Discography

Klassische Violinkonzerte. Werke von W.A. Mozart (Rondo C-Dur KV 373, Konzert G-Dur KV 216), M. Haydn (Konzert B-Dur), F. Schubert (Rondo A-Dur D 438)

Kammerorchester C.Ph.E. Bach mit Baiba Skride

SONY Classical 92939, 2004

Enthaltene Werke

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: Konzert für Violine und Orchester G-Dur KV 216

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: Rondo für Violine und Orchester C-Dur KV 373

Haydn, Michael: Konzert für Violine und Streichorchester B-Dur

Schubert, Franz: Rondo für Violine und Streichorchester A-Dur D 438

Pressestimmen

5 Sterne
Programa de música austríaca seráficamente tocado
La violinista letona Baiba Skride ("Huggins" Stradivarius, 1708) y la Kammerorchester C.P.E.Bach dirigida por Hartmut Haenchen grabaron en 2004 en el Studio 10, Deutschland Radio, Berlin este CD (también disponible en formato SACD híbrido) de 67 minutos de duración con el programa: MOZART Violin concerto No. 3 in G major, KV 216; Rondo No. 2 in C major, K. 373; SCHUBERT Rondo in A major, D 438; Michael HAYDN Violin concerto in B flat major.
La orquesta de cámara, de toque ligero y transparente, tiene presencia gracias a una toma de sonido cálida que enfatiza las frecuencias bajas y dialogan cuerda y viento con su solista, que es precisa, de una fluidez natural y de tono suave y dulce con un cantábile hermoso. Es tal su técnica que el oyente nunca está pendiente de ella y puede focalizar su atención en la música, que es realmente muy bella.
www.amazon.es, 20. September 2013
www.swo.de
....denn während auf der einen Scheibe Konzertstücke von Mozart, Schubert und Michael Haydn in kongenialem Zusammenspiel mit einem perfekt disponierten Klangkörper (Kammerorchester Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach unter Hartmut Haenchen) zelebriert werden,...
www.swo.de, 12. January 2007
Skride CD

www.musicweb.uk.net/classrev/2005/Dec05/Mozart_Skride-SK92939.htm

This, the second disc featuring Latvian violinist Baiba Skride to have come my way demonstrates her commitment to concertos on record. Both discs feature the same violin, the "Huggins" Stradivarius dating from 1708. Both were recorded in the same Berlin studio.

The immediacy of the Mozart concerto’s opening movement makes you aware of an orchestra that has true chamber proportions yet does not suffer from a lack of presence. For a variety of reasons, but foremost due to a certain similarity of approach, I listened to this recording alongside that of Pamela Frank and Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under David Zinman (Arte Nova 74321 72104 2). In the playoff of orchestral body and tone this new Sony recording comes out a clear front-runner. Not only are they more warmly recorded and also have a slightly richer sound overall, the bass line is just that more noticeable, giving a bit of extra punch to the rhythms.

Where Zinman is happy to deliver a fleet-footed performance that is pared down to the basics, Haenchen’s approach though similar does not take things quite so quickly. This extra space for the music to breathe and establish itself is beneficial to the work as a whole. So too is the presence of the woodwinds and brass – helping in large measure to form an integrated orchestral sound as a dialogue partner for Skride’s solo line.

So what of Skride’s playing? Well, it is marked by precision, and although not being as forwardly recorded as in her debut album, she does stand out well against the orchestra. Much of her playing has an entirely natural flow to it, with fluctuations of dynamics registering but not really seeming overly self-consciously produced. Placed against Pamela Frank’s reading one is immediately aware of how much harder Frank’s tone is – something that in the end works against the spirit of the music. Another area of difference is the cadenzas: Frank plays ones written by Zinman that seem a little over-long for my taste, Skride’s offering being more natural and more subtly phrased into the bargain.

There is here a sweetness of tone, often given at a shaded pianissimo, and a sense of singing line. There are notable contributions from the flutes, bringing an appropriate sense of reflection. The closing Rondeau: Allegro is an altogether sprightlier affair, as one would hope, giving Skride the opportunity to deliver variations in tonal colouring to make this the most remarkable of the concerto’s three movements.

In keeping with the rondo form and major key a neat link is formed to the second Mozart work which is delivered in much the same style as the concerto. However, with a greater lightness of touch and transparency in the orchestration Skride’s solo line is if anything more prominent in this rondo.

The symmetry of the disc is preserved with a further rondo and another concerto. Guido Fischer in his accompanying note calls Mozart, Schubert and Michael Haydn key exponents of "the Austrian violin axis". Schubert’s contribution is forward looking anticipating the character of his future works. In their playing the Kammerorchester C.P.E.Bach show subtle differences in style and articulation from the Mozart works. Skride too allows the work a touch less opulence in tone, though she maintains a clearly articulated singing line that is always sensitively played.

