Violin Concerto, Op. 64 / String Octet, Op. 20 by Liza Ferschtman / Het Gelders Orkest / Kees Bakels

Felix Mendelssohn

Liza Ferschtman / Het Gelders Orkest / Kees Bakels

Violin Concerto, Op. 64 / String Octet, Op. 20

Price: € 20.95
Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917274820
Catnr: CC 72748
Release date: 27 January 2017
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917274820

Catalogue number
CC 72748

Release date
27 January 2017

"A delightful disc with a top violinist who excels in nuances."

Dagblad v/h Noorden / Leeuwarder Courant, 16-2-2018

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

'...slowly, as my musical path kept unfolding, I got to the point where more and more I was able to let go of my preconceived notions aout the Violin Concerto and more clearly start to see and hear my own voice in it. Over the years I got to know so much more music by Mendelssohn, from the inside out, and I felt the language become more fully my own. When working with Kees Bakels on it a couple of years ago things started to really fall into place, and last May when performing it with the Amhem Philharmonic I really was all of a sudden struck by a distinct feeling that I can only describe as falling in love all over again with this magical piece. Certain details in the score seemed to appear completely new to me and the idea of approaching the work with the same collaborative energy as in chamber music made me experience it completely afresh. The combination of passion, grand emotions and at the same time lightness and elegance, such characteristic traits for Mendelssohn, fell completely into place. To feel this way about such a familiar piece was revelatory and I knew I wanted to share these discoveries, if you like, with many more people.' (Liza Ferschtman)

Mendelssohn en Ferschtman: een combinatie van passie en elegantie
Violiste Liza Ferschtman heeft met deze opname een waar wonder verricht. Een briljant jeugdwerk én een meesterwerk, dat de componist Felix Mendelssohn enkele jaren voor zijn dood schreef, beide verenigd op één album. De voortreffelijke samenwerking tussen Liza Ferschtman, dirigent Kees Bakels en Het Gelders Orkest maakt deze uitvoering compleet. Het is duidelijk te horen, dat de violiste, de dirigent en de leden van het orkest goed op elkaar zijn afgestemd en naar elkaar luisteren. "Dit is niet zomaar een 'salon' optreden, het is musiceren van de hoogste orde. Het is onvoorstelbaar onweerstaanbaar." HR Audio, januari 2017.

Liza Ferschtman geldt als een van de meest interessante muzikale persoonlijkheden van deze tijd. Met haar gepassioneerde spel en grote podiumuitstraling weet zij het publiek te raken. Het Parool schrijft over deze uitvoering: "Ferschtman plaatst zich in het stuk zonder meer naast of zelfs boven beroemdere collega’s, die al eerder een opname van het vioolconcert hebben gemaakt." ( januari 2017)

Mendelssohns Vioolconcert is zijn meesterwerk. Een van de meest opgenomen werken voor viool, vol innovaties, die velen later zouden imiteren. Het zijn niet de innovaties die dit concert zo geliefd maken, maar de tedere warmte en de diepte. Liza Ferschtman voelde nooit de behoefte om het concert der concerten op te nemen en toe te voegen aan de lange lijst. Maar vanaf het moment, dat ze met een frisse blik naar de partituur keek en het werk als een nieuwe compositie instudeerde, sloeg opeens de vonk over. Alles wat ze ooit had geleerd, alle tips van grote voorgangers vielen weg. Liza zag Mendelssohns Vioolconcert opeens in een nieuw, ander licht en ze laat ons getuige zijn van haar herontdekking. "Het is een opname geworden waar frisse dauw als fijne druppeltjes aan vastkleeft." De Volkskrant, februari 2017.

Het is onmogelijk om naar het Strijk Octet te luisteren en niet overweldigd te raken door de verbazingwekkende kwaliteit van deze muziek. En dan te bedenken dat het geschreven is door een jongen van zestien. Mendelssohn was duidelijk een muzikaal wonderkind. Alleen al de eerste paar maten van het Octet zijn een ware traktatie. Alle acht instrumenten hebben hun eigen stem, wat het stuk een enorme diepte geeft.

Liza Ferschtman: ...langsam, als sich mein musikalischer Weg immer weiter entwickelt hat, kam ich an den Punkt, an dem ich zunehmend in der Lage war, meine Vorurteile über das Violinkonzert abzulegen und meine eigene Stimme deutlicher darin zu sehen und zu hören. Im Laufe der Jahre habe ich so viel mehr Musik von Mendelssohn ganz intim kennengelernt und ich spürte, wie die Sprache ganz meine eigene wurde. Als ich vor ein paar Jahren mit Kees Bakels daran gearbeitet habe, fügten sich die Dinge wirklich, und letzten Mai, als ich das Stück mit der Philharmonie Arnhem gespielt habe, hatte ich auf einmal ein deutliches Gefühl, das ich nur so beschreiben kann, dass ich mich von Neuem in dieses magische Stück verliebt habe. Bestimmte Details in der Partitur schienen mir gänzlich neu und die Idee, mit derselben, kollaborativen Energie wie in der Kammermusik an das Werk heranzugehen, ließ es mich komplett neu erleben. Die Verbindung von Leidenschaft, großen Emotionen, gleichzeitig aber auch Leichtigkeit und Eleganz, die so typisch für Mendelssohn sind, passte einfach. Dass sich ein bekanntes Stück so anfühlen kann, war eine Enthüllung für mich, und ich wollte diese Entdeckung, wenn man will, mit vielen, vielen Menschen teilen.

