harmonia mundi usa • new releases December 2009

NEW RELEASES

DECEMBER 8, 2009

The Matthias Goerne Schubert Edition p.5

Table of contents

CONCERT CALENDAR

Page 22

news & highlights NEW RELEASE HIGHLIGHTS

New this month on the harmonia mundi label are a disc of Schumann Lieder with the remarkable mezzo Bernarda Fink (p.4) and Heliopolis, the fourth volume in Matthias Goerne’s award-winning Schubert Edition, which also includes a bonus “making of ” DVD (p.5). Alia Vox presents Arianna Savall’s Peiwoh, the second solo album by the talented soprano and harpist (p.6). New label ClassicPrint features a fascinating BBC documentary DVD entitled Mendelssohn, the Nazis & Me (p.10), and new label Opella Nova delivers Handel in the Playhouse with L’Avventura London (p.13). From First Hand comes the Complete HMV Stereo Recordings of the London Mozart Players in celebration of the group’s 60th anniversary (p.12). On the non-classical front, Asphalt Tango shakes things up with Mahala Rai Banda’s Ghetto Blasters (p.20), a mix of Romanian musical traditions, oriental pop, rumba Catalan and Roma pop. On World Village, Czech-born Latin-American artist Marta Topferova delights with silky hypnotic vocals and crisp cuatro and guitar playing on Trova (p.21).

POPULAR

Soundtrack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 17

CONCERT CALENDAR . .Page 39

Our Label Family

IN THE PRESS OPERA NEWS AWARDS honor harmonia mundi distributed artists

Hyperion • CDA 67676

Tinariwen will tour the US and Canada in February and March to support the release of their fourth album. Imidiwan: Companions has already been embraced by critics across the globe. eMusic says it’s “rock at its most primal and basic: raw, passionate, and brutal, the music of hardship and survival,” while Entertainment Weekly calls it a “windswept synthesis that has finally given the wandering Tuareg people a voice in concert halls and cafes from here to Timbuktu.” For more information see the concert calendar (p.17).

COMING NEXT MONTH

Einaudi’s atmospheric Nightbook

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Catalogs and price lists are available upon request.

Nightbook Ludovico Einaudi Ponderosa • CD 068

December 2009

2

“Finley’s musical instincts seem inseparable from his knack for getting under a character’s skin.” – OPERA NEWS

Tinariwen returns to North America in Spring 2010

Contact Info Tel: Fax: E–mail:

The OPERA NEWS AWARDS celebrate the distinguished achievements of five of opera’s best and brightest. The 2009 honorees include Gerald Finley (Hyperion), Philip Glass (Orange Mountain) and Joyce Didonato (Eloquentia).

Gerald Finley, Julius Drake

LSO Live Marabi Mariinsky Mirare Mondomix Network Ocora Onyx Classics Opella Nova Opera Rara Orange Mountain Otá Piranha Plus Loin Ponderosa Praga Radio France RCOC RCO Live SFS Media Shefa Signature Sound Grammar Tahra Testament Van Cliburn Wergo Wisdom Mountain World Village Ysaÿe

Schumann: Dichterliebe

Accords-Croisés Alia Vox Ambronay APO APR Armide Asphalt Tango Calliope Cantaloupe Channel Classics Chant du Monde ClassicPrint Contre-Jour Daqui Dawn of Freedom Diquela Dutton Eloquentia First Hand Futur-Acoustic Gimell harmonia mundi Howe Hyperion Institut du Monde Arabe Iris K617 Keltia III KML Long Distance

Street Date: December 8, 2009

Contact information:

Ludovico Einaudi describes his latest CD, Nightbook, as something transitional between light and darkness, between the known and the unknown. Gradually composed while Einaudi was on tour around the world, this new album comes three years after the international success of the previous work, Divenire. Whereas one might term Divenire an album that evokes movement toward the world outside, Nightbook opens a new gate on the world within. Recorded in Milan and at the Planet Roc studios in Berlin, the album also features cellist Marco Decimo, violaplayer Antonio Leofreddi and Robert Lippok.

Ma hew Owen National Sales Manager Publicity & Promotions Director Sarah Folger

mowen@harmoniamundi.com sfolger@harmoniamundi.com

Editor–in–Chief: Ma hew Owen Design: Scarle Freund

World Village • 468096

Page 3 Page 6 Page 7 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 15

Tinariwen

harmonia mundi . . . . . . . . . . .

Alia Vox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ambronay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

APR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Caliope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Channel Classics . . . . . . . . . . .

ClassicPrint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Eloquentia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

First Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Opella Nova . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Praga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tahra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Wergo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Imidiwan: Companions

CLASSICAL

A perennial favorite returns to the catalog Anonymous 4 harmonia mundi • HMU 907109

Aa93046c&!)(@\R Price Code: A19 (Suggested Retail Price: $19.98)

Previously Available as HMX 2907109 (093046610920) Deleted July 2009 “True love may exist only outside of marriage, and a man must subject himself totally to the will of his beloved, whether or not her requests seem rational.” If you think these ideas strange, be glad you weren’t looking for love in France in the Middle Ages. These precepts course through the lyrics of the 13th century French motets that are featured on this exceptional recording by Anonymous 4. The group performs works found in a manuscript known as the Montpellier Codex. These polyphonic works often use texts in striking ways, such as when a love song, a diatribe against hypocrisy and a rousing drinking song are sung simultaneously.