It’s comparatively rare these days that a concerto by Michael Haydn (the younger brother of Joseph) is recorded. Known as the ‘Salzburg Haydn’, Michael took over the position of Salzburg cathedral organist from Mozart in 1781. Based largely on Baroque models the concerto at times points directly towards Mozart’s third concerto, penned some fifteen years later. Outward simplicity of form and structure contains notable technical challenges, particularly for the soloist, in the triplet runs of both the opening Allegro moderato and the closing Allegro molto. Skride copes well with the challenges, and succeeds in large measure in keeping the listener’s concentration on the music rather than the difficulty of the task she meets head on. The middle Adagio lends the concerto a much needed intimacy, which is impressively put across.

This is on the whole an impressive concerto debut disc. True, Skride might not have the personal tonal stamp of violinists from yesteryear, but what she does have is a sense of style allied to a modern attitude and approach to these most Austrian of works. I can think of many today that don’t have that. With a second concerto disc (Shostakovich 1st and Janá?ek) already released in Germany, Sony would do well release internationally soon. Reportedly she takes a dim view of the crossover market. Looks as if we might have a serious artist on our hands. The first two discs certainly make it seem so.
Evan Dickerson
www.musicweb.uk.net, 28. October 2006
Poised and elegant playing from the young Latvian
As on her debut disc of Bach, Bartok and Ysaye, the young Latvian violinist Baiba Skride here avoids the obvious by juxtaposing a favourite Mozart concerto with music by Michael Haydn and Schubert. The Haydn concerto, one of three he wrote around 1760, is a slender, amiable work that ambles along pleasantly but uneventfully in its first two movements, then picks up for a catchy dance finale. With her sweet, finely focused tone and graceful sense of phrase, Skride gives a lovely performance, ideally poised in the galant Adagio, nicely balancing refinement and zest in the finale. She is just as good in the engagingly garrulous Schubert Rondo, bringing witty new inflections to the main theme each time it breezes in, and negotiating the skittering passagework with nonchalant elegance.
I enjoyed the Mozart concerto, too, especially the outer movements where Skride combines playfulness, delicacy and imaginative touches of shading. But while she sings eloquently in the elysian Adagio, I find her con amore approach slightly overromanticised. With their lighter tone, greater variety of bow-strokes (Skride tends to cultivate a seamless sostenuto) and more selective use of vibrato, both Viktoria Mullova (Philips, 11/02) and Pekka Kuusisto (Ondine, 3/04) find a vein of innocence, even a touch of puckishness, that rather eludes Skride.
A pity, too, that she opts for the traditional, inflated cadenzas by Sam Franko, with their orgy of multiple stoppings. Still, the beauty and finish of her playing are undeniable, here and elsewhere. The CPE Bach Chamber Orchestra accompany sprucely throughout,... Richard Wigmore
Gramophone (GB), 01. March 2006
5 Sterne
Sans pour autant négliger Chostakovitch ou Bartók, la belle Baiba Skride baigne dans le répertoire classique depuis sa plus tendre enfance et croyez-moi, cela s’entend. Née en 1981 de parents musiciens, cette jeune Lettonne au style déjà bien affirmé, défend ces œuvres avec un mélange de piquant et d’intimité sans pour autant nuire à la fantaisie. À l’écoute de ses moindres nuances, Harmut Haenchen tisse une parure symphonique autour d’elle. La justesse de l’enregistrement transcrit bien les volontés et le jeu des musiciens. Sous couvert d’une définition et d'une spatialisation remarquables, la musique est toute à la fois charpentée, dense et sensuelle. Aucune acidité sur le violon qui sonne vrai et qui ne change pas de taille en fonction du volume. Un très beau disque, lumineux et divertissant, idéal pour lutter contre la claustrophobie.
www.amazon.fr, 28. February 2006
The immediacy of the Mozart concerto’s opening movement makes you aware of an orchestra that has true chamber proportions yet does not suffer from a lack of presence. For a variety of reasons, but foremost due to a certain similarity of approach, I listened to this recording alongside that of Pamela Frank and Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under David Zinman. In the playoff of orchestral body and tone this new Sony recording comes out a clear front-runner. Not only are they more warmly recorded and also have a slightly richer sound overall, the bass line is just that more noticeable, giving a bit of extra punch to the rhythms.

