Lost Times by Theo Plath & Aris Alexander Blettenberg

Various composers

Theo Plath & Aris Alexander Blettenberg

Lost Times

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: CAvi
UPC: 4260085530373
Catnr: AVI 8553037
Release date: 09 July 2021
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Label
CAvi

UPC
4260085530373

Catalogue number
AVI 8553037

Release date
09 July 2021

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

LOST TIMES by THEO PLATH

I always found that the music of Impressionism and Late Romanticism was an object of longing for me as a bassoonist; Saint-Saëns was one of the few composers of his time who helped to expand the repertoire of “one of these otherwise so neglected instruments”.

He was unfortunately rather alone in that endeavour – which I find all the more regrettable, since I regard the bassoon’s timbre as quite appropriate for the music of that period.

With this CD I have fulfilled my personal dream to revel in the music of Romanticism and Impressionism, an era otherwise mostly lost for the bassoon as a solo instrument.

Art often depicts our yearning for what is lost in the past. Proust, more than any other author, evoked memory as a source of artistic inspiration in his multi-volume novel In Search of Lost Time, to which this CD’s title refers.

Proust also showed how music can play a primordial role in the process of unwittingly recalling past events. When his characters hear the melody of the ineffable Vinteuil sonata, it triggers a series of thoughts, memories, and emotions. These are probably the most impressive depictions in literature of a person’s relation with music, showing that the link between music and recollection is essential.

Music can take up several functions:
- A piece of music that has been part of our lives is unavoidably linked with many past events which
resurface when we hear it.
- Music can also give rise to dreamlike images that surge from the interaction between our recollections
and our imagination.
- From a purely abstract point of view, music can depict memory per se. Thematic material is restated
in another context, in which it is shown in a new light.

(Excerpt from the liner notes by Theo Plath)

Artist(s)

Theo Plath (bassoon)

As a prizewinner at the renowned ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 2019, and as Principal Bassoon of Frankfurt HR Radio Symphony Orchestra, Theo Plath is fairly in demand as a soloist, and player for chamber music and orchestra.
The year 2020 saw the release of his début CD with bassoon concertos by Weber, Jolivet, Bitsch and Crusell, a recording he made with the German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra (Deutsche Radiophilharmonie) under the baton of Leo McFall.
Theo has made appearances in solo bassoon concertos with the Munich Chamber Orchestra and the Frankfurt HR Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others, and in concert halls including Dortmund Konzerthaus and Hamburg Elbphilharmonie.
As a chamber musician in high demand, Theo Plath is a regularly invited guest at international festivals such as the Spannungen Chamber Music Festival in Heimbach and the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, where he concertizes with celebrated performers including Vilde Frang, Christian Tetzlaff, Maximilian Hornung, and Lars Vogt. Theo Plath is also a member of the prize-winning Monet Wind Quintet.
Theo studied bassoon at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (Hochschule für Musik), and received further valuable counsel from professors Sergio Azzolini and Nikolaus Maler. Apart from winning 3rd Prize in the Bassoon category at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, he has also won First Prizes at the Aeolus Wind Competition (Düsseldorf) and the German National Music Competition (2018).
As a volunteer for the Rhapsody in School project, Theo communicates his enthusiasm for classical music to children and youngsters in school sessions all across Germany.

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Aris Alexander Blettenberg (piano)

