Adelaide: Beethoven and the Guitar Izhar Elias

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
• 1 Adelaide, Op. 46 for Viola and Guitar (Arr. N. Coste) 06:30
• 2 String quartet, Op. 59 No. 3 'Razumovsky': Andante con moto quasi allegretto for Guitar Duo (Arr. V. Schuster) 07:52
• 3 Potpourri on Favorite themes by Beethoven for Violin and Guitar (Arr. A Diabelli) 10:43
• 4 Piano Sonata No. 12, Op. 26: Marche Funèbre for Guitar Solo (Arr. S. Volker) 05:31
• 5 Piano Sonata No. 12, Op. 26: Andante varié and Rondeau for Guitar Duo (Arr. F. Carulli) 07:40
• 6 String quartet, Op. 18 No. 5: Tema con variazioni. Andante cantabile for Guitar Duo (Arr. V. Schuster) 09:12
• 7 Marcia. Allegro non molto - Adagio (Arr. W. Matiegka, Izhar Elias) 08:30
• 8 Menuetto. Allegro - Trio (Arr. W. Matiegka, Izhar Elias) 02:38
• 9 Adagio - Allegro scherzo (Arr. W. Matiegka, Izhar Elias) 04:51
• 10 Allegretto a la pollacca (Arr. W. Matiegka, Izhar Elias) 03:34
• 11 Andante quasi allegretto con variazioni - Allegro (Arr. W. Matiegka, Izhar Elias) 08:25
• 12 Marcia. Allegro non molto (Arr. W. Matiegka, Izhar Elias) 01:17
• 13 Excerpt of Andante Favori, WoO 57 for Guitar Solo (Arr. F. Carulli) 02:00
• Total Runtime 01:18:43

Info for Adelaide: Beethoven and the Guitar

Die Gitarre ist gewiss nicht das erste Instrument, das einem in den Sinn kommt, wenn man an die Musik von Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) denkt. De facto wurde Beethovens populäre Musik aber bereits zu Lebzeiten von Gitarristen und Komponisten für Gitarre transkribiert.

Der niederländische Gitarrist Izhar Elias hat gemeinsam mit Fernando Cordas (Gitarre), Zefira Valova (Violine) und Ivan Iliev (Viola) auf historischen Instrumenten für das Album „Adelaide: Beethoven and the Guitar“ einige der gelungensten Beethoven-Bearbeitungen für Gitarre von Napoléon Coste (1805-1883), Vincenz Schuster (1800-?), Anton Diabelli (1781-1858), Sigismond Volker (?), Ferdinando Carulli (1770-1841) und Wenzel Matiegka (1773-1830) aufgenommen.

Das ungewöhnliche Recital zeigt den Umgang der zumeist frühromantisch geprägten Komponisten mit Beethovens eher klassisch gehaltenem Material. Es ist ein guter Beleg für die Metamorphose des Musikgeschmacks am Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts. Der Albumtitel „Adelaide“ nimmt Bezug auf das in der Romantik sehr populäre Kunstlied Beethovens „Adelaide“, dessen Bearbeitung von Coste das Album eröffnet.

Izhar Elias, Gitarre
Fernando Cordas, Gitarre
Zefira Valova, Violine
Ivan Iliev, Viola

Izhar Elias
(Amsterdam, 1977) is one of the most sought-after specialists in early music, chamber music and new music for guitar.

He has given concerts, lectures, and masterclasses, and been the soloist in concertos with renowned orchestras, in Europe, Russia, south-east Asia, Australia and the USA. He won the prestigious Dutch Music Prize in 2011, the highest musical award given by the Dutch government.

Through extensive research, he has been able to recreate a musical language of the Baroque, Classic and Romantic periods using original instruments and historical methods.

He has also premiered over 50 works and mixes different artistic disciplines in his collaborations with choreographers, experimental film makers and theatre directors. In 2014 he premiered the double concerto Schattenspiel, for electric guitar, classical guitar and big symphony orchestra, together with the composer and heavy metal guitarist Florian Magnus Maier in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.

Izhar Elias’ impressive collection of CD releases have earned him worldwide critical acclaim. To name a few of his albums: Rossini’s opera Semiramide transcribed by Mauro Giuliani (guitar solo, Brilliant Classics), Hommage à Debussy (guitar solo, Brilliant Classics), Big Eye movies and music (guitar, recorder and movies, Phenom Records), Paisiello in Vienna (guitar, mandolin and fortepiano, Brilliant Classic), Carrousel (guitar and clarinet, Sound Liaison), Sharkiya (guitar, mandolin and harpsichord, IMI).

Recently the album Guitar Vibes has been released (Brilliant Classics), with works for guitar and strings, celebrating the universality of the guitar. Belgian magazine Stretto called the album “a remarkably original and very very special CD”.

Izhar Elias is surrounded by many world class musicians. A few of his remarkable collaborations: Together with guitarist Fernando Cordas Izhar Elias specializes in performing early 19th century duo’s on historical instruments. He has a unique duo with Georgian clarinet virtuoso Levan Tskhadadze. He is member of trio Cordevento (with Erik Bosgraaf – recorder and Alessandro Pianu – harpsichord), which revives the virtuoso music from the 17th century, a repertoire often on the border of art and popular music. Cordevento has performed in many of Europe’s most prestigious concert halls and early music festivals, such as the Konzerthaus (Vienna), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels), Konzerthaus (Berlin), Concertgebouw (Bruges), and the Utrecht Early Music Festival.

Elias has studied with Ton Terra, the Groningen Guitar Duo, Zoran Dukic, Kees Hendrikse and Carlo Barone (19th century performance practice).The performance practice of the baroque guitar he learned from a.o. William Carter, Adrián Rodriguez van der Spoel and Lex Eisenhardt.

This album contains no booklet.