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Father & Son

Christoph & Julian Prégardien

Father & Son

Format: SACD hybrid
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917264524
Catnr: CC 72645
Release date: 21 November 2014
1 SACD hybrid
 
Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917264524
Catalogue number
CC 72645
Release date
21 November 2014

"Michael Gees is definetely enjoying this as much as the singers. Just as the listeners. A lovely album!"

Basia Con Fuoco, 02-8-2016
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Artist(s)
Composer(s)
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About the album

The conditions under which Schubert’s art of the song developed into a kaleidoscopically incandescent spectrum that crossed over genres and the institutionally set, historical boundaries disappear today as a rule under the pedestal that the late nineteenth century began to erect for the composer. The traces of improvisational practice were increasingly lost within a music culture that stylised the printed manuscript into a quasi sacred object. A particularly successful way of leading back to a fundamental impetus in Schubert’s art of the song is through an approach towards the songs that takes the moment of spontaneous performance seriously as a communicative act, without denying the work character of Schubert’s music. The idea of ‘one’ universal human voice seems to materialise with particular intensity in the commingling of two voices of similar timbre, which can permanently interchange and double their identity. Based on our knowledge for instance of the Schubertiade reminiscences of 1868, remembered and noted down by Moritz von Schwind, can we not imagine that the ‘Schubert singers’ Johann Michael Vogl and Karl von Schönstein might indeed have sung alternately (or even in unison)?

Christoph Prégardien:
When a second part suddenly crops up in a Schubert song, many people say of course: are we allowed to do this to Schubert? Even I had to be persuaded at first to consider the improvisational element, however, our approach to adopting it didn’t happen arbitrarily, but in the context of our awareness of music-making in past centuries.

Michael Gees:
You can formulate reasons that aren’t based on historical knowledge but ensue from the music itself. "Nacht und Träume” (Night and Dreams), for example – you listen to this music, you hear that it bears a potential within: the potential of starting out from the rather simple structure and being able to ramify practically into endlessness. This opens up spaces in which you can go on fantasising without bounds. In this context our versions are not actually “contrived”, but formed by “eavesdropping” on the music itself to a certain degree. If I hear it, I hear something like another “I”, another self, a corresponding multi-voice being.

Julian Prégardien:
In our arrangements we first and foremost wanted an encounter with the prodigious complexity of Schubert’s oeuvre in lied and to show that boundaries overlap! Schubert composed the song “Widerspruch” (Contradiction) in two versions in any case – namely the solo version and as an ensemble lied – and we are now in a way adding a third. With “Licht und Liebe” (Light and Love) we have also included an original composition for two voices, as well as dramatic ballads, convivial vocal ensembles and elegiacally meditative solo songs which we have “heard” anew and arranged in various ways.

Vader en zoon Prégardien, adembenemend mooi in hun duetten
Christoph en Julian Prégardien zingen in deze uitvoering van Duitse liederen, de sterren van de hemel. Als altijd voortreffelijk begeleid door pianist Michael Gees. Hij en Prégardien junior bewerkten de liederen van componisten als Schubert en Bhrams voor 2 tenoren en piano. Van Erlkönig, de ballade van Schubert bijvoorbeeld, maakten ze een dialoog tussen vader en zoon. Het is net echt zoals Christoph en Julian het gesprek voeren, zo emotioneel zingen ze het lied. Toch: "Christoph en Julian waken ervoor dat sentiment uitmondt in sentimentaliteit. Maar ze verbergen niet dat ze genieten, senior met zijn gelouterde stem, junior met zijn veelbelovende glans." De Volkskrant december 2014.

De Duitse Christoph Prégardien (1956) begon zijn zangcarrière als koorknaap in de dom van Limburg an der Lahn, zijn geboortestad. Prégardien behoort tot de beste lyrische tenoren van deze tijd. Hij heeft een heldere en precieze stemvoering. Zijn intelligente interpretatie en dictie, gecombineerd met zijn kracht om door te dringen tot de kern van zijn rol, maken van hem een alom gewaardeerd zanger. De tenor treedt wereldwijd op met vooraanstaande orkesten en is ook een graag geziene gast in ons land. Zijn zoon Julian (Frankfurt, 1984) studeerde zang aan de hogeschool voor muziek in Freiburg. Zijn eerste optreden in een opera was in 2007 in München. Julian verschijnt regelmatig op festivals in Europa en is een veelgevraagd concertzanger.

