April 14th classical releases

Classical releases

APRIL 14

DISTRIBUTED LABELS: ACCENT RECORDS, ACTES SUD, ALIA VOX, APARTE, BELVEDERE, KINGS COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, CHRISTOPHORUS, CSO RESOUND, EDITION CLASSICS, EVIDENCE CLASSIQUES, FRA MUSICA, GLOSSA, harmonia mundi, LA DOLCE VOLTA, LES ARTS FLORISSANTS, LSO LIVE, MARIINSKY, MIRARE, MYRIOS, NAÏVE, ONYX, PAN CLASSICS, PRAGA DIGITALS, RUBICON CLASSICS, SIGNUM CLASSICS, UNITED ARCHIVES, WIGMORE HALL LIVE

available April 14th 2017

RELEASE DATE 14TH APRIL 2017

SCHUMANN: Einsamkeit, Lieder

Following the Matthias Goerne Schubert Edition for harmonia mundi, a venture that has revealed his stature as the foremost interpreter of lieder, especially at its darkest, Matthias Goerne has now selected 19 gems, lovingly fashioned by Schumann in the year of his marriage (1840). They are contrasted with those of the Düsseldorf period (1849-52).

From the fragrant flowers of the bouquet of ‘Myrtles’ to the nocturnal atmosphere of the ‘Six Poems and Requiem’ the mood spans Schumman's joy in his marriage to his beloved Clara but also the darkest despair: in which he erects a worthy monument to his soulmate, the poet and arch-melancholic of his time, Nikolaus Lenau. An enchanted, sometimes brooding, nocturnal atmosphere dominates these impressive songs, whose piano accompaniment – hardly coincidentally – recalls the tone of Chopin’s Nocturnes, played here by Markus Hinterhäuser, artistic director of the Salzburg Festival and regular collaborator with Matthias.

Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: HMM902243 Barcode: 3149020224328 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Matthias Goerne [baritone] Markus Hinterhäuser [Steinway piano] "no singer cares more than Goerne for the beauty and eloquence of Schubert's melodies” Gramophone Magazine, March 2013 "among the finest discs I have ever heard.”

BBC Music Magazine, April 2013 ***** [Schubert Vol. 7]

1 | Meine Rose (Sechs Gedichte und Requiem) op.90/2. Nikolaus Lenau 4’24 2 | Kommen und Scheiden (Sechs Gedichte und Requiem) op.90/3. Nikolaus Lenau 1’44 3 | Die Sennin (Sechs Gedichte und Requiem) op.90/4. Nikolaus Lenau 2’14 4 | Einsamkeit (Sechs Gedichte und Requiem) op.90/5. Nikolaus Lenau 3’57 5 | Der schwere Abend (Sechs Gedichte und Requiem) op.90/6. Nikolaus Lenau 1’37 6 | Requiem (Sechs Gedichte und Requiem) op.90/7. Anonymous 3’54 7 | Der Einsiedler op.83/3. Joseph von Eichendorff 4’04 8 | Die Lotosblume (Myrthen) op.25/7. Heinrich Heine 1’52 9 | Du bist wie eine Blume (Myrthen) op.25/24. Heinrich Heine 2’00 10 | Der Himmel hat eine Träne geweint op.37/1. Friedrich Rückert 2’13 11 | Was will die einsame Träne? (Myrthen) op.25/21. Heinrich Heine 3’25 12 | Mein schöner Stern! op.101/4. Friedrich Rückert 2’33 13 | Nachtlied op.96/1. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 3’27 14 | Es stürmet am Abendhimmel op.89/1. Wilfried von der Neun 1’40 15 | Heimliches Verschwinden op.89/2. Wilfried von der Neun 2’30 16 | Herbstlied op.89/3. Wilfried von der Neun 2’45 17 | Abschied vom Walde op.89/4. Wilfried von der Neun 1’45 18 | Ins Freie op.89/5. Wilfried von der Neun 2’11 19 | Abendlied op.107/6. Gottfried Kinkel 2’47 Matthias Goerne's latest CD for harmonia mundi [Mahler/Berio] is shortlisted for the BBC Music Awards on 19th April.

He performs in Mahler's 8th Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall on April 8th with the London Philharmonic & Vladimir Jurovsky.

RELEASE DATE 14TH APRIL 2017

Jean-Baptiste LULLY: Armide Tragédie mise en musique, Libretto by Philippe Quinault (1635-1688)

Les Talens Lyriques Chœur de chambre de Namur Christophe Rousset Following the huge success of 'Bellérophon', 'Phaéton' and 'Amadis', Aparté presents the highly-awaited rediscovery of 'Armide' by Les Talens Lyriques and Christophe Rousset, served by an impeccable cast, as the grand finale of their Lully recordings.

