March 4th Classical Release

Page 1

harmonia mundi UK

Classical new releases Music for Easter

DISTRIBUTED LABELS: ACCENT RECORDS, ACTES SUD, AGOGIQUE, ALIA VOX, AMBRONAY, APARTE, ARTE VERUM, AUDITE, BEL AIR, BELVEDERE, THE CHOIR OF KINGS COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, CONVIVIUM, CHRISTOPHORUS, CSO RESOUND, EDITION CLASSICS, EVIDENCE, FLORA, FRA MUSICA, GLOSSA, harmonia mundi, HAT[NOW]ART, HERITAGE, KAMER, KML, LA DOLCE VOLTA, LA MUSICA, LES ARTS FLORISSANTS EDITIONS, LSO LIVE, MARIINSKY, MIRARE, MUSO, MYRIOS, MUSIQUES A LA CHABOTTERIE, NAÏVE, ONYX, PAN CLASSICS, PARADIZO, PARATY, PHIL.HARMONIE, PRAGA DIGITALS, RAM, RCO LIVE, SFZ MUSIC, SIGNUM, STRADIVARIUS, UNITED ARCHIVES, WALHALL, WERGO, WIGMORE HALL LIVE, WINTER & WINTER, YSAYE

available March 4th and 11th, call-off

Feb 22nd 2016

MARCH 4 2016

BBC Music Magazine March Chamber Choice

Audite92684 Beethoven String Quintet Op. 29, String Quartet No. 15 Op.132 / Cremona Quartet

BBC Music Magazine February Concerto Choice

harmonia mundi HMC902221 Vivaldi Violin Concertos / Teatro alla Moda Amandine Beyer, Gli Incogniti

Gramophone Editor’s Choice, February

Glossa GCD921517 Handel Duetti e terzetti Italiani Roberta Invernizzi, Silvia Frigato, La Risonanza, Fabio Bonizzoni

RELEASE DATE 4TH MARCH 2016

Haec Dies Music for Easter

Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, Graham Ross The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge and director Graham Ross continue their series of music for the church year with a sequence for Easter Day that spans five centuries and explores the rich tapestry of repertoire from across the European continent.

Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: HMU907655 Barcode: 093046765521 1250$/ Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, Graham Ross Matthew Jorysz [organ] ADVERTISED IN GRAMOPHONE

Hymn at Lauds - LASSUS: Aurora lucis rutilat Respond at Matins - TAVERNER: Dum transisset Sabbatum Introit at Mass - Resurrexi plainchant, SCHEIDT: Surrexit Christus hodie, VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Easter from 'Five Mystical Songs' Gradual at Mass - Haec dies plainchant, BYRD: Haec dies, Matthew MARTIN: Haec dies* Sequence at Mass - Victimae paschali laudes plainchant, BASSANO: 10 Dic nobis Offertory at Mass Terra tremuit plainchant, PALESTRINA: Terra tremuit Motets - LASSUS: Surrexit pastor bonus, Michael HALLER: Surrexit pastor bonus Communion at Mass - BYRD: Pascha nostrum, L'HERITIER: Surrexit pastor bonus, RACHMANINOV: Dnes’ spaseniye Anthems - WESLEY: Blessed be the God and Father, HADLEY: My beloved spake, STANFORD: Ye choirs of new Jerusalem Magnificat at Vespers - LASSUS: Magnificat octavi toni super ‘Aurora lucis rutilat’ * world première recording ALSO AVAILABLE: HMU907579 Veni Emmanuel: Music for Advent HMU907616 Stabat Mater Dolorosa: Music for Passiontide HMU907615 Lux de caelo: Music for Christmas HMU907623 Ascendit Deus: Music for Ascensiontide & Pentecost "These and the well-known Elgar and Finzi pieces are all beautifully performed by this accomplished choir. Let's hope an Easter disc is on its way.” Gramophone Magazine, April 2015

RELEASE DATE 4TH MARCH 2016

SCHNITTKE: Penitential Psalms, Three Sacred Hymns RIAS Kammerchor Hans-Christoph Rademann

Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: HMC902225 Barcode: 3149020222522 1250$/ Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack RIAS Kammerchor Hans-Christoph Rademann $'9(57,6(' ,1 *5$023+21(

The 'Penitential Psalms' for mixed choir a cappella were first performed on Boxing Day 1988, in the concert hall of Moscow University, by the USSR State Chamber Choir under the direction of Valery Polyansky. They deal with the motif of original sin and refer to the story of the treacherous murder of Vladimir’s sons Boris and Gleb, later canonised and revered as martyrs, which their older half-brother Svyatopolk perpetrated in 1015 in the course of bloody conflicts over the succession.This masterpiece of exceptional density and rigour, at once contemporary and timeless, is performed here from the composer’s autograph manuscript, which includes significant divergences from the published edition. In the autumn of 1983, at the Moscow premiere of the 'Faust Cantata', Polyansky had asked Schnittke to write a new a cappella piece for his ensemble, a request that was initially declined. It was only after repeated urging that Schnittke relented, and the very next day after this renewed plea, he thrust into the surprised conductor’s hand the manuscript of three choral movements setting prayers used in Russian Orthodox devotions – not without berating Polyasnky, tongue-in-cheek, as a ‘dreadful fellow’ for his tenacity. In comparison with the 'Penitential Psalms', the 'Three Sacred Hymns' are more strongly rooted in the Romantic tradition of Russian sacred music, such as Rachmaninov's 'All-Night Vigil'. Twelve Penitential Psalms Nr.1. Adam saß vor dem Paradies und weinte Nr.2. Es nimmt mich die Wüste auf wie die Mutter ihr Kind Nr.3. Weshalb lebe ich in Armut Nr.4. Meine Seele, warum befindest du dich in Sünden Nr.5. O Mensch - verdammt und armselig Nr.6. Als sie sahen das Schiff Nr.7. O meine Seele, warum hast du keine Angst Nr.8. Wenn du die Zeitlosigkeit der Trauer überwinden willst Nr.9. Über mein Leben als das eines Geistlichen habe ich nachgedacht Nr.10. Sammelt euch, ihr christlichen Menschen! Nr.11. Ich bin in dieses elende Leben gekommen Nr.12. (mit geschlossenem Mund) Three Sacred Hymns 13 | I. Gegrüßet seist du, Jungfrau, Mutter Gottes 14 | II. Herr Jesus, Sohn Gottes 15 | III. Vater unser

RELEASE DATE 4TH MARCH 2016

SCHUBERT/MAHLER: Death and the Maiden, SHOSTAKOVICH: Chamber Symphony in C minor LSO String Ensemble Roman Simovic

Label: LSO Live File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: LSO0786 Barcode: 822231178620 0,' Price Format: 1 +<%5,' SACD Packaging: cristal LSO String Ensemble / Roman Simovic

The LSO String Ensemble, led by LSO leader Roman Simovic, gives magnificent performances of Schubert (arr Mahler) and Shostakovich. This is the second LSO String Ensemble release on LSO Live, following the acclaimed recording of Tchaikovsky's 'Serenade for Strings' and BartĂłk's 'Divertimento'. Schubert’s 'Death and the Maiden' Quartet, heard here in Mahler’s stunning arrangement, is one of the most popular pieces in the repertoire. The original Quartet was written soon after Schubert had suffered from a significant period of illness, and some have speculated that it is the composer’s testament to death. The piece gains its title from the second movement, which is a set of five variations based on the melody of one of Schubert’s most poignant songs, Death and the Maiden, in which a girl struggles against the terror of impending death, that ‘grisly man of bone’, who casts himself as a welcome friend. The Chamber Symphony in C minor is an arrangement for string orchestra of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No 8, prepared with the composer’s approval by the violist, conductor, and founder of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Rudolf Barshai. Shostakovich’s Eighth Quartet was written over just three days in 1960 and the composer, deeply depressed at that time, initially intended it to be his last work. The piece is full of quotations that hold a deeply personal significance, including a motif from Tchaikovsky’s 'PathĂŠtique' Symphony, and references to several of Shostakovich’s own works. Most strikingly, Shostakovich’s initials ‘DSCH’ are embedded throughout the entire work, giving the piece an intensely personal musical fingerprint. This performance was recorded live at the Barbican on 26 April 2015 as part of the LSO International Violin Festival. The LSO String Ensemble were filmed in 360 VR during this performance and this footage will be used to support the release of this hybrid SACD. ALSO AVAILABLE: /62 7FKDLNRYVN\ 6HUHQDGH IRU 6WULQJV LQ & %DUWyN 'LYHUWLPHQWR IRU 6WULQJ 2UFKHVWUD "The bracing folk-music rhythms of Bartok’s Divertimento respond particularly well to Simovic’s affectionate approach." BBC Music Magazine, **** Performance ***** Recording "A reminder – if reminder were needed – just how world-class the string section of the London Symphony Orchestra is‌ Both pieces here are given performances of great authority." Classical CD Choice

