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Wendy Warner Plays Cello Concertos by Haydn and Myslivecek on new CD
Noted cellist Wendy Warner and chamber orchestra Camerata Chicago, conducted by its founder, British-born violinist Drostan Hall, perform classical cello concertos by Franz Joseph Haydn and his prolific but relatively neglected contemporary, Czech composer Josef Myslivecek, on a new Cedille Records CD.
"Haydn & Myslivecek," Camerata Chicago’s Cedille Records debut, offers Haydn’s Cello Concertos in C Major and D Major and Myslivecek’s rarely heard Cello Concerto in C Major, a lyrical work befitting one of the era’s most popular opera composers (Cedille Records CDR 90000 142). The album, Warner’s first full CD of orchestral concertos, was released digitally August 6 and on CD August 27.
Warner plays a 1772 Giuseppe Gagliano cello, crafted in Italy during the period when Bohemian expatriate Myslivecek (pronounced mih-SLIH-veh-chek) was enjoying great success as a composer in that country. (Please note: The Gagliano cello was misidentified in the CD booklet.) Her bow is the “De Lamare,” circa 1815, by François Xavier Tourte, on extended loan through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.
Warner, an international concert and recording artist and protégé of cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, performed with Camerata Chicago in June on its first European tour, soloing in the Haydn Cello Concerto in D at concerts in the Czech Republic, France, and Italy.
Hall, a nephew of the late, revered Australian conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, founded Camerata Chicago in 2003. Its concertmaster is Mathias Tacke of the former Vermeer Quartet, with whose members Hall has had a close association.
Compatible Concertos
The harmonious pairing of Haydn’s essential cello concertos with the mellifluous Myslivecek concerto was the brainchild of James Ginsburg, Cedille Records founder and president, who searched for a worthy but lesser-known Classical-era cello concerto to set the album apart.
"I consider the Classical period the least well-explored musical era due to the outsized dominance of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert," Ginsburg says.
"Cedille is always looking to expand the world’s CD catalog by recording neglected works that deserve a wider hearing,” he says. "I’ve enjoyed other music by Myslivecek, so I was glad to discover this concerto, which is clearly one of his strongest works."
The Myslivecek was a discovery for Warner and Camerata Chicago as well; they learned the concerto expressly for the Cedille recording.
Identical Instrumentation
Composed in the mid-to-late 1700s, the Haydn and Myslivecek cello concertos are three-movement works scored for two oboes, two horns, and strings.
Myslivecek’s many admirers included Mozart and his father. As WFMT-FM music director Andrea Lamoreaux details in the CD liner notes, the men had a close association during the 1770s, before a falling out. In fact, Mozart re-arranged an aria from a Myslivecek opera as the concert aria "Ridente la Calma" (K. 152), "which remains a favorite of singers and audiences today," she writes.
Myslivecek’s (1737–1781) Cello Concerto in C is an arrangement from one of his violin concertos. "The solo part is virtuosic, with a notably high range," Lamoreaux observes. In the finale, this writing gives the work a "special brilliance as it moves toward its close."
The C Major Concerto by Haydn (1732–1809) was rediscovered only in the 1960s. Cellist János Starker, who gave the U.S. premiere, declared it "among the purest music Haydn ever wrote." It’s a "virtuoso romp" and "tremendous challenge and triumph for the soloist," Lamoreaux writes.
Haydn’s D Major Cello Concerto, which also features a virtuosic solo part, emphasizes "expressiveness more than sheer brilliance," Lamoreaux notes. Warner’s playing brings out "the expressiveness and melodic beauty of Haydn’s writing."
Recording Credits
"Haydn & Myslivecek" was produced by James Ginsburg and engineered by Bill Maylone in sessions November 26–29, 2012, in College Church, Wheaton, Ill. Ginsburg says, "The finely textured, resonant acoustic of College Church admirably supports the string sound of the Classical-sized ensemble heard on the new CD."
Cellist Wendy Warner
Warner first performed with Camerata Chicago in November 2010, soloing in the Haydn D Major Concerto. The collaboration was so successful that the artists began contemplating a recording project.
Warner has performed the D Major Concerto on tour with the Moscow Virtuosi and with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by André Previn, with whom she also performed Haydn concertos in Boston and London.
