Complete sonatas and works by Linus Roth / José Gallardo

Linus Roth / José Gallardo

Complete sonatas and works

Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917256727
Catnr: CC 72567
Release date: 24 March 2013

CD (3 items)

Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917256727

Catalogue number
CC 72567

Release date
24 March 2013

""The German violinist Linus Roth and the Argentine pianist José Gallardo bring his complete works for violin and piano.""

Het Parool, 14-11-2015

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

A special project: Linus Roth and José Gallardo are the first to interpret Weinberg’s sonatas and works for violin and piano in a complete anthology!

Mieczysław Weinberg had an unbelievably tragic life, full of struggle and pain. As a Polish Jewish composer he flee from the Nazi regime to Russia, got imprisoned by Stalin and was saved at the last minute by his good friend and colleague Dmitri Shostakovich. He lost all his family members in concentration camps. Weinberg's compositions, often with a Jewish slant, were prohibited…

Noted German violinist Linus Roth and the Argentinean piano virtuoso José Gallardo feel a lot of compassion for this composer. It's all there in his beautiful and deeply emotional music where Weinberg put so much of his soul. As a great master of contrasts he goes from very dark, to very bright, from a fortissimo when you think the world breaks into pieces, to a pianissimo you can barely hear. In one bar there can be hope, and in the next bar: no hope!

Linus and José feel obliged and honored to be advocates for Weinberg because they think his music deserves it! Now it was time for them to record the "Complete Sonatas and Works" for violin and piano of Weinberg on a 3CD. This has never been done before! Weinberg’s repertoire has always been only partially performed and recorded, but never as complete collection. The Sonatas Nr. 2 and 6. are even never recorded before and the Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes is the only one available recording right now - it was once recorded around 40 years ago, but the vinyl is not available to buy any more.

Worstelingen met het Naziregime, hoorbaar in muziek
Dit album is een bijzonder project van violist Linus Roth en pianist José Gallardo. Het is een complete collectie van het repertoire van Mieczysław Weinberg. Dit is zeer uniek; hiervoor is zijn repertoire alleen maar gedeeltelijk uitgevoerd en opgenomen, nog nooit volledig. De opnames van de Sonates nummer 2 en 6 zijn een wereldpremière.

Weinberg leidde een tragisch leven vol strijd en pijn. Hij was een Pools-Joodse componist die naar Rusland moest vluchten voor het Naziregime. Hier werd hij gevangengenomen door Stalin en op het laatste moment gered door zijn goede vriend en collega Dmitri Shostakovich. Ondertussen waren al zijn familieleden omgekomen in concentratiekampen. Daarna werden veel van zijn composities verboden omdat ze een Joodse inslag hadden. Dit alles is voelbaar in zijn zeer emotionele muziek, waarin veel gebruik gemaakt wordt van contrasten. Van donkere tot lichte muziek, en van een fortissimo zo hard dat de wereld in stukken lijkt te breken, tot een pianissimo dat bijna onhoorbaar is. In de ene maat kan er hoop zijn, dat in de volgende maat verandert in wanhoop.

Die erste Gesamtaufnahme aller Werke für Violine und Klavier des sowjetischen-polnischen Komponisten Mieczysław Weinberg

„Ich bin ein Schüler Schostakowitschs. Auch wenn ich nie Unterricht von ihm genommen habe, so sehe ich mich doch als sein Schüler, mit Haut und Haar,“ liess der Komponist Mieczysław Weinberg über sich selber verlauten.

Die Beziehung zwischen beiden Komponisten war eng und von gegenseitigem Respekt gekennzeichnet. Weinbergs kritische Sichtweise, die in seiner Musik zum Tragen kommt, hält im Gegensatz zu Schostakowitsch doch auch eine Portion Humor bereit. In seinen ersten Violinsonaten stimmt er auch heitere Töne an und in diesen und vor allem der Rhapsodie über moldawische Themen lässt Weinberg der guten Laune ihren Lauf. Hinter dem Titel „moldawisch“ versteckte der längst politisch verfolgte Komponist jiddische Themen, die auch immer wieder in anderen seiner Werke eingearbeitet sind.

Seit 2006, als der Geiger Linus Roth den ECHO-Preis erhielt, wurde er vom "Geheimtipp" zum international anerkannten Star. Seine Karriere führte ihn auch zur Kammermusik, in der er unglaubliche Erfolge gemeinsam mit dem argentinischen Pianisten José Gallardo feiert.

Weltersteinspielung der Sonaten Nr. 2 & 6
Einzig verfügbare Aufnahme der "Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes"

Artist(s)

Linus Roth (violin)

Linus Roth, who already received the ECHO KLASSIK Award as 'Best Newcomer' of 2006 forhis début CD on the label EMI, has received his second ECHO award in 2017 for a recording of the violin concertos by Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky with the London Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Sanderling. Linus Roth has made a name for himself internationally not just with standard repertoire, but also with his discovery or rediscovery of works that have undeservedly fallen into oblivion. He has devoted special attention to the works of Mieczysław Weinberg, both in concerts and the recording studio, being the first violinist to have recorded this composer ́s complete Œuvre on CD. Making Mieczysław Weinberg’s works known to a wider audience is also the aim...

Linus Roth, who already received the ECHO KLASSIK Award as "Best Newcomer" of 2006 forhis début CD on the label EMI, has received his second ECHO award in 2017 for a recording of the violin concertos by Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky with the London Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Sanderling.

