Hindemith / Dvořák: Piano Music with Orchestra / Symphony No. 9

This album contains the first-ever commercial recording of a long lost major work by Paul Hindemith, the Klaviermusik mit Orchester op. 29 for piano left-hand and orchestra. The New York Times has called it, “a fantastic work that requires tremendous technique and stamina.” (2 December 2006). This release also features Antonín Dvorák’s popular Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”). Hindemith wrote the concerto for the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein in 1923. Wittgenstein never performed it, and it was only upon the death of his widow, in 2002, that the piece was discovered in a farmhouse in Pennsylvania; the work received an acclaimed 2004 world premiere in Berlin, with piano legend Leon Fleisher as soloist and the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle. Leon Fleisher, who is one of the most prominent specialists of left-hand repertoire, is the soloist on this recording. Christoph Eschenbach, one of today’s leading conductors, here directs the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, an orchestra that the Philadelphia Inquirer acclaimed, “that any city would be lucky to have as its professional ensemble.” This CD is the Curtis Symphony Orchestra’s debut album on Ondine. "We are delighted to have the opportunity to share the extraordinary artistry of Curtis students with a worldwide audience. Over the past few years, Christoph Eschenbach has led the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in many outstanding performances, and this project captures their unique relationship on record, " said Roberto Díaz, President of The Curtis Institute of Music. The Curtis Institute of Music trains exceptionally gifted young musicians for careers as performing artists on the highest professional level. One of the world’s leading music schools, Curtis provides full-tuition scholarships to all of its 162 students, ensuring that admissions are based solely on artistic promise. A Curtis education is uniquely tailored to the individual student, with personalized attention from a celebrated faculty and unusually frequent performance opportunities. This distinctive "learn by doing" approach to musical training has produced an impressive number of notable artists, from such legends as Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Barber to current stars Juan Diego Flórez, Alan Gilbert, Hilary Hahn, Jennifer Higdon, and Lang Lang. The Curtis Institute of Music expresses its deep appreciation to the Neubauer Family Foundation, which has made possible and underwritten this recording of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra.