APRIL 8 2013
harmonia mundi UK
Classical new release DISTRIBUTED LABELS: ACTES SUD, AGOGIQUE, ALIA VOX, AMBRONAY, APARTE, ARTE VERUM, AUDITE, BEL AIR CLASSIQUES, THE CHOIR OF KINGS COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, CHRISTOPHORUS, CSO RESOUND, DELPHIAN, FRAMUSICA, GLOSSA,
harmonia mundi, HAT[NOW]ART, K617, KML, LA DOLCE VOLTA, LSO LIVE, MARIINSKY, MELISANDE FILMS, MIRARE, MODE, MUSO, NAIVE, ONYX, OPELLA NOVA, ORFEO, PAN CLASSICS, PARADIZO, PEARL, PHILHARMONIA BAROQUE, PHIL.HARMONIE, PRAGA DIGITALS, RADIO FRANCE, RAM, RCOC, RCO LIVE, SFZ MUSIC, SIGNUM CLASSICS, STRADIVARIUS, UNITED ARCHIVES, WAHOO, WALHALL ETERNITY, WERGO, WIGMORE HALL LIVE, WINTER & WINTER, YSAYE [NASCOR]
available 8th April, call-off 29th March
April GRAMOPHONE EDITOR’S CHOICE Delphian DCD34117 Parry ‘From a City Window’ Ailish Tynan, Susan Bickley, William Dazeley / Iain Burnside
GRAMOPHONE EDITOR’S CHOICE Naive OP30539 Vivaldi Concerti per fagotte, Vol 3 Sergio Azzolini. L’Aura Soave Cremona
GRAMOPHONE EDITOR’S CHOICE Reissue of the Month Alia Vox Heritage AVSA9893 F Couperin - Pièces de violes Jordi Savall. Ariane Maurette. Ton Koopman
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
VIVALDI: Dixit Dominus RV807, In furore iustissimae irae RV626 HANDEL: Dixit Dominus HWV232
Lucy Crowe La Nuova Musica David Bates directs La Nuova Musica in a pair of contrasting settings of Psalm 109. Handel's masterful and ambitious HWV282 was penned in 1707 during a youthful visit to Italy. Vivaldi's vivid and economical RV807 (his third Dixit Dominus) was long mistakenly attributed to Baldassare Galuppi; it probably dates from the early 1730s. Rounding out the programme is Vivaldi's dazzling motet for solo voice, "In furore iustissimae irae", featuring soprano Lucy Crowe.
Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: HMU807587 Barcode: 093046758769 Normal Price Format: 1 hybrid SACD Packaging: slipcased Lucy Crowe [soprano] La Nuova Musica / David Bates [conductor] Interviews with Lucy Crowe on Radio Norfolk & first Classical spot on 'The Girls Are' LNM are on In Tune, Radio 3 on 8th April to coincide with the launch of this album R3 Essential Classics airplay this week
Session report - Gramophone Featue and free track - Gramophone Feature - Early Music Today tbc Feature - Sinfini tbc 8/10 recording – 7/10 music "Their [La Nuova Musica] passion and understanding of the style of music which they are playing is clearly evident in their phrasing and dynamic approach … a special mention should go to the countertenor Christopher Lowrey, who has an exceptional voice and whose upper range is extremely impressive." Pete Trewin, Hi-Fi + - March 2013 ALSO AVAILABLE: HMU907585/86 Handel Il Pastor Fido "La Nuova Musica, the most exciting of all young Baroque ensembles... Thanks to the inspired direction of David Bates, this was to be music-making of an undogmatic, long-pondered intelligence” Hilary Finch, The Times ADVERTISED IN MAY GRAMOPHONE & APRIL IRR
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
SCHUBERT: Licht und Liebe Lieder & Vocal Quartets Der Tanz D.826, Die Unterscheidung op.95/1, D.866, Die Geselligkeit (Lebenslust) D.609, Lieder der Delphine D.857/1, Der Sänger op.post.117, D.149, Der Hochzeitsbraten D.930, Licht und Liebe D.352, Des Tages Weihe D.763, Gott im Ungewitter D.985, Die Allmacht D.852, Hymne an den Unendlichen D.232, Begräbnislied D.168, Gebet D.815 Sometimes written in dialogue or in unison, sometimes close to opera, to a Singspiel scene or to choral music, Schubert's vocal duets, trios and quartets show the full variety of his creative impulses. These brief vocal ensembles composed for gatherings of friends, the famous ‘Schubertiads', display a skill and a taste for freedom that hold an immediate appeal for today's listener – for here one sings purely for pleasure. ALSO AVAILABLE: HMC902050 Schumann Spanisches Liederspiel and Liebeslieder
Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: HMC902130 Barcode: 3149020213025 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Marlis Petersen [soprano] Anke Vondung [mezzo-soprano] Werner Güra [tenor] Konrad Jarnot [bass] Christoph Berner fortepiano]
"plangently sung here by Werner Güra, one of today’s outstanding lieder singers, who, with the diamantine soprano of Marlis Petersen, gets the lion’s share of the solo songs and duets. The quartets are an especial delight, unjustly neglected treats for the Schumann bicentenary." Hugh Canning, CLASSICAL CD OF THE WEEK, Sunday Times, 29 August 2010 “this new disc now becomes the prime recommendation for these delectable, and still undervalued, Liederspiele.” Richard Wigmore, Gramophone recommends, November 2010 HMC901945 Brahms Liebeslieder-Walzer; Neue Liebeslieder "Topped by Marlis Petersen's crystalline soprano, the beautifully balanced vocal quartet sings with charm, tenderness and a piquant sense of drama. A word, too, for the guileful, spirited accompaniments from duetting pianists Berner and Radicke." Richard Wigmore, The Daily Telegraph, 6 October 2007 "A classy, sophisticated disc" Tim Ashley, The Guardian, Sept 14, 2007
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Thea MUSGRAVE: Chamber works for oboe Nicholas Daniel Night Windows, Impromptus 1 & 2, Cantilena, Niobe, Trio, Take Two Oboes, Threnody Rich and powerful musical language and a strong sense of drama have made Scottish-American composer Thea Musgrave (b.1928) one of the most respected and exciting contemporary voices. This CD features chamber works for oboe composed between 1960-2009, including her most recent works written specially for Nicholas Daniel, 'Cantilena', 'Night Windows', 'Take Two Oboes' and an arrangement of 'Threnody' for cor anglais. Nicholas Daniel’s long and distinguished career began when, at the age of 18, he won the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition and went on to win further competitions in Europe. At his debut at the BBC Proms in 1992 the Sunday Times described him as one of the greatest exponents of the oboe in the world. Today one of the UK's most distinguished soloists as well as a successful conductor, he has become an important ambassador for music and musicians in many different fields. He was awarded the The Queen’s Medal for Music in 2011.
Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Chamber music Catalogue No: HMU907568 Barcode: 093046756826 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: slipcased Nicholas Daniel [oboe] James Turnbull [oboe] Emer McDonough [flute] Joy Farrall [Clarinet] Huw Watkins [piano] members of the Chilingirian Quartet: Levon Chilingirian [violin] Susie Mészáros [viola] Philip De Groote [cello]
BBC Total Immersion, Barbican 15th February 2014 The BBC Symphony Orchestra celebrates the 85th birthday of this remarkable composer with a rich tapestry of her engaging and expressive music. "It was almost cosy. Both Nicholas Daniel and Dame Evelyn Glennie are prominent players of Thea Musgrave’s concertos, and the composer has been a Proms regular for nearly half a century. Now here came another BBC commission, Two’s Company, a double concerto for oboe and percussion that she wrote specifically for these two soloists. The whole work, scored with delicacy and grace, swept forward with a gathering momentum, and the total experience was captivating." The Independent 4th Sept 2007
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
SHOSTAKOVICH: Cello Concerto No. 1 Sonata for cello and piano Op.40
Emmanuelle Bertrand Pascal Amoyel Here are two masterpieces for cello by Shostakovich, written 25 years apart. The insolent Sonata Op.40 of 1934, contemporary with 'Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District':the opera soon to plunge its composer into disgrace with Stalin, was answered in 1959 by the bitter self-questioning of an artist who seemed to have sunk into depression. This Cello Concerto ends with a wicked caricature of true joy, adding the final touch to the extreme polymorphism of a traumatised humourist who had long since learned not to laugh . . .
Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: HMC902142 Barcode: 3149020214220 Normal Price Format CD Packaging: digipack Emmanuelle Bertrand [cello] Pascal Amoyel [piano] BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Pascal Rophé [conductor]
ADVERRTISED IN BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
A passionate devotee of chamber music and member of the ensemble Les Violoncelles Français, Emmanuelle Bertrand has appeared in duo repertoire with the pianist Pascal Amoyel since 1999. Her harmonia mundi recordings as a soloist or in tandem with Amoyel have all received the most prestigious critical accolades in France and abroad, including the Cannes Classical Award, Diapason d’Or of the Year, 10 de Répertoire-Classica, Choc de Classica, and ffff de Télérama. In 2014 she will give the first performance of Thierry Escaïch’s Cello Concerto. ALSO AVAILABLE: HMX2908452/53 Le violoncelle romantique “Rich pickings! Alkan and R Strauss Sonatas are given suitably grandiose performances. Bertrand and Amoyel complement each other superbly.” Jan Smaczny, BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2011 HMC901986 Grieg Cello Sonata, Lyric Pieces Allegretto in E, Intermezzo “Emmanuelle Bertrand and pianist Pascal Amoyel have an exquisitely sensitive partnership…Their delicate rendition of ‘Vöglein’ using pizzicato and barely-there string chords is pure enchantment.” Helen Wallace, BBC Music Magazine, December 2008 HMC901962 Saint-Saëns Cello Sonata, Suite, Le Cygne "The finely attuned duo of Emmanuelle Bertrand and Pascal Amoyel play both works with an ideal balance of ardour, finesse of colour and elegance." Richard Wigmore, The Daily Telegraph, 11 August 2007
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
VERDI: Arias Piotr Beczala Mariusz Kwiecien
Label: Orfeo File Under: Classical/Opera & Vocal Catalogue No: C865131A Barcode: 4011790865126 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Piotr Beczala [tenor] Ewa Podles [contralto] Mariusz Kwiecien [baritone] Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra Lukas Borowicz [conductor]
Rigoletto: Ella mi fu rapita ... Parmi veder le lagrime Les Vêpres Siciliennes: C’est Guy de Montfort ... O jour de peine Il Trovatore: Soli or siamo … Condotta ell’era in ceppi, Non son tuo figlio … Mal reggendo all’aspro assalto … Inoltra il piè, Ah si ben mio I Lombardi alla prima Crociata: La mia letizia infondere Aida: Se quel guerrier io fossi! ... Celeste Aida La Traviata: Lunge da lei... De’ miei bollenti spiriti... O mio rimorso Macbeth: O figli, o figli miei!... Ah, la paterna mano Messa da Requiem: Ingemisco tamquam reus Un Ballo in Maschera: Forse la soglia attinse ... Ma se m’è forza Don Carlo: E lui! desso, l’infante! … Dio che nell’alma infondere The internationally renowned tenor Piotr Beczala celebrates the 200th anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi’s birth with a collection of highlights that include roles in which he has been acclaimed on the world’s great operatic stages. This new CD with Beczala and the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Lukas Borowicz includes roles for which he is rightly famous, such as the Duke in 'Rigoletto' or Alfredo in 'La traviata' (at the Met, Covent Garden and at the Bavarian State Opera), alongside rarities and arias that were ground-breaking at the time. Thus he sings Radamès’s opening aria from 'Aïda', striking the balance between drama and expression that makes this romance as charming as it is difficult. In 'Il trovatore'. Beczala does not just sing “Ah sì, ben mio” , but also his big scene with Azucena from the second part of the opera. His partner here is Ewa Podles whose dark yet brilliant contralto voice offers a fascinating contrast to Beczala’s ever-radiant, well-focussed tenor. In arias from 'Macbeth' and 'Un ballo in maschera' in particular, Beczala shows why he has become synonymous with the protagonist, Riccardo, since his spectacular debut at the Lindenoper in Berlin. He changes genre for the “Ingemisco” from Verdi’s Requiem. Variety is also guaranteed by the selection of tenor arias from rarely performed Verdi operas such as 'Les vêpres siciliennes' and 'I Lombardi', in which Piotr Beczala once again demonstrates the lissom elegance of his phrasing. The recording closes with the friendship duet from 'Don Carlo', which Beczala crowns with a superb top C. Here, he is partnered by baritone Mariusz Kwiecien as Posa, whose vocal timbre adds luxury to the casting.
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
MOZART: Requiem Realisations The Choir of Kings College Cambridge Academy of Ancient Music SACD: Requiem Amen (Fugue) – C. Richard F. Maunder Sanctus – Robert D. Levin / Franz Beyer Benedictus – Duncan Druce Cum sanctis tuis – Robert D. Levin Lacrimosa – Michael Finnissy
Label: Kings College Cambridge File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: KGS0002 Barcode: 822231700227 Special Price Format: 1 hybrid SACD+CD in slipcase Elin Manahan Thomas [soprano] Christine Rice [mezzo-soprano] James Gilchrist [tenor] Christopher Purves [bass] Academy of Ancient Music The Choir of Kings College Cambridge Stephen Cleobury
CD: Mozart’s Requiem: An Audio Documentary Chapter 1. Mozart in 1791 and the commissioning of the Requiem Chapter 2. The Composition of the Requiem Chapter 3. Reception The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge under conductor Stephen Cleobury presents a compelling second release. Here it performs Mozart's Requiem (Süssmayr edition), followed by complete movement realisations by leading composers and musicologists including Michael Finnissy, Robert D. Levin and Duncan Druce. The recording also features a stellar line-up soloists and the Academy of Ancient Music. The second disc features a unique bonus audio documentary about Mozart’s Requiem, narrated by Elin Manahan Thomas (soprano soloist), with commentary illustrated by extracts of both the Requiem and the works that inspired it. The album’s release will be accompanied by an extensive international press and marketing campaign, supported by advertising and video for online and instore use. The Choir will be embarking on a major North American tour in April 2013 coinciding with the release. The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge is one of the world’s foremost choirs and unquestionably among the most widely heard. It owes its existence to King Henry VI, who envisaged the daily singing of services in his magnificent chapel. This remains the Choir’s raison d’être, and is an important part of the lives of its 16 choristers, who are educated at King’s College School, and the 14 choral scholars and two organ scholars, who study a variety of subjects in the College. The Choir has been a breeding ground for numerous professional singers, two of whom – James Gilchrist and Christopher Purves – appear as soloists on this recording.
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
SCHUBERT: Winterreise D911 Alice Coote British mezzo-soprano Alice Coote is acclaimed around the world for her commanding performances in opera, concert and recital, in repertoire spanning from the Baroque to contemporary music. A regular favourite at Wigmore Hall, she returned with Julius Drake in February 2012 to record Schubert’s 'Winterreise'. Traditionally performed by a male singer, this song cycle is celebrated internationally at the pinnacle of the German Lieder tradition. Offering fresh insight, and a unique perspective on the poetry, Coote unravelled this story with raw vulnerability as her heartfelt portrayal of emotional turmoil and destruction proved spectacularly engaging. With pianist Julius Drake expertly setting the tone from the outset, Coote took a kaleidoscope look at love, as she wholeheartedly plunged herself in the devastating story. At times emotionally overwhelming, her subtlety of expression unreservedly expressed a harrowing sense of rejection and loneliness. Truly taking the listener on a journey through the 24 poems, this landmark recording promises to be a must-have for any lover of song.