Linus Roth has made a name for himself internationally not just with standard repertoire, but also with his discovery or rediscovery of works that have undeservedly fallen into oblivion. He has devoted special attention to the works of Mieczysław Weinberg, both in concerts and the recording studio, being the first violinist to have recorded this composer ́s complete Œuvre on CD. Making Mieczysław Weinberg’s works known to a wider audience is also the aim of the International Weinberg Society, which Linus Roth founded in 2015.

Linus Roth attended the preparatory class of Prof. Nicolas Chumachenco at the Musikhochschule in Freiburg, Germany, before going on to study with Prof. Zakhar Bron. Subsequently, he pursued his studies for several years with Prof. Ana Chumachenco. While studying, he held a scholarship from the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation

In October 2012, Linus Roth was appointed professor for violin at the “Leopold-Mozart- Zentrum” at Augsburg University and is also the artistic director of the 10th Leopold Mozart International Violin Competition in Augsburg. In addition, Linus Roth is the artistic director of the international festival Ibiza Concerts, which he himself founded, and of the music festival Schwäbischer Frühling in Ochsenhausen, Germany.

Linus Roth plays on the Stradivarius violin “Dancla” from 1703 – a kind loan from the music foundation of the L-Bank Baden-Württemberg.

less

José Gallardo (piano)

A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, José Gallardo started piano lessons at the age of five, at first at the Conservatory in Buenos Aires. Later he continued his studies with Prof. Poldi Mildner in the Faculty of Music at the University of Mainz, completing his diploma in 1997. Even then he realised his first love would be for chamber music.
His musical inspiration came from such artists as Menahem Pressler, Alfonso Montecino, Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Sergiu Celibidache, Rosalyn Tureck and Bernard Greenhouse.
José Gallardo has won many national and international awards. Invitations followed for numerous tours and festivals, including the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival, the Asiago Festival in Italy, the Ludwigsburg Palace Festival, the Schwetzingen Festival, the Kronberg Cello Festival, and the Rheingau Music Festival.
He is very busy playing recitals and concerts, including chamber music appearances with other musicians in Europe, Asia, Israel, Oceania and South America, among them Alberto Lysy, Gidon Kremer, Chen Zimbalista, Julius Berger, Danjulo Ishizaka, Nicolas Altstaedt and many more. Concert halls he has played in include the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, the Zurich Tonhalle, the Hamburg Musikhalle, the Kurhaus Wiesbaden, Teatro della Pergola Florence and the Wigmore Hall London. From 1998 to 2008, he taught in the faculty of music at the University of Mainz; since autumn 2008, he has been teaching at the Leopold Mozart Zentrum in the University of Augsburg.

less

Composer(s)

Mieczysław Weinberg

Mieczysław Weinberg was a Russian composer of Polish-Jewish origin. He studied piano at the Conservatory of Warsaw and was soon praised for his musical talent. When the Germans invaded Poland in 1939, Weinberg fled to Russia, first to Minsk and later to Tashkent, where he worked at the opera. There he also met Dmitri Shostakovich, who was impressed by his talent and would become an important influence on his music. Furthermore, he arranged an official invitation to Moscow for Weinberg, where he continued to stay for the rest of his life.
Life under Stalin was not easy for a Jewish composer like Weinberg. His works were not banned by the Soviet authorities, but they were not always well received. Moreover, he had to live in fear of being arrested, which happened to him in 1953. Shostakovich came to his rescue by proving his innocence in a letter to Lavrenti Beria, chief of the secret police. However, it was mainly due to Stalins death that Weinberg was saved.
After Stalins death, Weinberg continued to work on his extensive oeuvre, which consists of amongst others 26 symphonies, seventeen string quartets and more than 40 film scores. The majority of these works were performed by leading Russian musicians and orchestras. Thanks to the increasing amount of recordings, his works become more and more well-known outside of Russia.

less

Press

"The German violinist Linus Roth and the Argentine pianist José Gallardo bring his complete works for violin and piano."
Het Parool, 14-11-2015

Not an easy listening experience by any means, but a profoundly moving one.
The Strad, 06-11-2013

Niet een positief recensie
www.opusklassiek.nl, 18-10-2013

Roth and Gallardo overwhelmed the audience.
Luister, 30-9-2013

It's definately worth listening
Fono Forum, 01-9-2013

no quote not positive
Gramophone, 01-9-2013

The result is a dedicated hommage to Mieczyslaw Weinberg with technical and musical accomplishment.
Klassik Heute, 29-8-2013

"The intelligent interpretations and general accessibility of these works, is sure to win many new fans and admirers."
www.classicalmusicforyou.com, 27-8-2013

Roth and Gallardo control Weinberg lyricism and melancholy into the capillaries.
NRC Handelsblad, 08-8-2013

Artist of the month
L'Orfeo, 04-8-2013

Roth and Galardo play these compositions so striking, evident and internalized that following artists will have to compete with this recording.
ensemble, 01-8-2013

Discovery
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 28-5-2013

The performances of both artists are virtuosic and commendable, while the recording quality is generally excellent
Lines that have escaped destruction, 04-4-2013

Altogether, then, these discs are remarkable. The performances of both artists are virtuosic and commendable, while the recording quality is generally excellent
linesthathaveescapeddestruction, 04-4-2013

Linus Roth and José Gallardo perform Weinberg's music with verve, passion and enthusiasm.
crescendo