Label: Aparté File Under: Classical/Opera & Vocal Catalogue No: AP135 Barcode: 3149028098525 MID Price Format: 2 CD Packaging: digipack Marie-Adeline Henry, Antonia Figueroa, Judith Van Wanroij, Marie-Claude Chappuis, Marc Mauillon, Douglas Williams, Cyril Auvity, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, Etienne Bazola

'Armide' is in the form of a tragédie en musique, a genre invented by Lully and Quinault, and was their last collaboration.

It was a new form of opera that combined elements of classical French drama with ballet, French song and a new form of recitative. Critics in the 18th century regarded 'Armide' as Lully's masterpiece and it continues to be well-regarded, featuring some of the best-known music in French baroque opera and being arguably ahead of its time in its psychological interest. The subject, chosen for Lully by King Louis XIV, is the enchantress Armide’s unhappy love for the knight Renaud, drawn from Tasso’s 'Gerusalemme liberata'.

Numbered limited edition!

ALSO AVAILABLE: AP015 Bellérophon BBC Music Magazine Opera Choice June 2011 Finalist, Baroque Vocal, Gramophone Awards 2011 “Christophe Rousset is masterful at keeping every bar of this music alive and kicking. Cyril Auvity in the title role sings vividly and with boundless energy and enthusiasm that seems to infect the rest of the excellent cast.”

Opera Now, Summer 2011 ***** AP061 Phaeton “Rousset’s star is rising: this recording of Lully’s Phaeton confirms that he is an even better conductor than he is a harpsichordist" Early Music Today, March 2014 AP094 Amadis “The cast would be difficult to improve upon. Cyril Auvity’s flawed hero Amadis displays not only ardent passion by also extreme sensitivity …Rousset's oft-expressed love for Lully’s music shines through every bar, and he draws superlative playing from Les Talens Lyriques, whose continuo group in particular excels. This is one of those true rarities – a near-perfect opera recording.” Opera, February 2015

RELEASE DATE 14TH APRIL 2017

MONTEVERDI: Vespro della Beata Vergine, Venice, 1610 La Compagnia del Madrigale, Cantica Symphonia, La Pifarescha / Giuseppe Maletto

Label: Glossa File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: GCD922807 Barcode: 8424562228078 2 FOR 1.5 Format: 2 CD Packaging: digipack La Compagnia del Madrigale, Cantica Symphonia, La Pifarescha, Giuseppe Maletto [director]

On its onward journey across the major secular and sacred landmarks of Italian Renaissance polyphony, La Compagnia del Madrigale now turns its attention to Claudio Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers.

This new recording on Glossa presents the award-winning [Gramophone 2014] ensemble in its prime and in the company of Cantica Symphonia and La Pifarescha, all under the direction of Giuseppe Maletto: a veritable cornucopia of present-day early music performers!

The approach taken by these Italian musicians reflects their long experience with such music and covers all areas of the performance including whether to add plainchant, which instruments to use, and crucially, the choices relating to tempi and pitch. In the booklet essay Marco Bizzarini brings his deep understanding of the interplay of words and music in Italy in Monteverdi’s time, underscoring the skill, experience and sheer musicality of La Compagnia del Madrigale.

What emerges is a refreshing, but natural, response to one of the great choral masterworks, for Monteverdi's 450th anniversary year.

CDI: 01 Domine ad adiuvandum | 02 Dixit Dominus | 03 Nigra sum | 04 Laudate pueri | 05 Pulchra es | 06 Laetatus sum | 07 Duo seraphim | 08 Nisi Dominus | 09 Audi coelum | 10 Lauda Ierusalem CDII: 01 Sonata sopra Sancta Maria ora pro nobis | 02 Ave maris stella | 03 Magnificat (I) | 04 Magnificat (II) Recorded at Basilica di San Maurizio, Pinerolo, Italy, in September and October 2016 “As with other recordings by La Compagnia del Madrigale, we get superb tuning (the harmonies strongly secured by the rock-steady bass voice of Daniele Carnovich) and infinitely nuanced renderings of the texts…stunning displays of musical understanding outstripping previous recordings in this regard.”

BBC Music Magazine, June 2016 *****

RELEASE DATE 14TH APRIL 2017

MOZART: Piano Concertos 21 & 24 Jean-Claude Pennetier Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Christoph Poppen Following Schubert and 3 well-received volumes of Fauré for Mirare, the veteran French pianist Jean-Claude Pennetier, accompanied by the Orchestra of Radio France and Christoph Poppen now turns his hands to Mozart. With these two concertos he finds tenderness and fire in No. 21 which mirrors the anguish and inner intensity of No. 24. The two pieces prove, as Mauriac put it, that: “As long as men inhabit the earth, just a few bars of Mozart can remind us of the paradise we lost, a paradise that may still exist as long as we can hear the echoes of its laughter and tears in such divine music.”

