8th April Classical

harmonia mundi UK

Classical new releases

New Vaughan Williams cycle from Andrew Manze and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic on Onyx Classics

available April 8th 2016, call-off

April 1st

APRIL 8

BBC Music Magazine April DISC OF THE MONTH Orchestral Choice harmonia mundi HMC902216 Handel Water Music Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin

BBC Music Magazine April Choral & Song choice

Wigmore Hall Live WHLIVE0079 Schumann Lieder Alice Coote, Christian Blackshaw

BBC Music Magazine April Chamber Choice

Myrios Classics MYR017 Mozart Haydn Quartets Hagen Quartet

DISTRIBUTED lABELS: ACCENT RECORDS, ACTES SUD, ALIA VOX, APARTE, BEL AIR CLASSIQUES, BELVEDERE, THE CHOIR OF KINGS COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, CHRISTOPHORUS, CSO RESOUND, EDITION CLASSICS, FRA MUSICA, GLOSSA, harmonia mundi, HERITAGE, LA DOLCE VOLTA, LES ARTS FLORISSANTS EDITIONS, LSO LIVE, MARIINSKY, MIRARE, MYRIOS, NAÏVE, ONYX, PAN CLASSICS, PRAGA DIGITALS, RCO LIVE, SIGNUM, UNITED ARCHIVES, WIGMORE HALL LIVE

RECORDING OF THE

MONTH

Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Symphonies Vol. 1

RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2016

Symphony No.2 in G ‘A London Symphony’, Symphony No.8 in D minor

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Andrew Manze

Label: Onyx Classics File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: ONYX4155 Barcode: 880040415527 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra CLASSIC FM PARTNERS Andrew Manze [conductor]

Andrew Manze has established himself as one of the leading interpreters of Vaughan Williams Symphonies. His 2012 BBC Proms performances drew critical acclaim, and were highlights of that season's Proms. ONYX Classics will release one volume a year, completing the cycle in the spring of 2019 with Symphonies 7&9.

It was RWV’s friend and fellow composer George Butterworth who in 1912 suggested he write a purely orchestral symphony. RVW told him he had absolutely no plans to do so, but Butterworth was a very perceptive friend and colleague, and the premiere took place in 1914. Called ‘A London Symphony’ (RVW considered himself a Londoner), RVW thought a better title would be ‘A Symphony by a Londoner’. On New Year’s Eve that year RVW joined the army and went to the trenches in France. Butterworth would be killed by a sniper at the Somme in 1916.

The 8th Symphony of 1955 is a tightly written, brilliant and innovative work that shows RVW’s creativity at full stretch.

Although outwardly a sunny work, shadows of the 6th and 7th symphonies lurk in the background at points throughout this brilliant symphony.

Next in the RVW Symphony cycle from Andrew Manze and the RLPO will be Symphonies 3 & 4 [ONYX4161] to be released in March 2017.

"Manze’s Vaughan Williams [Symphony No.8] was beautifully imagined from the first gleaming pools of vibraphone and celesta to the carnivalesque scherzo for wind and the tender cavatina for strings." The Times, October 2015 RLPO RECORDINGS FROM ONYX: ONYX4145 Elgar Symphony No.1, Concert Overture ‘Cockaigne – In London Town’ Vasily Petrenko ONYX4135 Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos Nos.1&2, Simon Trpceski & Vasily Petrenko Advertised in Gramophone and BBC Music Magazines

RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2016

Songs to the Moon Myrthen Ensemble Described by The Telegraph as "the crème de la crème of young British-based musical talent", and praised in BBC Music Magazine for their "irresistible combination of arresting programing and vocal flair assembled around pianist Joseph Middleton", the newly formed Myrthen Ensemble brings together rising stars in the world of art-song and Lieder. This disc features performances by founder members Mary Bevan, Clara Mouriz, Allan Clayton, Marcus Farnsworth and Joseph Middleton.

