Tune in throughout the week for tracks from KDFC’s CD of the Week. More to discover with KDFC and KDFC.com.

Bach-to-Bach

This week we're featuring two new recordings of Bach masterpieces from two exciting violin stars. From the English violinist Rachel Podger comes Double and Triple Concertos with her group the Brecon Baroque. Plus German violinist Viktoria Mullova joins Accademia Bizantina and harpsichordist Ottavio Dantone for four Bach Concertos, two of which are newly arranged for violin solo. Hear selections from these two recordings throughout the week on KDFC!
Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque: J.S. Bach - Double & Triple Concertos


Mullova, Dantone, Accademia Bizantina: Bach Concertos

Francois Couperin: Les Ombres Errantes
Iddo Bar-Shai, piano

Like his younger contemporary, Johann Sebastian Bach, the French baroque composer Francois Couperin was part of a musical dynasty. For almost two centuries, members of the Couperin family held important posts in Paris and at Versailles. Francois became the most celebrated of them all, especially renowned for his harpsichord pieces. This new CD from the Israeli pianist Iddo Bar-Shai features selections from the several "books" of keyboard works by Couperin which he wrote between 1693 and his death in 1733. Highlights include the "title" track, Les Ombres Errantes (The Roving Shadows), Tic-Toc-Choc, and The Mysterious Barricades. Bar-Shai dedicates this CD to his mentor, the late pianist Alexis Weissenberg.

Pipe Dreams

Pipe Dreams is the name of a musical trio from England consisting of 2 flutes and a piano. Pipe Dreams is also the name of their first CD release. The nine selections range from Trios by Telemann and Vivaldi to a work by the distinguished 20th-century Hungarian conductor Antal Dorati. Composer Franz Doppler contributed significantly to the flute repertory of the 19th-century and Pipe Dreams includes two of his works. French composer Gabriel Faure is represented by the beautiful Sicillienne and the Cantique de Jean Racine which was originally a choral piece. The very first track on the CD is Two Butterflies by Emil Kronke, a perfect beginning to this pleasantly airy offering.

Jeffrey Biegel: A Grand Romance

On his new CD release, A Grand Romance, American pianist Jeffrey Biegel performs a program of keyboard showpieces celebrating the intimate relationship between pianist and the public. The recording features musical miniatures from the 1830's through the 20th century from such pianist/composers as Anton Rubinstein, Ignaz Paderewski, Moritz Moszkowski, and Adolf Schulz-Evler among others. Selections range from short and sweet piano etudes to novelty items and technical dazzlers. Hear highlights on the air throughout this week on KDFC.

Violin Lullabies
Rachel Barton Pine, violin/Matthew Hagle, piano

Even before she gave birth to her first child (little Sylvia whose photo graces the cover of this CD) Chicago-based violinist Rachel Barton Pine was interested in exploring the Lullaby as a musical form. She has collected "Cradle Songs" by 25 different composers onto this recording, released just in time for Mother's Day. From the familiar works like Brahms' Lullaby and Gershwin's Summertime to less well-known pieces, the varied line-up even includes 5 world premieres. Interestingly, for half the selections, Pine uses a violin mute in order to soften the sound. Pianist Matthew Hagle is also featured. Listen for tracks from Violin Lullabies all week on KDFC.

Alvaro Cendoya: Ponce

In honor of Cinco de Mayo on Sunday, this week we're featuring a collection of music by Mexican composer Manual Ponce as performed by Basque pianist Alvaro Cendoya. Manuel Ponce was the founder of Mexican musical nationalism, often incorporating the melodies of folk-songs into his music. He studied in Europe, at first in Bologna and then, between 1925 and 1933, as a pupil of Paul Dukas in Paris. He died in Mexico City in 1948. This is the first of eight volumes from Naxos devoted to Ponce’s complete piano music. Hear selections on the air throughout this week on KDFC.

Scarlatti Illuminated
Joseph Moog, piano

A Scarlatti recital with a twist! The 24-year old German pianist Joseph Moog has designed an interesting program that juxtaposes the original versions of Scarlatti keyboard sonatas with arrangements of the sonatas by some great old-time pianists. From the simplicity of Scarlatti to the in-your-face virtuosity of piano masters Walter Gieseking, Ignaz Friedman, and Carl Tausig, Moog explores the amazing range of the king of instruments. Hear selections from this new recording throughout the week on KDFC.

