harmonia mundi UK
Classical new releases
available April 15th 2016, call-off April 8th
APRIL 15
• Gramophone Recording of the Year 2008 • Gramophone Award 2010 • Paul Lewis’ numerous awards have included the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year, two Edison awards, three Gramophone awards and the South Bank Show Classical Music award • The only pianist to perform all 5 Beethoven Concertos in one BBC Proms season, televised by the BBC and streamed by the Guardian • Co-Artistic Director of the Leeds International Piano Competition • First Concerto recording since Beethoven
AVAILABLE 15th APRIL
RELEASE DATE 15TH APRIL 2016
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 1, Ballades Op. 10 Paul Lewis Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra Daniel Harding British pianist Paul Lewis has risen to international stardom with a particularly enviable reputation in the Viennese heartlands of the piano repertoire. Here he plays Brahms' first piano concerto with Daniel Harding and the Swedish Radio Orchestra, coupled with Brahms' emotionally powerful early Ballades Op.10. Piano Concerto No. 2, which Paul has not yet played, will follow in 2018.
“every now and again a recording comes along that makes you want to dance in the street, handing out copies to complete strangers. This is one of those instances...Time and again, you marvel at the confidence and sureness of Lewis's playing, combined with the finesse and musicality that he has always displayed. It's the kind of playing, in fact, where comparisons cease to matter....� Gramophone
Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: HMC902191 Barcode: 3149020219126 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Paul Lewis [piano] Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding [conductor] [photos with thanks to Swedish Radio/Stina Gullander]
PRESS: James Naughtie interview in May issue of BBC Music Magazine Gramophone: Musician and the score Pianist Magazine [tbc] Arts desk interview Facing the Music, The Guardian, early May before concert CONCERTS: 3rd April wt Mark Padmore Birmingham Town Hall, Schwanengesang 8th May Perth, Brahms Ballades, Schubert Liszt 11th May International Piano Series: Royal Festival Hall, Brahms Ballades, Schubert Liszt 17th & 19th May Chipping Camden Beethoven
ADVERTISED IN CLASSICAL MUSIC PRESS & INTERNATIONAL PIANO SERIES PROGRAMME
RELEASE DATE 15TH APRIL 2016
Phillip GLASS: In the Summer House, Mad Rush Nico MUHLY: Four Studies, Honest Music
Jennifer & Angela Chun Nico Muhly This recital of music, especially written or arranged for violinists Angela and Jennifer Chun, highlights the personal and professional connections between Philip Glass and Nico Muhly, a longtime colleague and admirer of Glass’s work. Nico Muhly first listened to Philip Glass’ 'Music in Twelve Parts' in his freshman year of college, while riding the subway in New York. Within a year of that subway encounter, Muhly found himself working at Glass’ studio as a copyist, editor, and sequencer for film scores. Here Glass is presented not as the author of mammoth pieces like 'Music in Twelve Parts', but as a miniaturist; a role shared with Muhly, who rarely composes in epic mode. The making of this recording has been an inspiring journey for the Chung Duo: a 2009 meeting with the Dalai Lama affected the sisters deeply and led them to the music of Philip Glass, whose 'Mad Rush' (here transcribed by Alexandra du Bois for two violins) had been composed for His Holiness’ first visit to North America in 1981.
Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: HMU907599 Barcode: 093046759926 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Jennifer Chun Angela Chun Nico Muhly [piano and keyboard]
Nico MUHLY (b.1981) Four Studies (2014) dedicated to Angela & Jennifer Chun: I. Suspensions, II. Fast Canons, III. Slow Canons, IV. Open Notes, Honest Music (2003) Philip GLASS (b. 1937): Mad Rush (1979) (transcribed for 2 violins by Alexandra du Bois, 2014) In the Summer House (1993) (transcribed for 2 violins by Alexandra du Bois, 2014) I. In the Summer House, II. My One and Only Hope, III. Gertrudeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pradise, IV. Mr. Solaresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Picnic Lunch, V. [-], VI. Molly Is a Dreamer, VII. Enter Vivian, VIII. The Beach / Lionel & Molly [NB: IX and X not included in this arrangement], XI. Vivianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Death [conclusion], XII. Gertrude Leaves Summer House, XIII. Left Alone, XIV. The Lobster Bowl, XV. Back to Sad Things, XVI. I Knew You Would Come Back [excerpt], XI. Vivianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Death [beginning], XVII. When I was a Little Girl ALSO AVAILABLE: +08 %DUWRN 9LROLQ 'XRV â&#x20AC;&#x153;a very fine discâ&#x20AC;Śthese exceptionally gifted players treat the music entirely throughout as music. The recording quality is just perfect.â&#x20AC;? International Record Review, February 2010 +08 )DQWDV\ 0DUWLQX 0LOKDXG <un â&#x20AC;&#x153;Recommended.â&#x20AC;? Classic FM Magazine, March 2008
RELEASE DATE 15TH APRIL 2016
LUTOSLAWSKI: Concerto for orchestra BRAHMS/SCHOENBERG: Piano Quartet in G minor Op.25
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Miguel Harth-Bedoya With its use of folk melodies to generate tremendous momentum and dramatic impact, the Concerto for Orchestra (1954) established Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) as Polandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading composer and an international force in concert music. Here it is coupled with another showpiece: Brahmsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Piano Quartet in G minor arranged for full orchestra by Arnold Schoenberg (1937).
Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: HMU807668 Barcode: 093046766863 NORMAL Price Format: 1 SACD Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Miguel Harth-Bedoya [conductor]
GrammyÂŽ-nominated and Emmy Award-winning conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya is currently Chief Conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Oslo, and is in his 16th season as Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared as guest conductor for the upper echelon of American orchestras including Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Baltimore, and New York. Born and raised in Peru, Harth-Bedoyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s discography includes two recordings for harmonia mundi with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. Upcoming recordings for the label include Volume 2 of the complete Prokofiev Piano Concertos featuring Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Vadym Kholodenko. Harth-Bedoya has also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon with Katia and Marielle Labèque, as well as with Juan Diego FlĂłrez for Decca, and with Yo-Yo Ma and the Chicago Symphony for CSO Resound. He is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Caminos del Inka, Inc., a non-profit organisation dedicated to performing and promoting the music of the Americas. LIMITED OFFER FREE DOWNLOAD (24-bit HD audio files - enter the unique code registered inside each CD) ALSO AVAILABLE: +08 3URNRILHY 3LDQR &RQFHUWRV .KRORGHQNR >6$&'@ â&#x20AC;&#x153;a very fine pianist; there is doubt about his virtuosity and his affinity with Prokofiev â&#x20AC;Ś thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of potential in this young pianist â&#x20AC;Ś Kholodenko is great in showing the drive of this music, the power of it, and also the different colours â&#x20AC;Ś he has fingers of steel.â&#x20AC;? CD Review, 20th February 2016 +08 *ULHJ 6DLQW 6DHQV 3LDQR &RQFHUWRV .KRORGHQNR â&#x20AC;&#x153;For a truly outstanding recording of the Grieg, turn to Vadym Kholodenko, Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the Norwegian Radio Orchestraâ&#x20AC;Śbut the companion piece, Saint-Saens's Second Concerto, is even better, perhaps the most consistently accurately observed reading on disc.â&#x20AC;? Gramophone Editor's Choice September 2015
RELEASE DATE 15TH APRIL 2016
David BRUCE: Gumboots BRAHMS: Clarinet Quintet
Julian Bliss Carducci Quartet Julian Bliss and the Carducci Quartet pair two highly contrasting works â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Johannes Brahms's Clarinet Quintet and David Bruce's 'Gumboots'.
Label: Signum Classics File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: SIGCD448 Barcode: 635212044827 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Julian Bliss[ clarinet] Carducci Quartet
Written for bass clarinet and string quartet, David Bruce describes the origins of his work 'Gumboot's: "... it was born out of the brutal labour conditions in South Africa under apartheid, in which black miners where chained together and wore gumboots (wellington boots) while they worked in the flooded gold mines, because it was cheaper for the owners to supply the boots than to drain the floodwater from the mine. Apparently slapping the boots and chains was used by the workers as a form of communication which was otherwise banned in the mine, and this later developed into a form of dance. If the examples of Gumboot Dancing available online are anything to go by, it is characterised by a huge vitality and zest for life. So this for me is a striking example of how something beautiful and life-enhancing can come out of something far more negative."
