Discography

Martin Christoph Redel: Chiaroscuro

Martin Christoph Redel: Captured Moments Op. 82 for piano solo

genuin GEN 22760 (2022)

weitere Informationen:

 

Tzvi Avni: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra

The new CD was nominated for the International Classical Music Awards 2020 and for the Opus Klassik 2021 as instrumentalist of the year.

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (2010)

In Spite Of All That - Sonata brevis for piano (2014)
Autumn Interludes for piano (2006)
On the Verge of Time for piano (1993)
From There and Then - Prelude and Passacaglia for piano (1998)
Andante meditativo (2016)

Heidrun Holtmann, piano
Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken-Kaiserslautern
Jamie Phillips, conductor

recorded by Saarlandische Rundfunk (englisch)
Hänssler Classic/Profil Medien GmbH 2020   HC 20040

more:

"Born in Saarbrücken in 1927 and living in Israel, Tzvi Avni composed his Concerto for Piano and Chamber Orchestra in 2010 as a commission from the Duisburg Philharmonic. It is dedicated to Heidrun Holtmann, who also plays it in this recording. With echoes of Prokofiev and Bartok, the three-movement work is a pleasing mix of reflective and lively playful passages in consistently bright colours.
Avni’s piano pieces are often related to reality in Israel (In Spite of all that) or sound like a musical diary (Dedication, in homage to Avni’s teacher and mentor Mordechai Sater, or Autumn Interludes). This means that these works are very rhetorical and often describe situations. They are played by Heidrun Holtman in an expressive and technically excellent way. The Piano Concerto is wonderfully light and lively, with excellent, very vital piano playing and a very transparent and colourful orchestral part."

reference: https://www.pizzicato.lu/klaviermusik-von-tzvi-avni/

more reviews:

 

J. S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier I & II

HEIDRUN HOLTMANN Klavier · Piano

J. S. Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier I & II / 4CDs
musicaphon M. 56922 (2018)

from the booklettext by Habakuk Traber, translated by Kathleen Klingelhöfer:

Between the composition of the two books of Johann Sebastian Bach‘s ›Well-Tempered Clavier‹ lie nearly two decades. He compiled the first during his years as Kapellmeister in Köthen in Saxony-Anhalt (1717 to 1723). Some of the pieces, or early forms of them, may already have been composed at the end of his time in Weimar. As Christoph Wolff notes, it was »probably his most revolutionary work for a keyboard instrument up to then«, in several respects. It was the first time a composer had written works in all the twelve major and twelve minor keys of the chromatic scale and put them together in a collection. In addition, the 24 preludes and fugues offered a compendium of the playing techniques, genres and forms of the piano music of the time. Not only that, they provided an overview of the art of composition and understanding of music. Bach also offers an introduction to the fundamentals of music playing, musical thinking and creativity

more information:

Fono Forum, December 2018

Well-Tempered Clavier I und II

Heidrun Holtmann (2016)

Hans von Bülow termed Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavieras the Old Testament of piano playing and these two volumes each containing 24 pairs of preludes and fugues are today still considered one of the great challenges of piano literature. The musical text offers great freedom as it is almost bereft of any dynamic and articulation markings. What is more, since Robert Levin showed in his hänssler recording that it can make sense to play the individual pairs of works on a variety of keyboard instruments (ranging from the harpsichord and fortepiano to the organ), we must ask ourselves even more intensely how the two parts can be performed on the modern grand piano.

Heidrun Holtmann interprets Bach's magnum opus with meticulous care, producing transparency in the contrapuntal voice structure and sensitivity in dynamic shaping, with coherent articulation and no hint of overstatement. In comparison with the eccentricities of Glenn Gould, she tends more in the direction of legato while however intentionally employing portato and staccato in her phrasing structure. Compared with Swjatoslaw Richter's tendency to cotton-wool romanticism interspersed by raging virtuoso interpretations, Holtmann provides a no less virtuoso version which is however less fraught. Her playing sounds far more natural than the style of Evgeni Koroliov, although possesses slightly flatter contours.

