On Thursday March 8 „The RIAS Bach Cantatas Project“ with Karl Ristenpart is presented in the program TonArt on WDR 3 (Western German Radio). Cellist Arabella Ristenpart, Ristenpart’s granddaughter, is the special guest of the program.

On March 8 at 15:05 PM Arabella Ristenpart will speak about the project of her grandfather on WDR 3.

The recordings of the Bach cantatas presented in this boxed set formed part of a project initiated by the conductor Karl Ristenpart at the RIAS Berlin in 1947. Although he was not able to record the complete cantatas as planned, the existing recordings nonetheless document a Bach ideal which was pioneering in its day: small-scale choral and orchestral forces, the professionalisation of interpretation in the choir, text-oriented articulation also for the soloists, and a fine balance between rhetorical succinctness and expressive performance.

Here you can find more information about the program and the production.

Bei Duo-Sonaten unter Beteiligung von Klavier und einem "solistischen" Instrument stellt sich immer die Frage, wie sehr sich dieses "solistische" Instrument zurücknimmt, an das Klavier anpasst, ein Miteinander zweier eigentlich gleichberechtigter Partner ermöglicht. Allzu oft wird Klavier mit "Begleitung" gleichgesetzt – während Violine, Cello oder ein Blasinstrument munter auftrumpfen. Ohne daran zu denken, dass zu dieser Sonate eben zwei gehören.In dieser Hinsicht spielt der kanadische Klarinettist Arthur Campbell auf dieser CD mit verschiedenen Werken für Klarinette und Klavier so vorbildlich, wie man es selten hört. Er hält sich in Klang und Gestus so sehr zurück, dass mancher Hörer, der den Fokus vor allem auf die Klarinette legt, von so viel Zurückhaltung enttäuscht sein könnte. Wer das Miteinander von Klavier und Blasinstrument verfolgt, wird dagegen begeistert sein. Campbell verschmilzt gleichsam mit dem Klang des Klaviers (Helen Marlais), woraus sich Interpretationen von beeindruckender Geschlossenheit ergeben. Selten hat man den brodelnden Unterbau in der Klavierstimme zu Schumanns Fantasiestücken op. 73 so deutlich wahrgenommen, selten wurden die Schumann'schen Stücke dabei so elegant und zart gespielt. Selten auch fügte sich die Klarinettenstimme in Debussys "Première Rhapsodie" so nahtlos in die impressionistischen Klavierklänge ein. Immer bleibt Campbells und Marlais Spiel exakt, elegant, ohne Übermaß. Die Schönheit dieses tatsächlich gemeinsamen Spiels ist so einnehmend, dass kaum mehr etwas zu fehlen scheint. Nicht einmal romantische Gefühlsausbrüche.

Shortly before his 87^th birthday the legendary singer, music teacher and author died. His impact and commitment for the art song in the 20^th century is outstanding.

Only in February audite released Fischer-Dieskau’s very first recordings of sacred works - the Karl Ristenpart production „The RIAS Bach Cantatas Project“.Fischer-Dieskau was personally looking forward to its release. Also his first recording of the “Winterreise” from 1948 was released at audite within a five part “Edition Fischer-Dieskau” just like a four part „Fischer-Dieskau Birthday Edition“ honouring his 85^th birthday. Many additional recordings with him were released on our label as well. He always followed the productions with interest.

We are happy that we were able to document a part of Fischer-Dieskau’s immense artistic legacy.

On May15 this year’s International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) were awarded in Nantes/ France. The audite edition “Ferenc Fricsay conducts Béla Bartók – The Complete RIAS Recordings” (aud. 21.407) won the award in the category historic recordings. The winners were introduced and honoured with a festive award ceremony and a top-class gala concert.

As the successors of the MIDEM Classical Awards the ICMA has been firmly established in a short period of time. The jury consists exclusively out of professional critics for classical music from international media. This guarantees the high level and the independency of the ICMA. Both makes the ICMA the most important international music award, a similar concept on international level cannot befound elsewhere.
Thus we feel particularly honoured to receive the ICMA!

Currently the jury includes critics from Andante (Turkey), Crescendo (Belgium), FonoForum (Germany), Gramofon (Hungary), IMZ (Austria), MDR-Figaro (Germany), Musica (Italy), Musik & Theater (Switzerland), Orpheus Radio (Russia), Pizzicato (Luxembourg), radio 100,7 (Luxembourg), Resmusica.com (France), Scherzo (Spain) and Viva Classica (Finland).

