Complete Works for Viola, Vol. 2 Mikhail Zemtsov

• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): Trio for viola, cello & piano, Op. 114:
• 1 Brahms: Trio for viola, cello & piano, Op. 114: I. Allegro 07:07
• 2 Brahms: Trio for viola, cello & piano, Op. 114: II. Adagio 07:19
• 3 Brahms: Trio for viola, cello & piano, Op. 114: III. Andantino grazioso 04:33
• 4 Brahms: Trio for viola, cello & piano, Op. 114: IV. Allegro 04:34
• Viola Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115:
• 5 Brahms: Viola Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115: I. Allegro 04:34
• 6 Brahms: Viola Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115: II. Adagio 11:06
• 7 Brahms: Viola Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115: III. Andantino 04:24
• 8 Brahms: Viola Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115: IV. Con moto 09:01
• Zwei Gesaenge for mezzo soprano, viola & piano, Op. 91:
• 9 Brahms: Zwei Gesaenge for mezzo soprano, viola & piano, Op. 91: No. 1, Gestillte Sehnsucht 06:05
• 10 Brahms: Zwei Gesaenge for mezzo soprano, viola & piano, Op. 91: No. 2, Geistliches Wiegenlied 05:49
• FAE Sonata:
• 11 Brahms: FAE Sonata: III. Scherzo 05:23
• Total Runtime 01:09:55

Info for Complete Works for Viola, Vol. 2

This second volume of Johannes Brahms: Complete Works for Viola continues Mikhail Zemtsov’s deeply personal exploration of Brahms’s late chamber masterpieces, heard through the warm, human voice of the viola. Centered on works originally inspired by clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, this album reimagines the Trio Op. 114, Quintet Op. 115, Zwei Gesänge Op. 91, and the Scherzo from the FAE Sonata from a new sonic perspective - one that reveals an intimate, unified string sonority and an expressive depth uniquely suited to the viola. Particularly striking is Brahms’s instinctive use of the viola’s lowest register, drawing the listener immediately into a world of introspection, tenderness, and inward poetry.

More than a scholarly project, this recording is a heartfelt artistic statement, born from Zemtsov’s conviction that the viola holds a special affinity with Brahms’s musical language. By pairing the instrument with kindred voices - strings, piano, and the human voice - the album invites listeners to rediscover these iconic works as profoundly vocal, homogenous, and emotionally resonant creations. As the second chapter (volume 2) in a complete cycle commemorating Brahms’s legacy, this release offers not just an alternative version of familiar masterpieces, but a compelling re-illumination of their inner soul.

Mikhail Zemtsov, Vviola
Daniel Rowland, Vviolin
Floor Le Coultre, Vviolin
Timora Rosler, Vcello
Maja Bogdanovic, Vcello
Hanna Shybayeva, Vpiano
Viktoria Dmitrieva, Vpiano
Marion van den Akker, Vmezzo-soprano

Mikhail Zemtsov
is an internationally acclaimed and versatile musician, being a prominent soloist, teacher, educator, chamber musician and conductor.

Zemtsov's solo appearances include performances with the National Symphony Orchestras of Mexico, Estonia and Lithuania; Luxembourg Philharmonic Wiener Volksoper, Hamburger Symphoniker, Rheinische Philharmonie, Stavanger Symphony (Norway), The Hague Philharmonic (Netherlands) with the conductors as Neeme Jarvi, Jaap van Zweden, Leif Segerstam, Dmitri Kitajenko.

Mikhail is member of the Utrecht String Quartet and the Duo Macondo (with the guitarist Enno Voorhorst). Mikhail also founded an unique ensemble - Zemtsov Viola Quartet - together with his wife Julia, brother Alexander and daughter Dana, all of them prominent viola players who studied with great viola virtuoso Michael Kugel.

Mikhail Zemtsov is appointed viola teacher at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and Utrecht Conservatory (Netherlands). Many of his students became prize winners at International Competitions.

Mikhail is regularly invited as a jury member of International Competitions, amongst others, Lionel Tertis Competition 2019, and he is giving numerous masterclasses all over the world.

Mikhail is giving lessons of orchestral conducting to the instrumentalists at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, he has also teached for many years the orchestral conducting to the choir conductors at the Kurt Thomas Course in the Utrecht Conservatory.

Mikhail has been principal conductor of Utrecht Conservatory Strings and Atheneum Chamnber Orchestra. Since 2010 he is conductor of the Young Talent Symphony Orchestra by Rotterdam Conservatory, he is also being regularly invited as a guest conductor in Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain and South America. He has worked with soloists as Janine Janssen, Dmitri Makhtine, Atar Arad, Gavriel Lipkind and Malibran Quartet.

Mikhail has participated in numerous International Festivals in Europe,Far East and the Americas as chamber music partner to Bella Davidovitch, Boris Berezovsky, Dmitri Sitkovetski, Sarah Chang, Janine Jansen, Julian Rachlin, Misha Maisky; Leipziger, Jerusalem, Borodin quartets. He has recorded numerous CDs for Sony Masterworks, Tower Records, Deutsche Welle, Ottavo, D&G, Toccata, as well as recordings for TV and radio. His Solo CD "The Last Rose of Summer" has been placed as number 2 among Top 50 of the TROS - Dutch Broadcast/TV Channel and it has got 9 points (excellent) in the main Dutch recording magazine "LUISTER".

His 2016 recording for Chandos label of Rapsody - Concerto by B. Martinu with Maestro Neeme Jarvi and National Symphony Orchestra of Estonia has been highly acclaimed by international press, including Gramophone magazine.

Mikhail Zemtsov first took violin lessons from his mother Loudmila Levinson at the age of 5, later studying viola and composition at the conservatories of Moscow, Hamburg and Maastricht with G. Odinets, B. Dinerstein, M. Nichetianu, M. Kugel.

Mikhail studied Masters in Orchestral Conducting at Lithuanian Music Academy with Juozas Domarkas, he also took conducting lessons and masterclasses with Lev Markiz, , Neeme Jarvi, Paavo Jarvi, Gianandrea Noseda.

Mikhail is a prize winner of the First International Viola Competion (Vienna,1998) and of the Elisa Meyer String Competition (Hamburg, 1998).

Booklet for Complete Works for Viola, Vol. 2