Label: Wigmore Hall Live File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: WHLIVE0057 Barcode: 5065000924591 Mid Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Alice Coote [mezzo-soprano] Julius Drake [piano]
Recorded live at Wigmore Hall, London, on 26 & 28 January 2012 "a constantly arresting reading of a great work, which will only enhance the singer’s reputation." classicalsource
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Simon Trpceski: Schubert, Bach, Liszt Simon Trpceski SCHUBERT: 16 Deutsche Tänze, D783, Fantasie in C D760 'Wanderer' JS BACH, trans. Franz Liszt: Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543 LISZT: Sonetto 104 del Petrarca, Les jeux d'eaux a la Villa d'Este, Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 Spoken introduction to encores: SCHUBERT arr. Liszt: Ständchen (from Schwanengesang, D957) CHOPIN: Prelude in D minor, Op.28 No.24
Label: Wigmore Hall Live File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: WHLIVE0058 Barcode: 5065000924607 Mid Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Simon Trpceski [piano]
Praised by the Los Angeles Times for his grace, eloquence and the ‘understated beauty of his tone’, Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski shot to fame after winning the London International Piano Competition in 2001. A regular concerto soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras, he also enjoys a busy international career as a chamber musician, and his solo recordings have received recognition as ‘Editor’s Choice’ and ‘Debut Album’ awards from Gramophone. With repertoire rich in nods towards a folk hinterland, Trpceski’s programme for this Wigmore Hall Live CD draws strongly on his deep immersion in national traditions of music and dance throughout his childhood. Schubert’s tuneful 16 German Dances pave the way to what is arguably the composer’s most virtuosic sonata, his ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy. Almost symphonic in scale, Trpceski’s emphatically energetic performance here unleashes an emotional outpouring. By way of a transcription of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A minor BWV543, in which the rich sonorities of the organ work are handsomely explored in an arrangement for piano, the second half of the programme focuses on Liszt. Here, Trpceski demonstrates his wide palette of tone colours with subtly sculpted phrases to explore the depths of these masterpieces.
Recorded live at Wigmore Hall, London, on 18 March 2012 "No problems of technique here, and yet the pyrotechnics never sounded un-Schubertian. Superb...The eloquence of the lines of the Petrarch Sonnet and the superbly even, tonally beautiful playing of Les Jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este were much more than a warm-up, reminding us of Liszt’s depths.. Trpceski gave the music plenty of space to speak before delivering a Second Hungarian Rhapsody that was the very antithesis of Lang Lang’s glittery way with this piece. Not for one second was Trpceski hackneyed, and not for one second was there a hint of this being an inferior piece, a mere pot-boiler. Encores were fairly brief and included the last of Chopin’s Op. 24 Preludes. A memorable evening." Colin Clarke, Seenandheard-international.com
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
I Viaggi di Faustina Faustina Bordoni’s journeys to Naples
Roberta Invernizzi I Turchini Antonio Florio Nicola PORPORA Son prigioniera, Raggio amico di speranza (Poro), Sinfonia (Agrippina) Leonardo VINCI Scendi da questo soglio, Un guardo solo ancor (Il Trionfo di Camilla), Confusa, smarrita, Non ti minaccio sdegno (Catone in Utica), Ecco mi parto (Parto ma con qual core) Francesco MANCINI Canta e dì caro usignolo, Sinfonia, Spera sì, mio caro bene (Traiano) Domenico SARRO Tortora che il suo bene (Partenope), Concerto per flauto e archi Antonio Maria BONONCINI Lasciami un sol momento (Rosiclea in Dania)
Label: Glossa File Under: Classical/Opera & Vocal Catalogue No: GCD922606 Barcode: 8424562226067 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Roberta Invernizzi [soprano] I Turchini / Antonio Florio
With 'I Viaggi di Faustina' Glossa launches a new collection focusing on famous Italian singers from the 17th and 18th centuries, whose travels [viaggi] bear witness to the intense level of artistic activity then taking place in the major cities of Europe. Faustina Bordoni, the brilliant diva with whom we begin this series, pursued her career mainly in Naples (the principal focus of this CD) and Venice, but also in cities such as Bologna, Parma, Dresden and London. These were cities hosting – with great success – operas by Johann Adolph Hasse (Bordoni’s husband), Nicola Porpora, Leonardo Vinci, Francesco Mancini and Domenico Sarro; most of these composers are represented on this first selection of wonderful arias. The artist chosen to reincarnate Faustina Bordoni is considered by many to be the leading soprano in Baroque music today: Roberta Invernizzi. In repertoire that fits like a glove, Invernizzi displays her renowned virtuosity along with a shared musical sensitivity with Antonio Florio and I Turchini. This is Roberta Invernizzi’s second release on Glossa as the main protagonist, the first being her outstanding and very highly-appreciated album of Vivaldi arias. Devised by the scholar Dinko Fabris and conductor Antonio Florio, with further musicological advice coming from Juan José Carreras and Giulia Veneziano, this new collection also gives a central importance to the texts and to the iconography which put each recording in context; in this way endeavouring to create the most complete and stimulating vision possible of the conditions surrounding these inimitable artists.
ADVERTISED IN MAY ISSUE BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Louis Le PRINCE: Missa Macula non est in te (1663) motets by Marc-Antoine Charpentier and Jean-Baptiste Lully
Le Concert Spirituel Hervé Niquet CHARPENTIER: Gaudete fideles, Gratiarum actiones, Ouverture pour le sacre d’un évêque, O pretiosum, Domine salvum fac Regem, Magnificat LULLY: O dulcissime Domine
Label: Glossa File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: GCD921627 Barcode: 8424562216273 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack
Hervé Niquet revisits the gloriously rich world of 17th-century French sacred music with his musicians from Le Concert Spirituel, bringing our attention to Louis Le Prince. A barely known composer, he worked in Lisieux in Lower Normandy. Niquet intersperses the maître de chapelle’s 'Missa Macula non est in te' with a mighty handful of motets by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. Mass and motets are given in versions for female voices and instruments. Whilst some of the pieces sung here were written specifically for high voices, it was a regular practice in the Baroque era to perform polyphonic masses with forces locally available and, thus, convents could well have sung Le Prince’s six-part mass – a homage to the Virgin Mary – making use of female singers. This practice is outlined by Fannie Vernaz in her accompanying booklet article and follows in the line of Hervé Niquet’s exploration of the Requiem Mass by Pierre Bouteiller (a work which he adapted for a choir consisting only of male voices). The gorgeous sonorities of Charpentier’s motets (and a petit motet by Jean-Baptiste Lully) contribute to an Office constructed by Hervé Niquet around the Ordinary of the Mass by Louis Le Prince, to demonstrate with great clarity the variety of the musical glories of Louis XIV’s grand siècle.
Le Concert Spirituel Hervé Niquet CONCERT: WIGMORE HALL 11TH APRIL repertoire to include Le Prince
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
BEETHOVEN: String Quartets Op. 18/3, 18/5 & 135 Hagen Quartett In its 2012/13 season, the Hagen Quartett brings the complete Beethoven string quartets to the most prominent musical centres of the world, including New York, Tokyo, Paris, London, Vienna and Salzburg. During the first half of this tour, the quartet went right away from the stage to the studio to record three of their most favourite Beethoven quartets. With Op. 18/3 and Op. 135, the album ranges from the very first to the last string quartet Ludwig van Beethoven wrote. The Hagen Quartet came into being in 1981, soon achieving success in a number of competitions and signing an exclusive recording contract with DG, which over the course of a 20-year relationship produced 45 CDs. Through its long engagement with the inexhaustibly rich quartet repertoire, the Hagen Quartet has developed and retained a distinctive character, not least in its collaboration with such musicians as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Gyรถrgy Kurtรกg, Maurizio Pollini, Mitsuko Uchida, Krystian Zimerman, Heinrich Schiff and Jรถrg Widmann.
