New York Philomusica records on its own label, New York Philomusica Records. The first American ensemble to record Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, New York Philomusica is the only group ever to record the entire Mozart Divertimento catalogue. The Divertimento recordings were originally released by VoxBox Productions in 1975 and were followed by a release of Wind Serenades of Mozart. Both titles were reissued by New York Philomusica Records in October 2002 with updated, comprehensive liner notes by Mozart scholar Robert Levin. The Masters: Master Haydn, Student Beethoven, George & Joseph | Paris, and the original recording of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, brought the catalogue to 18, to which an additional six have been added from the live concerts recordings [see below and Program Notes for details].
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This survey is imbued with the wealth of talent that Mozart brought to our world, in his time and in ours. The music: Mozart’s voice in its fullest reach through his genius for combining his musical impulses with perfect combinations of instruments. The performers: Legends in their time, they are personal, brilliant and profound in bringing the requisite insight to interpreting these marvelously varied compositions. The scholarship: Robert D. Levin is the author of the exhaustive program booklet. It is a model of what a survey should include: incipits of the recorded works and a synoptic table current to August 2002—an invaluable resource for libraries and for musicians.
"For style and virtuosity, these are absolutely magnificent presentations, and in excellent sound too…Highest possible recommendation."
San Francisco Examiner
"One takes a special pleasure in hearing the poised, larklike flights of the two principal violinists, Isidore Cohen and Felix Galimir."
New York Times
New York Philomusica THE COMPLETE MOZART DIVERTIMENTOS CD 1 HISTORIC FIRST RECORDED EDITION
Divertimento No. 1 in E-flat, K. 113 for winds and strings
Divertimento No. 13 in F, K. 253 for six winds
Divertimento No. 2 in D, K. 131
Recorded: 1973
Booklet: Robert D. Levin
59:17 minutes
Catalog Number: NYPm30007 Price: $14.98
The string works here are led by the legendary musician Felix Galimir. The first, written in Milan in 1771, was given the double title "Concerto or Divertimento" by the composer. The second on this CD is the fourth of six Tafelmusiken – "light entertainment for those at table." The last is a rare display of showcasing the winds in the presence of strings, with a flute, oboe, bassoon and four (!) horns, performed here in an ensemble the size of that available to Mozart in Salzburg when he wrote the piece. The richness and variety of the CD make for a fascinating exploration of the instrumental palette that was so rapidly expanding in Mozart’s day.
The composers: Alvin Brehm, Iain Hamilton (1st NY Philomusica Featured Composer), Meyer Kupferman, Ezra Laderman. These 2 CDs offer an array of instrumentation and sound texture unlike any ever produced – a perfect test for the most discerning audiophile! They will make a lasting impression and very likely come to enjoy "favorite" status among those curious enough to explore the inspired language of these highly original composers. The performances bring out the best in them and in their interpreters.
"I could go on and on about details of such truly remarkable performances of these difficult works. The ensemble is excellent in that the virtuosity never obtrudes from the team work and this added to the flexibility in a work like Hyperion is real ensemble playing indeed."
Iain Hamilton, September 1997
Quintet in E flat major, Op. 16, for piano & winds
Septet in E flat major, Op. 20, for strings & winds
Recorded: February 1993
Booklet: A. Robert Johnson
68:04 minutes
MEG BACHMAN VAS, piano
Matthew Dine
David Krakauer
Robert Johnson
Jeffrey Marchand
Todd Phillips
Ah Ling Neu
Melissa Meell
Gail Kruvand
Catalog Number: NYPm30004 Price $14.98
Two displays of originality by a man destined for eternal stature as one of the rarest of talents. They are the more interesting for the fact that in writing to please early in his move to Vienna he succeeded too well – to his contemporaries these pieces outshone his more serious symphonies, opera, concertos, sonatas, string quartets and trios. Their relative obscurity and contrasting instrumentation make them ideal for this catalog, which makes a specialty of producing such gems.
Divertimento
Aria: Theme by Francesco Cavalli
Delizie contente che l'alme beate for Woodwind Quintet and Tape
Bó for percussion, harp, bass clarinet and three accompanying women's voices
String Quintet No. 3
Recorded: 1983 - 1996, supervised by the composer
Booklet: the composer and A. Robert Johnson
75:39 minutes
Catalog Number: NYPm30005 Price: $14.98
Mr. Druckman is a master of tonal subtlety. The spectrum of sound on this CD begins with his first published work and ends with the late String Quartet No. 3. In between the listener is treated to a beautiful exploration of winds with prerecorded tape, based on an Aria by Francesco Cavalli from the 16th Century. Druckman's evocation of seaborne refugees, entitled Bó, calls for three soprano voices, harp, bass clarinet, vibraphone and gong. This recording was the first to be dedicated solely to the music of Jacob Druckman.
Trio in A minor, Op. 114, for piano, clarinet & 'cello
Quartet in G minor, Op. 25, for piano, violin, viola & 'cello
MELISSA MEELL, 'cello
Robert Levin
David Krakauer
Adela Peña
Ah Ling Neu
Recorded: October 1993
Booklet: A. Robert Johnson
65:00 minutes
Catalog Number: NYPm30006 Price: $14.98
The Romantic King writing at his life’s end for the enrapturing sound of the clarinet in the Trio, and early in his life, a Quartet with which he hoped to enrapture a public to whom he was as yet unknown. Success! in both endeavors. We hear the genius and feel his heart in ours. The contrast of instrumentation and, no less, the contrast in the poise of older age juxtaposed in this genius against the assertion of his youth, make for an exquisite program, fully realized by these performers and sound engineers.