Label: Signum Classics File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: SIGCD443 Barcode: 635212044322 2 FOR 1 Price Format: 2 CD Packaging: cristal Myrthen Ensemble: Mary Bevan Allan Clayton Marcus Farnsworth Clara Mouriz Joseph Middleton [piano] CONCERTS: 20th March Wigmore Hall 2nd April Leeds Lieder, 8.15pm The Howard Assembly Room Opera North: Songs to the Moon

Joseph Middleton writes to introduce the recording: "The moon has, since antiquity, inspired artists, musicians and wordsmiths. The programme on this disc looks to its many characteristics for inspiration. The songs are at turns consoling, sometimes seductive in serenades and occasionally paint the moon as a threatening force through its extinguishing of the sun's rays. The moon’s silver beams cast their magic in music by Brahms and Schumann in the first of these CDs, and in the second, inspire the exquisite treatment of 'Clair de lune' by a selection of the finest French song composers. Short English nocturnal overtures begin each disc."

CD1: Peter WARLOCK: The Night, BRAHMS: Nächtens, Op. 112 No. 2, Vor der Tür, Op. 28 No. 2, Unbewegte laue Luft, Op. 57 No. 8, Der Gang zum Liebchen, Op. 31 No. 3, Walpurgisnacht, Op. 75 No. 4, Ständchen, Op. 106 No. 1, Der Abend, Op. 64 No. 2, Vergebliches Ständchen, Op. 84 No. 4 SCHUMANN: Unterm Fenster, Op. 34 No. 3, Mondnacht, Op. 39 No. 5, Zwei Venetianische Lieder, Op. 25, Die Lotosblume, Op. 25 No. 7, In der Nacht, Op. 74 No. 4 CD2: BARBER: Nocturne, Op. 13 No. 4, MACONCHY: Sun, Moon and Stars, SZULC: Clair de lune, Op. 83 No. 1, M0MPOU: Damunt de tu només les flors, SAINT-SAENS: Guitares et mandolines, DEBUSSY: Apparition, CHAUSSON: La nuit, Op. 11 No. 1, HAHN: Chansons grises, No. 5: L’heure exquise, DUPARC: La fuite, MASSENET: Rêvons, c’est l’heure, FAURE: Clair de lune, Op. 46 No. 2, Pleurs d’or, Op. 72, Tarentelle, Op. 10 No. 2

RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2016

Gaetano VENEZIANO: Passio La Passione Secondo Giovanni, Napoli c.1685

Cappella Neapolitana Antonio Florio

Label: Glossa File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: GCD922609 Barcode: 8424562226098 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Raffaele Pe [countertenor] Evangelista Luca Cervoni [tenor] Christus Marco Bussi [bass] Pilatus Ghislieri Choir Cappella Neapolitana Antonio Florio [conductor]

For Glossa’s new 'Passio' release Antonio Florio has discovered and prepared a performing edition of the 1685 St John Passion setting by the Neapolitan composer Gaetano Veneziano: a contemporary of Scarlatti, favoured pupil of Francesco Provenzale and maestro in the royal chapel. It features countertenor Raffaele Pe in the technically demanding role of the Evangelist. Until recently, Italian Passiontide settings from the Baroque era have amounted to only that by Alessandro Scarlatti, but this score by Veneziano has been found in the Archivio dell’Oratorio dei Girolamini in Naples. It displays a surprising blending of modernity and an older style in its instrumental accompaniment, here provided by Florio’s Cappella Neapolitana, formerly known as I Turchini. Moreover, it provides an extrovert and atmospheric response to the Gospel text for the roles of Christ, (Luca Cervoni) and Pilate (Marco Bussi) as well as for the interventions of the crowd (the Ghislieri Choir). Florio has already recorded Veneziano's oratorio, 'La Santissima Trinità', and other sacred music for Glossa.

Originally called Cappella della Pietà dei Turchini, the ensemble was founded by Antonio Florio in 1987 after a 10-year period of study and experimentation, It has since become internationally appreciated and a byword in the rediscovery of Neapolitan music written between the 15th-19th centuries, thanks to rare concert programmes, opera productions, and over 40 recordings. Today, almost 30 years after its creation – that group of 'bold pioneers' takes on the name of Cappella Neapolitana Antonio Florio, with the same musicians and collaborators that have contributed to develop this musical project from the beginning.