Histoire du Tango: Music for Violin and Guitar
Augustin Hadelich &  Pablo Sainz Villegas

Young German violinist, Augustin Hadelich, makes his SF Symphony debut this week playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto. This CD represents something completely different with short pieces for violin and guitar with a Spanish flavor. The title track is a musical journey through the history of the tango from the father of Nuevo Tango, Astor Piazolla. Also included is music by Falla, Paganini, and the popular Zigeunerweisen by Sarasate. Hadelich's partner is the award-winning Spanish guitarist, Pablo Sainz-Villegas. Hear selections from this new recording featured this week on KDFC.

Tine: Tine Thing Helseth

The latest from Norwegian trumpet sensation, Tine Thing Helseth, is simply entitled "Tine" and presents a personal choice of transcriptions, arrangements and original works for trumpet and piano. Kathryn Stott is Tine's piano partner on this disc which features the music of Puccini, Falla, Rachmaninoff, Kreisler, and more. Hear tracks on the air all this week from KDFC.

Remembranza: Remembrance of Latin Sounds
Rosa Antonelli, piano

Argentine-born pianist Rosa Antonelli has championed latin piano music in her extensive recital tours around the world. On this new disc, she opens with four tangos by Astor Piazolla and then moves on to a set of pieces by Brazilians Heitor Villa-Lobos and Ernesto Nazareth. The "sounds" become decidedly less "latin" with the inclusion of music by the Spaniards Granados and Albeniz. Of her Carnegie Hall debut, Harris Goldsmith wrote: "She infused (the music) with eloquence and an inward poetry." Listen for selections from Remembranza on the air this week on KDFC.

August Nolck: Salon Music

Who was August Nolck (1862-1928)? The notes which accompany this new CD describe him as a respected and well-published cello teacher of his day, a director of the Vienna Conservatory and a "voice from the great German cello tradition of the 19th century." His name appears in none of the standard music dictionaries, so this disc is a very refreshing discovery of some great Romantic melodies. Americans Beth Vanderborgh and Theresa Bogard bring to life a sampling of Nolck's Salon Music for cello and piano resulting in a musical journey back to a golden period in Vienna's musical history. Hear selections from this new recording on the air throughout this week. Remember that your CD purchase here benefits listener-supported KDFC.

Lara Downes: Exiles' Cafe

Pianist Lara Downes has become known for her thought-provoking musical concepts. She recently released "Thirteen Ways of Looking at Goldberg" in which she asked thirteen composers to write companion pieces to Bach's Variations. Her latest CD project is an exploration of musical miniatures created by composers in exile. Downes describes the Exiles' Cafe as "a place both real and metaphorical where travelers gather to find a home away from home." Composers represented include Chopin, Kurt Weill, Rachmaninoff, William Grant Still, Milhaud, and many others. Be sure to listen to Jeffrey Freymann-Weyr's conversation with Lara on a recent edition of KDFC's The State of the Arts and look for her this April when she hosts a new series at Yoshi's SF called "The Artist Sessions".

Sara Sant'Ambrogio: The Chopin Collection

Cellist Sara Sant'Ambrogio is a founding member of the Grammy-winning Eroica Trio. The Chopin Collection is her 4th solo recording and has garnered praise from, among others,  Grammophone Magazine: "These performances grab you by the ears and refuse to let you go." (Ouch!) The New York Times wrote: "There is an irresistible warmth in everything Miss Sant'Ambrogio does." The CD (which is also available as a 2 GB Flash Drive) features pianist Robert Koenig in 11 Chopin selections. Tracks from this new recording will be showcased on the air all this week.

Daniel Hope: Spheres

Would you believe a recording that celebrates planetary movement as an existential source of music, a concept historically known as "the music of the spheres"? That's the idea behind the latest release from the English violinist Daniel Hope. Hope explains,"My idea was to bring together works from different centuries, united by the age-old question: is there anything out there?" The disc includes four world premiere recordings plus contemporary arrangements of pieces by Bach and Faure. There are also selections by Karl Jenkins, Ludovico Einaudi, and Philip Glass. This CD is literally "out there"! Listen for excerpts from Spheres on the air all this week.

