Krystian Zimerman is a Polish pianist and conductor, who has been described as one of the finest living pianists. In 1975, he won the IX International Chopin Piano Competition.

该版本为Naxos97年的重版
These are stunning, unique works, stamped with Szymanowski's unusual and exotic sound world. His textures can be eerie and his use of dynamics radical. There is a unique glistening quality to the orchestration as well as the solos, which tend to linger in the violin's upper reaches. The music yearns in a manner that can only be called rapturous and it is impossible to listen and remain unaffected. Both concerti are structured in single movements with lengthy, wild cadenzas (particularly so for the second concerto) about half way through. In the first, the heady cadenza leads into a beautiful, gentle finale. The second concerto seems the warmer, more sensual work. Szymanowski drew from the folk music of the Goral Mountains. The cadenza here, three minutes in length and wonderfully virtuosic, moves directly into a thumping, energetic section with brass fanfares. The Nocturne and Tarantella that ends the CD occasionally feels like it comes from another composer: the Nocturne features some Debussy-like impressionism, interrupted by castanets and Spanish sounds, and the Tarantella is a rambunctious piece of street music. Violinist Ilya Kaler is more than up to the task, playing with big, expressive tone when needed and able to reach the lightest, high pianissimi asked for in the cadenza of the first concerto. Antoni Wit gets splendid playing from the Warsaw Philharmonic, and the sonics capture all of Szymanowski's dynamic levels and transluscent orchestration. This is a terrific CD. --Robert Levine

希曼诺夫斯基1882年生于乌克兰基辅附近，十九岁至华沙习乐。波兰仍在俄国治下，民族主义情绪从肖邦时代一直高涨。波兰本土作曲家影响力有限，孤立于整个十九世纪下半叶的音乐潮流之外。自希曼诺夫斯基一辈开始，音乐新人以“青年波兰”自居，互通声气，彼此提携，努力拓宽视野，追求新声。作曲家去柏林和莱比锡学习期间，受瓦格纳、雷格尔和理查·施特劳斯影响很深，并在此影响下，创作《第一交响曲》，但后来他对“后瓦格纳”音乐进行反思，撕毁了一些模仿痕迹过重的作品。《第二交响曲》虽带有斯克里亚宾的影响，但获得成功，在欧洲确立了地位。一战期间，作曲家去西西里、北非旅行，对希腊文化燃起兴趣，由此导向对早期基督教文化、伊斯兰文明的研究，尤其是波斯诗人的诗作，令他灵感涌现。1916年创作的《第三交响曲》引用了多位波斯诗人的诗作（Mevlana, Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi）
一战后俄国革命，波兰局势动荡，许多艺术家移居美国，如鲁宾斯坦与小提琴家孔恰斯基（Pavel Kochanski），希曼诺夫斯基选择留在国内，认为民族音乐环境更能催生灵感。此时，其声望日隆，开罗音乐学院重金礼聘他做院长，被其拒绝，宁愿任薪金微薄的华沙音乐学院院长。不料五年后，与保守派音乐家冲突，导致他辞职。晚年由于缺乏固定收入，生活较为窘迫，无奈以演奏家身份公开演出。1932年歌剧《罗杰王》在布拉格上演，令其备受鼓舞。生命最后五年肺病缠身，1937年三月29日死于洛桑。晚年最后一批乐队作品中包括杰出的《第二小提琴协奏曲》。
希曼诺夫斯基的两首小提琴协奏曲都和波兰小提琴家孔恰斯基密切相关。《第一小提琴协奏曲》作于1916年，与《第三交响曲》同期，但风貌迥异。据说该曲背后有标题文字，来自诗人Tadeusz Micinski的《五月夜》，但作曲家认为标题文字对理解音乐并不是必要的。该曲旋律素材新颖、但回归传统曲式，整部作品具有幻想风格。独奏以抒情见长，较多半音和装饰性的走句。华彩乐段出自孔恰斯基手笔，该曲的被题献者。《第二小提琴协奏曲》缘于孔恰斯基1932年回访波兰，两位音乐家讨论了月余，酝酿出作品初稿。协奏曲明显带有作曲家第三期的创作风格，注重民族音乐语汇，尤其是南欧山地民族音乐，并保持了作曲家一贯的特色：色彩丰富、抒情、织体清晰。(novich整理)

