Jurek Dybal / Sinfonietta Cracovia / Daniel Ottensamer PENDERECKI'S SINFONIETTAS

 

PENDERECKI'S SINFONIETTAS

 

Regula Mühlemann / Tatiana Korsunskaya LIEDER DER HEIMAT

With her first two albums, Ms. Mühlemann established her reputation as a rising opera star and concert singer. In 2016, the young Swiss soprano impressed with Mozart Arias (she won the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik with her debut album). In her following album, Cleopatra, Ms. Mühlemann performed arias by Handel and Vivaldi brilliantly and was awarded an Opus Klassik for it. On her third album she presents herself as an artistically expressive Lieder singer with a rich repertoire. Born and residing in Switzerland, the musician has dedicated a large part of her new album, Lieder der Heimat, to unknown Swiss composers, along with well-known works by Franz Schubert.

As the album title suggests, the themes of home, nature, hiking, farewell and longing form the leitmotif of the programme, which Mühlemann recorded with her long-standing accompanist Tatiana Korsunskaya. It was clear to the interpreter from the start that Franz Schubert would play an essential role in this: “Schubert’s settings show that home and nature are inseparably linked. That the image of nature evokes a strong sense of homeland in people, no matter where they come from”. For the clarinet part in the famous “Der Hirt auf dem Felsen”, Daniel Ottensamer, solo clarinettist of the Vienna Philharmonic joined her, and Konstantin Timokhine, solo hornist with the Basel Chamber Orchestra, plays in “Auf dem Strom”.

The romantic and late romantic works in all four Swiss national languages have largely been recorded for the first time. Some of these songs were probably only now sung again since their creation. They are penned by the following Swiss composers: Wagner friend Wilhelm Baumgartner, Othmar Schoeck, Richard Flury, Emil Frey, Richard Langer, Friedrich Niggli, Marguerite Roesgen-Champion and Walther Geiser. The “Old Guggisberger song” is one of the most famous Swiss folk songs.

Ernst, Daniel & Andreas Ottensamer THE CLARINOTTS

The Clarinotts are a one-of-a-kind clarinet trio formed of Ernst, Daniel and Andreas Ottensamer – the Principal Clarinettists of the Vienna Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras.

Founded in 2005, the ensemble aims to find new and exciting ways in which to bring the varied voices of the clarinet family to the fore, performing on the E-flat, bass clarinet and basset horn alongside the more common B-flat and A clarinet.  With an emphasis on the Viennese tradition of clarinet playing, the individual excellence of each player – all esteemed international soloists in their own right – is expressed in collective performances of the very highest quality.

Comprising extant works, new arrangements and high-profile commissions, The Clarinotts’ repertoire is wide-ranging and diverse, covering core classical masterpieces as well as film music and jazz – all serving to display the dazzling range of colour and inbuilt unity of this critically acclaimed father-and-son trio.  The ensemble ranges accordingly, performing duos and trios with and without piano, as well as in combination with other artists and ensembles.

The Clarinotts regularly tour Europe and Asia, and appear as guests with many of the world’s most renowned orchestras and festivals.  Recent and upcoming highlights include tours of Japan, China and Taiwan, and the world première of a triple clarinet concerto by celebrated Austro-Hungarian composer Ivàn Eröd with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Andris Nelsons (January 2016).

The Clarinotts released their debut album on Octavia Records and Gramola Vienna in 2009 to much critical acclaim, and are set to release a recording on Mercury Classics/Deutsche Grammophon in early 2016.

The 1^st January 2016 will see the release of The Clarinotts new album on Deutsche Grammophon/Mercury Classics. The enormously talented family trio have based this album on music for the stage, including music by Rossini and Mozart, and it has been recorded with string members from the Vienna Philharmonic.  As well as this exciting news, The Clarinotts will also be the feature of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Day intermission film. This will be live streamed world-wide to over 90 countries and will be watched by around 50 million people.