Label: Myrios Classics File Under: Classical Catalogue No: MYR009 Barcode: 4260183510093 Normal Price Format: 1 hybrid SACD Packaging: cristal Hagen Quartett
In 2011 the Hagen Quartet celebrated its 30th anniversary, which was also the start of a new collaboration with the record label Myrios Classics. For the debut album Hagen Quartett 30 (MYR006), the ensemble was awarded the prestigious German ECHO Klassik award in the category Ensemble of the Year 2011. CONCERTS: 19.04.13 London, Wigmore Hall 20.04.13 London, Wigmore Hall 28.05.13 London, Wigmore Hall 29.05.13 London, Wigmore Hall "The Hagen Quartet holds you spellbound from first bar to last." Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
BEETHOVEN: String quartet No. 11, Op. 95 'Quartetto Serioso' MOZART: Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K. 546, String quartet No. 16, K428
Chiaroscuro Quartet Alina Ibragimova
Label: Aparté File Under: Classical/Chamber music Catalogue No: AP051 Barcode: 3149028031324 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Chiaroscuro Quartet: Alina Ibragimova [violin] Pablo Hernán Benedí [violin] Emilie Hörnlund [viola] Claire Thirion [cello]
In September 2011 the Chiaroscuro Quartet released its debut CD of music by Mozart and Schubert to critical acclaim. The disc was awarded a ‘Choc de l’Année’ by the French music magazine Classica and was highly praised by Télérama and the Strad magazine. It was chosen as 'Chamber Choice' in the December 2011 issue of BBC Music Magazine which described the playing as “period-instrument playing of consummate virtuosity”. Future engagements for the Quartet include a return to Aix-en-Provence followed by a series of concerts throughout Sweden. They will return to the UK for a series of concerts broadcast on BBC Radio 3, their Edinburgh Festival debut and appearances at venues across London. Formed in 2005, the Chiaroscuro Quartet performs music of the Classical era on period instruments informed by a historical approach. Recent UK concert highlights include appearances at Wigmore Hall in London, York Early Music Centre, The Sage Gateshead (recorded for BBC Radio 3) and a residency in Aldeburgh.
ALSO AVAILABLE: AP022 Mozart Quartet No 19 K465, Schubert No 13 D804 “there’s no doubting that it’s the excitement of [Alina Ibragimova’s] music-making that stamps its personality on these performances…this is an impressive debut recording, and the light and shade of the playing fully justifies the name the group has chosen for itself.” Misha Donat, Chamber Choice, BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2011 “One of the most impressive chamber recording debuts of recent years.” Julian Haylock, theStrad Recommends, The Strad, January 2012
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Art Nouveau: Songs by Strauss, Zemlinsky, Ravel, Respighi Teodora Gheorghiu Richard STRAUSS: Mädchenblumen op. 22, Drei Lieder der Ophelia op. 67 Nr. 1-3 Alexander ZEMLINSKY: Walzer-Gesänge nach toskanischen Volksliedern von Ferdinand Gregorovius op.6 Maurice RAVEL: Cinq mélodies populaires grecques, Ballade de la reine morte d'aimer, Rêves, Manteau de fleurs, Tripatos (Danse chantée) Ottorino RESPIGHI: Deità silvane
Label: Aparté File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: AP054 Barcode: 3149028031621 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Teodora Gheorghiu Soprano Jonathan Aner Piano
Teodora Gheorghiu's second album for Aparte is 'Art Nouveau': the core is Richard Strauss' Op. 22 and 67, framed by a selection of songs from different cultural groups, linguistically and aesthetically. Gheorghiu's homage to 18th-century soprano Anna de Amicis included mostly premiere recordings of arias by Mozart, Gluck, Borghi, Cafaro and Myslivecek and was named Disc of the Month by International Record Review, by Opera magazine, and was BBC Radio Three’s Disc of the Week. Teodora appears at Glyndebourne this summer, singing the role of Zerbinetta, Strauss again, in a new production of 'Ariadne auf Naxos' with Soile Isokoski. Live broadcast to cinemas and online on 4 June 2013. ALSO AVAILABLE: AP021 Arias for Anna de Amicis OPERA DISC OF THE MONTH “In this engaging and enlightening disc, the Romanian soprano Teodora Gheorghiu convincingly recreates arias associated with de Amicis” George Loomis, DISC OF THE MONTH, Opera, May 2012 TELEGRAPH FEATURE, NEW FACES [Rupert Christiansen] tbc
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
CHERUBINI: Lodoïska Opera in three acts to a libretto by Claude-François Fillette-Loreaux
Le Cercle de L’Harmonie Jérémie Rhorer 'Lodoïska' was first performed at the Théâtre Feydeau in Paris on 18 July 1791. The opera was received enthusiastically and ran for 200 performances. It was so popular that it was revived again at the Feydeau in 1819 and was performed frequently in the Germanic countries in the early 19th century, including a production in Vienna in 1805, while Cherubini was there. This recording on original instruments, under Jeremie Rhorer, points to the debt, musically and politically, Beethoven owed to Cherubini in his later 'rescue' opera 'Fidelio'. Rhorer is conducting 'Le Nozze di Figaro' at Glyndebourne thus summer. "Nathalie Manfrino is Lodoiska ...Light and touching, credibility absolute. She radiates!" Opera Magazine
Label: NAÏVE File Under: Classical/Opera & Vocal Catalogue No: AM209 Barcode: 822186002094 2 for 1.5 Format: 2 CD Packaging: digipack Nathalie Manfrino [Lodoïska, soprano] Hjördis Thébault [Lysinska, soprano] Sébastien Guèze [Florerski, tenor] Philippe Do [Titzikan, tenor] Armando Noguera [Varbel, baritone] Pierre-Yves Pruvot [Dourlinski, baritone] Alain Buet [Altama, baritone] Choeur Les Eléments/Joël Suhubiette Le Cercle de L’Harmonie/Jérémie Rhorer [direction]
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
STRAVINSKY: Le Sacre du Printemps DEBUSSY: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune RAVEL: Bolero
Orchestre de l'Opera National de Paris Philippe Jordan Naive continues its partnership with the Orchestra of the Paris Opera and its leader Philippe Jordan [currently counducting the Ring Cycle in Paris]. Music Director of the Opéra National de Paris and appointed Musical Director the Vienna Symphony Orchestra from the season 2014-15, Philippe Jordan, at age 38, is already recognised as one of the most talented and exciting conductors of his generation. Here are three monuments that together furthered the history of music and the arts, including that of the Paris Opera, in the 20th century.
Label: NAÏVE File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: V5332 Barcode: 822186053324 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Orchestre de l'Opera National de Paris / Philippe Jordan [conductor]
"their love affair with Philippe Jordan makes the pit of the Paris Opera the toast of the capital." Figaro ALSO AVAILABLE: V5233 STRAUSS Eine Alpensinfonie Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris/Philippe Jordan
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
STRAVINSKY: Le Sacre Du Printemps, Petroushka Lidija Bizjak Sanja Bizjak In just a few years, 'Petroushka' and 'The Rite of Spring' - premiered by the Ballets Russes in 1911 and 1913, drastically changed the musical world and opened the path to the 20th century and modern music. Highlights of Lidija and Sanja Bizjak’s career include their debut at the BBC Proms performing with the Britten Sinfonia at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and also their appearances in La Roque d’Anthéron and Folle Journée in Nantes, amongst other prestigious concerts. “Lidija and Sanja Bizjak’s brilliant sound, precise fingerwork, and excellent listening skills shone through.” Anna Picard, The Independent
Label: Mirare File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: MIR171 Barcode: 3760127221715 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Lidija Bizjak, Sanja Bizjak [piano]
'A String of Rites' opens at Sadlers Wells on 11th April with both the 'Rite and 'Petroushka' being performed in stagings by Michael Keegan-Dolan, accompanied by Lidija and Sanja Bizjak on pianos. The sisters also appear at the French Institute's It's All About Piano festival on March 22nd.