This is Warner’s fifth recording for Cedille Records. Her discography also includes "Russian Music for Cello and Piano" with her WarnerNuzova duo collaborator Irina Nuzova; "Wendy Warner Plays Popper & Piatigorsky," with pianist Eileen Buck; a release with the Beethoven Project Trio devoted to unknown Beethoven piano trios, including two world premieres on record; and "Double Play," a CD of 20th century violin and cello duos with Rachel Barton Pine.
Warner has also recorded for the Bridge and Naxos labels.
For more information about the cellist and her engagements as a chamber musician and soloist with major orchestras and conductors in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, as well as her current teaching positions, visit www.wendywarnercello.com.
Camerata Chicago
Writing in May about Camera Chicago’s tenth anniversary season, Chicago Tribune music critic John von Rhein lauded the ensemble as "one of several worthy professional ensembles in and around the city that are giving jaded audience ears a respite from the same old, same old."
In terms of repertoire and level of musicianship, ensemble founder and conductor Hall likens Camerata Chicago to England’s Academy of St. Martin’s in the Field, which, Hall notes, was founded by a violinist — Neville Marriner — as was the Camerata.
Camerata Chicago is an intimate, compact ensemble which, for the Haydn & Myslivecek album, consisted of 25 musicians, including 11 violinists.
Hall is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, where he studied violin with Yossi Zivoni, and Northern Illinois University, where he studied with Tacke and Shmuel Ashkenazi of the Vermeer Quartet and with Pierre Menard.
Hall and Camerata Chicago have also recorded for the Centaur and DMD Classics labels. For more information, visit www.cameratachicago.org.
Cedille Records
Grammy award-winning Cedille Records (pronounced say-DEE) has been dedicated to showcasing the most noteworthy classical artists in and from the Chicago area since its launch in fall 1989.
The audiophile-oriented label is releasing the album "Haydn & Myslivecek" as a physical CD; a 96 kHz, 24-bit, studio-quality FLAC download; and a 320 Kbps MP3 download.
Cedille Records is distributed in the Western Hemisphere by Naxos of America and its distribution partners, by Select Music in the U.K., and by other independent distributors in major international classical music markets.
An independent nonprofit enterprise, Cedille Records is the label of Cedille Chicago, NFP (formerly The Chicago Classical Recording Foundation). For a free catalog and the locations of local retail outlets, contact Cedille Records, 1205 W. Balmoral Ave., Chicago, IL 60640; call (773) 989-2515; e-mail: info@cedillerecords.org. Website: cedillerecords.org.
"Haydn & Myslivecek," Camerata Chicago’s Cedille Records debut, offers Haydn’s Cello Concertos in C Major and D Major and Myslivecek’s rarely heard Cello Concerto in C Major, a lyrical work befitting one of the era’s most popular opera composers (Cedille Records CDR 90000 142). The album, Warner’s first full CD of orchestral concertos, was released digitally August 6 and on CD August 27.
Warner plays a 1772 Giuseppe Gagliano cello, crafted in Italy during the period when Bohemian expatriate Myslivecek (pronounced mih-SLIH-veh-chek) was enjoying great success as a composer in that country. (Please note: The Gagliano cello was misidentified in the CD booklet.) Her bow is the “De Lamare,” circa 1815, by François Xavier Tourte, on extended loan through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.
Warner, an international concert and recording artist and protégé of cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, performed with Camerata Chicago in June on its first European tour, soloing in the Haydn Cello Concerto in D at concerts in the Czech Republic, France, and Italy.
Hall, a nephew of the late, revered Australian conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, founded Camerata Chicago in 2003. Its concertmaster is Mathias Tacke of the former Vermeer Quartet, with whose members Hall has had a close association.
Compatible Concertos
The harmonious pairing of Haydn’s essential cello concertos with the mellifluous Myslivecek concerto was the brainchild of James Ginsburg, Cedille Records founder and president, who searched for a worthy but lesser-known Classical-era cello concerto to set the album apart.
"I consider the Classical period the least well-explored musical era due to the outsized dominance of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert," Ginsburg says.
"Cedille is always looking to expand the world’s CD catalog by recording neglected works that deserve a wider hearing,” he says. "I’ve enjoyed other music by Myslivecek, so I was glad to discover this concerto, which is clearly one of his strongest works."
The Myslivecek was a discovery for Warner and Camerata Chicago as well; they learned the concerto expressly for the Cedille recording.
Identical Instrumentation
Composed in the mid-to-late 1700s, the Haydn and Myslivecek cello concertos are three-movement works scored for two oboes, two horns, and strings.