This new complete recording displays no symptoms of fatigue, even in Book II. Unfortunately, the booklet does not reveal how many days the award-winning pianist required to record the two volumes. On all accounts, Heidrun Holtmann has achieved a remarkable accomplishment.

Gregor Willmes

more information at Discography | http://www.crossovermedia.net/

Planet Hugill website of April 2019

Bach CD round-up: Violin, piano, harpsichord & organ, recent Bach instrumental discs

[...] With Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, we have a wide range of possibilities for performance and historically informed ones might include both clavichord and harpsichord, and there is an argument for some of the pieces being suitable for organ. Not to mention the modern piano, and if you do choose the piano what sort of technique? Do you go hard-core, forego pedal and try to evoke a harpsichord, or do you go the full Busoni?

Heidrunn Holtmann - Bach Preludes and Fugues - Musicaphon Bach's complete preludes and fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier have been recorded on the Musicaphon label by the German pianist Heidrun Holtmann whose discography ranges from Mozart and Beethoven, through Schumann and Chopin to contemporary music. She brings great pianistic intelligence to the pieces, playing with clarity and affection. Her tempos are generally lively and fluent, with a nice dexterity in the fingerwork which brings out the individuality of the notes without quite veering towards the stylised effect that some pianists go for. The faster movements have a nice crisp separation of the notes. The slower ones show an intelligent use of pianistic legato, and some of the darker keys bring out a nice intensity in her playing. Similarly, the pedal is used discreetly. What I very much liked was the sense of very different character that she finds in each piece, rather than being dogmatic she uses an array of different pianistic techniques depending on context.
There is an excellent article by Habakuk Traber which gives extensive background to the music, not only talking about the individual movements, but giving a sense of the sort of keyboards that Bach might have expected to play the music on. Nothing is said about the piano, but the article provides a nice backdrop to the argument for adding the modern piano into the mix.

The overall result is poised, rather stylish and engaging, perhaps not as intense as some but certainly giving the music full due and well worth a listen.

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Das Wohltemperierte Klavier I · The Well-Tempered Clavier I
BWV 846-869

CD 1

  • 1 Präludium C-Dur 1:36
  • 2 Fuge C-Dur 1:55
  • 3 Präludium c-Moll 1:15
  • 4 Fuge c-Moll 1:30
  • 5 Präludium Cis-Dur 1:20
  • 6 Fuge Cis-Dur 2:17
  • 7 Präludium cis-Moll 2:52
  • 8 Fuge cis-Moll 3:42
  • 9 Präludium D-Dur 1:11
  • 10 Fuge D-Dur 1:47
  • 11 Präludium d-Moll 1:17
  • 12 Fuge d-Moll 1:55
  • 13 Präludium Es-Dur 3:20
  • 14 Fuge Es-Dur 1:38
  • 15 Präludium dis-Moll 4:13
  • 16 Fuge dis-Moll 5:22
  • 17 Präludium E-Dur 1:13
  • 18 Fuge E-Dur 1:12
  • 19 Präludium e-Moll 2:03
  • 20 Fuge e-Moll 1:14
  • 21 Präludium F-Dur 0:55
  • 22 Fuge F-Dur 1:27
  • 23 Präludium f-Moll 1:34
  • 24 Fuge f-Moll 3:30