Gumboots 1 Part One 2 Dance I 3 Dance II 4 Dance III 5 Dance IV 6Dance V Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115 7I. Allegro 8 II. Adagio 9 III. Andantino 10 IV. Con moto http://www.julianbliss.com/julian-talks-about-david-bruces-gumboots/
RELEASE DATE 15TH APRIL 2016
Greensleeves - Folk Music of the British Isles Armonico Consort Christopher Monks 'Greensleeves' is a celebration of music spanning the length and breadth of the British Isles, featuring mesmerising new arrangements by Geoffrey Webber and Toby Young of some of the most beautiful folk music ever written. The recording includes 'Loch Lomond', 'Lisa Lân' and of course, perhaps the most famous British melody ever written: 'Greensleeves'.
Label: Signum Classics File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: SIGCD447 Barcode: 635212044728 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Armonico Consort Christopher Monks [conductor]
1Lisa Lân Traditional, arr. Geoffrey Webber 2The Blue Bird Charles Villiers Stanford 3The Banks of my own Lovely Lee Traditional, arr. Geoffrey Webber 4She Moved Through the Fair Traditional, arr. Toby Young 5Lay a GarlandRobert Pearsall 6Sweet Kitty Traditional, arr. Geoffrey Webber 7Suo Gân Traditional, arr. Toby Young 8I Love my Love Traditional, arr. Gustav Holst 9Dadl Dau Traditional, arr. Geoffrey Webber 10Now is the Month of Maying Thomas Morley 11An Rosen Wyn Traditional, arr. Christopher Monks 12Greensleeves Traditional, arr. Geoffrey Webber 13Loch Lomond Traditional, arr. R. Vaughan Williams 14O Love, ‘tis a Calm Starry Night Traditional, arr. Patrick Hadley 15Wraggle Taggle Gipsies, O! Traditional, arr. Geoffrey Webber
RELEASE DATE 15TH APRIL 2016
Rèves d'Espagne / Dreams of Spain Songs by Dorumsgaard, Ibert, Ravel & Shostakovich; Piano works by Albeniz & Granados
Henk Neven Hans Eijsackers IBERT: 4 Chanson de Don Quichote DORUMSGAARD: Spanish traditional Songs SHOSTAKOVICH: 6 Spanish Songs op100 ALBENIZ: El Puerto (Iberia) GRANADOS: Danza Espagnol No.2 RAVEL: 3 Chanson de Don Quichote
Label: Onyx Classics File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: ONYX4132 Barcode: 880040413226 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Henk Neven [baritone] Hans Eijsackers [piano]
Here's a name to watch: the young Dutch baritone Henk Neven was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist two years ago and richly deserves his chance to shine. Neven's highly individual timbre is unlike any other lieder interpreter's: he sings with astonishing technical finesse, verbal acuity and a sense of wonder. Henk Neven’s two earlier discs for ONYX marked him out as one of the leading young baritone voices of our time. His third album for ONYX is a superbly crafted recital that takes us to Spain. Don Quixote songs from Ibert and Ravel, songs 15th & 16th century Spanish composers skilfully arranged by Arne Dorumsgaard and the rare Op.100 cycle of 6 Spanish Songs by Shostakovich complete this stunning recital. Pianist Hans Eijsackers has two moments in the Spanish sun as well with two pieces by Albeniz and Granados. Advertised in Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine ALSO AVAILABLE: ONYX4052 ‘Auf einer Burg’ Loewe Lieder & Schumann ‘Liederkreis ONYX4052 Loewe & Schumann 4 Stars The Sunday Times ONYX4102 ‘The Sea’ Songs by Debussy, Faure & Schubert "Rarely do you hear, even in the rarefied world of French melodie and German Lieder, a baritone who sings with such subtlety in shading of dynamic and tone as the Dutch baritone Henk Neven. Last year I welcomed his Onyx disc of Lieder by Loewe and Schumann and this latest disc extends my admiration even further in totally exquisite singing." Gramophone
RELEASE DATE 15TH APRIL 2016
Bernard HUGHES: I am the Song BBC Singers Following in Signum's series of composer-led releases with the BBC Singers, this new disc represents the culmination of a collaboration between British composer Bernard Hughes and the BBC Singers that began in 2002. Combining modern poetry by e. e. cummings and Siegfried Sassoon alongside Norse poetry, this Hughes combines ancient and modern elements into his compositions, ably performed by the BBC Singers under Paul Brough. Bernard Hughesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music has been performed at major venues in Britain and abroad and received a number of broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. He was runner-up at the 2009 British Composer Awards for the choral work 'The Death of Balder' (featured on this recording).