Where Zinman is happy to deliver a fleet-footed performance that is pared down to the basics, Haenchen’s approach though similar does not take things quite so quickly. This extra space for the music to breathe and establish itself is beneficial to the work as a whole. So too is the presence of the woodwinds and brass – helping in large measure to form an integrated orchestral sound as a dialogue partner for Skride’s solo line.

So what of Skride’s playing? Well, it is marked by precision, and although not being as forwardly recorded as in her debut album, she does stand out well against the orchestra. Much of her playing has an entirely natural flow to it, with fluctuations of dynamics registering but not really seeming overly self-consciously produced. Placed against Pamela Frank’s reading one is immediately aware of how much harder Frank’s tone is – something that in the end works against the spirit of the music. Another area of difference is the cadenzas: Frank plays ones written by Zinman that seem a little over-long for my taste, Skride’s offering being more natural and more subtly phrased into the bargain.

There is here a sweetness of tone, often given at a shaded pianissimo, and a sense of singing line. There are notable contributions from the flutes, bringing an appropriate sense of reflection. The closing Rondeau: Allegro is an altogether sprightlier affair, as one would hope, giving Skride the opportunity to deliver variations in tonal colouring to make this the most remarkable of the concerto’s three movements.

In keeping with the rondo form and major key a neat link is formed to the second Mozart work which is delivered in much the same style as the concerto. However, with a greater lightness of touch and transparency in the orchestration Skride’s solo line is if anything more prominent in this rondo.

The symmetry of the disc is preserved with a further rondo and another concerto. Guido Fischer in his accompanying note calls Mozart, Schubert and Michael Haydn key exponents of "the Austrian violin axis". Schubert’s contribution is forward looking anticipating the character of his future works. In their playing the Kammerorchester C.P.E.Bach show subtle differences in style and articulation from the Mozart works. Skride too allows the work a touch less opulence in tone, though she maintains a clearly articulated singing line that is always sensitively played.

It’s comparatively rare these days that a concerto by Michael Haydn (the younger brother of Joseph) is recorded. Known as the ‘Salzburg Haydn’, Michael took over the position of Salzburg cathedral organist from Mozart in 1781. Based largely on Baroque models the concerto at times points directly towards Mozart’s third concerto, penned some fifteen years later. Outward simplicity of form and structure contains notable technical challenges, particularly for the soloist, in the triplet runs of both the opening Allegro moderato and the closing Allegro molto. Skride copes well with the challenges, and succeeds in large measure in keeping the listener’s concentration on the music rather than the difficulty of the task she meets head on. The middle Adagio lends the concerto a much needed intimacy, which is impressively put across.
Evan Dickerson

This is on the whole an impressive concerto debut disc. True, Skride might not have the personal tonal stamp of violinists from yesteryear, but what she does have is a sense of style allied to a modern attitude and approach to these most Austrian of works. I can think of many today that don’t have that. With a second concerto disc (Shostakovich 1st and Janáček) already released in Germany, Sony would do well release internationally soon. Reportedly she takes a dim view of the crossover market. Looks as if we might have a serious artist on our hands. The first two discs certainly make it seem so.

Evan Dickerson
www.musicweb-international.com, 01. December 2005
Das Feuer ist noch längst nicht erloschen

Während die Plattenindustrie sich oftmals mehr schlecht als recht bemüht, Nachwuchskünstler schnell zu Stars aufzubauen, die dann alsbald wieder in der Versenkung verschwinden (...) Eine Ausnahme sei aber gleich zu Beginn erwähnt: Die junge lettische Geigerin Baiba Skride, die mit 20 Jahren den Königin-Elisabeth-Wettbewerb in Brüssel gewann, präsentiert sich mit Werken von Mozart und Michael Haydn, begleitet von Hartmut Haenchen und dem Kammerorchester C.Ph.E.Bach (Sony 92939) sowie einem Solorecital - Bach, Bartok, Ysaye - (Sony 92938) als Interpretin von beachtlicher Reife und einer unfehlbaren Technik.

Thomas Weiss
Pforzheimer Zeitung, 16. December 2004
Auftritt für die Geigen-Girlies

Es ist eine Zeit für Geigerinnen. Neue Aufnahmen dokumentieren die aufsteigenden weiblichen Kometen - richtige Stars, keine Sternchen, auf einem technischen und geistig-musikalischen Niveau, das durch die Bank Staunen macht. (...)