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
La Capella Reial de Catalunya: 25 Years La Capella Reial de Catalunya Jordi Savall To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Capella Reial de Catalunya, the choir he founded in 1988, Jordi Savall has gathered 4 rexamples of their work, rich in Catalan heritage, luxuriously presented in a box and all published originally on the AstrÊe label: - El Cançoner Del Duc De Calabria (1526-1554) - Bartomeu Carceres (16th century): Villancicos & Ensaladas - Mateo Flecha (1481-1553): Ensaladas
Label: Alia Vox File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: AVSA9897 Barcode: 7619986398976 4 for 1 Format: 4 hybrid SACDs Packaging: box set
- Joan Cererols (1618-1680): Missa Pro Defunctis / Missa De Batalla Remastered and richly documented, 4 sacds for the price of 1, 160pp booklet
La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Jordi Savall
Jordi Savall is performing 'The Celtic Viol' in Glasgow on 1st & 2nd May. Interview with Glasgow Herald
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Matthias WECKMANN: Conjuratio Ricercar Consort Philippe Pierlot Concerto I: Weine nicht, Es hat überwunden Concerto II: Zion spricht: Der Herr hat mich verlassen Praembulum Primi toni a 5 Concerto III: Herr wenn ich nur dich habe Concerto IV: Wie liegt die Stadt so wüste Nun freut euch, lieben Chisten g'mein Kommet heer zu mir alle die ihr Mühselig und beladen seÿdt Wenn der Herr die Gefangenen zu Zion Magnificat Secundi Toni
Label: Mirare File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: MIR204 Barcode: 3760127222040 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Maria Keohane [soprano] Carlos Mena [alto] Hans-Jorg Mammel [tenor] Stephan MacLeod [bass] Maude Gratton [organ] Ricercar Consort Philippe Pierlot [direction]
Weckmann's musical training took place in Dresden under the direction of Heinrich Schütz, then in Hamburg where he worked with Praetorius. Weckmann travelled to Denmark in 1637 with Schütz, where his Lüneberg manuscript has been lurking, wrongly attributed to Christoph Bernhard. Weckmann became organist in Dresden at the Electoral Court of Saxony from 1638 to 1642, and returned to Denmark until 1647 (during the Thirty Years' War). During a new (and his last) stay in Dresden from 1649 to 1655, he met Johann Jakob Froberger during a musical competition which had been organised by the Elector. They remained friends and in correspondence with each other. In 1655, after a competition, he was named titular organist at Saint James church (Jakobkirche) in Hamburg, and spent his remaining life there. He founded a renowned orchestral ensemble, the so-called Collegium Musicum in Hamburg in 1660. This was the most productive period of his life: his compositions of this time include this collection of 1663, which sets visionary settings of biblical texts evoking images of desolation and destruction, but also struggle and hope. It was inspired by the terrible plague which killed his first wife and many of his colleagues in Hamburg that year, including Heinrich Scheidemann. Matthias Weckmann died in Hamburg c1674 and was buried in a family grave in the Jacobkirche, beneath the organ. ALSO AVAILABLE: MIR102 Bach Magnificat C D Review Disc of the Week Gramophone Editor’s Choice Gramophone Critics’ Choice “The best ever Magnificat recording? In my view it certainly is.” Andrew O’Connor, IRR Outstanding, International Record Review, January 2010
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
François COUPERIN: Les Ombres Errantes Iddo Bar-Shaï Les Ombres Errantes, Soeur Monique, Le Tic-Toc-Choc, La Muse-Plantine, Le Rossignol-en-Amour, Double du Rossignol, Les Petits Ages: La Muse Naissante, L'Enfantine, Les Tambourins, Le Misterieuse, La petite Pince-Sans-rire, La Logivière, Le Dodo, La Commére, Les Langeurs Tendres, Les Vergers fleüris, Les Rozeaux, L'Engageante, L'Ame-en peine, Les Moissonneurs, La Bandoline, Les Fauvétes Plaintives, Le Turbulent, La Couperin, Les Baricades Mistérieuses
Grave, agile, majestic, picturesque, the keyboard output of François Couperin, with its array of indispensable ornaments and piquant details, enables us to follow all the impulses of the soul of 'the most poetic of our harpsichord composers', as Debussy called him. Performed here on the piano, which its own special colour, these harpsichord pieces, in their various moods, retain al their inimitable charm.
Label: Mirare File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: MIR195 Barcode: 3760127221951 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Iddo Bar-Shaï [piano]
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Franz LISZT: Via Crucis Pater noster, Christus factus est, Weinen Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen S179, Hymne grĂŠgorienne Vexilla regis
Vox Clamantis Jean-Claude Pennetier 'Via Crucis' is probably one of Franz Liszt's boldest and most original works. Its musical inspiration, which ranges from Gregorian chant to Lutheran chorales, is here expressed in extremely modern harmonies that are at times Wagnerian. The programme is completed with Liszt piano pieces on a religious theme, played by Jean-Claude Pennetier: 'Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen' and 'Pater Noster', written after the death of Liszt's daughter Blandine, and plainchant from the liturgy of Holy Week, one of the major sources of inspiration for 'Via Crucis'. Founded in 1996 the Estonian ensemble Vox Clamantis is conducted by Jaan-Eik Tulve.
Label: Mirare File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: MIR167 Barcode: 3760127221678 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Vox Clamantis Jaan-Eik Tulve [conductor] Jean-Claude Pennetier [piano]
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
BRITTEN: Violin concerto Op. 15 Jonathan BERGER: Jiyeh for violin, cimbalom, percussion & string orchestra
Livia Sohn Luigi Piovano Benjamin Britten, whose centenary we celebrate this year, channeled his rejection of war and hatred of fascism in his Violin Concerto, The work, a landmark of the repertoire, is unbridled in its lyricism and constitutes a poignant commentary on the devastating violence of his time. Nearly 70 years after the Holocaust, with same concerns as Britten, composer Jonathan Berger has also turned to a violin concerto. 'Jiyeh', a town on the Lebanese coast, 27 km south of Beirut and 10km north of Sidon, is built on the ancient city of Porphyreon, where a whale was purported to have returned Jonah to the shore. It is also the site of a major oil spill in 2006 caused by rocket fire on the third day of the military conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Jonathan Berger became obsessed by patterns on satellite pictures of the spill which in turn inspired his violin concerto written for, and premiered by, Livia Sohn in 2007.
Label: ELOQUENS File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: EL1340 Barcode: 3760107400406 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Livia Sohn [violin] Orchestra del Teatro Marrucino di Chieti/ Luigi Piovano [conductor] Livia Sohn [violin] Jan Rokyta [cimbalom] Banff Centre Chamber Orchestra/Henk Guittart [conductor]
“Livia Sohn possesses a remarkably lithe and transparent tone of exceptional purity. [Her] virtually blemishless accounts are nothing short of remarkable. Even when under the most fearsome technical pressure at high velocity, every note rings true with pinpoint accuracy.” The Strad Magazine ALSO AVAILABLE: EL1129 Schubert Piano Trio in E flat major, Notturno / Trio Latitude “Judging by this superb disc, the trio is a happy meeting of European and American players…a highly enjoyable disc.” David Milsom, The Strad, February 2012
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
ALKAN: Piano works Pascal Amoyel Nocturne Op. 22, Barcarolle Op.65/6, Chanson de la folle au bord de la mer Op. 31/8, Grande Sonate Op. 33, Esquisses Op. 63 One of the great forgotten figures in the history of music, a man admired by Liszt, nicknamed "the Berlioz of the piano" by Hans von Bülow, is undoubtedly Charles-Valentin Alkan, the best-kept secret of French Romanticism, a solitary and impassioned soul. He was an exceptionally gifted virtuoso pianist; a demanding and inventive composer; a tormented artist who produced a kaleidoscopic and passionate body of work. Alkan is fascinating because of the mystery that still shrouds his life and his work when, after a spectacular early career, he withdrew from society, taking refuge in his inner world.