1-3 Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467 4-6 Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor K. 491

Label: Mirare File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: MIR316 Barcode: 3760127223160 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Jean-Claude Pennetier [piano] Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Christoph Poppen

“some of Fauré’s great works for piano, played exquisitely by the Frenchman Jean-Claude Pennetier.”

Hi-Fi Plus, February 2016 [MIR275, Fauré Vol. 3]

RELEASE DATE 14TH APRIL 2017

BALAKIREV: Symphonies 1 & 2 Russian Symphonies [1]

Philharmonia Herbert von Karajan Moscow Radio Symphony Gennadi Rozhdestvensky

Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: PRD250363 Barcode: 3149028102024 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal 1-4 Philharmonia, Herbert von Karajan, 5-8 Moscow Radio Symphony, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky

A logical, albeit rare, association of symphonies by Balakirev, the composer of Islamey and Tamara He was the cornerstone of the Russian Mighty Five: CĂŠsar Cui, Aleksandr Borodin, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov and Mily Balakirev, who in the 1860s banded together in an attempt to create a truly national school of Russian music; free of the stifling influence of Italian opera, German lieder, and other western European forms. In this album two prestigious conductors do them justice.

Symphony No.1 in C major is a romantic and well constructed work, performed by the early Karajan/Walter Legge team and the Philharmonia was certainly a crack ensemble at the time. The Second Symphony, which has, with some justice, been described as a paler copy of the First, brings an opening movement which under Rozhdestvensky’s baton moves forward strongly, generating much Slavic energy. Here tuttis are noticeably brash, but certainly not dull.

1-4 Symphony No. 1 in C major - Kingsway Hall, London, November 1949 5-8 Symphony No. 2 in D minor - Recorded in Radio Moscow, May 1966

RELEASE DATE 14TH APRIL 2017

MOZART: The String Quintets Budapest Quartet Far removed from traditional chamber fare, the two violas are the only thing that these six quintets have in common.

They provide the melodious bass so beloved of Mozart, the distinctive stamp of his K515/316 diptych, a precursor of the expressionism of the Romantic era.

The Budapest Quartet, at its apogee, provides the ultimate interpretation of these works, expressed with eloquence by Walter Trampler on the second viola.

CD1: 1-4 String Quintet No. 2 KV515 5-8 String Quintet No. 5 KV593 9-12 String Quintet No. 1 KV174

Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Chamber music Catalogue No: PRD250370 Barcode: 3149028108125 MID Price Format: 2 CD Packaging: cristal Budapest Quartet: Joseph Roisman, Alexander Schneider Boris Kroyt, Mischa Schneider Walter Trampler [viola]

CD2: 1-4 String Quintet No.3 KV516 5-6 String Quintet No.4 KV406/56b 9-12 String Quintet No.6 KV614 Recorded In New York City, 11-12 Dec 1965 [K406], 21-25 Feb [K614, 174], 14-17 [K515/6] & 18-19 [K593] December 1966, remastered & edited by Alexandra Evrard

RELEASE DATE 14TH APRIL 2017

BEETHOVEN: Complete Cello Sonatas Pablo Casals Rudolf Serkin Pablo Casals' (1876-1973) recordings of Beethoven’s complete music for cello and piano with that other musical legend, the American (but Hungarian born and Vienna educated) pianist Rudolf Serkin, now in vastly improved sound.

“Two perfectly matched musicians operate here,” wrote distinguished New York Times critic Harold C. Schonberg. “For every bold stroke of the Casals bow there is an equivalently authoritative gesture from Serkin.”

Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: PRD250372 Barcode: 3149028108323 MID Price Format: 2 CD Packaging: cristal Pablo Casals Rudolf Serkin

CD1: 1-2 Sonata No. 1 in F Major, Op. 5, No. 1 3-4 Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2 5 Seven Variations on 'Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen' from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, WoO.46 6 Twelve Variations on Ein Mädchen oder Weibchnen from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, WoO.66 CD2: 1-2 Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69 3-4 Sonata No. 4 in C Major, Op. 102 No. 1 5 Sonata No. 5 in D Major, Op. 102, No. 2 6 Twelve Variations on 'See the Conquering Hero' from Judas Maccabeus by Handel WoO45 [Producers note: This is the original Philips edition, in stereo. The present masters start from the Philips tapes preserved in Paris (Polygram). Sony partially reissued this complete set in 2004. I do not have the precise days of recording, but they date from Prades 1953/4. Sound is incomparable!]