This highly successful follow-up to An English Ladymass has been an Anonymous 4 catalog favorite since its original release 15 years ago.

The full-price version has been restored to the catalog to replace the Catalog-CD, which has been discontinued.

harmonia mundi

Love’s Illusion

“A tapestry of musical variety... ranging from startling harmonic juxtapositions to the gentle alternation of voices. A tantalizing glimpse of thirteenth-century France.”

— THE NEW YORKER

Four Centuries of Chant

harmonia mundi • HMX 2907546 (093046754624)

December 2009

Recent mid-price release

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harmonia mundi

Bernarda Fink sings Schumann’s last songs

SCHUMANN Lieder

Bernarda Fink (mezzo-soprano), Anthony Spiri (piano) harmonia mundi • HMC 902031

Hk948 1c(@%)@ZP Price Code: A19 (Suggested Retail Price: $19.98)

“I would like to sing myself to death like a nightingale,” wrote Schumann in 1840, revealing a sudden passion for the lied, a genre he had hitherto disdained. His deeply romantic song cycles disclose in the piano part what the words do not express, to the point where he completely dissolves the traditional forms of versification. Written in 1852, Die Gedichte der Königin Maria Stuart, songs set to poems attributed to Mary, Queen of Scots, stands out for its austerity and exceptional concentration of resources. It was the last song cycle Schumann composed and it epitomized the fateful gloom that was a hallmark of his declining years. Most of the poetry set in these cycles was a fabrication, pure and simple, born of sentimental imagination.

In treating these texts, Schumann must have hoped to capture the large contemporary audience attracted to such tales.

“Fink’s rich, warm voice boasts the perfect blend of colour and clarity.”

— THE OBSERVER

December 2009

Also available with Bernarda Fink

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Schubert: Lieder

harmonia mundi • HMC 901991 (794881890828)

“Moments like this are what people talk about when using words such as ‘vocal genius.’”

— PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Brahms: Lieder

harmonia mundi • HMC 901926 (794881832927)

“This is a treasure for all lovers of Brahms and singing.”

— CLASSICS TODAY

Goerne’s Schubert cycle continues harmonia mundi

SCHUBERT Heliopolis Ma hias Goerne Schubert Edition Vol.4

Ma hias Goerne (baritone), Ingo Metzmacher (piano) harmonia mundi • HMC 902035

Hk948 1c(@$(@+U

Price Code: A19 (CD plus Bonus DVD, Suggested Retail Price: $19.98)

“The most intellectually and vocally gifted male art-song interpreter of his generation.”

— PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Includes Bonus DVD During his career, Franz Schubert wrote over six hundred songs to texts by over one hundred and fifty different poets. However, more remarkable than his prolific output was his exceptional skill. The lied had previously been the province of amateurs — a genre for composers and performers of modest means and limited ambition. Schubert elevated the lied to the status of art through his extraordinary musical and poetic sensitivity.

Heliopolis is the fourth volume of harmonia mundi’s Matthias Goerne Schubert Edition, a series that has already created quite a stir, garnering a Gramophone Editor’s Choice and a Choc du Monde de la Musique, among other awards. The release is further augmented by a free DVD about the making of this recording.

Also available in the series harmonia mundi • HMC 901988 (794881868223)

Schubert: An mein Herz

harmonia mundi • HMC 902004 (794881892822)

Schubert: Die schone Mullerin harmonia mundi • HMC 901995 (794881911127)

December 2009

Schubert: Sehnsucht

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The wondrous harp of Arianna Savall alia vox

Peiwoh

Arianna Savall (harp) Alia Vox • AV 9869

H6q9o8yc)(*^(@s Price Code: A21 (Suggested Retail Price: $21.98)

“A soprano with a slight and very enticing earthy edge, refined yet folky, now serious now playful, capable of varied expression and nuance...”

— CLASSICS TODAY

December 2009

Peiwoh is the long-awaited second solo album by the extraordinary singer/harpist Arianna Savall. Both the music and the repertoire of Peiwoh expand greatly on her debut album Bella Terra. Here, the music is performed by a unique nine-piece ensemble including brother Ferran Savall on vocals and theorbo. The album’s theme is based on the taoist tale of Prince Peiwoh, who played a magical harp whose stubborn spirit could only be tamed but by the greatest of musicians. This album, like so many on the Alia Vox label, represents a seamless blending of various traditions from east and west, classical and world. Arianna Savall plays a variety of instruments ranging from the small Gothic harp to the majestic Celtic harp.

6

Also available with Arianna Savall Bella Terra

Alia Vox • AV 9833 (7619986098333)

“Arianna marries grace, childlike innocence and simplicity while performing complex music.