RELEASE DATE 4TH MARCH 2016

MONTEVERDI: Il pianto della Madonna La Compagnia del Madrigale With Monteverdi's 'Il pianto della Madonna', La Compagnia del Madrigale provide a stunning follow-up to their award-winning recording, also on Glossa, of the Fifth Book of madrigals by Marenzio. Recorded in Roletto, they present the spiritual version of the celebrated 'Lamento d’Arianna' from the lost opera 'Arianna' – Il pianto della Madonna – sung in a distinctive polyphonic reworking prepared especially for La Compagnia del Madrigale. Pastoral concerns in Monteverdi’s madrigals, such as in the Fourth and Fifth Books, make way for reflections on the Crucifixion or the Nativity through the new religious texts supplied by the likes of Angelo Grillo and Aquilino Coppini, which nonetheless fit the music more than aptly. Included also are some of Monteverdi’s own religious compositions, as published by Giulio Cesare Bianchi, and including the extensive 'Litaniae lauretanae'. In the booklet essay Marco Bizzarini brings his deep understanding of the interplay of words and music in Italy in Monteverdi’s time, underscoring the skill, experience and sheer musicality of La Compagnia del Madrigale.

Label: Glossa File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: GCD922805 Barcode: 8424562228054 1250$/ Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack La Compagnia del Madrigale

ALSO AVAILABLE: GCD922801 Gesualdo Sesto Libro di Madrigali (1611) "a masterclass in quicksilver dynamic shading, meticulous cadential shaping, crystal-clear poetic declamation and flawlessly judged harmonic shifts in extraordinary five-voice pieces.” Gramophone – October 2013 GCD922802 Marenzio Primo Libro di Madrigali (1580) “Sometimes a jaded critic feels privileged to review something with the most unabashedly subjective enthusiasm… La Compagnia del Madrigale’s enthralling performances compelled my jaw actually to drop on numerous occasions in response to hearing astonishing chiaroscuro details and expressive sonorities … I am bewitched by Marenzio’s incantations…” David Vickers, Gramophone Awards Issue, September 2014 GCD922803 Gesualdo Responsoria (1611) “This new recording by La Compagnia del Madrigale surpasses all others … a superb recital.” Anthony Pryer, BBC Music Magazine, CHORAL & SONG CHOICE ***** Performance / **** Recording July 2014 GCD922804 Marenzio Quinto Libro di Madrigale a sei voci (1591) “something of a masterclass in madrigal singing" Early Music Review, February 2015 ***** BBC Music Magazine, May 2015, *****/*****

RELEASE DATE 4TH MARCH 2016

Handel at Vauxhall Volume 1 London Early Opera Bridget Cunningham London Early Opera follow up their debut release (Handel in Italy, Vol. 1 SIGCD423, reviews below) with a treasure trove of music by Handel and his contemporaries Thomas Arne and John Hebden. The music is themed around the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens – a carnival of music and entertainments that entertained visitors for nearly 200 years on what was at the time the outskirts of London. The booklet notes features images and expert commentaries of the Vauxhall Gardens by author David E. Coke.

Label: Signum Classics File Under: Classical/Opera & Vocal Catalogue No: SIGCD428 Barcode: 635212042823 1250$/ Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal London Early Opera Bridget Cunningham

