Classical releases
MARCH 31
DISTRIBUTED LABELS: ACCENT RECORDS, ACTES SUD, ALIA VOX, APARTE, BELVEDERE, KINGS COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, CHRISTOPHORUS, CSO RESOUND, EDITION CLASSICS, EVIDENCE CLASSIQUES, FRA MUSICA, GLOSSA, harmonia mundi, LA DOLCE VOLTA, LES ARTS FLORISSANTS, LSO LIVE, MARIINSKY, MIRARE, MYRIOS, NAÏVE, ONYX, PAN CLASSICS, PRAGA DIGITALS, RUBICON CLASSICS, SIGNUM CLASSICS, UNITED ARCHIVES, WIGMORE HALL LIVE
available March 31st 2017
RELEASE DATE 31ST MARCH 2017
SHOSTAKOVICH: 24 Preludes and Fugues Peter Donohoe Celebrated international pianist Peter Donohoe begins a new series of Shostakovich releases on Signum Classics with this new recording of Dmitri Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87. All 24 of the preludes and fugues were composed within several months of each other, after Shostakovich was inspired by the performance of Tatiana Nicolayeva, whom he heard as a jurist for the Leipzig Bach Competition in 1951. Although doubtlessly inspired by J.S. Bach’s own 48 Preludes and Fugues in his use of form and counterpoint, Shostakovich’s compositions are all deeply original and rooted in his own enigmatic and ambiguous style, moving from charming simplicity to dazzling virtuosity. “Peter Donohoe is a pianistic superman. The British pianist chews through repertoire like most people eat handfuls of peanuts, and his technical level is truly awe-inspiring” Pianist Magazine, October 2016 ***** [Prokofiev Sonatas, Somm]
Label: Signum Classics File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: SIGCD396 Barcode: 635212039625 2 FOR 1.5 Format: 2 CD Packaging: cristal Peter Donohoe [piano]
CD1 1-2 Prelude & Fugue No. 1 in C Major | 3-4 Prelude & Fugue No. 2 in A Minor 5-6 Prelude & Fugue No. 3 in G Major | 7-8 Prelude & Fugue No. 4 in E Minor 9-10 Prelude & Fugue No. 5 in D Major | 11-12 Prelude & Fugue No. 6 in B Minor 13-14 Prelude & Fugue No. 7 in A Major | 15-16 Prelude & Fugue No. 8 in F-Sharp Minor 17-18 Prelude & Fugue No. 9 in E Major | 19-20 Prelude & Fugue No. 10 in C-Sharp Minor 21-22 Prelude & Fugue No. 11 in B Major | 23-24 Prelude & Fugue No. 12 in G-Sharp Minor 25-26 Prelude & Fugue No. 13 in F-Sharp Major CD2 1-2 Prelude & Fugue No. 14 in E-Flat Minor | 3-4 Prelude & Fugue No. 15 in D-Flat Major 5-6 Prelude & Fugue No. 16 in B-Flat Minor | 7-8 Prelude & Fugue No. 17 in A-Flat Major 9-10 Prelude & Fugue No. 18 in F Minor | 11-12 Prelude & Fugue No. 19 in E-Flat Major 13-14 Prelude & Fugue No. 20 in C Minor | 15-16 Prelude & Fugue No. 21 in B-Flat Major 17-18 Prelude & Fugue No. 22 in G Minor | 19-20 Prelude & Fugue No. 23 in F Major 21-22 Prelude & Fugue No. 24 in D Minor Advertised in BBC Music Magazine (May Issue – 20th April) & Gramophone (April Issue)
RELEASE DATE 31ST MARCH 2017
MAHLER: Complete Symphonies 1-9 Philharmonia / Lorin Maazel Led by Lorin Maazel, the Philharmonia Orchestra are captured at their very best in these live performances of Mahler’s Nine Symphonies. Recorded in concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall, the symphonies include performances by soloists and ensembles including Sarah Connolly, Michelle DeYoung, Philharmonia Voices and the BBC Symphony Chorus. Praise for these performances has been near universal. This 15-CD box set includes a 96-page booklet of biographies, programme notes and full texts for each symphony, as well as Lorin Maazel’s introduction to the collection. “You get that audience perspective as if you were sitting in the hall, and its got all the energy and focus of a live or concert recording.” BBC Radio 3 “Maazel could sustain this score in a way that seemed to transcend reality ... a tremendously moving experience.” Classical Source