Michael Gees is bekend als begeleider van liederen en werkt intensief samen met Christoph Prégardien. Gees is vooral improvisator. Vaak start hij met een enkel akkoord, om van daaruit de melodie te creëren. Zoals NRC Handelsblad over dit album schreef: "Niet toevallig is de begeleider en arrangeur hier pianist Michael Gees; een van de schaarse ‘vrije’ klassieke musici die het IJzeren Repertoire buigzaam opvatten. Gees gaat met gecomponeerde muziek zo vrij om als de componisten ooit zelf, toen scheppen en uitvoeren nog één waren.”
Ausgehend von Schuberts wohlbekannten Liedern entstand hier ein faszinierendes Projekt. In einer Zeit, in der das geschriebene Wort bzw. der geschriebene Ton praktisch heilig ist, bringen Vater und Sohn das improvisatorische Element zurück in die Musik. Darf man das? Ja, denn hier wird nichts erfunden, sondern nur betont, was der Musik bereits eigen ist, und im Kontext der historischen Musizierpraxis neue Räume öffnet.

„Allem voran hatten wir eine Begegnung mit der Komplexität von Schuberts Liedschaffen im Sinn. Wir wollen zeigen, dass sich Grenzen überschneiden," sagt Julian Prégardien. Und das tun sie hier - ob die Lieder nun von Anfang an als Duett konzipiert wurden, oder das Neuarrangement das Hervortreten eines der Musik innewohnenden „anderen Ichs, einem mehrstimmigen Wesen" erlaubt. Das Ergebnis sind sehr zarte, bedachte, improvisatorische und kommunikative Bearbeitungen für zwei Stimmen von ähnlichem Timbre, in denen sich der Gedanke der einen, universalen menschlichen Stimme mit besonderer Intensität zu manifestieren scheint.

Artist(s)

Christoph Prégardien (tenor)

Born 1956 in Limburg, Germany, Christoph Prégardien began his musical education as a choirboy. He then studied singing with Martin Gründler and Karlheinz Jarius in Frankfurt, Carla Castellani in Milan, Alois Treml in Stuttgart and attended Hartmut Höll’s lieder-class. Widely regarded as among the foremost lyric tenors, Christoph Prégardien frequently collaborates with conductors such as Barenboim, Chailly, Gardiner, Harnoncourt, Herreweghe, Luisi, Metzmacher, Nagano, Sawallisch and Thielemann. His repertory spans a wide range from the great Baroque, Classical and Romantic Oratorios to 20th century works by Britten, Killmayer, Rihm, Stravinsky. Recognized as an eminent recitalist, Christoph Prégardien is regularly welcomed at the major recital venues of Paris, London, Brussels, Berlin, Cologne, Amsterdam, Salzburg, Zurich, Vienna, Barcelona and Geneva, as well as during his...
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Born 1956 in Limburg, Germany, Christoph Prégardien began his musical education as a choirboy. He then studied singing with Martin Gründler and Karlheinz Jarius in Frankfurt, Carla Castellani in Milan, Alois Treml in Stuttgart and attended Hartmut Höll’s lieder-class.
Widely regarded as among the foremost lyric tenors, Christoph Prégardien frequently collaborates with conductors such as Barenboim, Chailly, Gardiner, Harnoncourt, Herreweghe, Luisi, Metzmacher, Nagano, Sawallisch and Thielemann. His repertory spans a wide range from the great Baroque, Classical and Romantic Oratorios to 20th century works by Britten, Killmayer, Rihm, Stravinsky.
Recognized as an eminent recitalist, Christoph Prégardien is regularly welcomed at the major recital venues of Paris, London, Brussels, Berlin, Cologne, Amsterdam, Salzburg, Zurich, Vienna, Barcelona and Geneva, as well as during his concert tours throughout Italy, Japan and North America.
A longstanding collaboration unites him with his favourite piano partners Michael Gees and Andreas Staier. Soloist of choice for renowned orchestras, he performed with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Gewand-hausorchester Leipzig, London Philharmonia, Staatskapelle Dresden, Philharmonie de Radio France, the Montreal, Boston, St. Louis and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras.
An important part of his repertory has been recorded by labels such as BMG, EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, Sony, Erato, Challenge Classics and Teldec. He is represented on more than a hundred and twenty titles, including nearly all of his active repertoire. His recordings of German Romantic Lied repertory have been highly acclaimed by the public and press and have received international awards including the prestigious Orphée d’Or of the Académie du Disque Lyrique-Prix Georg Solti, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Edison Award, Cannes Classical Award and Diapason d’Or.
As an opera singer, Christoph Prégardien has made stage appearences in major European houses, performing leading roles as Tamino (Zauberflöte), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Almaviva (Il Barbiere di Seviglia), Fenton (Falstaff) and Monteverdi’s Ulisse. In Spring 2005, Christoph Prégardien sang the leading part in Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito” at the Paris National Opera conducted by Sylvain Cambreling.
An important aspect in the musical life of Christoph Prégardien is his intensive and varied educational work. From 2000 to 2005 Christoph Prégardien was in charge of a vocal class at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Zurich. Since the autumn of 2004, he is a professor at the Musikhochschule Köln. In a new combination of DVD and book, released in the serie “Schott Master Class”, he presents for the first time questions of singing technique and interpretation in word and picture. Film examples accompagny him during his lessons with masterclass students.
Christoph Prégardien now has a long-term cooperation with Challenge Classics. The first production on our label, released in February 2008, was Schubert’s “Die schöne Müllerin” with pianist Michael Gees. In the fall of 2008 “Schwanengesang” with pianist Andreas Staier followed and “Die schöne Müllerin” was awarded the Midem ‘Record of the Year’ 2009 at MIDEM, the world’s largest music industry trade fair. The duo Christoph Prégardien/Michael Gees also received the MIDEM ‘Vocal Recitals’ Award 2009. Throughout 2008 the recording received critical acclaim from many national and international magazines (Gramophone, Editor’s Choice & „Best of 2008“ among others).

