Young & Foolish: Mozart & C.P.E. Bach Alexander Melnikov, Céline Frisch, Café Zimmermann, Pablo Valetti

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): Symphony in D Major, H. 663:
• 1 Mozart: Symphony in D Major, H. 663: I. Allegro di molto 06:01
• 2 Mozart: Symphony in D Major, H. 663: II. Largo 01:37
• 3 Mozart: Symphony in D Major, H. 663: III. Presto 03:26
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714 - 1788): Concerto for Harpsichord and Fortepiano in E-Flat Major, H. 479:
• 4 Bach: Concerto for Harpsichord and Fortepiano in E-Flat Major, H. 479: I. Allegro di molto 07:08
• 5 Bach: Concerto for Harpsichord and Fortepiano in E-Flat Major, H. 479: II. Larghetto 06:58
• 6 Bach: Concerto for Harpsichord and Fortepiano in E-Flat Major, H. 479: III. Presto 04:16
• Divertimento in F Major, K. 138:
• 7 Bach: Divertimento in F Major, K. 138: I. Allegro 05:27
• 8 Bach: Divertimento in F Major, K. 138: II. Andante 05:46
• 9 Bach: Divertimento in F Major, K. 138: III. Presto 02:08
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453:
• 10 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453: I. Allegro 11:31
• 11 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453: II. Andante 09:20
• 12 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453: III. Allegretto 07:33
• Total Runtime 01:11:11

Info for Young & Foolish: Mozart & C.P.E. Bach

Young and foolish is the title Café Zimmermann has chosen for this programme, which features music from the 1770s and 1780s by Mozart and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, starting with Mozart’s famous and sparkling Divertimento KV 138. For this fascinating W.A.-C.P.E. face-off, Café Zimmermann has invited an exceptional musician: the fortepianist Alexander Melnikov. They perform the Concerto no.17 in G major KV 453, of which Mozart said in a letter to his father that (like his concertos KV 450 and KV 451) ‘they make you sweat’! Melnikov is joined by harpsichordist Céline Frisch, co-founder of the ensemble, in Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Concerto for fortepiano, harpsichord and orchestra, the only one of its kind ever composed, a work full of energy and mischief.

Alexander Melnikov, pianoforte
Céline Frisch, harpsichord, pianoforte
Café Zimmermann
Pablo Valetti, conductor

Alexander Melnikov
graduated from the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Naumov. His most formative musical moments in Moscow include his early encounter with Svjatoslav Richter, who thereafter regularly invited him to festivals in Russia and France. He was awarded important prizes at such eminent competitions as the International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau (1989) and the Concours Musical Reine Elisabeth in Brussels (1991).

Known for his often-unusual musical and programmatic decisions, Alexander Melnikov discovered a career-long interest in historical performance practice at an early age. His major influences in this field include Andreas Staier and Alexei Lubimov, with whom he collaborated on numerous projects. Melnikov performs regularly with such distinguished period ensembles as Concerto Köln and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.

Together with Andreas Staier, Alexander Melnikov developed a programme that sets excerpts from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier (Andreas Staier – harpsichord) in musical dialogue with Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues (Alexander Melnikov – piano). Intensive chamber music collaborations with partners including cellists Alexander Rudin and Jean-Guihen Queyras, as well as the baritone Georg Nigl, also form an essential part of his work.

Melnikov’s association wth the label harmonia mundi arose through his regular recital partner, violinist Isabelle Faust, and in 2010 their complete recording of the Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano won both a Gramophone Award and Germany’s ECHO Klassik Prize. This CD, which has become a touchstone recording for these works, was also nominated for a Grammy. Their latest CD, featuring chamber works of Weber, was released in January 2013.

Alexander Melnikov’s recording of the complete Preludes and Fugues by Shostakovich was awarded the BBC Music Magazine Award, Choc de classica and the Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. In 2011, it was also named by the BBC Music Magazine as one of the “50 Greatest Recordings of All Time.” Additionally, Melnikov’s discography features works by Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Scriabin; his recording of the Shostakovich piano concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Teodor Currentzis was also met with critical acclaim.

As a soloist, Alexander Melnikov has performed with orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Philadelphia Orchestra, NDR Sinfonieorchester, HR-Sinfonieorchester, Russian National Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic and the NHK Symphony, under conductors such as Mikhail Pletnev, Teodor Currentzis, Charles Dutoit, Paavo Järvi and Valery Gergiev.

Alexander Melnikov is the 2013/14 Artist-in-Residence at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam. This season begins with Melnikov’s debut at the BBC Proms with the Warsaw Philharmonic under Antoni Wit, followed by performances in the season-opening concerts of the Czech Philharmonic under Jiří Bělohlávek. Further musical partners of the season include the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Freiburger Barockorchester, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony and New Zealand Symphony. Melnikov’s solo engagements will take him to such venues as the Maison symphonique de Montreal, Wigmore Hall in London, De Singel in Antwerp and the Mozarteum Salzburg, as well as to concert halls in Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo.

Booklet for Young & Foolish: Mozart & C.P.E. Bach