Joseph Haydn:
Symphony No. 87 in A (for Paris)
Partita in F, Hob. II:23
Scherzando No. 3 in D, Hob. II:35
Mozart:
Concerto No. 23 in A, K. 488
Concerto No. 15 in B-flat, K. 450, Finale
ROBERT LEVIN, piano
Recorded: October 1994, August 1997
Booklet: A. Robert Johnson, Robert Levin
74:14 minutes
Catalog Number: NYPm30016 Price: $14.98
New York Philomusica and Robert Levin revisited the fine acoustics of their 1991 triumph in The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in 1994 to perform rare music by Joseph Haydn and Mozart. George & Joseph | Paris is dedicated to the late chairman of New York Philomusica's board, George Plimpton, and his Paris Review on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary. The disc opens with Joseph Haydn's first of seven symphonies for a series in Paris, and concludes with two of Mozart�s most beautiful concerto movements, all performed by one of the greatest pianists of our time. Few classic CDs will rival this for content or interpretive panache.
Ludwig van Beethoven:
Piano Trio No. 2 in G Major, Op. 1, No. 2
Piano Trio No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 70, No. 2
Joseph Haydn:
Piano Trio in G Major, Hob. XV: 25
Live Recording
Jerome Lowenthal, piano
Naoko Tanaka, violin
Gregory Hesselink, 'cello.
Recorded: January 15, 2004
78:48 minutes
Catalog Number: NYPm30017 Price: $14.98
These CDs of our live subscription concerts provide the listener with a continuum of carefully honed programming intended to enhance appreciation and enjoyment of great music. Featuring its current roster of artists, the ensemble presents non-conducted repertory of every imaginable combination, anchored by string quartet and piano trio staples.
New York Philomusica MESSIAEN: QUARTET FOR THE END OF TIME
Olivier Messiaen:
Quartet for the End of Time
Merle Noir
First American recording of the Quartet
Recorded: 1972
Robert Levin, piano
Isidore Cohen, violin
Joseph Rabbai, clarinet
Timothy Eddy, 'cello
Paige Brook, flute
60 minutes
Catalog Number: NYPm30018 Price: $14.98
New York Philomusica BEETHOVEN, MOZART & DOHN�NY� LIVE
Beethoven: Trio in C minor, Op. 9, No. 3, for violin, viola & 'cello
Mozart: Quartet in G minor, K. 478, for piano, violin, viola & 'cello
Dohn�ny�: Sextet in C major, Op. 37, for piano, clarinet, horn, violin, viola & 'cello
Recorded: LIVE October 5, 2006
Ya-Fei Chuang, piano
Joseph Rabbai, clarinet
A. Robert Johnson, horn
Naoko Tanaka, violin
Ah Ling Neu, viola
Gerald Appleman, 'cello
Beethoven:
Quartet in E-flat, Op. 74 "The Harp" (1809)
for two violins, viola & 'cello
Berkeley:
Magnetic Field (1995) for two violins, viola & 'cello
Bart�k:
Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion (1937)
Recorded: LIVE February 15, 2007
Naomi Sanchez*, piano
Stephen Varney*, piano
Naoko Tanaka, violin
Katharina Grossmann, violin
Junah Chung, viola
Gerald Appleman, 'cello
Jared Soldiviero, percussion
Jeffrey Irving, percussion
*Winners of 2005 first prize, Two Piano Category,
The National Federation of Music Clubs
J.D. Zelenka: Sonata No. 3 in B-flat, ZWV 181,3 (c.1722)
Couperin Le Grand: L'Amphibie, from Ordre XXIV
T. Ad�s: Sonata da caccia
J. Haydn: Sextet No. 14 in E-flat, Hob. II:40
M. Berkeley: Fierce Tears I (1983)
M. Berkeley: Fierce Tears II (1983)
J. Haydn: Divertimento a tre
Recorded: LIVE April 19, 2007
Gerard Reuter, oboe
Katrina Russell, bassoon
Andrew Clark, horn
Christopher Oldfather, piano & harpsichord
Katharina Grossmann, violin
Leslie Tomkins, viola
Gerald Appleman, 'cello
Gail Kruvand, contrabass
Mozart: Quartet in G Minor, K. 478
Schubert: Octet in F, Op. 166 (D. 803)
Beethoven: Quartet in E-flat, Op. 74 "The Harp"
Bart�k: Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Berkeley: Fierce Tears I
Haydn: Divertimento a tr�
Georgia On My Mind (Fred Mills, soloist)
A CD Sampler
Recorded: LIVE 2006-2007
Artists: Ya-Fei Chuang, Christopher Oldfather, Naomi Sanchez, Stephen Varney, Joseph Rabbai, Gerard Reuter, John Miller, Andrew Clark, A. Robert Johnson, Fred Mills, Katharina Grossmann, Adela Peña, Naoko Tanaka, Ah Ling Neu, Junah Chung, Gerald Appleman, Gail Kruvand, Jared Soldiviero, Jeffrey Irving
60 minutes