ALBUMS
Paris Bar
Piano Quartets by Jean Françaix, Alexandre Tansman and László Lajtha (world premiere recording)
Sony Classical in cooperation with Deutschlandfunk Kultur
PARIS BAR - a tribute the "Années folles" in Paris including the world premiere recording Lázló Lajtha's piano quartet Paris developed into an international cultural hotspot at the beginning of the 20th century. Artists from all over the world flocked to the French capital during the so-called "Années folles," the crazy 1920s, taking in the exuberant atmosphere in the bars and cafés and inspiring each other to produce creative works. The three composers Jean Françaix, Alexandre Tansman and Laslo Lajtha were also infected by this sparkling atmosphere, which the Notos Quartet selected for this recording, a co-production of Sony Classical with Deutschlandfunk Kultur. Jean Francaix's 1933 "Divertissement" is a true discovery, as there is only one recording of this work to date. The wit and charm typical of Françaix's music characterize the four-movement work, which reveals the composer's melancholy side as well as cheerfulness. The title "Divertissement" (French for "entertainment") underscores the desire of society at the time to be amused in order to be able to block out the misery and anguish of the First World War it had just experienced. The second work on this album, the "Suite-Divertissement" by Polish-born Alexandre Tansman also reflects this longing. One of the most sought-after composers of his time, his "Suite-Divertissement" combines French esprit with Polish folk music, playing with baroque forms as well as traditional rhythms of his homeland. With the world premiere recording of Laslo Lajtha's Piano Quartet op. 6, the Notos Quartet pays tribute to one of the most important Hungarian composers.
BRAHMS -
THE SCHÖNBERG EFFECT
Piano Quartets by Johannes Brahms
Sony Classical in cooperation with Deutschlandfunk Kultur
The young German Notos Quartet received excellent reviews worldwide for its first album "Hungarian Treasures" (jpc 5847005) with the world premiere recording of Béla Bartok's piano quartet - and immediately the ECHO Klassik as "Young Artist of the Year". Their new recording for Sony Classical - this time with music by Johannes Brahms - also contains a premiere recording: the arrangement of Brahms' Third Symphony created by composer Andreas N. Tarkmann especially for the Notos Quartet. To a certain extent, Arnold Schoenberg pointed the way to the arrangement of the symphony by arranging Brahms' Piano Quartet op. 25 for orchestra. The Notos Quartet takes the opposite path and wants to show the chamber music dimension in Brahms' third symphony: "Suddenly, structures never heard before open up, leading to a new and passionate listening impression - a symbiosis of symphonic sound bed and chamber music clarity and a proof of Brahms' supreme compositional mastery", says the Notos Quartet. And of course the Notos Quartet has also recorded the famous Piano Quartet op. 25 for this album.
HUNGARIAN TREASURES
Piano quartets by Bartók (world premiere recording), Dohnányi, Kodály
Sony Classical/RCA in cooperation with Deutschlandfunk Kultur
HUNGARIAN TREASURES Including the world premiere recording of Béla Bartók’s piano quartet! Formed in Berlin as recently as 2007, the Notos Quartet presents the world-premiere recording of a work by Béla Bartók. For years the Hungarian composer’s Piano Quartet in C minor op. 20 was believed to be lost but was rediscovered following extensive research by the members of the ensemble, who prepared the present edition on the basis of the composer’s autograph score. In addition to this world-premiere recording, Hungarian Treasures also features works by two other Hungarian composers who were friendly with Bartók: the Piano Quartet in F sharp minor by Ernst von Dohnányi (1877–1960) and the Intermezzo for string trio by Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967).