Keine Girlie-Aura (schon eher die der Wissend-Frühgereiften mit Vamp-Anflügen) verströmt die Lettin Baiba Skride - obwohl sie ziemlich genauso alt ist wie Hilary Hahn. Sie spielt mit dem Berliner Kammerorchester mit C.Ph.E. Bach unter Hartmut Haenchen Geläufiges, das aber gerade deswegen gefährlich werden kann: Mozarts G-Dur-Konzert KV 216 und das Rondo KV 373 sowie Schuberts A-Dur-Rondo - und das nun allerdings weithin unbekannte B-Dur-Konzert von Michael Haydn (Sony). Auch dies keine Allerweltsaufnahme: Skride fasst ihren Part quasi-vokal auf; da singt alles, atmet, blüht weich auf. Töne und Phrasen zeugen von größter artikulatorischer Sorgfalt und manche Betonungen geraten etwas merkwürdig. Klar, dass sie mit einer solchen Auffassung in den langsamen Mittelsätzen zu sich selbst kommt. Das Aussingen und Ausspielen, der ausgeprägt lyrische Ansatz geht zulasten des im engeren Sinn Virtuosen, das Skride überhaupt nicht zu interessieren scheint. Das ist hier aber alles andere als ein Nachteil. Wer so spielen kann, muss die Klippen der Technik längst umschifft haben.

Markus Schwering
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, 20. November 2004
Ja, so kann man Mozarts berühmtes Violinkonzert Nr. 3 G-Dur KV 216 auch im Zeitalter der Historischen Aufführungspraxis noch vollkommen überzeugend "konventionell" darbieten: Jugendliche Leidenschaft und inneres Glühen charakterisieren das Geigenspiel Baiba Skrides ebenso wie schlanke, elegante Linienführung - Eigenschaften, denen das Kammerorchester C. Ph. E. Bach unter Leitung von Hartmut Haenchen mit irisierender Leuchtkraft und Wärme adäquat zu begegnen versteht. Besonders bezaubernd etwa der langsame Mittelsatz. Skrides Herangehensweise erweist sich hier im genannten stilistischen Rahmen ehrlicher als diejenige von Julian Rachlin, der dasselbe Stück kürzlich gemeinsam mit dem Brahms-Violinkonzert präsentierte: Rachlin bedient sich eines dünneren, lebloseren Tons, der mittels sehr sparsamem Vibratoeinsatzes ein wenig mit dem historisierenden Ansatz zu liebäugeln scheint; das Ergebnis ist streckenweise eine tendenzielle Indifferenz der Aussage, wie man sie Baiba Skride in keinem Augenblick nachsagen kann.

Michael Wersin
Rondo, 19. November 2004
(...) Dem Notentext folgt sie sehr genau, etwa bei den Vorschlagsnoten. Die Aufnahme ist, auch dank dem frisch musizierenden Kammerorchester C.Ph.E. Bach hervorragend gelungen.
Badische Zeitung, 26. October 2004
Den Anschluss an die Spitzengruppe junger Geigenvirtuosinnen hat Skride quasi aus dem Stand geschafft.

Tocami
www.klassik.com, 01. October 2004
... Baiba Skride dagegen geht das Mozart-Konzert wie die übrigen Werke ihres Programms gelöster an, aber auch konventioneller: Ihr feingliedriger Silberton entspricht der gängigen "apollinischen" Mozart-Vorstellung. Immerhin modelliert Skride die melodischen Linien variabel: im Einklang mit dem originalklangorientierten "Kammerorchester Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach" läßt sie das Melos innig singen oder spritzig aufspringen - letzteres vor allem im spieltechnisch vertrackten, effektvollen finalen Allegro molto von Michael Haydns B-Dur-Konzert aus dem Jahr 1760.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 18. September 2004
Vom ersten Takt an überzeugt sie in Mozarts fünftem Violinkonzert mit ihrem organischen Spiel. Sie lässt ihr Instrument im Kammermusiksaal der Philharmonie verführerisch flüstern und temperamentvoll vorwärts stürmen. Tief taucht sie in die emotionalen Wechselbäder von Franz Schuberts Rondo ein. Hartmut Haenchen und sein Kammerorchester „Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach" umrahmen den Auftritt der Geigerin festlich. Seit Baiba Skride im Sommer ihre Debüt-CD mit dem Kammerorchester aufnahm, gilt die 23jährige Lettin als Nachwuchsstar. Die Hoffnungen sind berechtigt. Sobald der Bogen die Saiten berührt.
Berliner Morgenpost, 11. September 2004
Klassik Bestseller DER SPIEGEL

September/Oktober/November/Dezember 2004: 4 Monate in der Bestseller-Liste
Der Spiegel, 01. September 2004
Baiba Skride mit "dem locker, tänzerisch leicht aufgelegten Kammerorchester Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach unter Hartmut Haenchen."
Wiesbadener Kurier, 20. August 2004