Catalogue | Solo Concerto

Mozart and Strauss were Ashkenazy’s private passions - he felt a deep affection for them. In Mozart he devoted particular attention to the concertante pieces, in Strauss what fascinated him were the extreme polarities: simplicity versus great complexity, folksiness versus anarchic avant-garde sound effects, the contrast between programme music and abstract music. This presented Ashkenazy with a fascinating interpretative challenge both intellectual and musical.

The programme of the Symphonia domestica depicts a day (including night and love) in the life of the Strauss family, painted on a broad symphonic canvas. However, Ashkenazy explored the work as music per se; for him the programme was of secondary importance, merely throwing a little light on the composer’s personality. That music has meaning in its abstract configurations was obvious to him from very early on.

The performance of Mozart’s A major Violin Concerto K 219 reveals the full extent of the unsual strong musical chemistry between Pinchas Zukerman and Vladimir Ashkenazy: Soloist and conductor perform on the basis of a totally shared concept of the work. This is no surprise: Zukerman and Ashkenazy knew each other well, frequently playing chamber music together during the 1990s.

Vladimir Ashkenazy was the chief conductor of what is now the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin from 1989 to 1999. This CD brings together live concert recordings made during the middle of his tenure and in his last season with the orchestra.

• Diverdi Magazin | Pablo Batallán | January 2, 2010

  Un camino propio
  Ashkenazy dirige un espléndido monográfico Martinu con el pianista Robert Kolinsky y la Sinfonieorchesrer Basel
  La obra de Bohuslav Martinu es una caja de sorpresas para el aficionado. Los discos se suelen portar bien con el músico bohemio muerto en Suiza y de...

• Fanfare | Arthur Lintgen | January 11, 2008

  This CD documents broadcast performances in 1996 (Mozart Violin Concerto) and 1998 (Symphonia domestica). The program notes make a big deal of the...

• NDR Kultur | Thorsten Weber | April 13, 2008

  Klassische Mozart-Interpretation
  Die Wege des Musikmarktes sind manchmal ziemlich verschlungen – und so erscheint nun bei audite der Mitschnitt eines Live-Konzerts aus der Berliner...

• Scherzo | Juan García-Rico | January 9, 2008

  Protagonizado por dos viejos amigos y sensacionales músicos, el presente disco recrea el eje del programa de un hipotético concierto en vivo —...

• SWR | Lydia Jeschke | June 17, 2008

  Heute mit Lydia Jeschke am Mikrofon und mit neuen Produktionen klassischer und romantischer Musik, genauer von Mozarts Violinkonzert in A-Dur, einer...

• www.classicstodayfrance.com | Christophe Huss | January 11, 2008

  Ashkenazy fut, avant Nagano et Metzmacher, le chef du DSO Berlin. Ces enregistrements, magnifiquement réalisés par DeutschlandRadio à la...

• www.musicweb-international.com | Mark Sebastian Jordan | May 9, 2008

  This disc provides a pleasant snapshot of the work of Vladimir Ashkenazy live in concert with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, Berlin, the ensemble...