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Michael Gees (piano)

'Throughout the evening Gees played as if he had composed the pieces himself and was therefore extremely vigilant to make sure the performance was carried out according to his inner ear. His eyes were not those of an artist intent on reproduction, but  shone rather a lambent look of passion, just as one might imagine the composer as the creator.“ N. Campogrande Michael Gees’ biography certainly justifies the term: exceptional. Few others can claim to have a career already behind them at the tender age of fifteen: Born in 1953 into a world of sound and music, both parents are singers, the piano is his favourite toy at age three. Formal piano lessons follow at age five, and the young musician subsequently goes...
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"Throughout the evening Gees played as if he had composed the pieces himself and was therefore extremely vigilant to make sure the performance was carried out according to his inner ear. His eyes were not those of an artist intent on reproduction, but shone rather a lambent look of passion, just as one might imagine the composer as the creator.“ N. Campogrande Michael Gees’ biography certainly justifies the term: exceptional. Few others can claim to have a career already behind them at the tender age of fifteen: Born in 1953 into a world of sound and music, both parents are singers, the piano is his favourite toy at age three. Formal piano lessons follow at age five, and the young musician subsequently goes on to win the Steinway Competition at age eight and receives a scholarship at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.
The child prodigy is hailed as “Westphalian Mozart“, takes up studies at the conservatories in Detmold and Vienna and it seems as if he is fast on his way to become an internationally acclaimed pianist. Were it not for the gifted child’s longing to explore the world of sound on his own terms, to playfully experience his self like the great masters’ music, to invent their music all over again, note for note instead of limiting himself to a technical practice regimen. Michael Gees flees the pressure of a predetermined competitional career at the age of fifteen, leaves school, conservatory and home behind, supports himself through odd jobs, works as archeological assistant and, in the process, for the duration of two full years, becomes a sailor.
Chance leads him back to the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover, where he resumes his compositional studies and eventually graduates. He now develops first rate pianistic chops on his own, composes a number of works, gains international renown as lied accompanist of extraordinary proportions with Christoph Prégardien and also appears in concerts globally; in Paris, London, New York and Tokio. All the while, he nurses and feeds his preference for combining the performance of music of past masters with living inspiration, thereby creating remarkable performances with his instrument.
In 1989, Gees founds “forum kunstvereint“ in his adopted hometown of Gelsenkirchen; the Consol Theater, also installed by him, opens its doors in 2001 on the confines of the former mining area Consolidation. There, music, dance and theatre projects take shape, where children, youths and adults alike are incited and encouraged to discover and realize their own artistic impulses. A steady number of CDs have been released from 1996 onward on forum kunstvereint, CPO and EMI, showcasing Michael Gees’ range.
Since 2008 Michael Gees is associated to the Netherlands label Challenge Classics. The 2009 release of the Schöne Müllerin with Christoph Prégardien won the MIDEM Classical Award and became Recording of the Year. Michael Gees works on solo-recitals which enjoy breaking with tradition, on modernized lied-renditions, melodramas and stage music.