She makes it all seem effortless; leaving her listeners breathless from the sheer beauty of these 12 songs…” — WORLD MUSIC CENTRAL

Dialogos explores early polyphony Price Code: A19 (Suggested Retail Price: $19.98)

ambronay

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Abbo Abbas

Dialogos, Katarina Livljanik Ambronay • AMY 017

This disc explores the oldest existing polyphonic music of medieval Europe, coming from 10th century Winchester England and Fleury sur Loire during the period of the famous monk Saint Abbo, considered by scholars to be ‘the most cultivated man of his times.’ Notated in a very complex system of neumes that allow several possibilities for reconstruction, these rich polyphonies would normally have been condemned to oblivion because of the impossibility of finding a unique solution for their deciphering. For this recording, Dialogos worked with Susan Rankin of Cambridge University, the principal international specialist in Winchester polyphony. The four singers create a powerful ambiance of words and sounds, in which 10th century music dialogues entwine with improvisations in the style of the medieval cantors whom Abbo might have heard in his own abbey.

APR’s latest discovery Price Code: A19 (2 CDs for the Price of 1, Suggested Retail Price: $19.98)

Michael Zadora (piano) APR • APR 6008

December 2009

Michael Zadora is one of the most obscure pianists to have recorded prolifically in the 78rpm era. Only a handful of 78s have ever been reissued and no LP or CD has ever been devoted to him. It would appear that his concert career was also not particularly high profile, yet from these recordings it seems he was a very significant artist. Zadora, a disciple of Busoni, seems to have been a rather reserved character, much more an intellectual than someone who enjoyed public performance and it is likely that family wealth allowed him the luxury of not have to pursue his career too aggressively. On the other hand, studio recording suited him very well indeed and he seems equally at home in the standard repertoire and in more rarefied material. Of particular interest are Zadora’s own unusual transcriptions and also the works of ‘Pietro Amadis’ who was actually a pseudonym of the pianist.

apr

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Michael Zadora The Complete Recordings, 1922-1938

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apr

The Russian Tradition series continues BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas Nos.12, 28 & 29 Russian Piano Tradition: The Nicolayev School

Russian Piano Tradition: The Goldenweiser School Victor Merzhanov (piano) APR • APR 5671

Maria Yudina (piano) APR • APR 5670

F0wr70oc!%^&)@s

F0wr70oc!%^&!(s

Price Code: A19 (Suggested Retail Price: $19.98)

Price Code: A19 (Suggested Retail Price: $19.98)

calliope

Maria Yudina is perhaps the greatest maverick amongst the Soviet pianists. She was a champion of contemporary music, but she was also renowned for her playing of Bach and Beethoven. Yudina made many recordings, which are at last making their way onto CD, but one of the finest is undoubtedly her towering rendition of Beethoven’s great masterpiece, the Hammerklavier sonata which is included here. Victor Merzhanov is one of the youngest pianists to be featured in this series. He was most prolific in the recording studio in the 1950’s and his performances are characterized by peerless technique and a generous, but never self-serving, emotional involvement with the music.

Guitar music of Villa-Lobos

Hk948 1c(#$%@WM Decenber 2009

Price Code: A19 (Suggested Retail Price: $19.98)

8

VILLA-LOBOS Guitar Works

Pascal Boëls (guitar) Calliope • CAL 9415

The guitar works of Heitor Villa-Lobos form only a small part of the composer’s overall output of more than a thousand works. However, they clearly and delightfully show the three main sources of his inspiration: the luxuriance of his native Brazil, the music of Bach and the European avant-garde, in which he had immersed himself in the Paris of the 1920s, with friends including Varèse, Picasso and many more. On this new disc from Calliope, guitarist Pascal Boëls plays a generous selection of music, including the 12 Etudes, 5 Preludes, the Suite populaire brésilienne and the Choros No.1.

Bach favorites — available again at a special price channel classics

BACH Christmas Oratorio

Netherlands Bach Society, Jos van Veldhoven Channel Classics • CCS SA 30809

Hk23 85c#)*)([Q

Price Code: A24 (2 SACDs for the Price of 1, Suggested Retail Price: $24.98) SACD Hybrid/ Stereo & Multi-channel/ DSD Previously Available as CCS SA 20103 (723385201038) Deleted November 2009 BACH St John Passion

Stam Caroline (soprano), Peter de Groot (counter-tenor), Charles Daniels (tenor), Gerd Türk (tenor), Stephan McLeod (bass), Bas Ramselaar (bass), Netherlands Bach Society, Jos van Veldhoven Channel Classics • CCS SA 31309

Hk23 85c#!#)(?K

Price Code: A24 (2 SACDs for the Price of 1, Suggested Retail Price: $24.98) SACD Hybrid/ Stereo & Multi-channel/ DSD Previously Available as CCS SA 22005 (723385220053) Deleted November 2009

December 2009

The Christmas Oratorio is one of Bach’s best loved works. This Channel Classics recording features a transcendent performance by the Netherlands Bach Society under the direction of the Dutch conductor Jos van Veldhoven. The Netherlands Bach Society’s recording of Bach’s St. John Passion was made with similar forces. The group performs Bach’s earliest version of this work (1724) in a reconstruction by musicologist Dr. Pieter Dirksen. Both of these sets, recorded in state of the art Super Audio surroundsound, are being re-issued at a very attractive price.