Pianist, conductor and composer Aris Alexander Blettenberg has established himself as one of the most versatile musicians of his generation.
He first came to public attention when he won first prize at the 2015 Hans von Bülow International Piano Competition. In October 2021, his credentials as a performer have been boosted by success in the prestigious Ludwig van Beethoven International Piano Competition Vienna as he won first prize.
Over the last years Aris has performed to critical acclaim at London‘s Wigmore Hall, the Vienna Musikverein, Konzerthaus Berlin, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, the Beaux Arts Brussels, National Concert Hall Dublin, the NOSPR Katowice and the Prinzregententheater Munich.
He has been invited to renowned music festivals such as the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, Kissinger Sommer Festival, Heidelberger Frühling Festival, Ruhr Piano Festival and the Schwetzingen Festival.
An avid chamber music player, Aris has collaborated with artists including Arabella Steinbacher, Christian Tetzlaff, Sharon Kam, Maximilian Hornung, Julian Rachlin and Julia Fischer with whom he has given many recitals throughout Europe.
Since 2015, Aris has been a regular guest conductor at the Meiningen State Theatre. His published compositions are performed throughout the world.
Born to a Greek-German family in 1994, Aris Alexander Blettenberg studied piano and conducting in Munich, Salzburg and Hannover under the guidance of Antti Siirala, Bruno Weil and latterly Lars Vogt. Numerous masterclasses with teachers such as Rudolf Buchbinder, Gerhard Oppitz, Cyprien Katsaris, Dame Imogen Cooper and Vladimir Jurowski have rounded off his training.

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Composer(s)

Claude Debussy

Claude Debussy was a French composer. He and Maurice Ravel were the most prominent figures associated with impressionist music, though Debussy disliked the term when applied to his compositions. He was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1903. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his use of non-traditional scales and chromaticism influenced many composers who followed. Debussy's music is noted for its sensory content and frequent usage of non-traditional tonalities. The prominent French literary style of his period was known as Symbolism, and this movement directly inspired Debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant Among his most famous works are his Clair de Lune, his Three Nocturnes...

Claude Debussy was a French composer. He and Maurice Ravel were the most prominent figures associated with impressionist music, though Debussy disliked the term when applied to his compositions. He was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1903. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his use of non-traditional scales and chromaticism influenced many composers who followed.
Debussy's music is noted for its sensory content and frequent usage of non-traditional tonalities. The prominent French literary style of his period was known as Symbolism, and this movement directly inspired Debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant Among his most famous works are his Clair de Lune, his Three Nocturnes and his orchestral piece La Mer.

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César Franck

César Franck was simultaneously a child prodigy and a late bloomer. His parents quickly discovered his enormous talent, but they were mostly interested in the money and fame that he might generate. Because of this, he was presented as a piano virtuoso, without a focus on composition. Unfortunately, his virtuoso career was less promising then they had hoped, and he started earning his money more as a teacher and organist. Composing stayed in the background, but in the mean time he did get some notable students, such as Henri Duparc. After a while, a sort of "Franck school" of students arose, albeit against his will, who affectionately called him ‘Pater seraphicus’. It was not until he was 50 before he started to receive some acclaim as a composer, and from his 52nd he started a very prolific period, lasting until his death at the age of 68.
Nowadays, Franck is mostly known for his instrumental music, peaking at the famous Violin Sonata in A. Besides this work,, his small collection of organ works was particularly influential.

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Camille Saint-Saëns

Camille Saint-Saëns was a French composer, conductor, pianist and organist. He was a musical prodigy, writing his first pieces of music at the age of four and making his concert debut at the age of ten. During this concert he astonished the audience by playing one of the 32 piano sonatas of Beethoven at its request. After his studying at the Conservatory of Paris he followed a career as a church organist at Saint-Merri and later La Madeleine in Paris. He was also a successful freelance composer and pianist in France and abroad.
Saint-Saëns initially helped to introduce German composers such as Robert Schumann and Richard Wagner in France. However, from 1870 onwards anti-German sentiments began to arise in France as a result of the Franco-Prussian War, which enhanced support for the idea of a pro-French musical society. In 1871 Saint-Saëns consequently founded the Société Nationale de Musique together with Romain Bussine, that was devoted to the promotion of French music and organised concerts on which young composers could perform their works.
Saint-Saëns was a keen traveler, and made 179 trips to 27 different countries during his life. He favoured Algeria and Egypt, were he gained inspiration for compositions such as the Suite Algérienne and the Fifth Piano Concerto, also known as The Egyptian.
Saint-Saëns' best-known works include the First Cello Concerto, Third Symphony, the opera Samson et Dalila, Danse Macabre and Le carnaval des animaux, a humorous suite in which various animals are musically portrayed. However, he never wanted the last work to be performed, since it was contrary to his image as a serious composer.

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