ALSO AVAILABLE: GCD922607 Veneziano - La Santissima Trinita: Florio “all five singers declaim their texts with crystalline clarity. As befits their years of experience in his [Veneziano’s] repertoire, Antonio Florio and I Turchini present valuable evidence of the musical merits of a neglected generation of Italian composers.”

David Vickers, Gramophone – June 2014

RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2016

MONDONVILLE: Grand Motets Purcell Choir Orfeo Orchestra György Vashegyi

Label: Glossa File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: GCD923508 Barcode: 8424562235083 2 FOR 1.5 Format: 2 CD Packaging: digipack Purcell Choir Orfeo Orchestra György Vashegyi [conductor]

Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville continued and developed the French tradition of the grand motet set in place by Lully and Lalande. Four of these motets have now been recorded for Glossa by György Vashegyi with a quintet of masterly soloists, the Orfeo Orchestra and the Purcell Choir. Vashegyi, who is fast making his name in French repertoire, has chosen the music of this underrated composer to follow up his Glossa recording of Rameau’s 'Les Fêtes de Polymnie'.

Mondonville was at the height of his career in Paris the second third of the 18th century, especially at the Concert Spirituel and with the Chambre and Chapelle du Roi. As well as operas, oratorios and instrumental music, he composed grands motets – spectacular religious works which were often performed in the public sphere. The four presented here on this two-disc set, De profundis, Magnus Dominus, Cantate Domino and Nisi Dominus are fine examples of Mondonville’s art, constantly displaying his taste for virtuosic scoring and tuneful, flowing melodies. The vocal soloists, Chantal Santon-Jeffery, Daniela Skorka, Mathias Vidal, Jeffrey Thompson and Alain Buet are all well-versed in such demands, as are choir and orchestra.

Louis Castelain, who has prepared editions for two of the motets, provides an illuminating survey of Mondonville’s life for this enthralling new recording made in Budapest under the auspices of the CMBV (Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles).

ALSO AVAILABLE: GCD923502 Rameau Les Fêtes de Polymnie “the playing and especially the singing is worth hearing here, especially soprano Veronique Gens in fine form, and Emoke Barath as Polymnie in Rameau’s prologue … another enjoyable addition to our Rameau rediscoveries” Andrew McGregor – BBC Radio 3 CD Review, 31st January 2015

RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2016

CPE BACH: Volume II Sinfonias Wq178 & 182/3, Cello Sonata Wq137, Cello Concerto Wq171 / harpsichord Wq17

Ophélie Gaillard Pulcinella Orchestra After the success of their first volume Ophélie Gaillard and Pulcinella propose a second disc devoted to Johann Sebastian Bach's most talented and surprising son, Carl Philipp Emanuel (1714-1788).

The Sinfonia in C major expresses multiple emotions, ranging from irrepressible suffering in the Adagio to joyous release and insouciance in the concluding Allegretto, tinged with near-Mozartian grace. The Cello Concerto in B flat reveals the influence of the waning Baroque era and Vivaldi in particular. The Sinfonia in E minor, nicknamed 'Fandango' and dating from his Berlin years, is commonly regarded as one of his finest symphonies. The particularly virtuosic Sonata for cello piccolo and keyboard shows to advantage the two soloists of this recording: Ophélie Gaillard and Francesco Corti, whose fieriness is further revealed in the Harpsichord Concerto in D minor.

Label: Aparté File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: AP118 Barcode: 3149028077124 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Francesco Corti harpsichord] Ophélie Gaillard Pulcinella Orchestra

ALSO AVAILABLE: AP080 CPE Bach Volume 1: Cello Concerto, Sinfonia, Trio Sonata “[The Pulcinella Orchestra] are a force to be reckoned with. Led by cellist Ophelie Gaillard, the group’s well-nigh impeccable ensemble and palpable enthusiasm make it an ideal vehicle for CPE Bach at his most stormy and passionate. In the concertos, the energy is lightly handled, Gaillard dancing off-the-string with impressive bow-control … I look forward to more from this excellent ensemble.”

