Chen Reiss, who is at the heart of Mozart’s Ch’io mi scordi di te? as well as Beethoven’s terzetto, is a rising star of the opera world, receiving widespread acclaim for her sumptuous sound. Mozart wrote this concert aria for himself and the soprano Nancy Storace, who had played Susanna in his opera, The Marriage of Figaro. For this recording, Chen Reiss is paired with pianist Javier Negrín, who has enjoyed considerable acclaim for his solo Odradek releases. Javier Negrín brings these special qualities to this interpretation of Beethoven’s piano transcription of the Violin Concerto, a version he describes in the album booklet as “totally idiomatic”, adding: “To me, this music speaks about reconciliation and acceptance; it has a very serene beauty and purity of sentiment.”
This recording features tenor Jan Petryka and baritone Paul Armin Edelmann alongside Chen Reiss and the Beethoven Philharmonie, an Austrian ensemble created for and specialising in performances of this repertoire.