Three works inspired by Spring – Stravinsky’s iconic and revolutionary 1913 ballet The Rite of Spring depicts Russian pagan tribes celebrating the emergence of Spring with frenzied dances and ritual sacrifice. The music has a rhythmic complexity and violence that caused a riot to break out at its premier in Paris. Rachmaninov’s Spring Cantata tells the story of a husband who has struggled through the harsh Russian winter knowing his wife has been having an affair with a younger man. He swears he will kill them, but on seeing the wonder of spring all around him, relents and forgives them both. Debussy’s early ‘Printemps’ of 1885 was said to have been inspired by Botticelli’s ‘Primavera’. Debussy was staying at the Villa Medici in Rome when he wrote this colourful and joyous work.

Recording: Bürgerbräu Munich November 1977.

Bartók: Violin Concertos Nos 1 and 2; Viola Concerto – James Ehnes, BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda
Hailed as ‘the Jascha Heifetz of our day’ (The Globe and Mail, Canada), the violinist James Ehnes is widely considered one of the most dynamic and exciting performers in classical music, appearing regularly with the world’s finest orchestras and conductors. Accompanied here by the BBC Philharmonic under Gianandrea Noseda, he is the soloist in Bartók’s two violin concertos, in which he plays the ‘Marsick’ Stradivarius of 1715, as well as in the viola concerto, performing on the ‘Rolla’ Giuseppe Guadagnini viola of 1793, on loan from the Fulton Collection.
‘These three concertos are among the most striking examples of Bartók’s early, middle, and late periods, each showing a very different side of one of the great musical voices of all time; they are among my very favourite pieces to perform’.

“An outstanding album, was Gramophone magazine’s verdict on the Arod Quartet’s last release, a programme of Schoenberg, Zemlinsky and Webern. Remaining in Vienna, the young French quartet goes back to the time of Schubert. “We wanted to explore several stylistic phases in Schubert’s life,” they explain. The centrepiece is his gripping Quartet No 14 (‘Der Tod und das Mädchen’/’Death and the Maiden’), written in the final years of his short life and complemented here by the Quartets No 4 and No 12 (‘Quartettsatz’).

CD + DVD (Digipack)
This release – set for March 2017 – is a piece of history: it is a combination of unreleased and historic audio and visuals. It allows a unique view of the enigmatic maestro Grigory Sokolov’s life because it offers an opportunity to hear authentic performances from over ten and even twenty years ago accompanied by a brand-new film by Nadia Zhdanova.
The legendary pianist, who no longer performs with orchestras, has finally agreed to release two stunning concerto recordings from his extraordinary past: Mozart K488 with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under Trevor Pinnock (recorded live in Salzburg 2005) Rachmaninov's Concerto for Piano Orchestra No. 3 with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under Yan Pascal Tortelier (recorded live in London 1995).
Commenting on that very performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto K 488, the Salzburger Nachrichten noted that “Such is his intensity that Sokolov sweeps everything and everyone along with him”.
The Independent described his reading of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto as “ecstatic” and as “an outstanding performance”, while The Times wrote that “Sokolov swept through the concerto like a hurricane”.
These historic performances, will be published in combination with a unique documentary, which looks back on both Sokolov’s artistic and private biography. Whilst Sokolov is well known for being reclusive and rarely giving interviews, filmmaker Nadya Zhdanova achieved the impossible: She spoke with his friends, with colleagues and eventually was allowed to use private material from Sokolov’s archives.
She discovered rare and unreleased video footage (i.e. including Sokolov winning the Tchaikovsky competition in 1966), which offers an intimate insight into the life of Grigory Sokolov. The documentary is dedicated to Inna Sokolova the late wife of the artist. Both documentary and the booklet will feature poems by Inna Sokolova in four languages.