9

classicprint

A fascinating BBC Television documentary

Mendelssohn, the Nazis & Me

new label

Various Artists Classicprint • CPVP 020 DVD

Gj0438 c&#@#)WM Price Code: A21 (Suggested Retail Price: $21.98)

Decenber 2009

59 Minutes/ Stereo / English Felix Mendelssohn was a passionate Christian. He was also born a Jew. This film, marking the 200th anniversary of his birth, tells the extraordinary story of what happened, generations later, both to Mendelssohn’s family and to his music, when the Nazis remembered the Jewish roots of Germany’s most celebrated composer. It also examines how the influences of both Judaism and Christianity affected Mendelssohn’s music and was made by documentary-maker Sheila Hayman, Mendelssohn’s great-great-great-great niece.

10

“One of most fascinating programs I’ve seen in some time... This entrancing film succeeded as a personal and justifiably proud celebration of not only the endurance of Hayman’s forebears, but also that of Mendelssohn’s unconquerable music and the human spirit generally.”

— THE SCOTSMAN

Sacred choral gems of the Baroque Price Code: A19 (Suggested Retail Price: $19.98)

Ingrid Perruche (soprano), Yeree Suh (soprano), Bri a Schwarz (alto), Markus Schäfer (tenor), Alain Buet (bass), Arnaud Richard (bass), Arsys Bourgogne, Harmonie Universelle, Pierre Cao Eloquentia • EL 0916

eloquentia

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TELEMANN Deus judicium tuum HANDEL Dixit Dominus

The two great works brought together on this recording, the Dixit Dominus

by Georg Friedrich Handel and the Deus Judicium tuum by Georg Philipp Telemann, give us some idea of the splendid music that held such appeal for the church, the courts and concert audience in early eighteenth-century Europe. Written by two German composers for Rome and Paris respectively, they illustrate the blending of German, French and Italian styles, as well as the variety, yet unity, that was to be found in European music of that time.

Machaut’s secular masterpiece

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Price Code: 2A12 (2 CD Set, Suggested Retail Price: $25.98)

MACHAUT Remède de Fortune

Marc Mauillon (narrator), Angelique Mauillon (harp), Vivabiancaluna Biffi (viol), Pierre Hamon (recorder) Eloquentia • EL 0918

December 2009

Guillaume de Machaut is famous chiefly for his Messe de Nostre Dame, the earliest known complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass attributable to a single composer. He was also the most famous and historically significant representative of the movement known as the Ars Nova. Machaut was especially influential in the development of the motet and the secular song. In Machaut’s Remède de Fortune, the narrator is asked by his lady if the poem she has found was written by him. The narrator flees from her and comes to a garden where ‘Hope’ consoles him and teaches him how to be a good lover. He then returns to his lady, and all is right with the world.

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first hand

London Mozart Players at their finest

The Complete HMV Stereo Recordings London Mozart Players, Harry Blech First Hand • FHR 05

F0yp21yc#$) )%s

Price Code: 2A11 (3 CDs for the Price of 2, Suggested Retail Price: $23.98)

Following First Hand Records’ highly-praised set of Cherkassky HMV recordings, they now publish the complete HMV stereo recordings made by the London Mozart Players and Harry Blech. They are issued here for the first time on CD, most for the first time in stereo. This welcome tribute is released in 2009 to celebrate both the 60th anniversary year of the group and the centenary of Blech’s birth. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, in 1956 & 1957 and sympathetically remastered there using the original HMV master tapes, these recordings sound magnificent. LMP are the longest established chamber orchestra in the UK and have always been greatly respected worldwide. Highlights from this issue include Mozart’s great Posthorn Serenade and a magnificent reading of the Jupiter Symphony.

Decenber 2009

Also available from First Hand Records

12

Cherkassky: Complete HMV Stereo Recordings First Hand • FHR 04 (5060051619465)

“This is vintage Cherkassky...”

— CLASSICS TODAY

A delightful new Handel discovery HANDEL Handel in the Playhouse

L’Avventura London, Žak Ozmo Opella Nova • ONCD 014

F0yp08rc()@#*!s Price Code: A19 (Suggested Retail Price: $19.98)

Fighting the deluge of re-recordings and re-issued CDs in this Handel anniversary year, the brand-new Opella Nova Records label is pleased to present a new group with a completely different take on the venerated composer.