Label: La Dolce Volta File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: LDV11 Barcode: 3770001901305 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Pascal Amoyel [piano]
"I wanted to showcase all the composer's facets, in a multifaceted way. The 'Grande Sonate Les quatre âges', is a colossal, gigantic work, a sort of romantic ideal of the sonata, which undoubtedly influenced Liszt's. As a counterpart to this great work, I selected shorter pieces, like the 'Esquisses', which show a composer who could capture a moment in time. And then I also selected a number of pieces that are both visionary and 'anchored' in their era. The 'Barcarolle' is reminiscent of Mendelssohn and prefigures Satie, as with 'les Soupirs' for Scriabin and even Debussy. While the 'Nocturne' is similar to Chopin's opus 32, 'Les Cloches' and the 'Prélude La chanson de la folle au bord de la mer' illustrate Alkan's fascination with realism, everyday life, the strange and the extraordinary." Pascal Amoyel
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
SAINT-SAENS: Concertos Emil Gilels Isaac Stern Msistlav Rostropovitch Arthur Grumiaux Piano Concerto No. 2 Op. 22 [Gilels, Théatre des Champs Elysées, 11/3/1954] Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso Op. 28 [Stern, Brodwood Hotel, Philadelphia 13/3/1957] Cello Concerto No. 1 Op. 33 [Rostropovitch, Abbey Rd., 6/3/1956] Violin Concerto No. 3 Op. 61 [Grumiaux, Paris, 23/6/1956
Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: DSD350077 Barcode: 3149028026122 Normal Price Format: 1 hybrid SACD Packaging: cristal Emil Gilels [piano] Societe des concerts du Conservatoire de Paris/André Clutyens Isaac Stern [violin] Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy Msistlav Rostropovitch [cello] Philharmonia Orchestra/Sir Malcolm Sargent Arthur Grumiaux [violin] Concerts Lamoureux/Jean Fournet
The exceptional longevity of Camille Saint-Saens, a child prodigy respected by Liszt, witness to the Stravinskian and Debussy-ist revolutions, left us more than 300 manuscripts. German and Russian musicologists saluted his professionalism, his pianistic writing reminding us of Beethoven, an orchestral art inspired by Liszt and Berlioz who considered him the most impressive musical mechanic ever encountered. Four legendary artists in classic recordings prove his timelessness. Remastered, DSD bi-channel and edited from stereo and mono original sources by Karel Soukenlk, Studio Domovina,Prague
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
RAVEL: Orchestral Works London Symphony Orchestra Pierre Monteux Rapsodie Espagnole, Pavane pour une infante défunte [London Dec 11-13 1961] Daphnis & Chloé [April 27-28 1959] Pierre Monteux conducts the LSO in classic recordings from 1959 and 1961, remastered and edited from stereo analogue tapes. In 1911 he was invited by Diaghilev to conduct his Ballet Russes and he led the premieres of 'Daphnis and Chloé', Debussy's 'Jeux', 'Petrushka' and the 'Rite of Spring', the last of which caused a notorious riot. He became the musical director of the London Symphony Orchestra in 1961, at the age of 86, and had one of the longest musical careers exceeded perhaps only by Stokowski and Casals.
Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: DSD350073 Barcode: 3149028025729 Normal Price Format: 1 hybrid SACD Packaging: cristal Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden London Symphony Orchestra Pierre Monteux
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
DEBUSSY: La Mer Salut Printemps, Nocturnes, Marche Écossaise, Invocation & Jeux
Manuel Rosenthal Dukas considered that with Debussy "ideas generate form". His 'Nocturnes' tap into impressions and light effects, [...] fading into white-tinged grey, and only then movement, jaunty rhythms, sudden bursts of light and glittering dust combining to form a total rhythm (Debussy’s directions). Rosenthal and the Paris Opera orchestra still provide the most faithful rendering of this profusion of rhythm and timbre.
Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: DSD350072 Barcode: 3149028025620 Normal Price Format: 1 hybrid SACD Packaging: cristal Nadine Sautereau [soprano] Michel Caron [tenor] Etienne Baudo [horn] Chœurs de la Radiodiffusion Française Orchestre du Théâtre National de l’Opéra de Paris Manuel Rosenthal [conductor]
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
DEBUSSY: La Mer Première Suite d'Orchestre
Les Siècles François-Xavier Roth A first recording for Debussy's first orchestral Suite: little is known about the period surrounding its composition and the orchestral score was lost until 2008. It was missing the third movement, although it exists in a reduced version for piano four hands. Philippe Manoury has now completed the orchestration, at the request of the Cité de la musique in Paris. Founded in 2003 by the conductor François-Xavier Roth, Les Siècles is a period-instrument orchestra with a huge collection of instruments from all eras at its disposal, and a repertoire to match. Roth and his players have already recorded Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Chabrier, Stravinsky and Dubois with some spectacular results and reviews. Roth has also meticulously recreated the style of playing as taught at the Paris Conservatoire.
Label: Actes Sud Musicales File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: ASM10 Barcode: 3149028023220 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Les Siècles [on period instruments] François-Xavier Roth
ALSO AVAILABLE: ASM09 Théodore Dubois: Piano Concerto no 2, Ouverture de Frithiof, Dixtuor "Soloist Vanessa Wagner plays an 1874 Érard - the lighter, clearer sound perfectly foiled by Les Siècles; the concerto’s manic, chattering close sounding so, so French. Delicious." Graham Rickson, TheArtsDesk – 25 August 2012
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
PORPORA: Pastoral Cantatas Marina de Liso Stile Galante Freme il mar, e col sussurro Ninfe e pastor che al bel Sebeto in riva Cello Sonata in F Major Questa dunque è la selva Ecco che il primo albore Partimenti del Sig. Nicola Porpora D’Amor la bella pace
Label: Pan Classics File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: PC10285 Barcode: 7619990102859 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Marina de Liso [mezzosoprano] Stile Galante: Claudia Combs [violin I] Eva Saladin [violin II] Gabriele Palomba [theorbo] Agnieszka Oszanca [cello] Andrea Friggi [harpsichord] Stefano Aresi [direction]
Probably no other composer and vocal pedagogue had a stronger influence on opera seria than the Neapolitan Nicola Porpora. Countless renowned singers emerged from his school; the best-known example is the castrato Farinelli. Porpora was not only a significant opera composer, however, but also created numerous chamber cantatas - dramatic scenes scored for small ensembles that are almost always set in an Arcadian atmosphere and were intended for performance in the private sphere. Porpora wrote over 130 works in this appealing genre; on this recording can be heard five cantatas for a deep female voice, interpreted by the mezzo soprano Marina De Liso, one of the most sought-after singers on the baroque scene. With a wealth of colours and emotions, and a wide range between lyrical expression and dramatic virtuosity, she brings these miniatures about the love troubles of shepherds and shepherdesses to life. The instrumental parts are performed by Stile Galante under the direction of Stefano Aresi. This ensemble, founded in 2010, specialises in the gallant repertoire of the late Italian baroque which the young musicians from all over Europe interpret with brilliance and vitality.
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Aldebrando SUBISSATI: Violin sonatas (1675) Alessandro Ciccolini Gaetano Nasillo
Label: Pan Classics File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: PC10283 Barcode: 7619990102835 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Alessandro Ciccolini (violin) Gaetano Nasillo (violoncello) Karl-Ernst Schröder (theorbo) Luca Scandali (harpsichord, organ)
Not very much is known about the violinist Aldebrando Subissati. He was born in Fossombrone, a city near Urbino, and was probably trained as a violinist in Rome. He was active at the royal court of John II Casimir in Warsaw from 1645 until 1654, was also employed by Leopold I of Austria and belonged to the retinue of Empress Christina of Sweden. Although he surely composed numerous works, only the violin sonatas recorded here have survived. Two years before his death, Subissati compiled this collection of 19 sonatas for the nobleman Alessandro Barcellini. This volume provides a very diversified overview of what a sonata was understood to be during this period. Contrasting sections follow one another, whereby the violin always plays the leading role, of course. The continuo confines itself to providing the soloist with an adequate harmonic foundation above which the most daring melodic figurations adventurously take place. In the course of this, Subissati used a manner of composition typical of the violin on which the ingenious Corelli was to put his stamp slightly thereafter. These sonatas are interpreted by Alessandro Ciccolini, one of Italy’s leading baroque violinists. The continuo group also features outstanding musicians – Gaetano Nasillo, Karl-Ernst Schröder and Luca Scandali.
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
M-A CHARPENTIER: Judith sive Bethulia liberata H391 Caedes Sanctorum Innocentium H411
Olivier Schneebeli The Grand Siècle in France was a period exceptionally favourable to the renewal of the forms of sacred music and their sources of inspiration. Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) is undoubtedly the master of this process. His 'Histoires sacrées', stimulated by his years of training in Rome, represent a vast ‘sacred theatre’, deploying unprecedented vocal and instrumental invention to portray the major episodes of the Old and New Testaments with special emphasis on their dramatic and psychological mainsprings. From Judith freeing the people of Israel from the yoke of Holofernes, to the Massacre of the Innocents with its depiction of the countless cruel deeds of Herod, here is an admirable synthesis of Italian chiaroscuro and the radiant grace of the French Baroque.