Label: Signum Classics File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: SIGCD451 Barcode: 635212045121 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal BBC Singers, Paul Brough [conductor]
Two Choral Fanfares: Everyone sang, I am the Song Three Swans: The Bereaved Swan, The Silver Swan, Riddle The winter it is past The Death of Balder: Prologue, Act One, Interlude, Act Two anyone lived in a pretty how town Revelation Window A Medieval Bestiary: Prologue, The Beasts of the Land, The Panther, First Sermon, The Beasts of the Water, The Whale, Second Sermon, The Beasts of the Air, The Phoenix, Third Sermon
RELEASE DATE 15TH APRIL 2016
Mozart’s Costa Violin Esther Hoppe Florian Birsak MOZART: Andante & Fugue Sonata A major K402 Sonata B flat major K454, Sonata A major K526 SCHUBERT: Sonata D major D384, Sonata A minor D385
Label: Belvedere File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: BCD10145 Barcode: 4280000101457 MID Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Esther Hoppe [Mozart’s Costa Violin, 1764] Florian Birsak [Graf-Flügel, pianoforte, 1839] Live recording
“This violin originates from Mozart’s estate and Mozart always played it. I bought it from Mozart’s widow”, noted publisher and composer Johann Anton André around 1840. And in a diary entry by William Hill written on 11 Nov. 1909 he noted: “Dr. Henkel, who wants to sell his Violin by Petrus della Costa, has sent me the history of the fiddle, it is as follows. His father bought the violin from Hofrath Anton André of Offenbach about 1840 since which time it has been in the family. Henkel’s father (Kgl. Musikdirector in Frankfurt), was a pupil of André who was one of the first publishers of Mozart’s compositions. On this latter’s death he purchased from the widow the greater part of his MSS & effects, amongst which was this identical violin. André always spoke of it as ‘Mozart’s violin’ and I see no reason to doubt this statement.” The instrument was kept under lock and key by the company Hill & Sons until its dissolution. During the time Mozart lived and worked in Vienna, he possessed and played the Costa violin. It is quite likely that, now, Mozart’s Costa violin resounds again in this public concert after a very long period of silence. In cooperation with the label Belvedere Edition the Mozarteum Foundation is publishing highlights of the Mozart Week from its beginnings until the present day . Contemporary history and the history of interpretation become audible in carefully restored sound documents of excellent sound quality. Moreover, the edition will also comprise current recordings from the Mozart Week and concerts throughout the season.
RELEASE DATE 15TH APRIL 2016
SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartets 1 String Quartets 1, 2 & 5
Borodin Quartet A tribute to violinist Rostislav Dubinsky (1923-97), keystone of the Borodin Quartet until 1974 when he emigrated to the West. The Moscow Philmarmonic Quartet was composed of orchestra members such as Rudolf and Nina Barsha誰 and Mstsislav Rostropovitch who often played only for one season. Dubinsky managed to keep the same Borodin Quartet together for 20 years. They acted as ambassadors of Russian music to the outside world. Although Shostakovich entrusted the premieres of 13 of his 15 quartets to the Beethoven Quartet, the Borodin Quartet earned them world acclaim, and their post-Beethoven rendering was quickly taken up by non-Slavic musicians.
Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Chamber music Catalogue No: PRD250323 Barcode: 3149028074826 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Borodin Quartet