Beyond Horizons Liv Migdal & Mario Häring
Album info
Album-Release:
2025
HRA-Release:
05.09.2025
Label: haenssler CLASSIC
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
Artist: Liv Migdal & Mario Häring
Composer: Ethel Smyth (1858-1944), Amanda Maier-Röntgen (1853-1894), Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Album including Album cover Booklet (PDF)
- Ethel Smyth (1858 - 1944): Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Minor op. 7:
- 1 Smyth: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Minor op. 7: I Allegro moderato 09:33
- 2 Smyth: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Minor op. 7: II. Scherzo. Allegro grazioso 02:49
- 3 Smyth: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Minor op. 7: III Romanze. Andante grazioso 07:44
- 4 Smyth: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Minor op. 7: IV. Finale. Allegro vivace 05:52
- Amanda Maier (1853 - 1894): Six Pieces for Violin and Piano:
- 5 Maier: Six Pieces for Violin and Piano: I Allegro vivace 03:41
- 6 Maier: Six Pieces for Violin and Piano: II Allegretto con moto 02:04
- 7 Maier: Six Pieces for Violin and Piano: III Lento 02:29
- 8 Maier: Six Pieces for Violin and Piano: IV Allegro molto 04:09
- 9 Maier: Six Pieces for Violin and Piano: V Tranquillamente 04:03
- 10 Maier: Six Pieces for Violin and Piano: VI Allegro ma non troppo 07:20
- Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907): Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in G Major op.13:
- 11 Grieg: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in G Major op.13: I Lento doloroso - Allegro vivace 09:32
- 12 Grieg: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in G Major op.13: II Allegretto tranquillo 06:28
- 13 Grieg: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in G Major op.13: III Allegro animato 05:34
Info for Beyond Horizons
Late Romantic chamber music: How fascinating it is to open new horizons! How enriching to discover new perspectives, to push inner boundaries, and to enter uncharted territory! But for many people, this is not a natural path. Often, such opportunities must be painstakingly fought for. As was the case with the British composer and conductor Ethel Smyth (1858–1944).
Her life story reads like a long series of awakenings and revolts: against familial ideas, societal norms, and deeply entrenched gender roles. Against her father's wishes, Smyth chose a musical career and began studying at the Leipzig Conservatory. There, she had to fight hard for recognition among international talent. But she was also prepared to fight – for her own visibility and the recognition of her compositions. And later, in the field of politics, she became a committed member of the British suffragette movement, for which she even accepted a two-month prison sentence. However, Ethel Smyth was unable to win the battle against her own physical ailments. A hearing injury suffered in childhood gradually led to complete deafness and the sad consequence of having to give up her work as a composer and conductor in her advanced years.
Ironically, Smyth's music also remained inaudible or unheard after her death. It wasn't until the beginning of the 21st century that her breakthrough began, when her works were increasingly included in the concert repertoire. Meanwhile, the time has also come for recorded music. Thus, the CD by Liv Migdal (violin) and Mario Häring (piano), released in September of this year under the title "Beyond Horizons" on the German label Hänssler, begins with the Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major, Op. 7, dating from their time as a student in Leipzig. This work is followed by six pieces for violin and piano by the Swedish composer and violinist Amanda Maier (1853-1894) and the second violin sonata by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907). Both Maier and Grieg, like Smyth, had studied at the Leipzig Conservatory (at different times) and were friends. Taken together, these works open up a new horizon for understanding a generation of musicians at the end of the 19th century who sought artistic expression and individuality beyond national borders.
Liv Migdal, violin
Mario Häring, piano
Liv Migdal
discovered her love of the violin at the age of three. Today, she is considered one of the outstanding violinists of the younger generation. Her charismatic presence, her deep musical understanding, and her natural, expressive, and singable playing are equally appreciated by her listeners and her musical partners.
