HK Gruber: Piano Concerto, Short Stories from the Vienna Woods, Castles in the Air Frank Dupree, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra & HK Gruber

• HK Gruber (b. 1943): Piano Concerto:
• 1 Gruber: Piano Concerto 23:57
• Short Stories from the Vienna Woods:
• 2 Gruber: Short Stories from the Vienna Woods: I. Introduction & Song from the Wachau 05:23
• 3 Gruber: Short Stories from the Vienna Woods: II. Splintered Waltzes 04:08
• 4 Gruber: Short Stories from the Vienna Woods: III. Bengal Fire 05:22
• 5 Gruber: Short Stories from the Vienna Woods: IV. In a Flash 03:43
• 6 Gruber: Short Stories from the Vienna Woods: V. Chorale Variations on "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves" & Epilogue 04:04
• 7 Gruber: Short Stories from the Vienna Woods: VI. Prayer 05:42
• 8 Gruber: Short Stories from the Vienna Woods: VII. Polka infernale 05:30
• Castles in the Air:
• 9 Gruber: Castles in the Air: I. Out of Sight (48 kHz) 06:10
• 10 Gruber: Castles in the Air: II. With Princess (48 kHz) 02:38
• 11 Gruber: Castles in the Air: III. Mechanic (48 kHz) 03:03
• 12 Gruber: Castles in the Air: IV. Dreamed Today (48 kHz) 03:22
• Total Runtime 01:13:02

Info for HK Gruber: Piano Concerto, Short Stories from the Vienna Woods, Castles in the Air

Now over 80 years old, the ever-energetic HK Gruber has become an integral part of the music scene, and not only in Austria. As a composer, chansonnier and music educator with constructive depth and his distinctive, ironical jokes, he unfailingly amazes, moves and evokes laughter in his audiences, in a manner far removed from contrived, calculated, contemporary musical art. His genre-spanning works are audible, vibrant journeys through the incredible diversity of music history, thus shaping his own, entirely unmistakable style. In Frank Dupree and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, he finds his ideal partners, who skillfully realise this distinctive musical language.

Frank Dupree, piano
ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien
Heinz Karl Gruber, conductor

Please Note: This album consists of different sampling rates. See track list - behind each track you'll find the sampling rate.

Frank Dupree
winner of the International Classical Music Award and the Opus Klassik, stands as one of the most versatile pianists and conductors of the new generation. Known for his infectious energy and unbridled enthusiasm, Dupree captivates audiences not only as a soloist, sharing the stage with renowned orchestras worldwide, but also as a play/direct artist, conductor, and the leader of his own jazz ensemble, the FRANK DUPREE TRIO. Dupree’s recordings of Nikolai Kapustin’s piano concertos have attracted much international attention (New York Times: “One of the most entertaining and put-on-repeat recordings [of the] year”). As of 2023, Frank Dupree has been the Artistic Partner of the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn performing several projects each season as conductor and soloist.

In the 2024-2025 season, Frank Dupree will give his solo debut with the London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Antonio Pappano (Kapustin Piano Concerto No. 4), hr- Sinfonieorchester / Patrick Hahn (Gershwin Piano Concerto in F), Gothenburg Symphony / Santtu-Matias Rouvali (Kapustin Piano Concerto No. 5). Re-invitations will take Frank Dupree to the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Dortmunder Philharmoniker (play/direct), Münchener Symphoniker, Robert Schumann Philharmonie Chemnitz, Göttinger Symphonieorchester and Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein. In chamber music Dupree will perform at Alte Oper Frankfurt, Tonhalle Zürich, Konzerthaus Wien, Brucknerhaus Linz and Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

Highlights of Frank Dupree’s career include performances with the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Essener Philharmoniker, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Staatskapelle Weimar, Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal, Orchestre national d’Île-de-France, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Bern Symphony Orchestra, Trondheim Symfoniorkester, Malmö SymfoniOrkester, Malmö Operaorkester, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the Sinfónica Nacional de México. Dupree has performed at the Verbier Festival, Lucerne Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Heidelberger Frühling, Kurt Weill Fest, Kissinger Sommer, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Vaduz Classic and Oranjewoud Festival, as well as at renowned concert halls such as the New York Lincoln Center, Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie de Paris, Konzerthaus Berlin, Philharmonie Essen and Dortmund, and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.2024/25 season only. Please contact HarrisonParrott if you wish to edit this biography. Frank Dupree is a passionate chamber musician who effortlessly crosses genre boundaries, and the same can be said for his FRANK DUPREE TRIO: together with Jakob Krupp (double bass) and Obi Jenne (drums) Dupree explores the fascinating intersection between jazz and classical music. In addition, Frank Dupree continues to develop innovative and unique programmes catered towards a number of exciting chamber collaborations, with particularly flourishing artistic relationships with his fellow rising stars; such as Kian Soltani, Vivi Vassileva, Timothy Ridout, Simon Höfele, Noa Wildschut and Pablo Barragán.

Frank Dupree’s current CD productions focus predominantly on the works of Ukrainian-born composer Nikolai Kapustin (1937-2020). In November 2024 Capriccio will release Kapustin Piano Concertos No. 2 & No. 6 with the SWR Symphony Orchestra & SWR Big Band. Kapustin interpretations of Piano Concerto No. 4 (Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn / Case Scaglione) and Piano Concerto No. 5 (Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Dominik Beykirch) have earned him both the International Classical Music Award and the Diapason d’Or. Gramophone Magazine recognised Dupree’s ‘flamboyant brilliance’; WDR further praised his rendition of Piano Concerto No. 5 as ‚fantastic,‘ noting that the performance perfectly captures ‚the drive and pure joy […] of this music.‘ Dupree’s avid interest in contemporary music is reflected in his world premieres, both recorded and on stage, and close collaborations with composers such as Wolfgang Rihm, HK Gruber, Péter Eötvös, Christian Jost and Daniel Bjarnason.

Born in 1991 in Rastatt, Germany, Dupree began taking piano and percussion lessons at an early age. He later studied piano under Professor Sontraud Speidel and conducting with Professors Péter Eötvös and Hans Zender at the University of Music Karlsruhe. In 2012, he was awarded first prize at the International Hans von Bülow Competition in Meiningen for his dual-role performance as pianist and conductor interpreting Beethoven. In 2014, Dupree was the sole prizewinner at Deutscher Musikwettbewerb and also received scholarships from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. He gained valuable insights from master classes with Emanuel Ax, Menahem Pressler, Ferenc Rados, and Gábor Takács-Nagy and has been assistant in projects to Sir Simon Rattle and Mario Venzago. Frank Dupree is a Steinway Artist.

Booklet for HK Gruber: Piano Concerto, Short Stories from the Vienna Woods, Castles in the Air