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Julian Prégardien (tenor)

In opera, concert and Lied repertoire, Julian Prégardien enjoys widespread success in equal measure on an international scale. He has gained particular acclaim in the tenor part of the Evangelist in the passions and oratorios of J. S. Bach. Prégardien recently sang the Evangelist in the Christmas Oratorio under the baton of Peter Schreier in the Munich Philharmonie, as well as the Evangelist in the St Matthew Passion at the Lincoln Center in New York conducted by Philippe Herreweghe, at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with the Netherlands Bach Society and at the Munich Herkulessaal with Peter Dijkstra and the Bavarian Radio Choir in a CD/DVD production that has been broadcast several times by different German television stations. Prégardien also recently sang in...
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In opera, concert and Lied repertoire, Julian Prégardien enjoys widespread success in equal measure on an international scale.
He has gained particular acclaim in the tenor part of the Evangelist in the passions and oratorios of J. S. Bach. Prégardien recently sang the Evangelist in the Christmas Oratorio under the baton of Peter Schreier in the Munich Philharmonie, as well as the Evangelist in the St Matthew Passion at the Lincoln Center in New York conducted by Philippe Herreweghe, at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with the Netherlands Bach Society and at the Munich Herkulessaal with Peter Dijkstra and the Bavarian Radio Choir in a CD/DVD production that has been broadcast several times by different German television stations. Prégardien also recently sang in a television production of the St John Passion in Riga (Latvia) with Concerto Copenhagen conducted by Lars Ulrik Mortensen. He had previously recorded the St John Passion in 2010 on the French ZIG ZAG label in a production that received excellent international reviews. In early 2015 he will once more record the Evangelist in the St John Passion for Bavarian Radio. 
During the 2014/15 season, Prégardien will also perform Bach cantatas on tour with René Jacobs, and in Barcelona and Paris he will sing the Christmas Oratorio conducted by Christophe Rousset. Under the baton of Andrea Marcon he will likewise perform the Mass in B Minor with Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as a series of Bach cantatas with Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; he will also go on tour singing the St Matthew Passion with Le Concert Lorrain conducted by Christoph Prégardien. 
Further collaborations in the 2014/15 season include Bach cantatas with the Stuttgart International Bach Academy under Hans-Christoph Rademann, Mozart’s Requiem with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and the Bavarian Radio Chorus under Peter Dijkstra, and Haydn’s Creation with Christoph Poppen conducting the Cologne Chamber Orchestra.

On the opera stage, Prégardien has recently sung the part of Jaquino in Fidelio with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen under Paavo Järvi. He also covered the role of Eurimedes in Telemann’s Orpheus at Frankfurt Opera, where he was previously an ensemble member and covered the roles of Tamino in The Magic Flute, Jason in Charpentier’s Medée and The Novice in Billy Budd. At Aix-en-Provence Festival he sang the roles of Nencio in Haydn’s L’infedeltà delusa and Belfiore in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera. In June of 2015 he will make a guest appearance as Renaud in Lully’s Armide at the Opéra National de Lorraine (Nancy), with Christophe Rousset conducting and David Hermann as stage director. In the 2013/14 season he sang Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin under René Jacobs (at Bremen Musikfest, Amsterdam Concertgebouw and La Monnaie in Brussels), as well as the title role in Rameau’s Zaïs with Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques (Amsterdam, Versailles, Theater an der Wien). Both productions were recorded for CD release.

Julian Prégardien can be heard on the Virgin Classics release of Ezio (Gluck) under Alan Curtis, a production that received an ECHO Classical Award in 2012. He was also among the singers on the roster of Cecilia Bartoli’s second CD release devoted to the works of Agostino Steffani, entitled Stabat Mater (Decca Classics). 
With the title An die Geliebte, Julien Prégardien’s first solo recording was released in early 2014 on the Myrios Classics label, featuring Lied repertoire accompanied by Christoph Schnackertz at the piano – a release that reaped high praise from the critics. In late 2014, Challenge Records International will publish a joint vocal collaboration between father and son, featuring Christoph and Julien Prégardien singing Lied repertoire accompanied by pianist Michael Gees.

