Bruch / Vaughan Williams / Barber by Sonoko Miriam Welde

Max Bruch, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Samuel Barber

Sonoko Miriam Welde

Bruch / Vaughan Williams / Barber

Format: CD
Label: Lawo Classics
UPC: 7090020182445
Catnr: LWC 1222
Release date: 19 November 2021
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Label
Lawo Classics

UPC
7090020182445

Catalogue number
LWC 1222

Release date
19 November 2021

"impressed by the warmth of the tones on the e-string. High tones on this string often sound tinny and bare. The latter is of course also prevented if you play like Welde on a beautiful violin by Alessandro Gagliano from 1714"

Katholiek Nieuwsblad, 05-11-2021

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

When you ask people which superpower they would choose if they could have only one, many answer that they would want the power of flight. Although I personally would prefer invisibility, I also think there is something enviable about the freedom of being able to fly, to soar through the sky, above all the stress and troubles of life down on the ground. A lot has been said and written about how Vaughan Williams wrote The Lark Ascending during the 1st World War “when a pastoral scene of a singing bird on the wing seemed far removed from reality” (Betsy Schwarm, Britannica). I sometimes imagine people living through difficult times looking up at the lark, envying its life and freedom that they wish they had. It's a moving piece with soaring melodies and the lark's “silver chain of sound” (George Meredith's poem The Lark Ascending).

Soaring melodies are present in Barber's Concerto as well. Although it opens with a generous and warm melody, it doesn't take long for uncertainty to creep in, and large sections of the 1st movement are dominated by an “in-between” kind of feeling – in addition to the unbelievably triumphant and satisfying return of the opening theme of course! The 2nd movement is, for me, one of the most touching and heartbreaking pieces of music. It reminds me of Somewhere from West Side Story. Hope, pain and perhaps longing for something better. It is just endlessly beautiful... The first two movements of the concerto are emotionally and dramatically linked in that they both have short solo violin cadenzas towards the end. The two are very similar to each other – very tense and devastating, like an existential cry. They are followed by a bizarre, disturbing, entertaining and adrenaline-inducing 3rd movement to end the piece. In a way it makes no sense to end this way, but that's part of the fun of it.

Bruch's Violin Concerto is a piece with its heart on its sleeve. The 1st movement is a very serious and dramatic introduction, the 2nd incredibly touching and sincere, and the 3rd so joyous and life affirming. This piece has accompanied me in many important and special moments in my life so far and I am so happy that it is with me in this one as well – my debut album with the Oslo Philharmonic, a fantastic group of musicians that I have loved and admired for many years!

– Sonoko Miriam Welde

Artist(s)

Sonoko Miriam Welde (violin)

Sonoko Miriam Welde is one of the most exciting young violinists to emerge from Norway in recent years. Born in Bergen in 1996, she made her debut with the Bergen Philharmonic at the age of nine and has since gone on to win the Norwegian Soloist Prize and the Virtuos competition, as well as representing Norway in the European Broadcasting Union’s Young Musicians Competition. She has been a part of the Crescendo programme, where she was mentored by Janine Jansen and Leif Ove Andsnes, and a recipient of the Equinor Talent Scholarship.
Her appearances include concertos with Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Trondheim Symphony, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Stavanger Symphony, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, Kremerata Baltica, Zagreb Soloists, Oslo Camerata, and the Estonian Chamber Orchestra with conductors including Andrew Litton, James Gaffigan, Joshua Weilerstein, Han-Na Chang, Marta Gardolińska and Edward Gardner.
An enthusiastic chamber musician, Sonoko has been championed by Leif Ove Andsnes, with whom she performs regularly, and has also worked with Tabea Zimmermann, Clemens Hagen, Gidon Kremer, Alisa Weilerstein, Jonathan Biss, Sergio Tiempo and Janine Jansen. She appears frequently at the Bergen International Festival and has performed at Risør Chamber Music Festival, ArtLink Belgrade, Oslo Chamber Music Festival, International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, and Rosendal Festival. In 2014 she founded the Opus13 String Quartet together with friends from her student days in Oslo.
Her teachers have included Janine Jansen in Sion, Stephan Barratt-Due and Alf Richard Kraggerud in Oslo and Kolja Blacher in Berlin, and she has taken regular lessons with Vilde Frang.
She plays a 1714 Alessandro Gagliano kindly on loan from Dextra Musica.

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Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra

On 27 September 1919, a new orchestra took to the stage of the old Logan Hall in Oslo to give its first public concert. Conductor Georg Schnéevoigt presided over thrilling performances of Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Christian Sinding’s First Symphony. After forty years of making-do, the Norwegian capital had at last got the orchestra it deserved. The Oslo Philharmonic was born. In the eight months that followed, the Oslo Philharmonic gave 135 concerts, most of which sold out. It tackled passionate Mahler, glistening Debussy and thrusting Nielsen. Soon, world famous musicians were coming to conduct it, relishing its youth and enthusiasm. Igor Stravinsky and Maurice Ravel visited Oslo to coach the musicians through brand new music. National broadcaster NRK began to hang microphones at the orchestra’s concerts, transmitting them to the whole of Norway.
Over the next half-century, the Oslo Philharmonic’s reputation grew steadily. Then, in 1979, it changed forever. A young Latvian arrived in Norway, taking the orchestra apart section-by-section, putting it back together a finely tuned machine with a whole new attitude. Under Mariss Jansons, the orchestra became a rival to the great Philharmonics of Vienna, Berlin and New York. It was soon playing everywhere, from Seattle to Salzburg, Lisbon to London. Back home in Oslo, it got a modern, permanent concert hall of its own. In 1986, EMI drew up the largest orchestral contract in its history, ensuring the world would hear the rich, visceral sound of the Oslo Philharmonic.
Three decades after that, the world is still listening. The Oslo Philharmonic retains its spirit of discovery and its reputation for finesse. Under Jukka-Pekka Saraste it cultivated even more the weight and depth that Jansons had instilled; under Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko, it works at the highest levels of detail and style. Still the orchestra travels the globe, but it has never felt more at home. Its subscription season in Oslo features the best musicians in the business. Outdoor concerts attract tens of thousands; education and outreach programmes connect the orchestra with many hundreds more. In 2019/2020 the thriving city of Oslo will celebrate 100 years of the Oslo Philharmonic, the first-class orchestra it still deserves.