Tracks: 1HANDEL: Acis and Galatea, HWV 49: Sinfonia 2Daniel MOULT: Organ Improvisation in the style of John Worgan and Handel 3-6HANDEL: Organ Concerto Op. 4 No. 2 in B flat Major, HWV 290 7-8Acis and Galatea, HWV 49: Ye verdant plains – Hush, ye pretty warbling choir! 9ARNE: Colin and Phoebe: A Pastoral 10HANDEL: Saul, HWV 53: Dead March 11The Advice 12The Melancholy Nymph, HWV 228 No. 19 13-16 HEBDEN: Concerto for Strings and Basso Continuo No 1 in A Major 17HANDEL: L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, HWV 55: As steals the morn upon the night "A dazzling disc from the Bevan siblings." The Observer, August 2015 "A delectable musical dish from the Early Opera Company and a trio of Bevan soloists." Sinfini Music, September 2015 " Bridget Cunningham and her performers certainly succeed in bringing out both the virtuosity and variety of Handel's Italian period." Planet Hugill, September 2015 "as polished an account as any on account of Sophie Bevan's unerring sense of decorum for what each movement requires." Editors Choice Gramophone, October 2015

RELEASE DATE 4TH MARCH 2016

How Fair Thou Art Biblical Passions by Palestrina

The King's Singers The King’s Singers return with a new early-music recording that features 12 of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s beautiful polyphonic choral settings of the ‘Canticum Canticorum’ – better known as ‘The Song of Songs’ or Canticles, a collection of poetry in the Hebrew Bible on the theme of the joy and ecstasy of human love. These settings are framed by four of Palestrina’s Marian motets, works in honour of the Virgin Mary which he composed throughout his life. This recording is the first to feature performances from the group’s new tenor Julian Gregory.

Label: Signum Classics File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: SIGCD450 Barcode: 635212045022 1250$/ Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal The King's Singers

Tracks: 1 Alma redemptoris mater 2 Quam pulchri sunt gressus tui 3 Pulchrae sunt genae tuae 4 Tota pulchra es anima mea 5 Nigra sum, sed Formosa 6 Regina Caeli 7 Trahe me, post te 8 Veni, veni delicte mi 9 Surge, propera amica mea 10 Descendi in hortum meum 11 Ave regina caelorum 12 Sicut lilium inter spinas 13 Osculetur me 14 Ecce tu pulcher es 15 Sicut lilium inter spinas 16 Salve Regina

RELEASE DATE 4TH MARCH 2016

Alessandro della CIAIA: Lamentationi Venice 1650

Roberta Invernizzi Laboratorio ’600

Label: Glossa File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: GCD922903 Barcode: 8424562229037 )25 Format: 2 CD Packaging: digipack Roberta Invernizzi [soprano] Laboratorio ’600: Katerina Ghannudi [arpadoppia] Craig Marchitelli [archlute] Francesco Moi [organ] Franco Pavan [theorbo, archlute & direction]

Roberta Invernizzi is joined by Franco Pavan’s Laboratorio ’600 in an intimate and intense Passiontide score from mid 17th-century Siena: Alessandro Della Ciaia’s set of the 'Lamentations of Jeremiah'. Convents throughout Siena at the time boasted nuns of considerable musical talent, both in singing and in playing instruments, and it is undoubtedly for one such convent that the nobleman Della Ciaia wrote his music for Holy Week matins services. His Lamentations are scored for a solo soprano possessed of a very wide range and capable of responding the description of grief in the text over the fall of the city of Jerusalem and the terrible fate of its people. Della Ciaia was himself a noted player of the archlute, and his instrumental facility is evident, here performed by double harp, archlute, organ and theorbo. Franco Pavan has chosen to intersperse the nine lamentations with toccatas by Michelangelo Galilei, Claudio Saracini and Vincenzo Bernia as well as Pavan’s own reworking of an appropriate motet by Della Ciaia. CD1: feria quinta: lamentatione prima 11:00 Michelagnolo Galilei (1575-1631): Toccata in Do maggiore 1:41 feria quinta: lamentatione seconda 9:13 Michelagnolo Galilei: Toccata in Sol maggiore 1:58 feria quinta: lamentatione terza 10:35 Alessandro Della Ciaia: Toccata sopra il mottetto Ecce Venio 3:09 feria sesta: lamentatione prima 8:40 Claudio Saracini (c.1586-1630): Toccata intitolata all’illustrissimo signor Alfonso Strozzi 3:48 feria sesta: lamentatione seconda 7:30 CD2: feria sesta: lamentatione terza 10:14 Claudio Saracini: Toccata intitolata all’illustrissimo, et eccellentissimo signor conte San Secondo 2:30 sabato sancto: lamentatione prima 12:02 Michelagnolo Galilei: Toccata in Sol minore 1:55 sabato sancto: lamentatione seconda 9:21 Michelagnolo Galilei: Toccata in Do minore 1:47 sabato sancto: oratione 8:54 Vincenzo Bernia (c.1570-c.1620): Toccata Cromatica 1:52