Julien Prégardien has given Lieder recitals at Davos Festival, at the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, at Stuttgart Musikfest, at the Rheingau Music Festival, at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, at the Styriarte Festival in Graz, at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Cologne Philharmonie, Stadtcasino Basel, Innsbruck Festival and the Edinburgh and Schwetzingen festivals. In 2013 he performed for the first time at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, where he is re-invited to perform in 2015. The 2014/15 season will also see a series of joint Lieder recitals with his father scheduled at the Haydn Festival in Brühl, at Stuttgart Musikfest, at Wigmore Hall and at Salzburg Whitsun Festival.

The singer also enjoys presenting distinctive chamber music programmes. At Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Schumann’s birth in 2010, he premièred his own arrangement of Schumann’s Liederkreis cycle for string quartet and improvised piano intermezzos with Michael Gees and the Gémaux Quartet. In 2014, in collaboration with the Ricercar Consort, he devised a “Schubertiad” featuring Lied arrangements, instrumental works and texts by Schubert and his contemporaries, arranged for flute, guitar and barytone viol. That project will be released by Myrios Classics as Prégardien’s second solo CD in 2015. 

Born in Frankfurt, Julien Prégardien was trained in the Limburg Cathedral Choir and went on to study voice at Freiburg Musikhochschule. Since the summer semester of 2013 he has been teaching the oratorio class at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich.

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Composer(s)

Franz Schubert

Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer. Schubert already died before his 32nd birthday, but was extremely prolific during his lifetime. His output consists of over six hundred secular vocal works (mainly Lieder), seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music and a large body of chamber and piano music. Appreciation of his music while he was alive was limited to a relatively small circle of admirers in Vienna, but interest in his work increased significantly in the decades following his death. Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and other 19th-century composers discovered and championed his works. Today, Schubert is ranked among the greatest composers of the late Classical and early Romantic eras and is one of the...
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Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer. Schubert already died before his 32nd birthday, but was extremely prolific during his lifetime. His output consists of over six hundred secular vocal works (mainly Lieder), seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music and a large body of chamber and piano music. Appreciation of his music while he was alive was limited to a relatively small circle of admirers in Vienna, but interest in his work increased significantly in the decades following his death. Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and other 19th-century composers discovered and championed his works. Today, Schubert is ranked among the greatest composers of the late Classical and early Romantic eras and is one of the most frequently performed composers of the early nineteenth century.
It was in the genre of the Lied that Schubert made his most indelible mark. Prior to Schubert's influence, Lieder tended toward a strophic, syllabic treatment of text, evoking the folksong qualities engendered by the stirrings of Romantic nationalism. Schubert expanded the potentialities of the genre like no other composer before.

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Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He had been assured by his teacher Friedrich Wieck that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing. Schumann's published compositions were written exclusively for the piano until 1840; he later composed works for piano and orchestra; many Lieder (songs for voice and piano); four symphonies; an opera; and other orchestral, choral, and chamber works. Works such as Carnaval, Symphonic Studies, Kinderszenen, Kreisleriana, and the Fantasie in...
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Robert Schumann was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He had been assured by his teacher Friedrich Wieck that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing.
Schumann's published compositions were written exclusively for the piano until 1840; he later composed works for piano and orchestra; many Lieder (songs for voice and piano); four symphonies; an opera; and other orchestral, choral, and chamber works. Works such as Carnaval, Symphonic Studies, Kinderszenen, Kreisleriana, and the Fantasie in C are among his most famous. His writings about music appeared mostly in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (New Journal for Music), a Leipzig-based publication which he jointly founded.
In 1840, Schumann married Friedrich Wieck's daughter Clara, against the wishes of her father, following a long and acrimonious legal battle, which found in favour of Clara and Robert. Clara also composed music and had a considerable concert career as a pianist, the earnings from which, before her marriage, formed a substantial part of her father's fortune.
Schumann suffered from a mental disorder, first manifesting itself in 1833 as a severe melancholic depressive episode, which recurred several times alternating with phases of ‘exaltation’ and increasingly also delusional ideas of being poisoned or threatened with metallic items. After a suicide attempt in 1854, Schumann was admitted to a mental asylum, at his own request, in Endenich near Bonn. Diagnosed with "psychotic melancholia", Schumann died two years later in 1856 without having recovered from his mental illness.

