Updated: Wednesday September 1, 2010 19:22:57 GMT
On Thursday, August 12 2010, Artistic Director Nolan Gasser spoke with world-renowned pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy – whose brilliant new Decca recording of the complete Bach Partitas was just released. In this fascinating discussion, Maestro Ashkenazy discusses his approach to recording these keyboard masterworks – marked by his keen insights on interpretation, the genius of Bach’s writing, and the challenges he faced as a young Russian musician to penetrate into the music of such an “archetypal” Western composer. The two also discussed the Maestro’s celebrated conducting career, both his current activities as Principal Conductor with the Sydney Symphony, and his initial ascent – some 40 years ago – into this aspect of his amazing musical career. Don’t miss the reflections of one of classical music’s most gifted artists.
As an added bonus, Classical Archives and Decca Records are very pleased to offer a special promotion on 10 classic recordings of internationally acclaimed pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy, featuring piano solo music and piano concertos by Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Mussorgsky, Scriabin, and Shostakovich. For a limited time, these albums are available at 20% off the normal retail price. Build your essential Vladimir Ashkenazy collection now.
“As long as the musical line is clear, and the ‘genius’ of the line is there, I think we shouldn’t disturb it too much, or embellish it too much. I really like very clear lines, generally, in my musical interpretation – so that’s why I use very few embellishments, as little as possible; because Bach’s music is so good, you don’t need to embellish it.” – Vladimir Ashkenazy
Gioachino Rossini was among the most popular composers of his day, indeed of all time, and embodies a major trend of the Romantic era in music: the reform and middle-class popularization of opera. His impressive output (38 operas by age 38) came to a near complete end following his final triumph, Guillaume Tell, in 1829, with only a handful of works written in his remaining four decades. This concert features samples from some of his famed operas, as well as from his more limited song and concerto output.
The Modern and Contemporary periods have witnessed extraordinary change and diversity in musical style and techniques – with every musical parameter subject to revaluation and experimentation. All this as composers have sought to reflect modern life in sound. This concert features music by many of the giants of the last 100 years.
The voice is the most natural of instruments, the only one capable of conveying both music and text, and thus it has played an essential role in the history of Western art music. This concert features great examples from every era, including by Handel, Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Verdi, Berg, and others.