Label: K617 File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: K617242 Barcode: 3383510002427 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Dagmar Sasková [soprano] Erwin Aros [countertenor] Jean-François Novelli [tenor] Arnaud Richard [baritone] Les Pages, les Chantres & les Symphonistes du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles Olivier Schneebeli [conductor]
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Colours in the Dark Instrumental Music of Alexander Agricola
Ensemble Leones Marc Lewon Alexander AGRICOLA: In minen Zin à 3, De tous biens plaine II, III, IV, V à 3, De tous biens plaine III à 3, Tandernaken à 3, Si conge prens à 3, Je ne puis plus à 3, Cecus non judicat de coloribus à 3, Pater meus agricola est à 3, Tout a par moy II à 3, Tout a par moy I à 4, Helas, madame que feraige, Le serviteur à 4, Fortuna desperata à 6 GHIZEGHEM: De tous biens plaine à 3, ROELKIN: De tous biens plaine à 2 Roelkin ANON: Tandernaken (Monodie), Si congié prens (Monodie), AGRICOLA/BRUMEL: Fors seullement à 4 AGRICOLA & GHISELIN Duo à 2, FRYE: Tout a par moy à 3, DUFAY: Le serviteur à 3 Fabrice FITCH: Agricola VIII / Obrecht canon III: De tous biens plaine / Tinguely-Brunnen, Agricola IX: Je nay dueil
Label: Christophorus File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: CHR77368 Barcode: 4010072773685 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Ensemble Leones Marc Lewon
Agricola was already considered one of the 'old masters' soon after his death in 1506. His works were approached with veneration and, already in the early 16th century, regarded as examples of good and demanding counterpoint. As a member of the first generation of genuinely instrumental composers, he wrote not only the masses, motets and chansons that were customary during this period, but also a large number of works without text that were obviously created for instruments by virtue of their construction. As a result, his musical rhetoric went considerably farther than his otherwise congenial colleagues Josquin Desprez and Heinrich Isaac, and he composed instru¬mental works that were far ahead of his time. It has been most fortunate to gain the cooperation of the English Agricola expert Fabrice Fitch as a partner for Ens Leones. Alongside his musicological activities, Fitch has also made quite a name for himself as a composer working with themes and motifs of Alexander Agricola in his 'Agricologies'. For the present programme, Fitch has composed two more 'Agricologies' specially for Ens Leones, tailor-made to suit the ensemble combination. With this, Agricola's compositional arm extends into our own time. "I would like to dedicate this recording to my teacher and friend Crawford Young, whose enthusiasm for Agricola’s works inspired my own studies of this composer. I want to thank him for communicating his knowledge and for participating in the present recording." Marc Lewon
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
PURCELL: Close thine Eyes Joanna Klisowska Peter Kooij Henry PURCELL: Beginn the song - “The Resurrection”, Tell me some pitying angel, “The Blessed Virgin's Expostulation”, Suite in G Major (Prelude-Almand-Corant-Saraband), Close thine eyes (Upon a Quiet Conscience), Two in one upon a ground (da “Diocletian”, atto III), Lord, what is a man (A Divine Hymn), Music for a while, Ground, Sweeter than Roses, An Evening Hymn (Song upon a ground) John BANISTER: Ground (dal ms. PL-Pu Ms.7033 Mr.Bannisters Ground) Antony POOLE: Air with division su basso di follia Godfrey FINGER: Sonata no. 4 in Re minore
Label: Stradivarius File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: STR33931 Barcode: 8011570339317 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Joanna Klisowska [soprano] Peter Kooij [bass] Pietro Prosser [archlute & baroque lute] Cristiano Contadin [viola da gamba] Lorenzo Feder [harpsichord & organ]
The myth of Purcell, the 'Orpheus Britannicus', the most important musician born in England before Britten in the 20th century, is strengthened also by its likening to the biography of Mozart: they died a century apart at less than 36 years of age and produced in such a short time a staggering number of compositions: 626 works for the Austrian, 871 for the Englishman. The pieces chosen for this CD illustrate precisely an intimate repertory, with no division between sacred and profane, in the same ideal arrangement together with instrumental pieces of Purcell’s contemporaries, precisely the way in which it might happen in London in a private performance of the time. These composers are John Banister (pioneer of music for the violin at the court of Charles II, died in 1679), Gottfried or Godfrey Finger (Moravian violinist and composer who lived until 1730) and Antony Poole (almost unknown Jesuit and musician formed in Spanish Flanders and who lived until 1692), the last two active at the court of James II (1685-88) and thus colleagues of the 25-year-old Henry. Purcell himself is well represented with some of his instrumental compositions including the famous set of variations 'Two in one upon a ground', a chaconne taken from the third act of 'The Prophetess', or 'The History of Dioclesian' (1690), which in this recording uses an unpublished lute part taken from a manuscript now in Poznan in Poland.
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Nino ROTA: A Sentimental Devil Complete works for violin/viola and piano
Francesco D’Orazio Giampaolo Nuti Improvviso in C Major (A sentimental devil), for violin and piano (1969) Sonata in G Major, for violin and piano (1937) Intermezzo in B minor, for viola and piano(1945) Improvviso in D minor (from the soundtrack of Amanti senza amore) for violin and piano (1947) Sonata in C Major, for viola and piano (1945) Legend of the Glass Mountain, for violin and piano (1948) Sonata in G Major, for viola and piano (1934)
Label: Stradivarius File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: STR33934 Barcode: 8011570339348 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Francesco D’orazio [violin & viola] Giampaolo Nuti [piano]
Nino Rota is best known for his music for film, but he spent a large part of his life composing 'classical' music. The works collected in this album deserve a special attention for their blend between tradition and the avant-garde; at the same time Rota's style is always recognisable, and highlights include two pieces from his celebrated film scores. The release is enhanced by numerous documents and images in the booklet, courtesy of Silvia Rota Balchaert.
