Vienna Mandolin Stories Alon Sariel, Kölner Akademie & Michael Alexander Willens

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): Andante for Flute and Orchestra, K. 315:
• 1 Mozart: Andante for Flute and Orchestra, K. 315 (Arr. A. Sariel for Mandolin and Orchestra) 05:51
• Ernest Krähmer (1795 - 1837): Larghetto and Rondo for Mandolin and Orchestra:
• 2 Krähmer: Larghetto and Rondo for Mandolin and Orchestra: I. Larghetto. Adagio 02:57
• 3 Krähmer: Larghetto and Rondo for Mandolin and Orchestra: I. Rondo. Allegro moderato 04:46
• Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809): "Haydn's Mandolin Concerto" in C Major:
• 4 Haydn: "Haydn's Mandolin Concerto" in C Major: I. Moderato (After J. Haydn: Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Hob. VIIb:1) 09:29
• 5 Haydn: "Haydn's Mandolin Concerto" in C Major: II. Adagio (After J. Haydn: Violin Concerto in C Major, Hob. VIIa:1) 04:07
• Ignaz Malzat (1757 - 1804): "Haydn's Mandolin Concerto" in C Major:
• 6 Malzat: "Haydn's Mandolin Concerto" in C Major: III. Rondo Allegretto 05:27
• Ernest Krähmer: Andantino for Mandolin and Orchestra:
• 7 Krähmer: Andantino for Mandolin and Orchestra 02:37
• Theme and Variations for Mandolin and Orchestra:
• 8 Krähmer: Theme and Variations for Mandolin and Orchestra: Theme. Allegretto 01:28
• 9 Krähmer: Theme and Variations for Mandolin and Orchestra: Var. I 01:04
• 10 Krähmer: Theme and Variations for Mandolin and Orchestra: Var. II 01:18
• 11 Krähmer: Theme and Variations for Mandolin and Orchestra: Var. III 01:20
• 12 Krähmer: Theme and Variations for Mandolin and Orchestra: Var. IV 01:47
• 13 Krähmer: Theme and Variations for Mandolin and Orchestra: Var. V 01:28
• Giovanni Paisiello (1740 - 1816): Mandolin Concerto in C Major:
• 14 Paisiello: Mandolin Concerto in C Major: I. Tempo giusto 06:16
• 15 Paisiello: Mandolin Concerto in C Major: II. Larghetto alla Siciliana 02:57
• 16 Paisiello: Mandolin Concerto in C Major: III. Allegro 03:57
• Total Runtime 56:49

Info for Vienna Mandolin Stories

Vienna Mandolin Stories is Alon Sariel’s first full concerto album, inviting listeners on a journey through late-18th and early-19th-century Vienna. The album features works for mandolin and orchestra by Haydn, Mozart, Krähmer, and Paisiello. While some pieces were originally composed for mandolin, others have been skillfully adapted by Sariel. The album thrives on Sariel’s inventive and playful approach, as represented in “Haydn’s Mandolin Concerto”, an imaginative rearrangement combining movements from different concertos, including one by Malzat long misattributed to Haydn. Highlights also include the “bluegrass” cadence in the slow movement of the “Haydn” concerto and the clever nod to Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier in Sariel’s arrangement of Mozart’s Andante for Flute and Orchestra. Sariel brings to light Ernest Krähmer’s works for mandolin and orchestra, recently found at the Bavarian State Library and recorded here for the first time. The period musicians of the Kölner Akademie, under the direction of Michael Alexander Willens, deliver an ideal soundscape for these vibrant and colorful works.

Alon Sariel is one of today’s most versatile plucked-string performers, earning recognition as a multi-instrumentalist and a captivating Bach interpreter. Following the releases of Plucked Bach (2022), Plucked Bach II (2023), and Schubert’s Mandolin (2024) on PENTATONE, he now presents his first concerto recording. The Kölner Akademie and its music director Michael Alexander Willens, make their PENTATONE debut with this recording.

Alon Sariel, mandolin
Kölner Akademie
Michael Alexander Willens, conductor

Alon Sariel
is one of today’s most versatile plucked-string performers, inspiring critics and audiences alike with his contagious musicianship and flawless technique, which earns him growing recognition as a multi-instrumentalist and a captivating Bach interpreter. With a record of far over a thousand concerts in more than 35 countries, including performances in Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Brazil’s Sala São Paulo or Mexico‘s Palacio de Bellas Artes, he maintains a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber player and artistic director in diverse productions.

Vienna Mandolin Stories, Alon’s new project, unveils music for mandolin and orchestra which was dormant for over 200 years next to his own new setting titled “Haydn’s Mandolin Concerto”. In his recording series Plucked Bach he approaches Bach's music in enticing new arrangements for lutes and mandolins of different types, the baroque guitar, oud and baglama.

Alon Sariel is a winner of many prizes and awards including an OPUS Klassik. He has recently been appointed artistic director of the concert series at ’t Huis te Poort in the Netherlands, he is a member of the Foundation Committee of Göttingen’s International Handel Festival and a goodwill ambassador for the animal welfare organization Pro Animale.

Booklet for Vienna Mandolin Stories