George Pratt, BBC Music Magazine – June 2014 **** / **** “Of the various CPE Bach recordings to have been released in his 300th anniversary year, that by cellist Ophelie Gaillard and the Pulcinella Orchestra stands out. The Cello Concertos Nos 1 and 3 are a particular treat.”

BBC Music Magazine, December 2014

RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2016

DVORAK: Symphony No. 9 'New World', MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition Bavarian Radio Orchestra Mariss Jansons "What I compose is and always remains Czech music," asserted Antonín Dvorák, and we – the audiences who've been enraptured with the Ninth since its world premiere at New York's Carnegie Hall on 15 December 1893 – are all the richer for it. After a fleeting nod to Negro Spirituals and vaguely Native American rhythms, Dvorák dug into his seemingly bottomless reserve of catchy melodies, foot-tapping rhythms, burnished brass intonations, mellow woodwind lines and other Bohemian traits that would be unthinkable without the pillars of Austro-Germanic music.

Label: Belvedere File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: BVD08015 Barcode: 4260415080158 NORMAL Price Format: 1 DVD Packaging: digipack Bavarian Radio Orchestra Mariss Jansons

"I simply wrote down themes of my own invention and gave them elements typical of the music of the Negroes and Indians. I then used these themes as subjects, developing them with all the resources of rhythm, harmony and counterpoint, and with all the colors of the modern orchestra," the composer once said. Interestingly, the galley proofs of the work were corrected by none other than Johannes Brahms.

Of course, the work would most probably never have been written if it hadn't been for a patron, or patroness, to be more precise, Jeanette Thurber, who founded the National Conservatory of Music of America and invited the composer to New York in the hope that he would give birth to a national American music; he had, after all, created a national Czech music.

RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2016

DVORAK: Symphony No. 9 'New World', MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition Bavarian Radio Orchestra Mariss Jansons "What I compose is and always remains Czech music," asserted Antonín Dvorák, and we – the audiences who've been enraptured with the Ninth since its world premiere at New York's Carnegie Hall on 15 December 1893 – are all the richer for it. After a fleeting nod to Negro Spirituals and vaguely Native American rhythms, Dvorák dug into his seemingly bottomless reserve of catchy melodies, foot-tapping rhythms, burnished brass intonations, mellow woodwind lines and other Bohemian traits that would be unthinkable without the pillars of Austro-Germanic music.

Label: Belvedere File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: BVD08016 Barcode: 4260415080165 NORMAL Price Format: 1 Blu-ray Packaging: digipack Bavarian Radio Orchestra Mariss Jansons

"I simply wrote down themes of my own invention and gave them elements typical of the music of the Negroes and Indians. I then used these themes as subjects, developing them with all the resources of rhythm, harmony and counterpoint, and with all the colors of the modern orchestra," the composer once said. Interestingly, the galley proofs of the work were corrected by none other than Johannes Brahms.

Of course, the work would most probably never have been written if it hadn't been for a patron, or patroness, to be more precise, Jeanette Thurber, who founded the National Conservatory of Music of America and invited the composer to New York in the hope that he would give birth to a national American music; he had, after all, created a national Czech music.

RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2016

PROKOFIEV: Symphonies 5 Op. 100 & 6 Op. 111 Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra Yevgeny Mravinsky A logical, albeit rare combination of works, presented by the Politburo to reflect victory and an irresistible force – understandably in the case of Op.100 (1950); but unjustifiably in the case of Op.111 (1945-7), the ‘two-headed symphony’ which had the misfortune to displease Stalin, who hade xpected an ode to his glory.

Mravinsky seldom performed these symphonies but has left for posterity a few ardent concert recordings.