Myslivecek’s many admirers included Mozart and his father. As WFMT-FM music director Andrea Lamoreaux details in the CD liner notes, the men had a close association during the 1770s, before a falling out. In fact, Mozart re-arranged an aria from a Myslivecek opera as the concert aria "Ridente la Calma" (K. 152), "which remains a favorite of singers and audiences today," she writes.
Myslivecek’s (1737–1781) Cello Concerto in C is an arrangement from one of his violin concertos. "The solo part is virtuosic, with a notably high range," Lamoreaux observes. In the finale, this writing gives the work a "special brilliance as it moves toward its close."
The C Major Concerto by Haydn (1732–1809) was rediscovered only in the 1960s. Cellist János Starker, who gave the U.S. premiere, declared it "among the purest music Haydn ever wrote." It’s a "virtuoso romp" and "tremendous challenge and triumph for the soloist," Lamoreaux writes.
Haydn’s D Major Cello Concerto, which also features a virtuosic solo part, emphasizes "expressiveness more than sheer brilliance," Lamoreaux notes. Warner’s playing brings out "the expressiveness and melodic beauty of Haydn’s writing."
Recording Credits
"Haydn & Myslivecek" was produced by James Ginsburg and engineered by Bill Maylone in sessions November 26–29, 2012, in College Church, Wheaton, Ill. Ginsburg says, "The finely textured, resonant acoustic of College Church admirably supports the string sound of the Classical-sized ensemble heard on the new CD."
Cellist Wendy Warner
Warner first performed with Camerata Chicago in November 2010, soloing in the Haydn D Major Concerto. The collaboration was so successful that the artists began contemplating a recording project.
Warner has performed the D Major Concerto on tour with the Moscow Virtuosi and with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by André Previn, with whom she also performed Haydn concertos in Boston and London.
This is Warner’s fifth recording for Cedille Records. Her discography also includes "Russian Music for Cello and Piano" with her WarnerNuzova duo collaborator Irina Nuzova; "Wendy Warner Plays Popper & Piatigorsky," with pianist Eileen Buck; a release with the Beethoven Project Trio devoted to unknown Beethoven piano trios, including two world premieres on record; and "Double Play," a CD of 20th century violin and cello duos with Rachel Barton Pine.
Warner has also recorded for the Bridge and Naxos labels.
For more information about the cellist and her engagements as a chamber musician and soloist with major orchestras and conductors in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, as well as her current teaching positions, visit www.wendywarnercello.com.
Camerata Chicago
Writing in May about Camera Chicago’s tenth anniversary season, Chicago Tribune music critic John von Rhein lauded the ensemble as "one of several worthy professional ensembles in and around the city that are giving jaded audience ears a respite from the same old, same old."
In terms of repertoire and level of musicianship, ensemble founder and conductor Hall likens Camerata Chicago to England’s Academy of St. Martin’s in the Field, which, Hall notes, was founded by a violinist — Neville Marriner — as was the Camerata.
Camerata Chicago is an intimate, compact ensemble which, for the Haydn & Myslivecek album, consisted of 25 musicians, including 11 violinists.
Hall is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, where he studied violin with Yossi Zivoni, and Northern Illinois University, where he studied with Tacke and Shmuel Ashkenazi of the Vermeer Quartet and with Pierre Menard.
Hall and Camerata Chicago have also recorded for the Centaur and DMD Classics labels. For more information, visit www.cameratachicago.org.
Cedille Records
Grammy award-winning Cedille Records (pronounced say-DEE) has been dedicated to showcasing the most noteworthy classical artists in and from the Chicago area since its launch in fall 1989.
The audiophile-oriented label is releasing the album "Haydn & Myslivecek" as a physical CD; a 96 kHz, 24-bit, studio-quality FLAC download; and a 320 Kbps MP3 download.
Cedille Records is distributed in the Western Hemisphere by Naxos of America and its distribution partners, by Select Music in the U.K., and by other independent distributors in major international classical music markets.
An independent nonprofit enterprise, Cedille Records is the label of Cedille Chicago, NFP (formerly The Chicago Classical Recording Foundation). For a free catalog and the locations of local retail outlets, contact Cedille Records, 1205 W. Balmoral Ave., Chicago, IL 60640; call (773) 989-2515; e-mail: info@cedillerecords.org. Website: cedillerecords.org.
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