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Daan van Aalst

Rachel Podger and Jane Rogers – Duo Sonatas

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In may 2011 I was asked by Channel Classics to record a SACD with duo sonatas by W.A. Mozart and Michael Haydn played by Rachel Podger and Jane Rodgers. Together with producer Jonathan Freeman-Attwood we spent some days working on the project in All Saints Church, East Finchley, London. The elegant and lively duo sonatas are a delightful example of the craftsmanship that Mozart and Michael Haydn had in writing for these instruments. In a YouTube video Rachel is telling about the sonatas and you will see a glimpse of the recording sessions.

The recording was made with the Channel Classics DSD set including Rens Heijnis custom built analogue equipment and a DSD AD converter by Grimm Audio.

Please find more info about this project on the website of Channel Classics Records. For high resolution downloads of this recording click here.

Project info:

Recording venue: All Saints Church, East Finchley, London

Recording producer: Jonathan Freeman-Attwood

Recording and Balance Engineer: Daan van Aalst

Editing and Mastering: C. Jared Sacks

Ragazze Quartet – Boccherini and Bartok

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The Netherlands String Quartet Academy, NSKA, celebrates its ten year anniversary in 2011. Because of this special occasion the Ragazze Quartet was invited to make a recording for the jubilee CD release of the academy. The recording took place in Schiedam where we worked on string quartets by Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) and Bela Bartók (1881-1945). This program is a good example of what the quartet writes on their own website: ‘We explore a wide variety of repertoire, from Baroque to contemporary, including the core quartet works.

The quartet made an interesting choice by using baroque bows for the Boccherini Quartet (g major opus 32, no 5) and modern bows for Bartóks first string quartet. The result is a very vivid and exciting atmosphere for Boccherini and a truly colorful Bartok interpretation.

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This promotional video shows the Ragazze Quartet and the recording team with producer Wilhelm Hellweg and me as balance engineer during the recording .

For more information about the Ragazze Quartet please visit their website. Read more about the Netherlands String Quartet Academy and its recent projects on the website.

Project info:

Recording venue: Westvest Church, Schiedam

Recording producer: Wilhelm Hellweg

Recording Engineer and editing: Daan van Aalst

Rian de Waal plays Bach transcriptions

By | Rian de Waal | One Comment

‘Rian de Waal plays Bach transcriptions’

When I first met Rian de Waal we where recording at the Royal Conservatory in Den Haag. He told me that he and his wife Marion van den Akker bought a farm in Valthermond and that they where planning to build a concert hall in it. His dream was to work in this hall on his recital programs, organize concerts and make recordings as well. When all the construction work was done we went to Valthermond to make some test recordings. These tests where the start of many recordings with Rian and Marion in Valthermond. The first complete CD was a selection of Bach transcriptions that we recorded in 2004. This first CD in the series ‘The Valthermond Recordings’ is all about the view that the romantic composers had on Bach’s music and the transformation of church and chamber music to music for the concert stage.

The transcriptions on this disc are imbued with historical consciousness and new inspiration. Works for organ, choir and violin find their way to the piano. Not as a substitute but as a new autonomous appearance.

(Steinway D ‘Godowski’ – photo made by Daan van Aalst)

The cover design is based on the landscape surrounding the concert hall. The picture reflects the view from the piano room.

Rian de Waal died on the 25th of may 2011. His inspiring personality and great musicianship will be missed by many people. He leaves us with many great memories and an impressive collection of recordings.

This release in the series ‘The Valthermond Recordings’ can be ordered at your local store, Amazon, Bol.com and Itunes. You can also find high resolution downloads on The Classical Shop.

Please visit www.valthermondrecordings.com for recent updates about the label.

Project info:

Recording venue: ‘Onder de Linden’, Valthermond

Recording date: Januari, 2004

Recording producer and editing: Daan van Aalst

Piano technician: Michel Brandjes

Cover design: dT concept & ontwerp

EAN: 8713897903010

Rian de Waal plays Schubert

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‘Rian de Waal plays Schubert’

In december 2010 Rian de Waal planned to make new recordings for the project about piano transcriptions he had been working on for years. Suffering from medical issues, Rian de Waal was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, it was too much of a battle to study on the new works so he decided to record the magisterial sonata no. 21 D960 by Franz Schubert. This sonata has always been an important part of Rian’s musical life and it accompanied him on many concerts. The piece has a very gradual development in time and reveals step by step an amazing musical architecture. There are moments in this magical work of art where time seems to disappear.

‘Take your time with Schubert’

(Rian de Waal)

The recording was made on a beautiful winter day with lots of snow outside and wonderful ice crystals on the windows. The photo’s I took during that day inspired the booklet designers and they created a cover that reflects the atmosphere of our recording day.

Rian de Waal died on the 25th of may 2011. His inspiring personality and great musicianship will be missed by many people. He leaves us with many great memories and an impressive collection of recordings.

This release in the series ‘The Valthermond Recordings’ can be ordered at your local store, Amazon, Bol.com and Itunes. You can also find high resolution downloads on The Classical Shop. For more information about the label ‘The Valthermond recordings’ please visit www.valthermondrecordings.com.