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Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria. His reputation and status as a composer is such that he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the 'Three Bs' of music, a comment originally made by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow.   Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, and voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works. He worked with some of the leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim (the three were close friends). Many of his works have become...
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Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria. His reputation and status as a composer is such that he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the "Three Bs" of music, a comment originally made by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow.
Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, and voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works. He worked with some of the leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim (the three were close friends). Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. Brahms, an uncompromising perfectionist, destroyed some of his works and left others unpublished.
Brahms has been considered, by his contemporaries and by later writers, as both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Classical masters. While many contemporaries found his music too academic, his contribution and craftsmanship have been admired by subsequent figures as diverse as Arnold Schoenberg and Edward Elgar. The diligent, highly constructed nature of Brahms's works was a starting point and an inspiration for a generation of composers. Within his meticulous structures is embedded, however, a highly romantic nature.

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Press

Michael Gees is definetely enjoying this as much as the singers. Just as the listeners. A lovely album!
Basia Con Fuoco, 02-8-2016

"...an entertaining collection of curiosities and rearrangements of what some may consider to be sacred cows. (...) The disc's family chemistry makes for an convivial and highly enjoyable collection of songs." 3,5/5 stars
Limelight, 15-7-2015

Luister 10! "The result is, apart from surprising and fresh, also breathtakingly beautiful."
Luister, 01-6-2015

Luister 10 van deze maand. 
Luister, 01-6-2015

Performance 5***** Recording 5***** ["].. This latest release from Christoph and Julian Prègardien, father and son, is a real treasure."
BBC Music Magazine, 01-5-2015

taking up "CD of the month"
Fono Forum, 27-4-2015

'‘Father and Son’ features the great tenor Christoph Prégardien and his son Julian. They perform a generous selection of arrangements for two voices and piano of songs by some of the great lieder composers, and some by less familiar figures.'
Musicweb, 27-4-2015

"Michael Gees has, witnessed his game, just as much fun as the singers. The listener enjoys likewise. A wonderful cd!" 
Opera Magazine, 21-4-2015

“Charlotte Gainsbourg, Willeke Alberti, Christa Ludwig - in all genres one will find singing parents with children singing as well. Christoph Prégardien also carried the torch to his son Julien (also a tenor) and it's a treat to hear how they handle Schubert's father-son ballad Erlkönig . The normal role sung by one singer is now a real dialogue between the feverish delirious son and the appeasing father - until death follows.  Not coincidentally, the accompanist and arranger here is pianist Michael Gees; one of the few 'free' classical musicians who conceive the Iron Repertoire in a flexible way. Gees deals with composed music as free as the composers themselves did, in a time where creation and performing were one.”
NRC Handelsblad, 20-4-2015

["]..They perform a generous selection of arrangements for two voices and piano of songs by some of the great lieder composers, and some by less familiar figures."
Music Web International, 01-4-2015

Both tenors display family traits of appealing mellifluousness and impeccable musicality. Together they communicate a sense of something homely, of improvisation and of singing for pure enjoyment.
Gramophone, 24-3-2015

With stunning security for intonation and in perfect harmony with pianist Michael Gees. One wishes every father and son so much harmony.
Fono Forum, 23-3-2015

["].. Prégardien père and fils have been performing together for several years and this disc of duets - some original most in arrangements - is often delightful."
Gramophone, 01-3-2015

5 tuning-forks (diapasons)! "The trio breathes like one. Julian, Christoph and the faithful Michael Gees carve the details without freezing the spontaneity of the gesture."
Diapason, 03-2-2015

"The joy of making music together"
Klassiek Centraal, 25-1-2015

4 **** stars "[...] that is sung by father and son in a very intimate and sober way[...]" "This album is so much more than just pleasentness, more than just the joy of making music together at the homeof the Pregardien family."
Writteninmusic.com, 21-1-2015

"Father and Son’ is an exciting project that features the great tenor and lieder specialist Christoph Prégardien and his son Julian performing arrangements for two voices and piano of songs by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Friedrich Silcher, and Johannes Brahms"
Presto Classical, 21-1-2015

Prize Cd  on Radio 4 'Licht op Vier'  
Prize CD in Licht op Vier Radio 4, 18-1-2015

This CD shows in a moving way how beautiful it can sound when father and son harmonize. Both lyrical tenors sing full of emotions, full of nuances, smooth and savouring the floating beauty, melancholy and dramatic art.
BR.de, 17-1-2015

A boon for the ears!
NDR Kultur, 14-1-2015

The intonation is flawless, they breath jointly and phrase neatly. A benefaction for the ears.
WDR TonArt, 06-1-2015