Liv Migdal began her studies as an eleven-year-old junior student at the Rostock University of Music and Theatre under Christiane Hutcap, where she received her diploma with distinction. She continued her artistic training at the Salzburg Mozarteum in the master class of Igor Ozim, completing her master's degree with distinction. In 2015, she was honored with the Paul Roczek Award for outstanding violin playing in Salzburg.
The musician, who has received numerous awards at international competitions and is a scholarship holder of many renowned foundations, now performs in leading concert halls worldwide, including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Taipei Concert Hall, Beethovenhalle Bonn, Herkulessaal in Munich, Philharmonie Essen, Liederhalle Stuttgart, and Konzerthaus Berlin.
Liv Migdal has performed in many European countries, Israel, and Asia. She regularly performs at major international festivals, including the Schumann Festival Bonn, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Sandor Vegh Festival, Ludwigsburg Palace Festival, and Heidelberg Spring Festival, and as a soloist with renowned orchestras and conductors, including Reinhard Goebel, Wojciech Rajski, and Cornelius Meister.
Her acclaimed debut concert at the Salzburg Mozart Festival was followed by the release of her first CD featuring sonatas by Beethoven, Debussy, and Strauss, with Marian Migdal as her piano partner. The recording received excellent reviews from international critics and was awarded the Supersonic Award.
In November 2015, another CD, also recorded with the legendary pianist Marian Migdal, was released on the Naxos label: a premiere recording of the works for violin and piano by the brothers Henryk and Józef Wieniawski. This recording, too, has already been highly praised internationally as a masterful work and a special insider tip. Radio and television recordings, festival appearances, and tours in Germany, Norway, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Israel, and the USA await Liv Migdal in 2016/17. The violinist will make her Berlin Philharmonic debut in the fall of 2016
with a program of The Seasons by Vivaldi and Piazzolla.
Mario Häring
was born in Hanover in November 1989 and grew up in Berlin. Coming from a German-Japanese family of musicians, he gained his first experiences on the violin and piano at the age of 3 and received his first piano lessons shortly afterwards. Even before graduating from high school, he studied as a junior student with Prof. Fabio Bidini at the Julius Stern Institute of the UdK Berlin and at the HMTM Hanover under Prof. Karl-Heinz Kämmerling. Mario Häring completed his studies with Prof. Kämmerling and Prof. Lars Vogt, graduating with top marks in 2017.
He caused a particular stir in 2018 when he won second prize at the renowned Leeds International Piano Competition. There he was also the first recipient of the Yaltah Menuhin Award, which is given for the best and most sensitive chamber music performance in the semifinals.
Mario Häring made his orchestral debut at the Berlin Philharmonie in 2003. Since then, his intensive concert activities have taken him to renowned venues such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Laeiszhalle Hamburg, the Elbphilharmonie, the Wigmore Hall London, the Théâtre de Champs-Élysées Paris, and the Suntory Hall in Tokyo. He has been a guest at major festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Schwetzingen Festival, the Kissinger Sommer, the La Roque d'Anthéron Festival, and the "Spannungen" Festival in Heimbach. In spring 2017, he was also the first "Intendant in Residence" at the ":alpenarte" festival in Schwarzenberg.
Concert engagements have taken him throughout Europe, Asia, and the USA. His chamber music partners include Soyoung Yoon, Pablo Barragán, Cristina Gómez Godoy, Kian Soltani, and Emmanuel Tjeknavorian.
He shares his enthusiasm for chamber music with violinist Noé Inui, with whom he released the ICMA-nominated CD "Identity." On his debut solo album, "Russian Moments," Mario Häring devoted himself to works by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Kapustin. For the Debussy Year 2018, he released "...les Préludes sont des Images," an atmospheric album featuring the composer's works. It received a great response from audiences and the press and was nominated for Opus Klassik, the PdSK, and the ICMA.
For the album “Røta” he was awarded the Opus Klassik 2021 together with violinist Ragnhild Hemsing and cellist Benedict Klöckner.
Booklet for Beyond Horizons