Project info:

Recording venue: ‘Onder de Linden’, Valthermond

Recording date: December 22, 2010

Recording producer and editing: Daan van Aalst

Piano technician: Michel Brandjes

Cover design: dT concept & ontwerp

EAN: 8713897903027

Wispelwey and Giacometti – Chopin / Mendelssohn

By | Pieter Wispelwey | No Comments

After the success of their Schubert disc on Onyx Classics with the Arpeggione Sonata, Fantasy in C and the Duo in A, Pieter Wispelwey and Paolo Giacometti got together for a new recording on period instruments. This time they where recording the Chopin and Mendelssohn Sonatas for cello and piano. Beside these masterpieces, Pieter and Paolo recorded Mendelssohns ‘Lied ohne Worte’ opus 109 and three Chopin waltzes opus 64 (arr Davidov), including the ‘Minute Waltz’.

During the session I experimented with a simple camera in the hall and edited the recorded material to a ‘look behind the scenes’:

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The Mennonite church in Haarlem was our recording venue. Pieter played his Guadagnini cello with gut strings and Paolo played on a very nice piano from the mid nineteenth century. The piano, an 1848 Erard,  is from the collection of Edwin Beunk and Edwin did the tuning himself.

The CD is released on Onyx Classics (ONYX4078). On the ONYX website you will find more information and also links for downloading the music to your audioplayer.

“Pieter Wispelwey once again joins with Paolo Giacometti, in a programme of Chopin and Mendelssohn. However, there is another great musical figure on this disc – the cellist and composer Karl Davydov, who studied with Mendelssohn’s composer friends Ignaz Moscheles and Ferdinand David. Davydov’s brilliant arrangements of the Chopin Waltzes op.64 form a sparkling interlude between Mendelssohn’s virtuosic Second Sonata, and Chopin’s masterful sonata for cello and piano.” (from the ONYX website)

Project info:

Recording producers: Daan van Aalst, Pieter Wispelwey

Balance engineer and editor: Daan van Aalst

Recording venue: Doopsgezinde Kerk, Haarlem, Netherlands

Recording dates: 10–12 January 2011

Cello: JB Guadagnini (Parma 1760)

Piano: Erard 1848 from collection Edwin Beunk, Enschede, Netherlands

Piano Tuner: Edwin Beunk


Chie Hirai – 1840 Chopin and Glinka

By | Chie Hirai | No Comments

After the recording of an earlier Chopin disc with Hidemi Suzuki, Chie Hirai decided to make a solo album with a combination of works by Chopin and Glinka. The picturesque city of Deventer and it’s lovely sounding Mennonite church was our recording venue for this project. Using her own Pleyel piano (built in Paris in 1840) Chie captured just the right sound for this project. The light but also powerful character of the instrument matches the repertoire very well.

(Recording setup – Photo made by Marcel Kroese)

(During playback session – Photo made by Marcel Kroese)

Since the Pleyel is an old lady, Hans Kramer was present the whole time to maintain and tune the instrument. For this reason (and to take out some pedal and other mechanical noises..) he took the instrument apart a couple of times per day. Here you see a detail of the interior of this beautiful instrument.

(Pleyel – Photo made by Marcel Kroese)

(Daan during the recording session – Photo made by Marcel Kroese)

The project will be released in spring 2011 by the Japanese label ‘Accustica’.

Project info:

Recording venue: Doopsgezinde Kerk, Deventer

Recording Producer: Daan van Aalst

Recording Engineer and editing: Daan van Aalst

Piano tuner: Hans Kramer (de Pianotemmer)

Naomi Tamura

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A colorful program on the new CD of Naomi Tamura ‘Un Amour de Piano’. A well chosen mix of German, French and Russian composers makes this album a composition of its own.

This first solo recording of Naomi Tamura was made in September 2010 in Haarlem. After a period of searching for the right hall and the right instrument Naomi decided to use her own Steinway D for the recording at the “Doopsgezinde” Church in Haarlem.

Michel Brandjes worked with Naomi on the instrument in order to prepare it for the recording. The character of the instrument is very warm, almost dark and that matches the quite transparent and diffuse acoustics of the church very well.

recording setup (photo: Daan van Aalst)

Church window (Photo: Daan van Aalst)

Project info:

Recording venue: Doopsgezinde Kerk, Haarlem

Recording Producer: Daan van Aalst

Recording Engineer and editing: Daan van Aalst

Piano tuner: Michel Brandjes

Pieter Wispelwey and the Flanders Symphony Orchestra – Seikyo Kim

By | Pieter Wispelwey | No Comments

In spring 2009 Pieter Wispelwey asked me to be involved in an adventurous project. He and the Flanders Symphony Orchestra planned to perform the Cello Symphony by Benjamin Britten that they decided to record for Onyx Classics.

Seikyo Kim, who has been appointed as the orchestra’s new chief conductor, conducted the orchestra during three concerts of which the last one was recorded for the CD.

