Jean Sibelius · Paul Hindemith
Symphony No. 3 · The Four Temperaments
Helsinki Festival Orchestra · Olli Mustonen, piano & conductor
Info & buy
Paul Hindemith · Antonín Dvorák
Klaviermusik mit Orchester (for Piano Left Hand)
Symphony No. 9 "From the New World"
Leon Fleisher, piano
Curtis Symphony Orchestra
Christoph Eschenbach, piano
World premiere recording of Paul Hindemith\
Track listing
8 tracks · 64:00Listen to samples on selected tracks.
Paul Hindemith
- Klaviermusik mit Orchester, Op. 29, for piano (left hand) and orchestra (1923) 18:00
- 1 Einleitung. Mäßige schnelle Halbe - 2:30
- 2 Sehr lebhafte Halbe - 3:10
- 3 Trio. Basso ostinato. Langsame Viertel, nur sehr wenig Ausdruck - 6:43
- 4 Finale. Bewegte Halbe 5:37
Antonín Dvorák
- Symphony No. 9 in E-minor, Op. 95 "From the New World" 46:08
- 5 I. Adagio - Allegro molto 12:14
- 6 II. Largo 13:53
- 7 III. Molto vivace 7:55
- 8 IV. Allegro con fuoco 11:58
About this recording
This CD contains the first-ever commercial recording of a long lost major work by Paul Hindemith, the Klaviermusik mit Orchester op. 29 for piano left-hand and orchestra. The New York Times has called it, “a fantastic work that requires tremendous technique and stamina.” (December 2, 2006). This release also features Antonín Dvořák’s popular Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”).
Hindemith wrote the concerto for the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein in 1923. Wittgenstein never performed it, and it was only upon the death of his widow, in 2002, that the piece was discovered in a farmhouse in Pennsylvania; the work received an acclaimed 2004 world premiere in Berlin, with piano legend Leon Fleisher as soloist and the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle. Leon Fleisher, who is one of the most prominent specialists of left-hand repertoire, is the soloist on this recording.
Christoph Eschenbach, one of today’s leading conductors, here directs the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, an orchestra that the Philadelphia Inquirer acclaimed, “that any city would be lucky to have as its professional ensemble.” This CD is the Curtis Symphony Orchestra's debut album on Ondine. "We are delighted to have the opportunity to share the extraordinary artistry of Curtis students with a worldwide audience. Over the past few years, Christoph Eschenbach has led the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in many outstanding performances, and this project captures their unique relationship on record, " said Roberto Díaz, President of The Curtis Institute of Music.
The Curtis Institute of Music trains exceptionally gifted young musicians for careers as performing artists on the highest professional level. One of the world's leading music schools, Curtis provides full-tuition scholarships to all of its 162 students, ensuring that admissions are based solely on artistic promise. A Curtis education is uniquely tailored to the individual student, with personalized attention from a celebrated faculty and unusually frequent performance opportunities. This distinctive "learn by doing" approach to musical training has produced an impressive number of notable artists, from such legends as Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Barber to current stars Juan Diego Flórez, Alan Gilbert, Hilary Hahn, Jennifer Higdon, and Lang Lang.
The Curtis Institute of Music expresses its deep appreciation to the Neubauer Family Foundation, which has made possible and underwritten this recording of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra.
The CD booklet includes liner notes by Hindemith scholar Giselher Schubert (director of the Hindemith Institute in Frankfurt, Germany) and by David Ludwig.
Features
Booklet with liner notes in English and German
Press
Was sich schon in der Uraufführung zeigte, findet in dieser sorgfältig produzierten Aufnahme ihre Bestätigung (...). Leon Fleisher (...) erweist sich (...) als kompetenter Solist dieses Kraftakts, unterstützt mit bestechender Präzision vom Orchester des Curtis-Instituts (...) dem man die permanente Zusammenarbeit mit dem Dirigenten des Philadelphia Orchestra in jeder musikalischen Phrasierung anhört.
