SKU: HL.49047317

ISBN 9798350121902. UPC: 196288201052.

This cello sonata by the renowned jazz pianist and professor of jazz piano unites in a certain way “the best of two worlds”: melodies, sophisticated harmonies and rousing rhythms, which are also convincing in a pure jazz context, are fused here with a formal language and movement techniques that are oriented towards classical models. The voices of both instruments are interwoven on an equal footing and take the listener on an exciting musical journey from the very first moment, which finds its virtuoso climax in the lively rondo via a classical sonata main movement and a quiet middle movement.

SKU: HL.49044195

ISBN 9790001190879. UPC: 840126933604. 9.0x12.0x0.065 inches.

The melodies from George Gershwin's (1898-1937) musicals, from 'Porgy and Bess', from orchestral pieces like 'Rhapsody in Blue' or 'An American in Paris', we all know them! But the career of the young musician started as a pianist in a music publishing house where he was to encourage customers to buy music by playing it. Soon he began to compose music himself and caught the attention of the Broadway, which paved the way to his international career. Inspired by Frederic Chopin's 24 Preludes, he began to write his own 'Preludes' for the piano in the mid-1920s: Of the five preludes composed by him, he used two for the violin composition 'Short Story' and presented the other three at a concert on 4 December 1926. These 'Preludes' combine classical moments and jazz elements into an effective whole and can be played individually or as a little jazz sonata (fast - slow - fast). Thanks to the present arrangement, the charming miniatures are now available in a version for solo instrument and piano accompaniment.

SKU: HL.48025367

UPC: 196288194286.

Simon Laks (1901-1983), who moved from Warsaw to Paris in 1926 at the age of 25, belonged to the large group of composers from Central and Eastern European countries who went down in 20th-century music history as the “École de Paris”. Slavic temperament amalgamated in their music with French esprit, the folklore of their native countries combined with the stylistic elements of neoclassicism and jazz typical of the time. As a member of the “Association of Young Polish Musicians”, Laks quickly made his way into French musical life. However, his career was ended with the beginning of World War 2 due to the collaboration of the Vichy government with Nazi Germany. Internment in 1941 was followed by deportation to Auschwitz in 1942. Laks survived the Shoah as a member and later leader of a camp band in Birkenau, which he testified to in his moving book Music in Auschwitz. After the traumatic experiences, Laks did not return to regular compositional activity until the 1960s, producing an opera, songs, and chamber music works, some of which were awarded important composition prizes. At the peak of this optimistic creative phase, he composed incidental music for Peretz Hirschbein's famous Yiddish comedy Dem Schmids Techter (The Blacksmith's Daughters), which premiered in New York in 1918, for a new production of the play at the Théâtre de'l’Entrepôt in Paris. Along with Prokofiev's Overture on Hebrew Themes and Shostakovich's cycle From Yiddish (Jewish) Folk Poetry, it is one of the most significant 20th-century explorations of art music with Jewish folklore – homage to a culture irreparably destroyed. From the original score, Holger Groschopp compiled two suites, for violoncello and piano and piano solo, that capture the essence of Lak's enchanting drama music. The premiere recording of the suites with Holger Groschopp and Adele Bitter was awarded the Opus Klassik 2023 in the category Editorial Achievement of the Year.

SKU: HL.49018923

ISBN 9790001176545. 9.0x12.0x0.078 inches.

Eduard Putz (1911-2000) studied with Heinrich Lemacher and Hermann Schroeder at the Cologne Musikhochschule and later worked as a music teacher at the grammar school in Rheinbach near Bonn as well as a composition teacher at the Rhenish Music School in Cologne. Overcoming the boundaries between serious and entertaining music was what mattered to him which is why he wrote many works which tried to combine jazz and new music. His 'Adagietto' for violoncello and piano (1990) was discovered within the composer's estate and published for the first time. Prof. Julius Berger arranged the piece for practical playing, adding appropriate fingerings. A short performance piece with interesting harmonies and arpeggios in the piano part and expressive cantilenas in the cello part.