’s catalogue date from the early 1990s, it is possible to conclude that this recording gathers mature works that certify an already consolidated style.

Album: https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14422OW!fb

03/06/2024

Klassik Heute: "10 / 10 / 10" 🔥🔥🔥

"The Tapiola Sinfonietta under the direction of Janne Nisonen is the perfect partner: they take this music as seriously as it deserves." (KlassikHeute)

The first volume in a Ferdinand Ries symphony cycle by the Tapiola Sinfonietta and conductor Janne Nisonen receives an excellent review from Klassik Heute.

"The booklet describes Ries' symphonic music quite aptly as 'energetic, dynamic, self-confident and ambitious'. One should add: purposeful, orchestrally attractive, idiosyncratic. - -

The Tapiola Sinfonietta under the direction of Janne Nisonen is the perfect partner for this: they take this music as seriously as it deserves. Even if the echoes of the Beethoven symphonies are unmistakable, it is still a completely independent, often really rousing piece of music: both symphonies end with a furious final tempo increase. Ries skilfully combines his motifs, themes and sections.

The orchestral sound is extremely compact and rhythmically precise, the brass instruments are very agile, the woodwind instruments are beguilingly beautiful and soft. The joy of this music, the driving momentum, the care taken in the elaboration are audible throughout. - -

The spatial sound of the Tapiola Hall is captured excellently, everything sounds well-rounded and authentic. We can look forward to the next recordings and hopefully we will soon be able to hear Ferdinand Ries’ symphonies in concert halls."

Full review: http://www.klassik-heute.de/4daction/www_medien_einzeln?id=24742&Empfe

Album: https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14432OW!fb

29/05/2024

"A feast of beauty" (Klassik Heute)

9 / 10 / 9 rating for Aapo Häkkinen's new recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's epic Die Kunst der Fuge from Klassik Heute! 🔥

"When a musician takes on this encyclopedia of counterpoint on the harpsichord, it is particularly awe-inspiring. - -

Häkkinen was allowed to record Bach's timeless masterpiece on a famous instrument: (...) a harpsichord by Andreas Ruckers from 1614 which was later owned by John Blow, and even Handel is said to have played on it. The recording captures the truly magnificent and astonishingly sonorous harpsichord very well. Häkkinen understands the form of the Art of Fugue as a three-part cycle, chooses the original order (1745?) of the individual pieces and sees the two mirror fugues — Contrapunctus inversus XII and Contrapunctus inversus XIII — as a mediating link to the four concluding canons. - -

There is no question how skilfully Häkkinen controls his instrument - he uses the 4-foot register extremely sparingly — and the score down to the last detail. - -

It is astonishing how naturally the polyphonic structures remain transparent under Häkkinen's hands, even with a harpsichord — a feast of beauty. - -

Conclusion: An extremely successful recording in which reverence and enthusiasm for Bach's epic music are balanced." (KlassikHeute)

Review (in German): http://www.klassik-heute.de/4daction/www_medien_einzeln?id=24710&CDS30Tage

Album: https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14372OW!fb

24/05/2024

"This is a magnificant release by all counts. If you do not know Outi Tarkiainen’s music, here is a great introduction to her beautiful and often gripping sound world." (MusicWeb International) 🔥🔥🔥

MusicWeb International gives a strong recommendation to the new album of Outi Tarkiainen's orchestral works by Radion sinfoniaorkesteri - Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, soloist Nicholas Daniel and conductor Nicholas Collon.

"She belongs to a generation of Finnish composers now steadily acquiring well-deserved worldwide reputation. - -

['Midnight Sun Variations'] is inspired by light and its varying densities. (...) That is exactly what there is in Tarkiainen’s subtly varied orchestral palette, from lightly shimmering textures to menacing growling in the bass register. Sibelius’s shadow hovers large over some episodes in this beautiful work. One senses that Tarkiainen’s music shares the roots and soil with Sibelius’s final masterpiece 'Tapiola'.