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Joshua Weilerstein (conductor)

Joshua Weilerstein (b. 1987) is the Artistic Director of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. Recognized for his integrity, clarity of musical expression, and profound, natural musicianship, he is committed to performing a wide range of repertoire and aims to bring new audiences into the concert hall.
He maintains a number of close relationships with leading international orchestras, including the Oslo Philharmonic, where he returns each season, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Stockholm Philharmonic, and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra.
Weilerstein has also lead the London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, NDR Hannover, SWR Stuttgart, Bamberg Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Czech Philharmonic, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In North America, he has appeared with the Vancouver Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic, where he was Assistant and Associate Conductor.
In 2017, Weilerstein made his debut at the BBC Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall where he conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra with his sister, Alisa Weilerstein as soloist.
Joshua Weilerstein believes passionately in programming traditional and contemporary repertoire side by side and aims to include a work by a living composer in each of his concert programs. He is a strong advocate for open communication between the stage and audience. In 2017 he launched Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast, a podcast for music lovers of any level of expertise. He is accessible on social media for further discussion on all aspects of classical music and the experience of concert-going.

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Tabita Berglund (conductor)

Composer(s)

Samuel Barber

The American composer Samuel Barber is one of the most celebrated 20th-century composers. He was never a part of the musical avant-garde, and wrote instead pieces in a Romantic idiom, characterized by rich harmonies and complex rhythms. His most beloved work is het lyrical Adagio for Strings, an arrangement of the slow movement of his String Quartet, that can be heard in both concerts and films. His Knoxville: Summer of 1915 for soprano and orchestra is also regularly performed.
Barber became interested in music at an early age, and was very talented indeed. At the age of seven he wrote his first composition, a short piece for piano. Two years later he knew that he was meant to be a composer. During his studies he wrote a number of successful compositions which put him into the spotlight of the American musical life. He made his international breakthrough during his travels through Europe in 1935-1936 with his colleague and partner Gian Carlo Menotti.
Barber’s compositions were performed by leading conductors such as Dimitri Mitropoulos, George Szell and Leopold Stokowski. He also received commissions by famous artists and authorities. Barber was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera to compose a new opera for the opening of its new building in 1966. The premiere of this work, Antony and Cleopatra, was plagued with technical problems that overshadowed Barber’s music. The critics rejected the work, which sent the composer into a depression. After his recovery he continued to compose till the end of his life.

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Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams was an English composer and folk song collector. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over nearly fifty years. Strongly influenced by Tudor music and English folk-song, his output marked a decisive break in British music from its German-dominated style of the 19th century.
He wrote many works for amateur and student performance. He was musically a late developer, not finding his true voice until his late thirties; his studies in 1907–08 with the French composer Maurice Ravel helped him clarify the textures of his music.
Vaughan Williams is among the best-known British symphonists, noted for his very wide range of moods, from stormy and impassioned to tranquil, from mysterious to exuberant. Among the most familiar of his other concert works are Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910) and The Lark Ascending (1914). His vocal works include hymns, folk-song arrangements and large-scale choral pieces. He wrote eight works for stage performance between 1919 and 1951. Although none of his operas became popular repertoire pieces, his ballet Job: A Masque for Dancing (1930) was successful and has been frequently staged.

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Max Bruch

Max Bruch was a German composer from the Romantic period. Max Bruch received his first music education from his mother. Later he studied under Ferdinand Hiller and Carl Reinecke. In 1858, he brought his first operetta Scherz, List und Rache, based on a text by Goethe, to the stage in Cologne. He stayed in Munich for two years and later he worked as a conductor in Koblenz from 1865 to 1867. During this time, he composed his famous Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in g, op. 26. It is an incredibly romantic piece and a favourite of many violinists. Bruch died in Berlin at the age of 82.

Max Bruch was a German composer from the Romantic period. Max Bruch received his first music education from his mother. Later he studied under Ferdinand Hiller and Carl Reinecke.
In 1858, he brought his first operetta Scherz, List und Rache, based on a text by Goethe, to the stage in Cologne. He stayed in Munich for two years and later he worked as a conductor in Koblenz from 1865 to 1867. During this time, he composed his famous Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in g, op. 26. It is an incredibly romantic piece and a favourite of many violinists. Bruch died in Berlin at the age of 82.

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Press

impressed by the warmth of the tones on the e-string. High tones on this string often sound tinny and bare. The latter is of course also prevented if you play like Welde on a beautiful violin by Alessandro Gagliano from 1714
Katholiek Nieuwsblad, 05-11-2021

Play album

01.

Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26: I. Prelude: Allegro moderato