Artist(s)

Liza Ferschtman (violin)

Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman is known for her passionate performances, interesting programs and communicative qualities on stage. She is equally at home on the concert stage with concertos, chamber music, recitals and solo works. In 2006 she received the highest accolade awarded to a musician in the Netherlands, the Dutch Music Prize.
Born into a family of Russian musicians, Liza Ferschtman was constantly surrounded by music.
One of her earliest major influences was the violinist Philipp Hirschhorn, a close family friend. She received her formal training from Herman Krebbers at the Amsterdam Conservatory, Ida Kavafian at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and David Takeno in London.
In recent years Liza Ferschtman has performed with all significant Dutch Orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw and the Rotterdam Philhamonic. She has been soloist of the Orchestre National de Belgique, European Union Youth Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic, Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, Bremen Philharmonic, Radio Symphony Orchestra of Prague, Malmö Symphony, and Bergen Philharmonic. Conductors she has worked with include Stephan Blunier, Frans Bruggen, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Claus Peter Flor, Neeme Järvi, Yakov Kreizberg, Zdenek Macal, Jun Maerkl, Gianandrea Noseda, Marc Soustrot, Leonard Slatkin, Thomas Sondergard, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Mario Venzago and Jaap van Zweden.
An avid chamber musician, Ms. Ferschtman has collaborated regularly with artists such as Inon Barnatan, Jonathan Biss, Nobuko Imai, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Enrico Pace, Christian Poltera, Lars Anders Tomter and Alisa Weilerstein. In addition to appearances at numerous international Chamber Music festivals, she has performed at venues such as the Alice Tully Hall in New York, the Library of Congress in Washington, Wigmore Hall in London, the Brahms Saal at the Vienna Musikverein, as well the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Liza Ferschtman has been the artistic director of the Delft Chamber Music Festival since 2007, one of the reputable festivals in Europe. During her tenure the festival has become widely known for adventurous programming with dynamic performances by artists from around the globe.
Highlights in the past season were the performance of the complete solo works by Bach in Amsterdam and a concert tour to Budapest, Amsterdam, New York and Montréal with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Playing under the baton of Iván Fischer, Ms. Ferschtman received outstanding reviews for her rendition of Bernstein's "Serenade" with this orchestra.
During the current season Liza Ferschtman is scheduled to make her debuts with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Essen, the Staatskapelle Weimar and the Flanders Symphony Orchestra. She will perform chamber music at the Liederhalle in Stuttgart and the Beethoven Haus in Bonn and will be present in the Netherlands with several recitals.
Ms. Ferschtman's recording of the Beethoven Concerto and Romances was received with great critical acclaim, as well as her other recordings with concertos by Dvorak, Röntgen, solo works by Bach and Ysaye, (STRAD CD choice of the month), and duo works by Beethoven and Schubert. Her next CD will be solo works by Bach, Biber, Bartok and Berio (Challenge Classics).

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Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra

Motivated by musical ambition, inspired by their public and bonded with their surroundings. That is Het Gelders Orkest! They share their passion for classical music with people from all ages in Gelderland and abroad. They make populair and less populair works and they make music with world famous solists, young top talents and big guest conducters. Their musicians grow and shine in the direction of chef-conducter Antonella Manacorda. He can make as a young 'old soul' the emotions melt with the orchestra like no one else can. Het Gelders Orkest want totouch as many as they can. Beside of organising symphonic concerts they have a bright scala of alternative musical meetings and adventural cross-overs, in the form of kidsconcerts, education-...

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Kees Bakels (conductor)

Elina Vähälä (violin)

Krzysztof Chorzelski (viola)

Corina Belcea (violin)

Itamar Zorman (violin)

Marc Desmons (viola)

Sebastian Klinger (cello)

Antoine Lederlin (cello)

Composer(s)

Felix Mendelssohn

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn is often compared to Mozart. Both of them were child prodigies, both had a talented sister and they both died at a young age. Mendelssohn, who as a child also painted wrote poetry, was born in small family which converted to christianity from judaism. As a composer he preferred looking back, rather than forward: his main examples were Bach, Handel and Mozart. It was Mendelssohn who retrieved Bach from oblivion and pushed for a revival of his music, which still lasts today. One century after its premier, Mendelsson performed the St Matthew Passion for the second...