The live recording with additional patch sessions took place at ‘de Singel’ in Antwerp where an enthusiastic audience experienced the deep emotions of the Cello Symphony. The piece has a very dark mood but also a strong sense of hope and the desire for salvation.

This was my first confrontation with his concerto (because of course that’s what it is) and it was a profound and gratifying shock. For me now, this masterpiece stands among the very best in the cello concerto repertoire.

From the menacing darkness of the opening to the light of the orgiastic closing hymn, the contrasts in this piece are phenomenally stark. In his first Suite for solo cello Britten demonstrates the same generosity. His inspiration leaves us with an adventurously structured piece, almost a series of fables, that surprises, impresses and moves us.

(Pieter Wispelwey, from the sleave notes on www.onyxclassics.com)

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(this video is used with kind permission of filmit.be)

In order to create a complete CD program Pieter chose the First Suite for Solo Cello by Benjamin Britten to accompany the Cello Symphony. We chose the Mennonite Church in Deventer to be the recording venue for this solo recording.

Project info:

Recording venue: De Singel, Antwerpen (Cello Symphony) / Doopsgezinde Kerk, Deventer (Cello Solo Suite)

Recording Producers: Daan van Aalst, Pieter Wispelwey

Recording Engineers: Johan Kennivé (Cello Symphony) and Daan van Aalst (Cello Solo Suite)

Editing: Daan van Aalst

Harro Ruijsenaars and Paul Komen

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Schumann’s sonata in a minor opus 105 for Violin is warmly embraced by cellists. Harro Ruijsenaars decided to record this  sonata together with the sonata opus 121 in d minor. He made his own transcription of the two sonatas that follows the original violin text as much as possible. Beside the two sonatas, that give a great insight in Schumann’s musical language, Harro and Paul also recorded the beautiful Romances opus 94.

If the violin sonatas, difficult, but without the element of virtuosity, might lack challenge for a violin player, they certainly are a handful for a cellist. But the strength of the musical narrative made me happily explore the limits of cello technique to master these great sonatas that had fascinated me for years.”

”Transcribing and recording the two Violin Sonatas op. 105 and op.121 has given immense satisfaction.

(Harro Ruijsenaars, Liner Notes from CD booklet)

The recording sessions in the winter of 2009 took place in Valthermond (Onder de Linden).

Project info:

Recording venue: ‘Onder de Linden’, Valthermond

Recording Producer: Daan van Aalst

Recording Engineer and editing: Daan van Aalst

Piano tuner: Erik van der Heide

Pieter Wispelwey and Paolo Giacometti

By | Pieter Wispelwey | No Comments

In the summer of 2009 Pieter Wispelwey and Paolo Giacometti recorded a Schubert CD for Onyx Classics. Interesting enough; none of the pieces on the disc where originally written for Cello and Piano… And then they also decided to play on period instruments!

Well, let’s start with the program:

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797–1828)
– Duo in A for cello and piano D574 (arr. Wispelwey)

– Sonata in A minor for cello and piano D821 ‘Arpeggione’

– Fantasy in C for cello and piano D934 (arr. Wispelwey)

Pieter played on his Guadagnini (Parma 1760) with gut strings and Paolo used the very delicate Lagrassa (1815) piano from the Edwin Beunk collection. This piano was also used for their earlier recording of the Arpeggione Sonata (Channel Classics 1996).

I don’t do it too often, putting on gut strings and celebrating the delightful match of their colours with those of a Viennese fortepiano: denying myself the glossiness and comfortable reliability of steel strings and a Steinway, and instead enjoying the poetry and expressiveness – that specific mix of fierceness and delicateness – of the instruments, as heard by Schubert and his contemporaries. Nor, for that matter, had I ever thought I would dare to tackle the Fantasy on period instruments.

(Pieter Wispelwey)

Indeed, the Fantasy in C is a virtuoso piece and it seems to be almost impossible to play this violin sonata on the cello. It is not simply a matter of playing the violin part an octave lower because the cello can easily be overshadowed by the piano. Pieter’s arrangement together with the elegant and almost fragile sound of the Viennese piano gave the recording of this sonata a very natural touch as if the piece was written for the cello!

I found the Fantasy, especially, remarkably convincing in its new guise. The transposition to cello increases the difficulties of what is already a demanding work, and enhances the sense of virtuosity as Wispelwey triumphantly surmounts each hurdle.

(Gramophone magazine)

I recorded this CD using my High Resolution recording set. After years of hiring and borrowing equipment it was a great pleasure to work with my own recording set. As you can see on the picture below Pieter is sitting on a small platform that allows the sound to develop freely in the rather small hall.

(during the recording session in Eindhoven)


Recording producers: Daan van Aalst, Pieter Wispelwey

Balance engineer and editor: Daan van Aalst

Recording location: Muziekcentrum Frits Philips, Eindhoven, Netherlands

Recording dates: 7–9 July 2009

Cello: Guadagnini (Parma 1760)

Piano: Fortepiano: Salvatore Lagrassa, Viennese School, ca.1815 from Collection Edwin Beunk, Enschede, Netherlands

Piano Tuners: Carolien Dopheide, Edwin Beunk