CD 2

  • 1 Präludium Fis-Dur 1:14
  • 2 Fuge Fis-Dur 1:50
  • 3 Präludium fis-Moll 1:07
  • 4 Fuge fis-Moll 2:25
  • 5 Präludium G-Dur 0:54
  • 6 Fuge G-Dur 2:44
  • 7 Präludium g-Moll 1:36
  • 8 Fuge g-Moll 1:42
  • 9 Präludium As-Dur 1:18
  • 10 Fuge As-Dur 2:01
  • 11 Präludium gis-Moll 1:15
  • 12 Fuge gis-Moll 2:34
  • 13 Präludium A-Dur 1:07
  • 14 Fuge A-Dur 2:46
  • 15 Präludium a-Moll 1:14
  • 16 Fuge a-Moll 4:07
  • 17 Präludium B-Dur 1:16
  • 18 Fuge B-Dur 1:49
  • 19 Präludium b-Moll 2:35
  • 20 Fuge b-Moll 3:09
  • 21 Präludium H-Dur 0:55
  • 22 Fuge H-Dur 2:00
  • 23 Präludium h-Moll 5:16
  • 24 Fuge h-Moll 5:05

 

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Das Wohltemperierte Klavier II · The Well-Tempered Clavier II
BWV 870-893

CD 3

  • 1 Präludium C-Dur 2:11
  • 2 Fuge C-Dur 1:32
  • 3 Präludium c-Moll 2:26
  • 4 Fuge c-Moll 1:40
  • 5 Präludium Cis-Dur 1:41
  • 6 Fuge Cis-Dur 1:47
  • 7 Präludium cis-Moll 4:24
  • 8 Fuge cis-Moll 2:10
  • 9 Präludium D-Dur 4:44
  • 10 Fuge D-Dur 1:58
  • 11 Präludium d-Moll 1:29
  • 12 Fuge d-Moll 1:49
  • 13 Präludium Es-Dur 2:18
  • 14 Fuge Es-Dur 2:16
  • 15 Präludium dis-Moll 3:36
  • 16 Fuge dis-Moll 3:27
  • 17 Präludium E-Dur 4:13
  • 18 Fuge E-Dur 2:46
  • 19 Präludium e-Moll 3:33
  • 20 Fuge e-Moll 2:37
  • 21 Präludium F-Dur 2:47
  • 22 Fuge F-Dur 1:48
  • 23 Präludium f-Moll 4:08
  • 24 Fuge f-Moll 2:07

CD 4

  • 1 Präludium Fis-Dur 2:39
  • 2 Fuge Fis-Dur 2:15
  • 3 Präludium fis-Moll 3:05
  • 4 Fuge fis-Moll 3:52
  • 5 Präludium G-Dur 2:16
  • 6 Fuge G-Dur 1:03
  • 7 Präludium g-Moll 2:59
  • 8 Fuge g-Moll 2:57
  • 9 Präludium As-Dur 3:56
  • 10 Fuge As-Dur 2:46
  • 11 Präludium gis-Moll 3:59
  • 12 Fuge gis-Moll 3:45
  • 13 Präludium A-Dur 1:34
  • 14 Fuge A-Dur 1:14
  • 15 Präludium a-Moll 4:42
  • 16 Fuge a-Moll 1:46
  • 17 Präludium B-Dur 4:20
  • 18 Fuge B-Dur 2:11
  • 19 Präludium b-Moll 2:07
  • 20 Fuge b-Moll 4:20
  • 21 Präludium H-Dur 1:40
  • 22 Fuge H-Dur 2:50
  • 23 Präludium h-Moll 2:21
  • 24 Fuge h-Moll 1:47

Further CDs

Piano Music from Israel

Heidrun Holtmann, piano


Josef Tal (1910–2008)
1–8 Cum mortuis in lingua mortua (1945) 22:04
Variations on a theme by Moussorgsky
In Memoriam Julius Gruenthal

  • 1 Cum mortuis in lingua mortua 01:53
  • 2 Variation I Tranquillo 02:47
  • 3 Variation II Largo 01:08
  • 4 Variation III Andante, lamento 02:51
  • 5 Variation IV Allegro risoluto 01:45
  • 6 Variation V Più mosso 00:50
  • 7 Variation VI Lento, quasi recitativo 04:33
  • 8 Variation VII Fuga con variazioni 06:12

  • 9 Essay II (1988) 08:11


Tzvi Avni (*1927)
10 Epitaph Piano Sonata No. 2 (1979) 17:28
11–15 From My Diary Five Piano Pieces (2001) 13:11