The lighthearted, eminently-listenable Handel in the Playhouse is the debut album by early music ensemble L’Avventura London, directed by Žak Ozmo, based on new musicological research. An unusually large number of Handel tunes have been discovered in comic 18th-century musical theatre pieces called ballad operas. The authors of these theatre works cleverly stole Handel’s music from his fashionable operas and instrumental works, adding new English texts and using them in their own music theatre pieces. The ballad operas, which include the timeless Beggar’s Opera, were staged far more often than even the most successful of Handel’s Italian operas. Handel in the Playhouse is rich with new discoveries and the instrumentalists’ energetic and sensitive playing brings light to these novel and highly entertaining songs. Future releases on Opella Nova include a recording of unrecorded 18th-century Portuguese modinhas and a recording of 18th-century Scottish folk songs (all previously unrecorded).

ADVANCE REVIEW

— EARLY MUSIC TODAY

December 2009

“Singers Mary Bevan and Greg Tassell perfectly convey the tongue-in-cheek humour and pathos of ballad opera songs, while movements from Handel’s instrumental works — often played as interval music in the Georgina playhouse — intersperse their contributions. All in all a much needed antidote to the operas and oratorios we’ve been wading through this past year.”

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Chamber music favorites on  praga

MARTINŮ String Quartets Nos.1, 3 & 6

Prazák Quartet Praga • PRD 250254

Hk948 1c* (^@YO Price Code: A22 (Suggested Retail Price: $22.98)

HAYDN String Quartets Op.33 Nos. 1, 4 & 6

Párkányí Quartet Praga • PRD 250261

Hk948 1c(!%*@]T December 2009

Price Code: A22 (Suggested Retail Price: $22.98)

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SACD Hybrid/ Stereo & Multi-channel/ DSD Martinu wrote seven string, quartets forming a succession of testimonies stretching from 1920 to 1947. This second volume (the first is PRD 250205) juxtaposes the first quartet, a lengthy and luxurious homage to Debussy, Reger and Dvorak, the shortest quartet (No.3) and the sixth, a fantastic counterpoint of madrigals for strings. The last three of Haydn’s Opus 33 quartets define the archetype of the classical string quartet, a genre that would henceforth blossom independently of its patrons. Here, Haydn makes music that is light, subtle, intentionally humorous, concise and radiant, capable of leaving private drawing rooms for public concert venues. Mozart immediately detected its originality as would the classic composers of the 20th century.

Rare violin music Price Code: 2A13 (2 CD Set, Suggested Retail Price: $27.98)

tahra

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La Fête à Stradivarius — Vol.1

Christian Ferras, Zino Francesca i, Ida Haendel, Gioconda de Vito (violins) Tahra • TAH 670

This new series from Tahra will feature, as usual, previously unissued recordings of high artistic interest. The first volume sets the standard, with four first-time releases. The disc includes two Mozart concertos with Christian Ferras and Ida Haendel, the Mendelssohn concerto with Zino Francescatti and the Brahms concerto with Gioconda de Vito under the baton of Eugen Jochum . All these recordings have one point in common: the violinists play a violin built by the famous violin maker Antonio Stradivarius of Cremona.

Earle Brown series continues Earle Brown Contemporary Sound Series Vol.2

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Price Code: 2A23 (3 CDs for the Price of 2, Suggested Retail Price: $47.98)

December 2009

Recorded between 1960 and 1973, the original eighteen LPs that comprise Earle Brown’s legendary Contemporary Sound Series have been highly sought after in the secondary market since 1978 when they were discontinued.

These rare and historically important recordings of international avant-garde music have been carefully digitized and remastered by the Earle Brown Music Foundation. Volume two includes music by Luigi Nono (Polifonica - Monodia - Ritmica), Bruno Maderna (Serenata No. 2), Luciano Berio (Différences) Peter Maxwell Davies (Antechrist) Harrison Birtwistle (Ring a Dumb Carillon) David Bedford (Come In Here Child), Richard Orton (Cycle for 2 or 4 Players), Morton Feldman: (Durations I-IV) and Earle Brown (Music for Violin, Cello and Piano, Music for Cello and Piano, and Hodograph I).

wergo

Various Artists Wergo • WER 6931

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SOUNDTRACK A cult film soundtrack chant du monde

India Song — Original Soundtrack Carlos D’Alessio Chant du Monde • 2741745

Hk948 1c(@*#@XN

Price Code: A18 (2 CDs for the Price of 1, Suggested Retail Price: $18.98)

December 2009

File in: Soundtrack Argentine pianist and composer Carlos D’Alessio was born in Buenos Aires in 1935. From the age of four, he showed special singing talent and although he couldn’t read music, he could reproduce entirely by ear all the tunes he’d heard and these in turn would serve as the basis for his own improvised “melodies.” His work as a film music composer is epitomized in this transcendent score for Marguerite Duras’ 1975 film India Song. The film, starring Dephine Seyrig and Michael Lonsdale is somewhat of a cult classic. Set in India in the late 30’s, Anne-Marie Stretter is the wife of the French ambassador and leads a solitary yet privileged life in Calcutta. The tedium of her existence is relieved by numerous illicit love affairs with government officials, young men who find her an object of desire and fascination. The Vice Consul is driven insane by his unrequited love for her and ultimately is expelled from the ambassador’s palace.