Nicola Benedetti: The Silver Violin

The young Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti has timed the release of her latest disc, a compilation of movie music called The Silver Violin, to coincide perfectly with KDFC Goes to the Movies Week! This tribute to the music of the silver screen features as its centerpiece the Erich Korngold Violin Concerto. The Austrian composer came to Hollywood in the 1930's like many other refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe and had a successful career scoring hundreds of popular films, themes from which found their way into his Concerto. The Silver Violin celebrates the film music of composers from the 1930s up to today with soundtrack selections from Schindler's List, Jane Eyre, Eastern Promises, Ladies in Lavender, and more. Listen for tracks on the air all this week and check out the video below.

Ingolf Wunder 300

300 is a lucky number for wunderkind pianist Ingolf Wunder! The young Austrian has calculated that this season he will give his 300th performance. Plus, as he notes, he would be lost without the past 300 years of piano music. In this his second recording, the 27-year-old Wunder pays homage to Vladimir Horowitz in a wide-ranging program that spans from Scarlatti to John Williams (a rousing version of Star Wars for solo piano!) There are 16 tracks in all, most of them short encore pieces, from composers like Scriabin, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Ennio Morricone, and Horowitz himself. Hear selections from Ingolf Wunder 300 featured all this week on KDFC.

The ALKI Guitar Trio

The members of the ALKI Guitar Trio met at the Royal Conservatory in Mons, Belgium in a class taught by the Brazilian master Odair Assad. In this, their first album together, they have chosen to highlight music from North America and Brazil including the Suite brasileira by Assad. There's not a lot of music written for guitar trio, so they took it upon themselves to arrange some selections for their unique combination of 6,7, and 10 string guitars. Among those arrangements are the 3 Preludes by George Gershwin and Tristorosa and Suite Floral by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Seattle Suite by American Kevin Callahan is dedicated to the ALKI Trio and depicts various Seattle neighborhoods, one of which is Alki Beach!

2013 New Year's Concert

Vienna Philharmonic, Franz Welser-Möst

This just in from Vienna! The annual New Year's Day concert by the Vienna Philharmonic is firmly established as one of the most prestigious musical events of the year. Broadcast live to more than 70 countries, the concert is traditionally led by one of the most famous conductors in the world. This year marked the return of native Austrian, Franz Welser-Möst, music director of the Cleveland Orchestra, in a program that featured the usual generous helping of Johann Strauss (and other members of the Strauss family) plus works by Verdi and Wagner, both celebrating centennials in 2013. Get ready to dance to these lively live performances all this week on KDFC. (Your CD purchase here benefits listener-supported KDFC)

Camargo Guarnieri: Piano Music, Vol. 1

Yes, that's his real name! (His parents must have had high expectations.) Mozart Camargo Guarnieri was the most important Brazilian composer next to Villa Lobos. He lived from 1907 until 1993. This is Volume 1 of his piano music with the Brazilian/American pianist Max Barros. It includes Preludes, the Sonata for Piano from 1972, as well as Guarnieri's best-known work, Dansa negra. Listen for selections on the air throughout this week. Please remember that your CD purchase here benefits listener-supported KDFC.

Grainger: Folk-Inspired Works for Piano Duet and Duo/The Bilder Duo

What a journey! Composer Percy Grainger was born in Melbourne, Australia (in 1882) and died in White Plains, New York (1961)! In between, he spent a great deal of time in England and the rest of Europe, perfecting his unique style of composing and trying to satisfy his hunger for musical discoveries. This new CD presents a selection of his folk-inspired music for piano duet. Included are familiar works like Molly on the Shore and Handel in the Strand as well as the super popular Country Gardens. Of special interest is the Fantasy on Gershiwn's Porgy and Bess. The Bilder Duo of Germany performs. As with all of our CDs of the Week, we'll be featuring tracks on the air. Your purchase here benefits listener-supported KDFC.