  • 11 1. The Lost Pastorale 02:25
  • 12 2. Heroic Fiddling 02:47
  • 13 3. Night Song of a Flying Octopus 04:31
  • 14 4. Sin Lieth at the Door 01:12
  • 15 5. Amen 02:13


Gil Shohat (*1973)
16–18 Three Improvisations on Paintings (1989) 10:27

  • 16 I The Cry (Edvard Munch) 01:39
  • 17 II Tragedy (Gustav Klimt) 04:14
  • 18 III The Café Terrace at Night (Vincent van Gogh) 04:33

  • 19 The Kiss of Salome (1993) 05:48


available here: neos-music.com
No.: NEOS 11025, EAN: 4260063110252
Release Date: 19th October 2012

Night pieces

CD1:

  • Robert Schumann: Des Abends, In der Nacht, Traumeswirren from “Fantasiestücke” Op.12
  • Robert Schumann: Nachtstücke Op. 23
  • Robert Schumann /Franz Liszt: Frühlingsnacht (piano arrangement of Schumann’s lied from Liederkreis Op.39)
  • Franz Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No.1
  • Franz Liszt: La Notte
  • Frédéric Chopin: 2 Nocturnes Op. 27
  • Alexander Scriabin: Poème-Nocturne Op.61


CD2:

  • Claude Debussy: Clair de lune from “Suite bergamasque” La Soirée dans Grenade from “Estampes”
  • Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit
  • Karol Szymanowski: Scheherazade from “Masques” Op.34
  • Charles Tomlinson Griffes: Three Tone-Pictures Op.5
  • Samuel Barber: Nocturne
  • Béla Bartók: Klänge der Nacht from “Im Freien”
  • Paul Hindemith: Nachtstück from “Suite 1922”
  • Heinz Holliger: Elis
  • Frank Martin: Clair de lune


Co-production with SWR
musicaphon M 56904, distribution: KLASSIK CENTER KASSEL (2008)

Robert Schumann
  • Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 54
  • Introduzione ed Allegro appassionato G major Op. 92,
  • Introduction and Concert Allegro Op.134

  • Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, cond. by Stefan Soltesz
  • CAPRICCIO first release USA (1993), Germany/Europe (1994), CAPRICCIO 48493 (2008)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Piano Concerto No. 1 in F major, KV 37
  • Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, KV 41

  • Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana
  • Conductor: Marc Andreae
  • EUROARTS – DVD Video 2010228 (1991, 2006)
Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Piano Concerto No. 3 C minor Op.37 (from 19th century)
  • Piano Concerto No. 4 G major Op.58 (rediscovered and dated to 1807 - 1808 by Hans-Werner Küthen) in chamber music versions for piano and string quintet

  • Concertino München - Florian Sonnleitner, 1st violin, Jürgen Besig, 2nd violin, Jürgen Weber, 1st viola, Klauspeter
  • Werani, 2nd viola, Helmut Veihelmann, violoncello (Op.37), Hanno Simons, Violoncello (Op.58)
  • musicaphon, Distribution: KLASSIK CENTER KASSEL - CD 56849 (2005)
Franz Schubert
  • Sonata B major D 960
  • Impromptus Op. posth. 142 D 935

  • AMBITUS - CD amb 97849 (1998)
Frédéric Chopin
  • 24 Préludes Op. 28
  • Alexander Scriabin: 5 Préludes Op. 74
  • Claude Debussy: 6 Préludes

  • AMBITUS - CD amb 97909 (1995)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Variations KV 265, KV 398, KV 500, KV 573
  • Sonata in A minor KV 310
  • Adagio KV 540

  • AMBITUS - CD amb 97846 (1991)
Robert Schumann
  • Carnaval Op. 9, Kreisleriana Op. 16
  • AMBITUS - CD amb 97819 (1988)
Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Goldberg Variations BWV 988
  • AMBITUS 83 801 digital (2 LPs) (1986)