The sibling work, 'Songs of the Ice', (...) has much in common with that of 'Midnight Sun Variations', and is again wonderfully and subtly written for large orchestra. It hints at a wide range of moods and emotions. - -

'Milky Ways', a concerto for cor anglais and orchestra (...) [is] yet another very fine piece of music and a superb addition to the somewhat limited repertoire for the cor anglais. Nicholas Daniel wonderfully and effortlessly realises the solo part, with musicality and immaculate artistry. - -

'The Ring of Fire and Love' (...) is an exqusite example of the suggestive power of Tarkiainen’s music.

The four works in this release are a fine survey of Tarkiainen’s recent output. The musicians play with commitment and enthusiasm. They clearly believe in the music and serve it wholeheartedly. The recording is up to Ondine’s standard. Antti Häyrynen’s concise but relevant notes are a bonus. This is a magnificant release by all counts. If you do not know Outi Tarkiainen’s music, here is a great introduction to her beautiful and often gripping sound world." (MusicWeb International)

Full review: https://musicwebinternational.com/2024/05/tarkiainen-midnight-sun-variations-ondine/

Album: https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14322OW

15/05/2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from the German Rondomagazin for the new Ferdinand Ries symphony album by Tapiola Sinfonietta and Janne Nisonen:

"[The first two symphonies] are, even more than Beethoven's utopian masterpieces, haunting contemporary documents that convey to us the general uncertainty of life at the time, and one can already hear echoes of Schubert's world of sensations in the final movement of the Second symphony.

The Finnish conductor Janne Nisonen animates the 43-member, highly motivated Tapiola Sinfonietta in both works into an almost martially attacking intepretation bursting with energy that transfers Beethoven's radical aesthetics to Ries' symphonic language, so that we have here an almost electrifying plea for one today to experience this criminally underestimated late Classic. We can look forward to further volumes of the planned complete edition of all Ries' symphonies."

Review (in German): https://www.rondomagazin.de/kritiken.php?kritiken_id=12645

Album: https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14432OW!fb

10/05/2024

The Interlude magazine has published a story on Helsinki Baroque Orchestra - Helsingin Barokkiorkesteri recent recording on Bernhard Henrik Crusell's (1775-1838) rarely heard works, including a world premiere recording, conducted by Aapo Häkkinen.

Enjoy reading:

https://interlude.hk/from-sadness-to-love-crusells-little-slave-girl/

Album:
https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14242OW!fb

Crusell’s only opera, Den lilla slavinnan (The Little Slave Girl), came after the death of his 17-year-old daughter Maria in 1823.

07/05/2024

PIZZICATO, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) symphony recording by Tapiola Sinfonietta and Janne Nisonen receives a 5 star-rating from the Pizzicato!

"Nisonen shows how original and expressive the first two symphonies are. The composer, who was trained by Ludwig van Beethoven, is known as a rather temperamental person. The imaginative music is often not only virtuosic, but also rhetorical, between serious meaning and funny and cheeky passages. Under Janne Nisonen’s gripping direction, both symphonies have a lasting effect. - - [Nisonen] is in his element here.

Ries has a highly motivated interpreter who tackles the outer movements brashly and powerfully and, as a committed advocate of this music, ignites a fire of unbridled passion in them. In the quieter movements, however, he is also able to express a great deal of charm. The inspired Tapiola Sinfonietta is a willing instrument in his hands."

Review: https://www.pizzicato.lu/kraftvoll-rhetorische-ries-symphonien/

Album: https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14432OW

03/05/2024

NEW ALBUM 💥
NEW SYMPHONY CYCLE ⭐️

We are happy to release 1st volume in a complete Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) symphony cycle by Tapiola Sinfonietta and conductor Janne Nisonen!

Ferdinand Ries was Beethoven’s only acknowledged composition pupil, close friend and biographer. Often remembered in music history as Beethoven’s ‘right hand’, these new recordings by the Tapiola Sinfonietta showcase a remarkable and talented early 19th-century symphonist.