"It does not really go any further than rustic comfortableness."
oblivionsoave.wordpress.com, 02-1-2015

4**** stars "Christoph and Julian make sure that sentiment never flows into sentimentality. But they do not hide the fact that they enjoy doing this very much, senior with his refined voice, junior with his very promising glow."  
De Volkskrant, 31-12-2014

Performance: 5***** Sonics: Stereo: 5 ***** en Multi-ch: 5***** ["].. it was inevitable  that father and so would make recordings together, and here we have a remarkable programme which explores the possibilities of duets in Lieder."
SA-CD.net, 10-12-2014

"Together all three performers showed the requisite feeling for Schubertian line and dynamics"
http://www.musicomh.com, 27-11-2014

Interview - Striking is not only the same voice type but also the incredible similarity of the two voices
Crescendo, 26-11-2014

Play album Play album
01.
Frisch gesungen
02:15
(Friedrich Silcher) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
02.
Ännchen von Tharau
01:51
(Friedrich Silcher) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
03.
O wie herbe ist das Scheiden
02:09
(Friedrich Silcher) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
04.
Loreley
02:15
(Friedrich Silcher) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
05.
Erlkönig D 328
04:24
(Franz Schubert) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
06.
Wanderers Nachtlied D 768
02:10
(Franz Schubert) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
07.
Zum Rundtanz D 983 Nr.3
01:56
(Franz Schubert) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
08.
Die Nacht D 983 Nr.4
02:36
(Franz Schubert) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
09.
Im Abendrot D 799
03:13
(Franz Schubert) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
10.
Fischers Liebesglück D 933
04:10
(Franz Schubert) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
11.
Auf dem Wasser zu singen D 774
03:21
(Franz Schubert) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
12.
Der Zwerg D 771
04:57
(Franz Schubert) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
13.
Meeres Stille D 216
02:28
(Franz Schubert) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
14.
Widerspruch D 865
02:18
(Franz Schubert) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
15.
Licht und Liebe D 352
03:43
(Franz Schubert) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
16.
Nacht und Träume D 827
03:37
(Franz Schubert) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
17.
Frühlingsstrophe
02:00
(Hermann Zilcher) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien , Patricia Messner, Fabienne Waga
18.
Der betrunkene Sternseher
02:49
(Hermann Zilcher) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien , Fabienne Waga, Patricia Messner
19.
Ein Traum ist unser Leben
04:05
(Hermann Zilcher) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien , Fabienne Waga, Patricia Messner
20.
Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh
02:38
(Hermann Zilcher) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien , Fabienne Waga, Patricia Messner
21.
Guter Rat
01:20
(Hermann Zilcher) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien , Fabienne Waga, Patricia Messner
22.
Die Sonne scheint nicht mehr
01:33
(Johannes Brahms) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
23.
In stiller Nacht
02:19
(Johannes Brahms) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
24.
Erlaube mir, feins Mädchen
01:10
(Johannes Brahms) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
25.
Da unten im Tale
01:47
(Johannes Brahms) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
26.
Nachtlied
02:11
(Robert Schumann) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
27.
Weißt du, wieviel Sternlein stehen
01:56
(Anonymous) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
28.
O du stille Zeit
02:40
(Cesar Bresgen) Michael Gees, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien
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Often bought together with..

Franz Schubert
Poetisches Tagebuch
Christoph Prégardien / Julius Drake
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Mary's Song
Ensemble Ylajali
Interview
Bart Wirtz ft. Sean Jones
Various composers
The Spirit Of Turtle [Longbox]
Various artists
Franz Schubert
Winterreise (BluRay)
Christoph Prégardien / Michael Gees

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Various composers
An die Geliebte
Julian Prégardien, Christoph Schnackertz
Franz Schubert, Wenzel Matiegka, Johann Baptist Mayrhofer
Schubertiade
Julian Prégardien, Philippe Pierlot, Marc Hantaï, Xavier Diaz-Latorre
Franz Schubert
Song Cycles - Die schöne Müllerin / Schwanengesang / Winterreise
Christoph Prégardien / Andreas Staier / Michael Gees
Various composers
Father & Son (reissue)
Christoph & Julian Prégardien
Michael Gees, Bella Adamova
Blooming
Michael Gees / Bella Adamova
Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner
Dichterliebe Op. 48 / Lenau-Lieder und Requiem Op. 90 / Wesendonck Lieder
Christoph Prégardien / Michael Gees