Mark Padmore, tenor
Paul Lewis, piano
Winterreise, Song Cycle for Voice & Piano, D. 911 (Op. 89) – Book I, Gute Nacht (‘Fremd bin ich eingezogen’)
From Schubert: Winterreise (2009)
Released by Harmonia Mundi
Schubert: Winterreise, Gute Nacht
Based on poems by Wilhelm Müller.
Every time I listen to Gute Nacht, sung by Mark Padmore with Paul Lewis at the piano, I get goosebumps.
I have never heard this song sung and played with so much intensity and sensibility; there are no words to describe it, the music simply goes straight to your heart.
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Richard Stoltzman, clarinet
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A
K581 Allegro
From Richard Stoltzman – The Essential Clarinet (1999)
Released by BMG
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A
This piece gives me a feeling of bien être, full of tenderness and contentment. This is pure joy and happiness.
Pascal Rogé, piano
Romances sans paroles (3) for piano, Op. 17:
III. Andante moderato
From Fauré: Piano Music (1990)
Released by Polygram Records
Fauré: Romances
Fauré’s piano music has never been widely performed although it deserves a legitimate place in any recital for its delicate, subtle and refined musicality.
Magdalena Kožená, mezzo-soprano
Bach: Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, Cantata BWV 208 – Aria: Schafe können sicher weiden
From Bach Arias (1998)
Released by Deutsche Grammophon
Bach: Schafe können sicher weiden
One of my favorite mezzos, Kožená has a voice so clear and bright, it’s pure crystal.
Vivaldi: Beatus vir (Psalm 111) for 3 voices, strings & continuo in B flat major, RV 598
King’s Consort
From Vivaldi: Sacred Music, Vol. 3 (1997)
Released by Hyperion UK
Vivaldi: Beatus vir
This is so vigorous, uplifting and luminous that when I listen to this music, my day becomes shiny and joyful.
Heinrich Schiff, cello
Schubert: Quintet in C, D.956, II. Adagio
Alban Berg Quartet
From Schubert Quintet in C (1990)
Released by Angel Records
Schubert: Quintet D956
The String Quintet in C major, D 956, Op.163, was composed during the summer of 1828, two months before his death, and is Schubert’s final instrumental work.
I love the whole piece, but particularly the second Adagio movement, it is like an exchange of intimate confidences.
Jian Wang, cello
Chopin: Cello Sonata Op.65
From Presenting Jian Wang (1992)
Released by Delos Records
Chopin: Cello Sonata
Frédéric Chopin wrote his Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65 in 1846. It is one of only nine works by Chopin published during his lifetime that were written for instruments other than piano. The Cello Sonata also has the distinction of being the last of Chopin’s works to be published in his lifetime.
The sonata was written for and dedicated to Auguste Franchomme, and it was played by Franchomme and Chopin at the composer’s last public concert, in Paris at the Salle Playel on 16 February 1848.
Paul Tortelier, cello
Bach: Prelude, Cello Suite No. 1
From Les 6 Suites pour violoncelle (2002)
Released by EMI Classics France
Bach: Cello Suite No. 1
What I like about this interpretation by Tortelier is the degree of intensity that makes the rendition almost painful, showing another, more complicated side of Bach.
Natalie Dessay, soprano
Ravel: Vocalise En Forme De Habanera
From Vocalises (1998)
Released by EMI
Ravel: Vocalise En Forme De Habanera
This voice is out of this world! And this is an amazing CD, definitely a must-have – there’s not much more I can say.
Mischa Maisky, cello
Pavel Gililov, piano
Brahms: Sonata for Cello and Piano No.1 in E minor, Op.38 – 1. Allegro non troppo
From Brahms . Die Cellosonaten (1998)
Released by Deutsche Grammophon
Brahms: Sonata for Cello and Piano
The first time I heard Maisky was few years ago during the Hong Kong Arts Festival.
That was an unforgettable performance, both visually and aurally, he was alone on stage, dressed in an electric blue Issey Miyake plisse ensemble, playing Bach’s Cello Suites. The colour was aggressive, and the Suites were far too romanesque.
But I must confess that in contrast, the recording of Brahms Cello Sonate No.1 is mesmerizing.
Right from the beginning, my heart sank into the notes, and it was led on a special voyage, a voyage of dreams, sweetness, hope and beauty. And his rendition of the Lieders without words is just wonderful, so touching and tender.