Label: Signum Classics File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: SIGCD363 Barcode: 635212036327 SUPERBUDGET Price Format: 15 CD Packaging: box set Sally Matthews [2, 8], Michelle de Young [2] Sarah Connolly [3, 8], Sarah Fox [4], Ailish Tynan, Sarah Tynan, Anne-Marie Owens, Stefan Vinke, Mark Stone, Stephen Gadd [8] Tiffin Boys Choir [3] Boys of the Eton College Chapel [8] BBC Symphony Chorus [2, 8] Philharmonia Voices & Chorus [8]
“An extraordinary reading of the Ninth ... a performance touched by greatness.” Musicweb International Advertised in BBC Music and Gramophone Magazines CD 1: SYMPHONY NO. 1 CD 2-3: SYMPHONY NO. 2 'Resurrection' CD 4-5 SYMPHONY NO. 3 CD 6: SYMPHONY NO. 4 CD 7: SYMPHONY NO. 5 CD 8-9: SYMPHONY NO. 6 CD 10-11: SYMPHONY NO. 7 CD 12-13: SYMPHONY NO. 8 ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ CD 14-15: SYMPHONY NO. 9
RELEASE DATE 31ST MARCH 2017
SCHUBERT: Piano Sonatas D960, D664 Javier Perianes The Sonata D664: an example of Schubert's fine craftsmanship despite being in the shadow of the giant, Beethoven. Only nine years later, Schubert, just 31 years old, produced what was, already, his last sonata (D960), just a few weeks before his shockingly premature death. It would take many decades for these masterpieces to gain the same consideration as the late symphonies of Mozart or Beethoven’s Op.132 but this music is now cherished by today’s artists – among them Javier Perianes, who here returns to Schubert after a remarkable first volume that enjoyed great success with the public.
Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: HMM902282 Barcode: 3149020228227 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Javier Perianes [Steinway piano]
Piano Sonata D960 in B flat major 1 | I. Molto moderato 20’24 2 | II. Andante sostenuto 09’46 3 | III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace con delicatezza - Trio 04’11 4 | IV. Allegro, ma non troppo 08’18 Piano Sonata D664 in A major 5 | I. Allegro moderato 07’23 6 | II. Andante 05’33 7 | III. Rondo. Allegro 07’10 ALSO AVAILABLE: HMI987080 Schubert 4 Impromptus, D899, Allegretto in C minor, D915, Klavierstücke (3), D946 “As a first-rate Schubert player must, he knows how to make the piano ‘sing’, and very beautifully too. Nor is he merely sentient; he is a thinker. Structurally, dramatically, psychologically, rhetorically, his playing betrays a keen perception and intelligence.” Piano
RELEASE DATE 31ST MARCH 2017
Before the Ending of the Day Music for Choral Evening Prayer
Exon Singers / Richard Wilberforce Over the years the Exon Singers have received considerable recognition for their commitment to commissioning and recording new works from eminent composers. For their 50th anniversary CD on new label Rubicon Classics, they have selected some of their favourites in the form of an extended service but without spoken word. Most of the music was written for the choir's annual broadcast of Choral Evening Prayer from Buckfast Abbey. Since 1997 Composers-in-Residence have been invited to their summer Festival in Tavistock, on the edge of Dartmoor, and their works are represented here. The choir’s performances include the Oxford Festival of Contemporary Music and the Edinburgh Festival, as well as concerts in St John’s College, Cambridge, Gloucester, Wells, Winchester and Salisbury. Richard Wilberforce has been Conductor and Artistic Director since 2012, succeeding Matthew Owens, and here writes his first works for the Exons: a set of opening responses and a new Festival Hymn.
