专辑简介

Born in Bonn in 1770, Ludwig van Beethoven was the eldest son of a singer in the musical establishment of the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne and grandson of the Archbishop’s former Kapellmeister, whose name he took. The household was not a happy one. Beethoven’s father became increasingly inadequate both as a singer and as a father and husband, with his wife always ready to draw invidious comparisons between him and his own father. Beethoven, however, was trained as a musician, however erratically, and duly entered the service of the Archbishop, serving as an organist and as a string player in the archiepiscopal orchestra. He was already winning some distinction in Bonn, when, in 1787, he was first sent to Vienna, to study with Mozart. The illness of his mother forced an early return from this venture and her subsequent death left him with responsibility for his younger brothers, in view of his father’s domestic and professional failures. In 1792 Beethoven was sent once more to Vienna, now to study with Haydn, whom he had met in Bonn. Beethoven’s early career in Vienna was helped very considerably by the circumstances of his move there. The Archbishop was a son of the Empress Maria Theresa and there were introductions to leading members of society in the Imperial capital. Here, Beethoven was able to establish an early position for himself as a pianist of remarkable ability, coupled with a clear genius in the necessarily related arts of improvisation and composition. The onset of deafness at the turn of the century seemed an irony of fate. It led Beethoven gradually away from a career as a virtuoso performer and into an area of composition where he was able to make remarkable changes and extensions of existing practice. Deafness tended to accentuate his eccentricities and paranoia, which became extreme as time went on. At the same time it allowed him to develop his gifts for counterpoint. He continued to revolutionise forms inherited from his predecessors, notably Haydn and Mozart, expanding these almost to bursting point, and introducing innovation after innovation as he grew older. He died in 1827, his death the occasion of public mourning in Vienna. In 1796 Beethoven set out on a journey that took him to Prague, Dresden, Leipzig and Berlin, at first, as Mozart had done in 1789, in the company of Prince Lichnowsky. It was in Prague that he wrote a group of pieces for mandolin, intended for Joséphine de Clary, who, the following year, married Count Christian von Clam-Gallas. It has been suggested that Beethoven may have become interested in the mandolin, a popular instrument at the time, through Wenzel Krumpholz, a violinist in Vienna but at the same time distinguished as a mandolin virtuoso, brother of the harpist Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz. Beethoven is said to have taken violin lessons with Wenzel Krumpholz, and was certainly on close terms with him. Carl Czerny, who became a pupil of Beethoven, recalls Krumpholz’s championship of Beethoven, at a time when the latter’s work was often misunderstood. It was Krumpholz who introduced the ten-year-old Czerny to Beethoven, a meeting recalled in some detail by Czerny in his memoirs. The Sonatina in C minor, WoO 43a, is marked Adagio, each phrase repeated, as it goes on, with a section in C major, before the final coda. The Sonatina in C major, WoO 44a, is in notable contrast, an Allegro replete with semiquaver figuration for the mandolin and with a brief change to C minor before the conclusion. The Adagio ma non troppo in E flat major, WoO 43b, is supported by a chordal keyboard accompaniment. The Andante and Variations in D major, WoO 44b, explores more fully the possibilities of the mandolin in its variations, including a slower minor key version of the material and a rapid final variation." "As a mandolinist and lutenist, as well as a conductor, Alon Sariel is at home in the fields of both early and new music, having premiered dozens of works dedicated to him. He has appeared at festivals such as the Salzburg Biennale Festival for New Music and the Utrecht Early Music Festival, and has performed in halls such as the Berliner Philharmonie and Sala São Paulo in Brazil. Recent engagements as soloist/conductor include ensembles such as the Münchener Kammerorchester, Jerusalem Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Tel-Aviv Soloists Ensemble, Camerata Tinta Barocca, Cape Town and the Barokksolistene, Norway. Sariel’s programmes with his ensemble Concerto Foscari are dedicated to people and themes such as the painter Rembrandt, the philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and the Bauhaus Movement, often involving interdisciplinary art forms and music of different styles. Music by Israeli composers form a profound part in Sariel’s diverse discography, most notably world premiere recordings of music by Paul Ben-Haim, Yehezkel Braun, Gilad Hochman and others. His recording Telemandolin (Berlin Classics) received the Klassiek Centraal (Belgium) Golden Label award as well as the German Opus Klassik award." "Keyboardist Michael Tsalka has won numerous prizes in Europe, the US, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. A versatile musician, he performs a wide span of repertoire from the early Baroque to contemporary works on the harpsichord, fortepiano, clavichord, square piano, chamber organ and modern piano. Dr Tsalka maintains a busy concert schedule. Recent engagements include performances at the Boston Early Music Festival, the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, Palacio de Bellas Artes theatre in Mexico City, the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Festival de Saint-Denis in Paris, Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, the Volksbuehne in Berlin, Jerusalem Music Center, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, alongside live performances for radio and television stations around the world. Tsalka has recorded 22 albums, and has presented 110 masterclasses in academic institutions worldwide. He has been the artistic director of festivals in China, Sweden, Spain, and Finland, and currently directs the Geelvinck Fortepiano Festival, Netherlands. Dr Tsalka is the head of keyboard department at Vanke Meisha Arts Academy (VMMA), Shenzhen, mainland China."