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WORLD

A multi-cultural connection Price Code: A21 (Suggested Retail Price: $21.98)

File in: World / Asia / Pakistan Thierry “Titi” Robin’s first album was recorded in 1983, so he is hardly a newcomer. However, he only played his first UK gig this year, followed by a three date mini tour and the reissue of his 1993 classic album Gitans. Hot on the heels of this burst of activity comes this new album with the acclaimed qawwali vocalist Faiz Ali Faiz. These two talented musicians have created more than a simple dialogue.

For this project Robin composed several original melodies, selecting modes and rhythms that best represent the world of qawwali. Faiz, on the other hand found sacred poetic texts that would match the instrumentals. Their combined creation is unique. For the recording, Robin and Faiz are joined by a multi-cultural cast of musicians on voice, harmonium, accordion, winds and percussion.

accords croisés

Hk948 1c(#&)@]T

Jaadu — Magic

Faiz Ali Faiz, Thierry Robin Accords Croisés • AC 130

Hot Balkan grooves Gypsy Groovz Orchestra Network • 495126

Price Code: A22 (Suggested Retail Price: $22.98)

December 2009

File in: World / Europe / Balkans At the invitation of Network records, many stars of the legendary Guca Festival got together for a special session. No sooner had they arrived in Guca, than they were all snowed in. For days there was no escape, but sufficient supplies of food and drink were on hand, so the music rolled on. With the assistance of Ekrem Sajdic, the leading authority and oldest band leader among the trumpet players of Guca, a magnificent cast of musicians was assembled featuring no less than seven orchestras.

The centerpiece of the album is the 34-minute track “Hot Water Festival” wherein trumpets, tubas, clarinets and saxophones play totally free and exuberant solos to the ancient Roma melodies. The album is a unique document, with lots of photos and text by Guca festival producer Ilija Stankovic.

network

Hk85965c(%!@^+U

Night Train for Lovers & Thieves

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WORLD New releases on vinyl Fake No More

asphalt tango

La Cherga Asphalt Tango • ATR 1908

E0r71uoc!&^&^&s Price Code: A22 (Suggested Retail Price: $22.98)

Radio Romanista

Kal Asphalt Tango • ATR 2109

E0r71uoc@)$(!)s Decenber 2009

Price Code: A22 (Suggested Retail Price: $22.98)

18

Vinyl LP File in: World / Europe / Balkans Ripe, bright and tasty as stuffed peppers, La Cherga create 21st Century electro-roots music with a pan-Balkanic consciousness. The band consists of six musicians, all from former Yugoslavia. Named after a Balkan rag rug (appropriate for these musical recyclers) La Cherga weaves a sonic collage, inventing a Balkan internationalist music & manifesto. Their sound draws on the best of both East and West, bringing together Balkan brass, jazz vocals, Jamaican grooves and electronic beats. Almost three years on from Kal’s groundbreaking debut album, the vinyl re-issue of Radio Romanista is still a musical event. The band’s leader says, “We went from being this tiny Belgrade band to touring Europe and the US, hearing DJs blast our music in clubs, playing festivals, getting to spread the word and music of the Rom. What you get here is our live sound. We spend a lot of time touring and when we’re back home we’re playing clubs along the Danube, bars that put on live music. This has really shaped our sound, it’s Rock’n’roma!”

WORLD Perfect party discs Fiesta Tropical

network

Various Artists Network • 495129

Hk85965c(%!@(?K Price Code: A22 (Suggested Retail Price: $22.98)

File in: World Music

Fiesta Balkanica Various Artists Network • 495128

Hk85965c(%!@*XN Price Code: A22 (Suggested Retail Price: $22.98)

File in: World / Europe / Balkans

December 2009

On these two discs, Network has carefully selected tracks that fully capture the musical flavor and spirit of these diverse and exciting regions of the world. On Fiesta Tropical, from Havana to Rio de Janeiro, this disc screams, “It’s party time!” Selections range from Cuban salsa and son montuno to Caribbean cocktails mixed by Izaline Calister and her band from Curacao and to tangos by Sexteto Mayor from Buenos Aires.

In the Balkans, festivals and concerts have a dynamic of their very own. Musicians and audience quickly interact and mutually rouse each others spirits. Fiesta Balkanica recreates the joy, energy and excitement of these special events. Participants include the pan-Balkan group Sandy Lopicic Orchestra, the speedy Clejani Express from Romania, the “Gypsy Queen” Esma Redzepova, the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble and Bratsch from Paris.