Label: Rubicon File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: RCD1004 Barcode: 5065002149039 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal The Exon Singers Richard Wilberforce [music director, conductor] Jonathan Vaughn [organ] “a wonderfully nuanced performance from the Exon Singers” Gramophone, Critic’s Choice of the Year “The Exons are at their most exciting in exalted mode – the Sanctus from the Missa Brevis is thrilling” BBC Music Magazine [Howard Skempton The Cloths of Heaven, Delphian]
1.Howard SKEMPTON: Ave Virgo sanctissima 2.Richard WILBERFORCE: Preces* § 3.Matthew MARTIN: Te lucis ante terminum* 4.Francis JACKSON: Te lucis ante terminum* 5.David BRIGGS: Psalm 121: I will lift up mine eyes 6.David GOODENOUGH: Psalm 133: Behold how good and joyful a thing it is* 7.Francis JACKSON: A Hymn to God the Father 8.Brian CHAPPLE: Safe where I cannot lie yet* 9.Robin HOLLOWAY: Splendour of the Father’s Glory* 10.James BURTON: Magnificat* 11.Toby YOUNG: The Lord’s Prayer* 12.Joseph PHIBBS: Salve Regina* 13.Gabriel JACKSON: Ave Maria 14.Gareth TRESEDER: O Virgo splendens* § 15.Richard WILBERFORCE: My Soul, there is a country* § 16.David BEDNALL: Fanfare – Processional [Voluntary]* all works except the Voluntary commissioned by The Exon Singers *World premiere recording, § Commissioned for thisrecording
LAUNCH CONCERT: St George's Bloomsbury, May 14, London Contemporary Festival - selections from the new album Online advertising with BBC Music, Social media campaign via Rubicon YouTube channel, Facebook page & at www.rubiconclassics.com
RELEASE DATE 31ST MARCH 2017
BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto Op. 61 POSSINGER: Violin Concerto Op. 9 It is unbelievable that such a popular work in the current repertoire as Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Concerto Op. 61 only conquered the concert hall around three to four decades after its composition. The work ultimately gained its popularity through two revised printed versions published in Vienna and in London, which both reveal substantial revisions in the solo parts. The quest for Beethoven’s “original version” proves to be extremely complicated, as Beethoven himself offered up to four alternatives to the soloists in some spots of the manuscript. A study of the different inks and quills used in that autograph has allowed the violinist Anton Steck to propose the new und unusual version recorded here, which thanks also to the use of historical instruments results in a tangible and transparent rendering of a very well-known piece. In addition to Beethoven’s composition, Steck presents the world premiere recording of the Violin Concerto of the Viennese violinist Franz Alexander Pössinger – a friend of Beethoven who was probably involved in the revision of the solo part of his concerto. Pössinger’s work was written in 1805, just one year before Beethoven’s.
Label: Accent Records File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: ACC24320 Barcode: 4015023243200 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Anton Steck [violin] L‘arpa festante Matthew Halls [conductor]
Konzert für Violine und Orchester D-Dur op. 61 (world premiere recording of the original version after the autograph) 1 Allegro ma non troppo 22:38 2 Larghetto 11:28 3 Rondo. Allegro 10:07 Cadenzas: Anton Steck, 2016
Franz Alexander Pössinger (1767-1827) Konzert für Violine und Orchester G-Dur op. 9 4 Allegro 8:25 5 Adagio 4:11 6 Rondo. Allegretto 5:09 Also available: ACC24247 Bernhard Molique – Violin Concertos 3 & 6 / Anton Steck, L‘arpa festante, Christoph Spering
RELEASE DATE 31ST MARCH 2017
Carlo Lenzi & W.A. Mozart: Sacred Music in Lombardy 1770-80
Label: Pan Classics File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: PC10364 Barcode: 7619990103641 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli (soprano), Ensemble Autarena, Marcello Scandelli