When Ferdinand Ries began composing his First Symphony in 1809, he was already an experienced composer of instrumental music. However, Ries’s admiration for Beethoven presented him with an unusually stern challenge: how could he compose works of similar musical richness and complexity yet allow his own voice as a composer to be heard? Over the course of the next thirty years, Ries wrestled with this problem and, for the most part, succeeded. Like Beethoven before him, Ries had delayed writing a symphony until he felt confident enough of his experience and technique to compose a work that would bear comparison with the masterpieces of Haydn and Mozart and, in his case, Beethoven himself. The earliest performance of record of Ries’s First Symphony took place in 1812 when the orchestra of the Gewandhaus in Leipzig played the work in a concert.

Ries’s Symphony in C minor, Op. 80, although published second, was actually the third of his symphonies to be composed. It was premiered in 1814 and is the symphony which Ries dedicated to Beethoven. Ries’ work was compared to Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, and while there are techniques familiar to us from the works of Beethoven, they also have their roots in the Sturm und Drang style of Haydn, Wanhal and other prominent eighteenth-century symphonists.

https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14432OW

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4qRZ4keeTGslyNlxJSH5nQ?si=ZCxSbBcARPiR-IW3HHHyew

03/05/2024

NEW ALBUM 💥

Flutist Stathis Karapanos represents in this album the complete flute works by Paul Hindemith (1895-1963), one of the greatest 20th century composers — including a world premiere recording!

This album shows the unexpected versatility of Hindemith as a composer. Hindemith wrote a sonata for almost every instrument of the orchestra as well as solo concertos for some of them. Here, he succeeded in optimally exploiting the qualities typical of each instrument both in sound and technique.

Among the highlights of this album include Hindemith’s Concerto for Woodwinds, Harp and Orchestra comissioned by the Columbia University of New York in 1948, as well as his fascinating Flute Sonata, which was premiered in Washington on 10 April 1937. 'Enthusiasm' for Flute and Viola, which is here recorded for the first time, was written during a composition class at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut — Hindemith wrote the piece on the blackboard while his students looked on.

This album also features an impressive roster of accompanying artists: Jörg Widmann, Stephan Schweigert, Céline Moinet - Oboe, Marie-Pierre Langlamet, Christopher Park, Fil Liotis, Philippe Bernold, David Aaron Carpenter, Konzerthaus Berlin Chamber Orchestra, Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, Sayako Kusaka & Christoph Eschenbach.

https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14092OW

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0Riv6XftpPf1oj0LNi3n2Q?si=jcLrozhuQ2qkv_e7z4rgRQ

03/05/2024

NEW DIGITAL ALBUM 💥
LEIF SEGERSTAM 80 YEARS 🥳

2024 marks the 80th anniversary of birth of a champion in Nordic music. Particularly known for his Sibelius interpretations (including his complete Sibelius symphony cycle), Segerstam has also premiered countless of new works and conducted extensively music by Nordic composers, including Einojuhani Rautavaara.

To celebrate this iconic figure in music, we have brought together an anthology showcasing his rich and diverse heritage in orchestral recordings. Included are also some works written by Leif Segerstam himself.

https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14702OW

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5f9nru31c4AThvylhNk0ic?si=Bebc44xuSqa5Rr_OpilLcA

30/04/2024

NEW SINGLE 💿

Paul Hindemith's 'Abendkonzert' from upcoming flute album by Stathis Karapanos is already available as a digital single on Spotify.

Enjoy this beautiful performance by Stathis Karapanos accompanied by the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach!

https://open.spotify.com/track/1TgE1uOBqqDVSyHl8AepsX?si=045a670233944728

19/04/2024

Recording sessions are taking place for a new Sibelius album by the Radion sinfoniaorkesteri - Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Nicholas Collon 💥

Be sure not to miss out on the first installment in the series!:
https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14042OW

(Photo: Yle)

18/04/2024

Dave Hurwitz from ClassicsToday reviews Robert Trevino's second Ravel album with the Basque National Orchestra (Euskadiko Orkestra) 💿💿💿

”Everything that Trevino has done with this orchestra has been terrific! - -

There are many fine performances [of the Mother Goose ballet] – this one is one of them. It’s just very, very good. It has the atmosphere, that magical atmosphere in the interludes that you absolutely have to have. The orientalisms (…) and most importantly 'The Fairy Garden' has that flow, that wonderful hypnotic flow. (…) It’s just beautiful. - -