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WORLD

The supergroup of Roma pop Ghe o Blasters

asphalt tango

Mahala Rai Banda Asphalt Tango • ATR 2509

E0r71uoc# ^%@(s Price Code: A19 (Suggested Retail Price: $19.98)

ADVANCE REVIEW

December 2009

File in: World / Europe / Balkans How do you find THE great Gypsy group, a sort of Balkan equivalent of the Memphis Horns with the rhythm section from Muscle Shoals, combining power and finesse, groove and virtuosity? It’s easy, just bring together the musicians from Clejani (home of Taraf de Haidouks) and Zece Prajini (home of Fanfare Ciocarlia). This magic equation almost guarantees you an orchestra - a taraf - that is hot as coals. And to add spice to this mixture, invite guest singers such Sorin Constantin, Jony Iliev and Dan Armeanca, the king of the manea, forerunner of what was to become the manele, the Romanian pop of the 21st century. The result is the Mahala Rai Banda, the supergroup of Roma pop. The band’s highly acclaimed first CD was released on Crammed Discs in 2004. Ghetto Blasters marks a big step forward for Mahala Rai Banda.

The album features a souped-up brass section and thirteen tracks of literally unstoppable rhythms.

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“Romania’s Mahala Rai Banda have added an invigorating new invention — the influences of Western pop and dance rhythms, from swingbeat to ragga. And if that brings to mind some anaemic programmed fusion, you’re reckoning without this music’s amazing vigour and capacity to adapt.”

— DAILY TELEGRAPH

WORLD

Graceful Latin grooves Trova

world village

Marta Topferova World Village • 468090

Hk13746c*)()@\R Price Code: A18 (Suggested Retail Price: $18.98)

File in: World / Latin The music of Marta Topferova, the Czech-born, New York-based singer and songwriter, fuses a range of Latin American musical styles and rhythms that Topferova h a s s t u d i e d a n d m a s t e re d since her childhood in Prague.

Described as “a leading light of the nueva cancion movement,” Topferova’s sound blends folk and jazz that Topferova conveys through her silky hypnotic vocals and her crisp cuatro and guitar playing. Trova, her latest release on World Village, continues this extraordinary artist’s growth and development of her own unique and decidedly sexy Latin groove.

“Topferova is proof that the outsider can not only inhabit, but liberate and extend a music’s spirit... [she] strikes a perfect balance between the folky and the left-field, between bitter chocolate richness and dreamy ethereality.’’

— THE TELEGRAPH

“One of the most graceful interpreters of Latin American folk music.”

— THE TIMES

Also available from Marta Topferova World Village • 468040 (713746804022)

Flor Nocturna

World Village • 468062 (713746806224)

December 2009

La Marea

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Concert Calendar • CLASSICAL December 2009

22

Artist

Label

Date

City

State

Venue

Anonymous 4

harmonia mundi

James Ehnes

Onyx Classics

Ethel Bernarda Fink Iván Fischer Alban Gerhardt Marc-André Hamelin

Cantaloupe harmonia mundi Channel Classics Hyperion Hyperion

Angela Hewi

Hyperion

Steven Isserlis

Hyperion

Mariinsky Orchestra Nicholas McGegan Viktoria Mullova

Mariinsky harmonia mundi Onyx Classics

Jon Nakamatsu

harmonia mundi

The Newberry Consort Garrick Ohlsson

harmonia mundi Hyperion

Mark Padmore

harmonia mundi

Dorothea Röschmann Christine Schäfer Yeol Eum Son

harmonia mundi Onyx Classics harmonia mundi

Tallis Scholars

Gimell

Tokyo String Quartet

harmonia mundi

Pieter Wispelwey Haochen Zhang

Onyx Classics harmonia mundi

Dec 1 Dec 3 Dec 6 Dec 9 Dec 11 Dec 12 Dec 18 Dec 20 Dec 5 Feb 4, 6 Dec 18 Jan 22, 24 Dec 3-5 Dec 3-4 Dec 12 Dec 15 Dec 18 Jan 13 Jan 17 Jan 30 Feb 2 Dec 1 Dec 3 Feb 10 Jan 6 Jan 10 Jan 15 Jan 15-17 Feb 11 Feb 12 Feb 13-14 Dec 5 Jan 9-10 Jan 16 Jan 23-24 Jan 30 Jan 31 Feb 4 Feb 5 Feb 6 Feb 8 Feb 9 Jan 23 Jan 10 Jan 15 Jan 19 Jan 22-24 Feb 3 Dec 9 Dec 10-11 Dec 5 Jan 20 Jan 23 Jan 26 Jan 31 Feb 6 Dec 4 Dec 10 Jan 3 Jan 23 Jan 26 Feb 3 Feb 4 Feb 5 Feb 6 Jan 24 Jan 21 Jan 22 Jan 24 Jan 29 Jan 31 Feb 5 Feb 6 Feb 7

Villanova San Francisco Santa Fe Minneapolis Chicago Milwaukee Philadelphia New York Beverly Hills Sea le New York New York Cleveland Miami New York San Francisco La Jolla Philadelphia Orono Oklahoma City Forth Worth San Francisco North Bethesda Ann Arbor Washington San Francisco La Jolla Sea le San Francisco Palo Alto Berkeley Forth Worth Jacksonville Des Moines Yarmouth Port Santa Cruz Watsonville Lancaster Lewisburg Lansdale Burlington Rockford Pi sburgh Berkeley La Jolla Philadelphia Baltimore New York New York New York New York New York Corpus Christi Santa Fe Li le Rock Midland Berkeley Kansas City Wooster New York New Haven Honolulu Kahului Kamuela Hilo New York Charleston Charlo e Urbana Gainesville Clearwater Jacksonville Jacksonville Stuart

