Label: Sony Classical
Release date: 3/1/2016
Tchaikovsky: Sérénade mélancolique op. 26
Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme op. 33
Tchaikovksy: Souvenir de Florence op. 70
Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Andrès Orozco-Estrada
Moritzburg Festival Ensemble
Valeriy Sokolov, Annabelle Meare – Violin, Lawrence Power, Yura Lee – Viola, Jan Vogler, Christian Poltera – Cello
Released on 4 March 2016 by Sony, Jan Vogler’s new CD featuring works by Tchaikovsky has immediately received excellent reviews.
“Vogler’s witty and affectionate Rococo Variations — combining Tchaikovsky’s original with the version by Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, the dedicatee — are up there with the best. He usefully extends the cello’s Tchaikovsky repertory with transcriptions of the Serenade melancholique and Meditation, but the real reason for getting the disc is the Moritzburgers’ edge-of-seat Souvenir de Florence, Op 70: Tchaikovsky’s most famous chamber work, with a first-rate sextet.” (Sunday Times of London)
‘Jan Vogler is one of the great cellists of his generation. He smartly balances his connection to traditions with the joy of experiment….His newest album is perhaps one of his best…..Even in well known virtuoso pieces, like the ‘Rococo-Variations’ he finds an intimate sensuality, but also dares to show the edge of the music…All 73 minutes of this masterful album, that has an aura of confessional warmth, are dedicated to Tchaikovsky…’ (WAZ)
The Guardian comments:” Here, Vogler and Andres Orozco-Estrada successfully wrest Tchaikovsky away from the familiar Romantic interpretations and impose a cooler, more precise order.” and the Sächsische Zeitung says “He let his instrument breathe and sing with pleasant warmth, following every charming ornamentation with elegance, avoiding kitsch and without lingering….”
Together with Frankfurt Radio Symphony conducted by their Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada and the Moritzburg Festival Ensemble the CD was recorded in Frankfurt in autumn 2015.
Jan offers his own version of the Rococo Variations, one that combines the original with that of cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen. The lively sextet Souvenir de Florence features musicians from the Moritzburg Festival including Valeriy Sokolov, Annabelle Meare, Lawrence Power, Yura Lee und Christian Poltéra. Complementing these two pieces are Sérénade mélancholique and ‘Méditation‘ from Souvenir d’un lieu cher, recorded for the first time by cello and orchestra.