Picture from left to right: Guy Engels (ICMA, radio100,7), Ludger Böckenhoff (audite), Susanne Paulukat (Deutschlandradio Berlin), Rüdiger Albrecht (Deutschlandradio Berlin), Rémy Franck (ICMA, pizzicato)

Photo credits: ICMA/ Hoffmeister

This video provides impressions on the recording situation with the Mandelring Quartett.

... to works for flute is Ludger Böckenhoff currently during a recording for a new audite production:
"With Anne-Catherine Heizmann (flute) and Thomas Hoppe (piano) we are producing works by Poulenc, Dutilleux, Martin, Muczynski and Hindemith for this duo formation. The experiencesduring the recording sessions are a real joy both musically and personally andI am sure that the finished recording will attest to it, too!"

Following their successful complete recording of the fifteen string quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich, the Mandelring Quartett on audite now embark on their next extensive recording series: Mendelssohn - The Complete Chamber Music for Strings, including the Octet and the two Quintets (together with the Quartetto di Cremona and Gunter Teuffel), presented on four SACDs in total. The first volume of this new series features a youthful work by Mendelssohn as well as the early master works, Op. 13 and Op. 12.

Even if Felix Mendelssohn composed far fewer string quartets than Haydn, Beethoven or Schubert, they nonetheless embody a musical romanticism that appears in Novalis' Hymns and Eichendorff's Novellas: a whispering within nature, at times with dramatic agitation, permeated by deeply felt chants. And even the quartet in E flat major, written by the fourteen-year-old pupil of Carl Friedrich Zelter, the Berlin composer and consultant to Goethe, implies that Mendelssohn would imaginatively maintain the musical legacy.

This legacy had one name, first and foremost: Ludwig van Beethoven. Following his death in 1827, Mendelssohn composed his first mature quartet, Op. 13, which explores Beethoven's formal ideas but, entirely romantically, places the song "Ist es wahr?" at its centre. This work, as well as its successor, the quartet Op. 12 (the chronology of publication is the reason for the reverse numbering), proves to be formally highly advanced and reveals Mendels¬sohn as a sophisticated musical narrator - a facet which also attracted criticism from his contemporaries.

More information about the CD of the Week can be found here.
http://www.kulturradio.de/programm/musik/cd_der_woche/mandelring.html

Following their successful complete recording of the fifteen string quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich, the Mandelring Quartett on audite now embark on their next extensive recording series: Mendelssohn - The Complete Chamber Music for Strings, including the Octet and the two Quintets (together with the Quartetto di Cremona and Gunter Teuffel), presented on four SACDs in total. The first volume of this new series features a youthful work by Mendelssohn as well as the early master works, Op. 13 and Op. 12.

Even if Felix Mendelssohn composed far fewer string quartets than Haydn, Beethoven or Schubert, they nonetheless embody a musical romanticism that appears in Novalis' Hymns and Eichendorff's Novellas: a whispering within nature, at times with dramatic agitation, permeated by deeply felt chants. And even the quartet in E flat major, written by the fourteen-year-old pupil of Carl Friedrich Zelter, the Berlin composer and consultant to Goethe, implies that Mendelssohn would imaginatively maintain the musical legacy.

This legacy had one name, first and foremost: Ludwig van Beethoven. Following his death in 1827, Mendelssohn composed his first mature quartet, Op. 13, which explores Beethoven's formal ideas but, entirely romantically, places the song "Ist es wahr?" at its centre. This work, as well as its successor, the quartet Op. 12 (the chronology of publication is the reason for the reverse numbering), proves to be formally highly advanced and reveals Mendels¬sohn as a sophisticated musical narrator - a facet which also attracted criticism from his contemporaries.

More information about the CD of the Week can be found here.

Recently the Mandelring Quartett recorded together with their colleagues from theQuartetto di Cremona the Mendelssohn Octet for their Complete Mendelssohn String Music Series at audite. Now there was a reunion during Angela Hewitt's Trasimeno Music Festival in Italy. The QdC presented the Mendelssohn Octet again in a concert, this time with the Australian String Quartet.
Only a few weeks from now I will meet the Italian musicians again: In August the QdC embarks on the long recording journey through the world of Beethoven's String Quartets!

The boxed set will include approximately 10 to 12 CDs with mostly previously unreleased recordings; it will be presented within the anniversary year. As the project plan could not be totally completed until today's birthday anniversary we cannot publish more details at this point. But we are very much looking forward to this special production already!

On SergiuCelibidache's 100^th birthday we would like to draw your attention also to the existing Celibidache Edition at audite:

aud. 21.406 EditionSergiu Celibidache - The complete RIAS recordings
Berlin, 1948-1953

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