Very nicely recorded. Just a beautiful disc!” 💥

Watch: https://youtube.com/watch?v=mML85R

Album: https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14162OW!fb

15/04/2024

RECORDING OF THE YEAR 2024 by International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) 🥳 🥳 🥳

At the ICMA gala ceremony and concert at the Palau de la Musica in Valencia on April 12, 2024, Ondine was awarded Chamber Music Award for its album of Schubert trio chamber music with Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff and Lars Vogt. In this connection, the jury led by ICMA President Remy Franck also announced that the album was chosen as the ICMA Recording of the Year 2024.

In the concert to follow Tanja Tetzlaff gave an exquisite performance of Antonín Dvořák's Rondo for cello and orchestra with the Orquesta de Valencia and Alexander Liebreich.

We congratulate Christian Tetzlaff and Tanja Tetzlaff for the awards and share our warmest thoughts to Lars Vogt.

(Photos: Live Music Valencia/Palau de la Música)

11/04/2024

10/10/10 💥

New Rolf Wallin orchestral album by Stavanger Symfoniorkester, with soloists Eldbjørg Hemsing, Wuweimusic & Ida Nielsen and conductor Andris Poga receives full points from the German Klassik Heute:

"World-class soloists - - Magnificent concertos. - -

The Latvian Andris Poga leads the extremely differentiated Stavanger Symphony Orchestra which adapts dynamically perfectly to the soloists, with dedication and enormous sensitivity. - -

The recording quality is excellent, the album (...) deserves a clear recommendation."

Review (in German):
http://www.klassik-heute.de/4daction/www_medien_einzeln?id=24682&CDS30

Album: https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14292OW!fb

05/04/2024

NEW ALBUM 💿

Aapo Häkkinen has created a new recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's legendary Die Kunst der Fuge with an instrument which belonged to the composer John Blow (1649–1708), organist of Westminster Abbey and former teacher of Henry Purcell. A tradition exists that Handel had also played this harpsichord.

In this recording, the order of the movements is based on the original autograph version of The Art of Fugue. Even while using the text of the revised late version – incorporating some of the most heart-rending music ever written, such as Contrapunctus IV and the beginning of Contrapunctus X – the original order of performance of c.1742–1745 has been restored. Between the main body of 11 fugues and the four canons there are the two mirror fugues. They form a bridge, as it were, between earth and heaven, while contrasting the antique consort style (Contrapunctus inversus XII) and the modern trio sonata style (Contrapunctus inversus XIII). Plainly not conceived for solo keyboard – unlike the rest of the cycle – they are played here by a viol consort (Les Voix humaines) and by a violin (Anna Gebert) and harpsichord, respectively. After all, Buxtehude had used viols (according to the Düben Collection parts) in his poignant funeral Klag-Lied (BuxWV 76) in an inverted contrapuntal texture called Contrapunctus. In the trio texture, the violin assumes the upper solo part, as was Bach’s practice in clavier trios and in the Fuga canonica of The Musical Offering.

To listen:
https://ondine.lnk.to/ODE14372OW

05/04/2024

In Helsinki we are enjoying an outstanding feast with the performance and recording of Edward Elgar's masterpiece work, The Dream of Gerontius, together with amazing choirs Cambridge University Symphony Chorus, Musiikkitalon kuoro, Dominante, Helsingin kamarikuoro, alumni of The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, soloists Christine Rice, John Findon & Roderick Williams, and Radion sinfoniaorkesteri - Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Collon. 💥

An evening to remember!

https://fb.watch/rfDiISEs2w/

04/04/2024

Frank Skog (1968-2024), in memoriam.

We are saddened to learn about the passing away of Frank Skog. As reciter he recently took part in the world premiere recording of Crusell's 'The Last Warrior' (1834) which in Finland received Emma Gaala nomination as 'Classical album of the year' just few months ago.

(Photo: Anders Meinander)