Introducing THE ALPHA OMEGA SOUND Label

Besides promoting classical concerts through The Joy of Music Festival and organising the Hong Kong International Piano Competition, the Chopin Society of Hong Kong has its own exclusive record label, Alpha Omega Sound. To date, it has produced no less than seven CD recordings, featuring the 1st prizewinners of the piano competition and great musicians from Hong Kong and Uruguay. Also on this label are rare historical recordings from the archives of SODRE, the official radio and television broadcasting service of Montevideo, Uruguay. 

RACHEL CHEUNG Piano Recital

Rachel Cheung is one of the brightest young pianists to have emerged from Hong Kong. At the age of 12, she won the 1st Prize at the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition in 2004. In addition, she garnered 5th prize at the 2009 Leeds International Piano Competition.This is her début CD, and the programme includes Mozart's Sonata K.309, Schubert's Drei Klavierstücke D.946, Chopin's Mazurkas Op.24 and Ballade No.4, Liszt's Au bord d'un source and Poulenc's Trois Pieces. 

ILYA RASHKOVSKIY Fantasies for Piano

The Russian Ilya Rashkovskiy won the 1st Prize at the 1st Hong Kong International Piano Competition in 2005. He has since gone on to win 4th Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition 2007 (Brussels) and 1st Prize at the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition. His stupendous technique is on show in this, his début CD recording with performances of fantasies by Mozart (K.475), Chopin (Op.49), Scriabin (Op.28) and Liszt's Dante Sonata.

JINSANG LEE Making Music Among Friends

The Korean Jinsang Lee was awarded the 1st Prize at the 2nd Hong Kong International Piano Competition in 2008. In 2010, he also won the 1st Prize and Audience Prize at the Geza Anda International Piano Competition (Zurich). This double CD recording is a follow-up on a recital he gave in October 2009, where he performed the music of three friends, Chopin, Mendelssohn and Ferdinand Hiller, on four historically different Steinway grand pianos. The works performed are as follows:

HILLER Sonata in E minor, Three Caprices Op.14

MENDELSSOHN Songs Without Words (Selection)

CHOPIN Variations Brillantes Op.12, Nocturnes Op.15 and Mazurkas Op.59 

The works on the first CD are played on historical pianos from 1836, 1877 and 1883, while the same works are heard on a modern Steinway D on the second CD.

ALVARO PIERRI Sonatas for Guitar Vol.1

Alvaro Pierri is one of the greatest guitarists alive today. Born in Uruguay, he presently resides and teaches in Vienna. This recording is the first of an ambitious series of recordings showcasing the length and breadth of the solo guitar sonata repertoire. The composers featured in Volume 1 are Nicolo Paganini, Manuel Ponce, Federico Torroba and Alberto Ginastera.  

All the CDs were recorded in Hong Kong by Leo Fung Wai Kwok, and re-mastered by Andrew Walter at Abbey Road Studios, London. 

All the CDs are available via online retailers including Presto Classical and MDT. They may also be purchased at all concert events organised by the Chopin Society of Hong Kong.

Historical Recordings from the SODRE Archive on THE ALPHA OMEGA SOUND Label

Also on the Alpha Omega Sound label are a series of historical recordings remastered from the archives of SODRE (Servicio Oficial de Difusion Radiotelevision y Espectaculos), the official radio and television service of Montevideo, Uruguay, now issued on CD for the very first time. The first 3 CDs have been launched, including recitals by David Oistrakh, Jascha Heifetz and a sampler disc of highlights from the SODRE historical collection.

DAVID OISTRAKH, Violin with
VLADIMIR YAMPOLSKY, Piano
Recorded on 9 April 1954

LECLAIR Sonata No.3 in D minor
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto in D minor
CHAUSSON Poeme

This recital is unusual as it contains the only known recording of Oistrakh performing the Sibelius concerto with piano accompaniment. A rarity that deserves to be heard. 

JASCHA HEIFETZ, Violin with
BROOKS SMITH, Piano
Recorded on 12 May 1955

BEETHOVEN Sonata in A major, Op.47 "Kreutzer"
DEBUSSY Sonata in G minor
DVORAK-KREISLER Slavonic Dance Op.72 No.7
L.BOULANGER Cortege
R.STRAUSS- HEIFETZ An Eisamer Quelle Op.9 No.2
WIENIAWSKI Capriccio-Valse Op.7
RAVEL Tzigane

This well-filled sampler provides the listener with an idea of the musical riches in store. Besides Oistrakh and Heifetz, on this disc are excerpts from performances by Claudio Arrau, Friedrich Gulda, Walter Gieseking, Lili Kraus, Leonid Kogan, Mischa Elman, Andres Segovia and Marian Anderson. The full recital CDs will be issued serially and in due course.

All the CDs have been re-mastered at Abbey Road Studios and include an introduction by Vladimir Ashkenazy, Patron of the Chopin Society of Hong Kong.

The CDs may be purchased from various online retailers and at concerts and events presented by the Chopin Society of Hong Kong.

Review of DAVID OSTRAKH Recital CD on ALPHA OMEGA SOUND

Below is a short review of the David Oistrakh recital CD recording (from the SODRE Archive) on the Alpha Omega Sound label, published in The Straits Times (Singapore) on 10 January 2013.

THE SODRE COLLECTION

DAVID OISTRAKH, Violin

with VLADIMIR YAMPOLSKY, Piano

Alpha Omega Sound / ****1/2

This extremely rare “live” recording from 9 April 1954 was unearthed in the archives of SODRE, the official radio and television broadcasting service of Montevideo, Uruguay. It represents the Soviet-era Russian violinist David Oistrakh (1908-1974) at the height of his powers while on tour to the West. His programme was unusually eclectic despite offering no Russian music within. It opens with Jean-Marie Leclair’s Third Sonata, in the four-movement sonata da chiesa form that was popular during the Baroque era. Nowadays, it is rarely heard outside of the period instrument circle, but Oistrakh’s politically incorrect and vibrato-rich account makes no excuses for the music, which is charming and unpretentious.

The gem of this hour-long recital is a complete performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the original piano accompaniment. This version is seldom ever recorded, although regularly played at conservatory and student recitals. Oistrakh performs it as if accompanied by an orchestra, with no punches pulled or half measures taken. It is a searing account, tender in the slow movement while the furious finale lives on a knife-edge throughout. The disc is completed by Belgian Ernest Chausson’s rhapsodic Poeme, also accompanied by pianist Vladimir Yampolsky. This invaluable addition to the Oistrakh discography may be purchased from various on-line retailers via the Internet.