Carlo Lenzi, born in 1735 near Bergamo, was educated in Naples, famous for its four conservatories. He worked for 40 years as maestro di cappella at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo. His permanent residence in that town was both a blessing and a curse to the composer: on the one hand he occupied a prestigious position, which was safe and stable, but on the other hand he was limited to a local audience, so that his works were largely confined to Bergamo, cut off from the most important international communication channels. We are presented with the opportunity to rediscover this treasure today: an extensive vocal and instrumental oeuvre, largely comparable with Mozart’s and Haydn’s works. Out of Lenzi’s entire compositional ouput, his 34 'Lamentations for the Holy Week' particularly stand out. For this recording, the first lamentation for Good Friday in 1777 and the second lamentation for Maundy Thursday in 1780 were chosen. Both share a modern style, a pathetic-sentimental expression, as well as brilliant and intricately composed vocal parts. They manifest a personal inclination towards the galant style, which is characterised by a strong sense for the word and its setting. Mozart composed the motet 'Exsultate, jubilate' KV165 in Milan in January 1773 for the soprano Venanzio Rauzzini. This motet is one of Mozart’s most remarkable spiritual works. Its outstanding design has the same characteristics as the compositions of Lenzi: a brilliant euphoria that would develop into a stylistic hallmark of Mozart’s works for Milan and for Salzburg. The Italian soprano Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli is regarded as one the most promising singers of the younger generation. She works with conductors such as Alan Curtis, Christophe Rousset, Alessandro De Marchi, Fabio Biondi, Andrea Marcon, and George Petrou. 1 Carlo LENZI: Sonata Terza in tempo giusto, ma furioso con espressione 5:49 from: Suonate fatte per la fonzione del Venerdì S.to in Cadice (1771) Lamentazione II per il Giovedì Santo (1780) 14:05 2 Larghetto - Allegretto 5:37 | 3 Largo - Allegretto 3:37 | 4 Largo - Andantino 4:51 5 Sonata Prima da suonarsi con le sordine 9:16 from: Suonate fatte per la fonzione del Venerdì S.to in Cadice (1771) Lamentazione I per il Venerdì Santo (1777) 12:58 6 Largo - Andante - Allegro 3:49 | 7 Recitativo, Largo staccato - Allegro 0:59 | 8 Andantino - Largo - Andantino 4:15 9 Allegro moderato - Allegretto 3:55 W.A. MOZART: 10 Sonata KV 245 (1776) 4:53 |11 Sonata KV 225 (1780) 5:18 from: Kirchensonaten Exsultate jubilate KV 165 (1773) 14:34 12 Allegro 4:29 | 13 Recitativo 1:09 | 14 Dolce 6:26 | 15 Alleluia 2:30
RELEASE DATE 31ST MARCH 2017
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 4 WAGNER: Parsifal - Act III, Good Friday Music Of the nine symphonies officially left by Bruckner, Furtwängler's rendering of the 4th 'Romantic' Symphony proved controversial despite the unique sound of the Vienna Philharmonic in full post-war revival. Imbued with the strains of late Mozart, Schubert, and even Wagner, this is echoed in the closing Good Friday Music, recorded in Cairo, as a postlude. 1-4 BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 4 [version 1878/80] Recorded live Radio Stuttgart, 20th October 1951, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra 5 WAGNER: Parsifal Recorded live Cairo-Alexandria, 25/4/1951, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: DSD350130 Barcode: 3149028086928 NORMAL Price Format: 1 SACD Packaging: cristal Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Wilhelm Furtwängler
RELEASE DATE 31ST MARCH 2017
SCHUMANN: Fantasie & Kreisleriana Jean-Philippe Collard At a time when Schumann was crazed with passion for his fiancée Clara, his overflowing inspiration created the Fantasie in C major Op.17 to breathtaking peaks. The ghostly universe inhabited by the figure of the musician Kreisler, invented by the Romantic writer Ernest Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, haunted the mind of the bipolar composer leading to the ‘bizarre, demented music’ of Kreisleriana Op.16. Dating from the same period it concentrates into eight wildly contrasting pieces the nightmarish atmosphere, the bitter chasms and poetic visions, of a literally fantastic landscape. Jean-Philippe Collard seizes the Schumann aesthetic and opens up infinite horizons from which one does not emerge unscathed. 1-3 Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17 4-11 Kreisleriana, Op. 16 12 Widmung, S.566 (After Schumann)
Label: La Dolce Volta File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: LDV30 Barcode: 3770001902272 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Jean-Philippe Collard [piano]