Viola Dolorosa

Komiya, Akari; Hamann, Georg

The viola has long been associated with elegaic melancholy. This outstanding release pairs works in such vein by two British composers. Written in memory of his parents, Seabourne's monumental, five-movement "Pietà" ranks with the late Shostakovich sonata in its scale and sheer "emotional clout" [The Classical Reviewer]. It is perfectly complimented by two famous Britten pieces. Georg Hamann and Akari Komiya have drawn extensive plaudits for their intense performances here by reviewers in Musical Opinion, The Strad, BBC Music Magazine, Österreichische Musikzeitschrift and many others. Violist Georg Hamann studied at the University of Music in Vienna with members of the Alban Berg Quartet. He graduated with summa cum laude and was praised by the Minister of Science. He has been the first violist of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra for many years, a member of Ensemble Wien Tokyo and the Arcus Ensemble Wien, and in 1998 founded, together with Ludwig Muller, Barna Kobori and Christophe Pantillon, the Aron Quartet which is resident at the Arnold Schonberg Centre in Vienna.

Price: $27.98