PA CA NM MN IL WI PA NY MI WA NY NY OH FL NY CA CA PA ME OK TX CA MD MI DC CA CA WA CA CA CA TX FL IA MA CA CA PA PA PA IA IL PA CA CA PA MD NY NY NY NY NY TX NM AR MI CA MO OH NY NC HI HI HI HI NY SC SC IL FL FL FL FL FL

Villanova University Herbst Theater Lensic Performing Arts Center Basilica of St. Mary's Cathedral of the Holy Name St. Joseph Center Chapel St. Mark's Church Corpus Christi Church Seligman Performing Arts Center Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium World Financial Center Winter Garden Alice Tully Hall Severance Hall Lincoln Theater Kaufmann Auditorium Herbst Theater Sherwood Auditorium Perelman Theater Collins Center for the Arts Civic Center Music Hall Bass Hall Herbst Theater Music Center at Strathmore Hill Auditorium Terrace Theater Herbst Theater Copley Symphony Hall Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium Herbst Theatre First United Methodist Church First Congregational Church Modern Art Museum Jacksonville University Levi Auditorium Barnstable High School Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium Mello Center Lancaster Mennonite High School Weiss Center for the Performing Arts North Penn High School Auditorium Memorial Auditorium Coronado Theatre Synod Hall Zellerbach Hall Sherwood Auditorium Perelman Theater Meyerhoff Alice Tully Hall Gerald W. Lynch Theater Gerald W. Lynch Theater Zankel Hall Zankel Hall Corpus Christi Chamber Music Society The Lensic Performing Arts Center Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall Midland Center for the Arts First Congregational Church Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Wooster Chamber Music Series Kaufmann Concert Hall Morse Recital Hall Doris Duke Theatre Maui Arts & Cultural Ctr: Castle Theatre Kahilu Theatre University of Hawaii Alice Tully Hall Gaillard Municipal Auditorium Halton Theatre Foellinger Great Hall Squitieri Studio Theatre Ruth Eckerd Hall Jacoby Symphony Hall Jacoby Symphony Hall Lyric Theatre

Label

Date

City

State

Venue

C.J. Chenier

World Village

Zakir Hussain Shujaat Husain Khan Klezmatics

Network World Village Piranha

Masters of Persian Music

World Village

Ana Moura

World Village

So Percussion Catherine Russell Tinariwen

Cantaloupe World Village World Village

Jun 6 Jul 2-3 Mar 12-13 May 1 Dec 6 Dec 9-10 Dec 10 Dec 12 Dec 13 Dec 17 Dec 19 Dec 20 Jan 23 Jan 30 Feb 25 Mar 7 Mar 10-11 Mar 13 Mar 20 Mar 21 May 6 May 8 Feb 10 Feb 12 Feb 13 Feb 14 Feb 18 Feb 19 Feb 20 Feb 23 Feb 26 Feb 28 Apr 17 Apr 18 Apr 20 Apr 22 Apr 23 Apr 24 Feb 6 Feb 20 Feb 15 Feb 16 Feb 20 Feb 21

Bath Lake Placid New York New York Richmond New York South Orange Port Washington Brooklyn Westport Skokie Milwaukee Ithaca New York Saratoga Springs Greenwich Oswego Somerville Whitefish Helena Bethesda Hampton Los Angeles Irvine Berkeley Saratoga New York Somerville Cleveland Chicago Atlanta Washington Boston New York Las Cruces Los Angeles Modesto San Francisco Ann Arbor Ketchum Chapel Hill Columbus Los Angeles San Francisco

ME NY NY NY VA NY NJ NY NY CT IL WI NY NY NY NY NY MA MT MT MD VA CA CA CA CA NY MA OH IL GA DC MA NY NM CA CA CA MI ID NC OH CA CA

Chocolate Church Arts Center I Love Barbecue Festival Rose Theater Symphony Space Modlin Center for the Arts 92nd Street Y South Orange Performing Arts Center Jeanne Rimsky Theater Kingsborough Community College Westport Country Playhouse Centre East Miramar Theatre State Theatre Tavern On The Green Skidmore College Cole Auditorium SUNY Oswego Somerville Theatre O'Shaughnessy Center Myrna Loy Center Strathmore Music Center Gazebo American Theatre Walt Disney Concert Hall Irvine Barclay Theatre Zellerbach Hall Carriage House Theatre Skirball Center for the Arts Somerville Theatre Hanna Theater Symphony Center Ferst Center for the Arts Kennedy Center Concert Hall Berklee Performance Center Symphony Space Rio Grande Theatre Skirball Center Mary Stuart Rogers Theater Palace of Fine Arts Theatre University of Michigan Museum of Art Sun Valley Center for the Arts University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Wexner Center for The Arts Royce Hall San Francisco Jazz Festival

Concert Calendar • POPULAR

Artist

December 2009

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