Hommage à Beethoven Aris Alexander Blettenberg

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886): Symphony No. 7 in A Major, S. 464/7 (After Beethoven, Op. 92)
• 1 van Beethoven, Liszt: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, S. 464/7 (After Beethoven, Op. 92): II. Allegretto 09:19
• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): Etudes in Variation Form on a Theme by Beethoven, WoO 31:
• 2 Schumann: Etudes in Variation Form on a Theme by Beethoven, WoO 31 15:32
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101:
• 3 van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101: I. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung. Allegretto ma non troppo 04:09
• 4 van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101: II. Lebhaft, marschmäßig. Vivace alla marcia 06:11
• 5 van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101: III. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll. Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto 02:40
• 6 van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101: IV. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit. Allegro 07:21
• 7 van Beethoven: An die Hoffnung, Op. 94 (Arr. Blettenberg for Piano) 06:53
• Total Runtime 52:05

Info for Hommage à Beethoven

The debut album from the young German Pianist Aris Alexander Blettenberg.

The programme begins and ends with transcriptions of works by Beethoven.

The first piece is the Allegretto (2nd movement) from Beethoven's 7th Symphony in the arrangement by Franz Liszt, and the programme ends with a solo piano version of Beethoven's song An die Hoffnung, created especially for this album.

The two pieces form a framework of sonorities and emotions that set the basic mood for this musical journey.

The Allegretto serves as a prologue: it looks ahead, indicating the direction we shall be taking.

At the other end of the programme, the song transcription serves as an epilogue: it looks back, taking stock of all that has occurred.

On the one hand, there is a somber mood that runs through the entire programme: we find it in the Allegretto's passages in minor, in the Schumann variations, in the third movement of the Beethoven sonata, and in the recitativo-like passages of An die Hoffnung.

These are complemented by episodes of light: the A-Major sections of the Allegretto, the first, second, and fourth movements of the sonata, and, ultimately, the hopeful, optimistic sonorities we find in the song transcription with the final cry: "O, Hope!" (Aris Alexander Blettenberg)

Aris Alexander Blettenberg, piano

Aris Alexander Blettenberg
"Aris Alexander Blettenberg is an exceptionally versatile full-blooded musician who plays the piano, conducts and composes excellently. He internalizes the most diverse spheres of musical expression and shapes them in an extremely differentiated and impressive manner. With his colorful, present and intelligent piano playing, he always acts in the service of the cause, the soloist or the ensemble playing with him. His virtuosity and musical prudence show themselves to be excellent prerequisites for a promising career." (From the laudatory speech for the Bavarian Arts Promotion Prize). ​

In October 2021, he won the 16th International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna. He has already performed at the Vienna Musikverein, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Konzerthaus Berlin, and London's Wigmore Hall, and is a welcome guest at the Kissinger Sommer, the Festspiele Mecklenburg- Vorpommern, and the SPANNUNGEN Heimbach, to name a few. ​

In the spring of 2023, Blettenberg made his debut as conductor and pianist with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra in a tour that was highly praised by audiences and the press: "The undisputed star of the evening was, of course, Aris Alexander Blettenberg. Energetic and with youthful verve, the German-Greek conductor had his disciplined symphony orchestra firmly under control and ensured [...] that nothing could get out of hand. Even when he took over the part of the soloist and gave the cues from the grand piano, he showed himself fully up to this demanding task." (Die Rheinpfalz) ​

Another collaboration with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra as conductor is already confirmed - here Blettenberg will take over the musical direction in place of the late Lars Vogt. In May 2023, Blettenberg will lead the opening concert of the Sächsische Mozartfest as pianist and conductor. As a 2023 scholarship recipient, he will appear twice at the Klavierfestival Ruhr. He will also make his debut at the Schwetzinger Festspiele with the Trio Neo and will be a guest at the Vienna Musikverein with the Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock and Tchaikovsky's 2nd Piano Concerto. Blettenberg is closely associated with the Munich Chamber Opera; a CD (Genuin) of Beethoven piano concertos and his own arrangement for twelve musicians was recorded in April 2023. In May 2023, his first solo album entitled "Hommage à Beethoven" (including his own transcription) will be released on the AVI/Deutsche Grammophon label. ​

In the 2023/24 season, Blettenberg will follow his third invitation to the Festspiele Mecklenburg Vorpommern, make his debut at the Festival der Nationen, with KlangKollektiv Wien and the Museumsorchester Frankfurt at the Alte Oper. ​

Aris Alexander Blettenberg was born in 1994 in Mülheim an der Ruhr. He studied piano, chamber music and conducting with Antti Siirala, Lars Vogt (†), Silke Avenhaus and Bruno Weil in Munich, Hanover and Salzburg. Blettenberg received further impulses through master classes with Rudolf Buchbinder, Gerhard Oppitz, Cyprien Katsaris, Imogen Cooper and Vladimir Jurowski. ​

Among the musicians with whom Blettenberg has collaborated are Julia Fischer, Arabella Steinbacher, Julian Rachlin, Christian Tetzlaff, Sharon Kam and Maximilian Hornung; ensembles include the Bavarian Radio Chamber Orchestra, the Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt and the Duisburg Philharmonic. In 2015, Blettenberg won the International Hans von Bülow Competition in Meiningen in the category "Conducting from the Piano." He made his debut as an opera conductor at the Staatstheater there in 2019 with Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio." ​

His published compositions are performed worldwide, recorded on CD and broadcast on radio. He presented his composition "Sarkastina" with bassoonist Theo Plath at Wigmore Hall in March 2022. Blettenberg has been organizing his own concert series, the "Kapellenkonzerte" in cooperation with the non-profit company MÜNCHENSTIFT in Munich, since March 2022. ​

Aris Alexander Blettenberg is the recipient of the Steinway Förderpreis 2019 and the Bayerischer Kunstförderpreis 2020. From 2015 to 2021 he was a scholarship holder of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes and has been a Bösendorfer Artist since 2022.

This album contains no booklet.