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
SCIARRINO: Il cantiere del poema Tre duetti con l’eco, L’altro giardino
Anna Radziejewska Ensemble Algoritmo In Sciarrino's most recent productions the voice comes to fill a pre-eminent and diversified position. This is so in 'Cantiere del poema' [2011] on texts by Sciarrino himself, 'Petrarch' [a brief verse form the seventh sonnet of the Canzoniere] and 'Foscolo' [a fragment extracted and recomposed from the incomplete poem 'Le Grazie']. The ensemble occasionally recalls that of the 'Trois poems de Mallarmé' by Ravel with the addition of a double bass and the extension towards the bass of flutes and clarinets. 'L'altro giardino' develops a work from shortly before, 'Il giardino di Sara' [2009]. Although the vocal line survives intact the ensemble has broadened and an introduction has been added. World premiere recordings
Label: Stradivarius File Under: Classical/Chamber music Catalogue No: STR33942 Barcode: 8011570339423 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Anna Radziejewska [soprano] Ensemble Algoritmo Marco Angius [conductor]
ALSO AVAILABLE: STR33645 Sciarrino Luci mie traditrici “There's sex, violence and some of the most remarkable operatic writing of our time in Salvatore Sciarrino 's claustrophobic theatre-piece Luce mie Traditrici. Built around the life of the madrigalist Gesualdo, it is a 75-minute score of wonderful intricacy and intense lyricism, identifying Sciarrino as one of the greats in European music today.” Andrew Clements, Guardian Records of the Year “There's sex, violence and some of the most remarkable operatic writing of our time in Salvatore Sciarrino 's claustrophobic theatre-piece Luce mie Traditrici. Built around the life of the madrigalist Gesualdo, it is a 75-minute score of wonderful intricacy and intense lyricism, identifying Sciarrino as one of the greats in European music today.” Andrew Clements, Guardian Records of the Year STR57006 Lohengrin "Sciarrino's music, full of wisps and threads of sound, are constantly bewitching." Andrew Clements, Guardian STR33647 Fiato “The group have been working with Sciarrino for years, and know just how to invest this wafer-thin music with tension and meaning. And the recorded sound is fabulous, capturing all the fine grain of the sound and wrapping it in a suggestive, warm ambience.” Ivan Hewett, The Times, 26 March 2005, 4/5
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Herbert EIMERT: Epitaph für Aikichi Kuboyama, Sechs Studien Studio für elektronische Musik im Westdeutschen Rundfunk Köln
Label: Wergo File Under: Classical Catalogue No: WER6773-2 Barcode: 4010228677324 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Günther Anders [translation of the epitaph] Richard Münch [speaker Studio für elektronische Musik im Westdeutschen Rundfunk Köln Leopold von Knobelsdorff [sound realisation]
In view of recent events, especially in Japan, Herbert Eimert's piece 'Epitaph für Aikichi Kuboyama' has taken on a sad topicality. When in 1954 the first hydrogen bomb, the so-called Bikini bomb, was tested in the South Pacific, the Japanese fishing boat Fikuryumara was approximately 130 km from the epicentre. All fishermen on board required months of medical treatment; the fisherman Aikichi Kuboyama died of radiation poisoning after five months and became the first long-distance fatality of the nuclear age. The poetic epitaph for Kuboyama, or more precisely the sound material drawn from the inscription spoken in German, forms the basis of the present tape composition: “Of all the sound spectra known to us, that of the spoken word is not only the richest and most complex, but also the one most similar to electronically produced sounds.” (Eimert) By using electronic equipment such as loudspeakers, tape recorders, amplifiers, and filters the stream of spoken words is always present under the surface as though the inscription on the gravestone constantly flows past the listener’s ears in ever-shifting transformations of sound. Eimert’s 'Sechs Studien' [Six Studies], composed immediately after 'Epitaph', was created from the same source material. In contrast to 'Epitaph' 'Sechs Studien' uses only abstract musical sounds: that is, sounds in whose spectrum the spoken word can no longer be recognised. The recordings were originally published on LP in 1966 (WERGO, WER 60014).
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Zappa Academy Manson Ensemble
Label: Royal Academy of Music File Under: Classical/Chamber music Catalogue No: RAM045 Barcode: 609728283803 MID Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Academy Manson Ensemble Franck Ollu [conductor]
01 Frank Zappa arr. Ali N. Askin Peaches en Regalia 02 Frank Zappa arr. Jon Nelson (Meridian Arts Ensemble) for Brass Quintet – Big Swifty 03 Frank Zappa Dupree’s Paradise 04 Frank Zappa trans. Chris Lyons Twenty Small Cigars 05 Frank Zappa trans. Robert Peate The Legend of the Golden Arches 06 Frank Zappa trans. Charlie Piper St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast 07 Frank Zappa trans. Joseph Davies Little Umbrellas 08 Frank Zappa trans. Philip Cashian The Black Page No.2 09 Frank Zappa (Ian Underwood arr. from Frank Zappa Songbook Vol.1) trans. Philip Cashian Music for Low-Budget Orchestra 10 Frank Zappa (Munchkin Music arr.) trans. Philip Cashian Alien Orifice 11 Frank Zappa (from Frank Zappa Songbook) trans. Philip Cashian Little House I Used to Live In 12,13 Frank Zappa The Perfect Stranger. 14 Frank Zappa arr. Ali N. Askin G-Spot Tornado Academy Manson Ensemble, conducted by Franck Ollu, perform music by Frank Zappa in arrangements by Academy student composers and the Academy’s Head of Composition, Philip Cashian. "The Royal Academy of Music Manson Ensemble deliver a glossy, seamless performance... There was never anything wrong with the brilliantly idiomatic playing" Gramophone, November 2012
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Max REGER: The Major Organ Works Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme, Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue in E minor Shorter Preludes and Fugues
David Goode The two major organ works on these discs (his longest for organ) show Max Reger at the height of his powers; not only do they sustain a structural coherence over an impressive span, but they show an almost inexhaustible proliferation of invention. As well as the large-scale 'Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme' and the 'Introduction Passacaglia and Fugue in E minor', this 2CD set includes a collection of shorter preludes and fugues: the 'Five Easy Preludes and Fugues' and two transcriptions of preludes and fugues by JS Bach from the 'Well-Tempered Clavier'.
Label: Signum Classics File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: SIGCD329 Barcode: 635212032923 2 FOR 1.5 Format: 2 CD Packaging: cristal David Goode [Organ of Symphony Hall, Birmingham]
Performed on the Symphony Organ in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, David Goode adds to his impressive recorded catalogue of works in this new collection. ALSO AVAILABLE: SIGCD261 Bach - Organ of Freiberg Cathedral "Goode ensures that everything fits so nicely into place that, far from merely being an excuse to hear Bach on a great historic organ, we hear Bach played with perception and real musical intelligence. A thoroughly enjoyable disc from every aspect." Gramophone
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Jean-François DANDRIEU: Pieces d'Orgue & Clavecin André Isoir Olivier Baumont Jean-François Dandrieu was one of the most brilliant artistic figures of France's Regency period. In addition to his position as organist at the Chapelle royale, Dandrieu was a professor and a composer, producing, among other works, six Livres de Clavecin. Performed by organist André Isoir and harpsichordist Olivier Baumont, this anthology of works for keyboard ranges from offertories to noëls and from overtures to musettes, in addition to the inclusion of a large selection of expressive character pieces. These works exemplify the stylistic evolution that occurred between the baroque and the galant.
Label: Radio France Tempéraments File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: TEM316041/42 Barcode: 3149028024128 2 FOR 1.5 Format: 2 CD Packaging: long box André Isoir, Olivier Baumont
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Louis MARCHAND: Pieces for organ Frédéric Desenclos A rich anthology of the organ music of Louis Marchand, Le Grand, who settled in Paris at the end of Lully's life and died one year before the first performance of Rameau's 'Hippolyte et Aricie'. The First Book, three Suites and the Grand Dialogue reveal the dimensions of this opus where humour courts with seriousness, innovation with mastery of form, and studied compositional procedures with sheer pleasure of timbre.
Label: Radio France Tempéraments File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: TEM316040 Barcode: 3149028024029 Normal Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: long box Frédéric Desenclos [organ J.F. Lépine 1852, Cathedral St Sacerdos, Sarlat]
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Great preludes for guitar Allan WILLCOCKS: 12 Miniature Preludes for Guitar TARREGA: 12 Preludios PONCE: 12 Préludes VILLA-LOBOS: Cinq Preludes
ALSO AVAILABLE: Baroque Suites for Guitar (CHR77357) "This latest release by German guitarist Tilman Hoppstock confirms that, like fellow guitarist David Russell, he is a master of translating Baroque harpsichord music for the modern classical guitar while preserving the innate qualities of the former within a wholly guitaristic idiom … a superb release." International Record Review – September 2012
Label: Christophorus entrée File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: CHE0180-2 Barcode: 4010072018021 BUDGET Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Tilman Hoppstock [guitar]
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Mysterium mariae Marian Songs of the Late Middle Ages
Ens für frühe musik Augsburg
Label: Christophorus entrée File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: CHE0182-2 Barcode: 4010072018229 BUDGET Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Ens für frühe musik Augsburg
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Pomp & Circumstance Trumpet Festival
Joachim Schäfer
Label: Christophorus entrée File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: CHE0183-2 Barcode: 4010072018328 BUDGET Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Joachim Schäfer [trumpet] Gesine Forberger [soprano] Stefan Cassar [piano] Oliver Stechbart [organ] Camerata Intrumentale Berlin Bratislava Chamber Soloists Trompetenensemble Joachim Schäfer
RELEASE DATE 8TH APRIL 2013
Ich rühm dich Heidelberg Renasissance Music at the Court in Heidelberg
I Ciarlatani
Label: Christophorus entrée File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: CHE0184-2 Barcode: 4010072018427 BUDGET Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal I Ciarlatani