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period.

Mendelssohn is often compared to Mozart. Both of them were child prodigies, both had a talented sister and they both died at a young age. Mendelssohn, who as a child also painted wrote poetry, was born in small family which converted to christianity from judaism. As a composer he preferred looking back, rather than forward: his main examples were Bach, Handel and Mozart. It was Mendelssohn who retrieved Bach from oblivion and pushed for a revival of his music, which still lasts today. One century after its premier, Mendelsson performed the St Matthew Passion for the second time ever, in 1829.

Three years, earlier, on his 17th, he had already composed his masterfully overture A midsummer night's dream op. 21, based on Shakespeare's play. Today, it is still considered as one of the absolute masterpieces in all of the orchestra reperoire. His Violin Concerto op. 64 belongs to the most beautiful works of the 19th century as well. During his travels through Europe, he wrote his brilliant Italian Symphony, Scottish Symphony and the overture The Hebrides.

Although Mendelssohn had a prosperous career, his weak physique made him emotionally vulnerable. The death of his favourite sister Fanny became fatal: Mendelssohn died in the same year, at the age of 38.

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Press

A delightful disc with a top violinist who excels in nuances.
Dagblad v/h Noorden / Leeuwarder Courant, 16-2-2018

The best music of 2017 according to our reviewers - Erik Voermans 5. Mendelssohn-Vioolconcert, Octet, Het Gelders Orkest en Liza Ferschtman, Challenge Records Violinist Liza Ferschtman had to crowdfunden to make the CD, but the result is exquisite. Her interpretation of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with Het Gelders Orkest conducted by Kees Bakels is one of the most beautiful ones. Pure chamber music; the triumph of listening music without grease and false sentiment.
Het Parool, 30-12-2017

Amadeus July - 5 stars
Amadeus, 01-7-2017

The balance between violin and orchestra is excellent.
The Strad, 20-6-2017

**** Sound quality throughout the disc is bright, clear and reasonably warm.
BBC Music Magazine, 17-6-2017

Ferschtman does not perform the work from 1838-1844 as the heavyweight dialogue, but chooses a light-hearted approach.
Kerk en leven, 14-6-2017

Her pure, silvery tone is not large but then neither is the accompanying band...
Gramophone, 26-5-2017

It is heart-warming to find Ferschtman's own revivifying thoughts borne out by the special qualities of her musicmaking
Gramophone, 06-5-2017

A freshness of approach to Mendelsssohn's concerto combines with a fizzing account of the octet.
Planet Hugill, 02-5-2017

Ferschtman and her team do not play it with a smile, because it happens to be a piece from a famous composer, but do play spicy and full of power.
Kerk en Leven, 14-4-2017

In the first few bars, forcing intimately, you will get tears in your eyes, Ferschtman puts it so focused and free; the instrument is singing along with what it hears.
De Groene Amsterdammer, 06-4-2017

If you love these pieces then this should raise a healthy smile, and if you have been keenly awaiting another Ferschtman disc then the concerto in particular is a real treat.
Music Web International, 03-4-2017

They play this incredible work by brilliant teenager Felix Mendelssohn with intense energy and enthusiasm that hits the listener immediately.
Klassieke zaken, 28-3-2017

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AVRO Bode, 10-3-2017

" (...) She is beloved by her audience and managed to finance her newest album with crowdfunding (...) "
Luister, 06-3-2017

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Luister, 06-3-2017

I was completely overwhelmed with a sense of renewed love!
AVROTROS, 02-3-2017

It has become a recording where fresh dew will stick like fine drops.
De Volkskrant, 24-2-2017

Ferschtman puts Mendelssohn in a new jacket.
AVRO bode, 24-2-2017

These Dutch musicians treat the piece as a chamber work, the cut-down forces of the Het Gelders Orkest giving light and airy support to Liza Ferschtman’s carefully judged, singing solo line.
The Guardian, 12-2-2017

Radio 4 CD van de Week
Radio 4 CD van de Week, 09-2-2017

CD of the Week: Mendelssohn Liza Ferschtman / Gelders Orkest
Radio 4, 06-2-2017

Ferschtman places herself with this recording without a doubt alongside or even above more famous colleagues who have already made a recording of the violin concerto. The result is very, very impressive. Maybe this is due to the fact that the 37-year-old played this concert already when she was only 15 years old.
Het Parool, 10-1-2017

This is not a ‘salon’ performance, it is music making of the highest order. It’s unreservedly irresistible!
HR Audio, 09-1-2017

She international praised, but money for a new CD she has to arrange herself.
De Volkskrant, 12-11-2016

Play album

01.

Violin Concerto, Op. 64: Allegro molto appassionato