Wolfgang Sandner, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 30. Juni 2009
Keine Frage: Die 'Klaviermusik mit Orchester op. 29' wird sich ins Repertoire spielen. (...) Unter der Stabführung von Christoph Eschenbach lässt das rhythmisch vibrierende Zusammenspiel mit dem Solisten und dem Curtis Symphony Orchestra kaum Wünsche offen.
Egon Bezold, Klassik.com, 25. Juni 2009
The mighty Fleisher makes the exhumation bracing.
Geoff Brown, The Times, May 30, 2009
Leon Fleisher (...) gives a dynamic performance of the solo part, and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra contributes energy and piquant colour.
Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph, May 30, 2009
Dvorák's New World Symphony (is) exquisitely rendered here by the youthful prodigies of the Curtis.
Andy Gill, The Independent, May 8, 2009
The outer movements (of the Klaviermusik) are examples of (Hindemith's) abrasive early modernism at its finest. The slow movement, meanwhile, is a wonderful mix of Bach and blues, in which the piano picks out a stark counterpoint to a succession of woodwind solos over a pizzicato walking bass. Leon Fleisher (...) is the hard-hitting soloist, and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra is energetically conducted by Christoph Eschenbach.
Tim Ashley, The Guardian, May 8, 2009
It's not too often anymore that we get a world premiere recording of a work by a composer as well-known and widely performed as Hindemith. (...) Fleisher's performance is exactly what one might expect: electrifying. His earlier mastery of the other works for piano left hand make him the perfect performer for this composition. (...) The students of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra do honor to Hindemith and Fleisher in their own careful attention to detail.
Mike D. Brownell, AllMusic.com, April 2009
Fleisher ist, wie diese Aufnahme zeigt, der ideale Interpret des Werkes. Bewundernswert, mit welcher Perfektion, Brillanz und Einfühlung der inzwischen 80-Jährige dieses Werk spielt (...). Fleisher macht deutlich, dass dieses Werk eine entscheidende Bereicherung des Repertoires für die linke Hand ist und den Konzerten von Ravel und Prokofieff in nichts nachsteht. Das Sinfonieorchester des Curtis Institute ist dem Pianisten unter Leitung von Christoph Eschenbach schon bei Hindemith ein aufmerksamer wie ebenbürtiger Partner. In der neunten Sinfonie von Dvorák läuft es zu großer Form auf.
Peter Heissler, klassik-heute.com, April 23, 2009, 10 • 9 • 10
The artists
Leon Fleisher
Renowned pianist, conductor and teacher Leon Fleisher started piano lessons in his native San Francisco at age four, and gave his first recital at eight. A year later he began studying with the great German pianist Artur Schnabel, a fourth-generation Beethoven pupil, and by 16, in 1944, made his debut with the New York Philharmonic. He was the first American to win the prestigious Queen Elisabeth of Belgium competition, in 1952. Fleisher's career was on a smooth upward trajectory for the next dozen years: he concertized all over the world with every major orchestra and conductor, gave recitals, and made numerous touchstone recordings, including the piano concertos of Beethoven, Brahms, Grieg, Schumann, and Rachmaninov, with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Curtis Symphony Orchestra
The Curtis Symphony Orchestra, composed of more than one hundred players between the ages of fourteen and twenty-five, has been called "an orchestra that any city would be lucky to have as its professional ensemble" (The Philadelphia Inquirer). The orchestra performs a three-concert season in Philadelphia's Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, as well as programs elsewhere in the region and occasionally at Carnegie Hall. World-renowned conductors frequently lead the orchestra in reading sessions and in concert; recent visiting conductors include Charles Dutoit, Alan Gilbert, Simon Rattle, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Miguel Harth-Bedoya. This real-world training has enabled Curtis alumni to assume prominent positions in major orchestras across the United States, Canada, and abroad.