Live recording St Petersburg, Large Hall of the Philharmonic Orchestra June 29, 1973 [Symphony 5] [No. 6] Live recording Prague, Dvorak Hall May 25 1967, previously available on PR250079

Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: DSD350121 Barcode: 3149028086027 NORMAL Price Format: 1 SACD Packaging: cristal Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra Yevgeny Mravinsky

RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2016

Piano Music of Spain Maria Garzon Heritage artist, Maria Garzon, performs the piano music of her homeland – an eclectic mix of composers with which she has a close affinity. Originally on two separate discs, her performances now appear in slimline double format. When originally released in the 1990s, both received critical acclaim, the first being awarded ‘Record of the Year’ by the British Retailers Association. Joaquin Rodrigo was particularly flattering regarding her playing of his music: "She has the distinction of being one of the rare Spanish pianists to record my music for the piano and this is particularly satisfying to me."

CD1: SOLER: Keyboard Sonats Nos. 45, 84, 90, ALBENIZ: Suite Espanola Op. 47, GRANADOS: Goyescas, No. 1 – Los requiebros, Danza Espanola, No. 5 – Andaluza, DE FALLA: Fantasia Betica, MOMPOU: Cancion y Danza No. 6, Alejandro YAGUE (b. 1947): Halley

Label: Heritage File Under: Classical Catalogue No: HTGCD207/08 Barcode: 5060332661657 2 FOR 1 Format: 2 CD Packaging: cristal Maria Garzon [piano]

CD2: RODRIGO: Serenata Espanola (1931), Bagatella (1926), Pastoral (1926), Sonatas de Castilla (1951), El Album de Cecilia (1948), A L’Ombre de Torre Bermeja (1945), Air de Ballet sur le nom d'une Jeune Fille (1930), Tres Danzas de Espana (1941), Berceuse de Printemps (1923), Tres Evocaciones (1981)

RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2016

British Celebration RTE Concert Orchestra Gavin Sutherland

Label: Heritage File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: HTGCD203 Barcode: 5060332661633 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal RTE Concert Orchestra Gavin Sutherland (conductor)

Philip Lane, "The doyen of British Light Music" (James Jolly, Gramophone), has collaborated with Heritage for this Spring release: orchestral music composed by leading figures in the Light Music movement.

Bryan Kelly was born in Oxford and studied at the Royal College of Music with Herbert Howells and Gordon Jacob, and later in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. His 'Four Realms Suite' won a BBC competition for light orchestral works in 1972.

David Lyon studied at the Royal Academy of Music and Bristol University. His Piano Concerto in one movement was written while still a student at the RAM and remained unperformed until 2015 when it was overhauled by the composer.

Nicholas Smith's 'Tears in My Bowl' makes use of two folksongs from Ningxia, a predominantly Muslim region of China, which date back hundreds of years and have been kept alive by being passed down orally from generation to generation.

Roy Moore has worked in most areas of music as composer, arranger, conductor and pianist, with artists as diverse as Madness and Andrea Bocelli. His 'Celebration Overture' was written to mark the birth of his first grandchild, and is suitably joyous.

Glyn Jones read music at Merton College, Oxford. His output is prodigious and includes the first Welsh - language opera to have been composed for over a century. The tone poem, 'Snowdonia', suggests the changing seasons, the grandeur of the area, even the little train that takes passengers up to the summit.

Anthony Hedges is most associated with the city of Hull, at whose university he taught for much of his professional life.

'Showpiece' was commissioned by the Friends of the East Riding Orchestras to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their Youth Orchestra.

Philip Spratley's 'Images of Palaestina' dates back to the mid-60s when the composer was in the Middle East. The title is the Roman word for the area and is used to stress the fact that the land is home to Arab and Jew. Bryan Kelly (b.1934): Four Realms Suite (1972) David Lyon (b.1938): Piano Concerto in one movement (1963 rev. 2015) {Soloist: Alisdair Hogarth} Nicholas Smith (b.1967): Tears in my Bowl (2014) Roy Moore (b.1948): Celebration Overture (2011) Gareth Glyn (b.1951): Snowdonia (1980) Anthony Hedges (b.1931): Showpiece (1995) Philip Spratley (b.1942): Images of Palaestina (1966)