RELEASE DATE 4TH MARCH 2016

ZELENKA: Missa Divi Zaveri ZWV12, Litaniae de Sancto Xaverio ZWV156 Collegium 1704 Collegium Vocale 1704 VĂĄclav Luks

Label: Accent Records File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: ACC24301 Barcode: 4015023243019 1250$/ Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Collegium 1704 Collegium Vocale 1704 VĂĄclav Luks [direction]

After highly acclaimed recordings of his 'Requiem' and 'Responsoriae', Czech conductor VĂĄclav Luks and his Collegium 1704 present two major compositions by Zelenka for the feast of St Francis Xavier, Apostle to the Indies, in Dresden 1729. 'Missa Divi Xaverii' ZWV12 was composed to be heard on 3rd December; similar in its scope and aural brilliance, the companion work – 'Litaniae de Sancto Xaverio' ZWV156 for 9th December. 'Missa Divi Xaverii', one of Zelenka's most lavishly orchestrated scores, has had a long wait to be rediscovered. Nearly three centuries passed before the work could shine in its original splendour. Zelenka experimented here, particularly in the scoring of unusually large orchestral forces which include the brilliance of four trumpets, transverse flutes, oboes and bassoon. Collegium 1704 is a Czech early music orchestra and choir founded in 1991 by the Czech conductor, harpsichordist and horn player VĂĄclav Luks, formerly horn soloist of the Akademie fĂźr Alte Musik Berlin. The Collegium specialises in Baroque music, in particular that of Zelenka [see below], Bach and Handel. All the performers are virtuosos, and often perform with other early music ensembles. Also available: $&& =HOHQND 2IILFLXP GHIXQFWRUXP 5HTXLHP "Collegium 1704’s horns, trumpets and flutes create charming textures in the opening and closing parts of the celebratory Kyrie, which flank Hana BlaŞíkovå’s graceful singing in 'Christe eleison'. A fabulous masterpiece is unveiled."

*UDPRSKRQH 0DJD]LQH (GLWRU V &KRLFH 'LVF RI WKH 0RQWK -XQH ACC24259 Zelenka Responsoria pro hebdomada sancta ACC24306 Zelenka Italian Arias Hana Blazikova [February 26 release]

ACC24283 Bach – Mass in B min/VĂĄclav Luks “... recordings brimming with originality, rhetorical conviction and textural refinement ... a very fine new addition to the series.â€? Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Gramophone – February 2014

RELEASE DATE 4TH MARCH 2016

MOZART: Piano Concertos KV482 & 491 Arthur Schoonderwoerd Cristofori Arthur Schoonderwoerd, one of today's most sought-after interpreters on the fortepiano, presents the fifth part of his complete recording of Mozart's piano concertos on the Accent label with this release of two well-loved Piano Concertos, KV482 and KV491 (nos. 22 and 24). As they have already done on their previous issues, the aim of Schoonderwoerd and his ensemble Cristofori here is to liberate Mozart's works from traditional 19th-century sound concepts. Each string part in the orchestra is played by just one performer; the result is a very slender, transparent sound that supports the solo instrument. Also available: ACC24296 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Piano Concertos KV238 & KV246 Arthur Schoonderwoerd, Cristofori

Label: Accent Records File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: ACC24313 Barcode: 4015023243132 1250$/ Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Arthur Schoonderwoerd [fortepiano] Cristofori

ACC24289 Mozart Piano Concerto KV175 & ‘Ah, lo previdi’ / Cristofori / Schoonderwoerd “Fascinating to frame ‘Ah, lo previdi’ with two versions of K175.” Paul Riley, BBC Music Magazine – April 2014 “not your standard Mozart concerto performances … cautiously recommended” Andrew O’Connor, IRR – April 2014 ACC24254 Mozart Complete Clavier Sonatas / Arthur Schoonderwoerd “Mozart with attitude … beautifully judged … magical and very convincing.” Noel O’Regan, Early Music Review – June 2014

RELEASE DATE 4TH MARCH 2016

Strains of Caledonia MENDELSSOHN: Overture 'The Hebrides' [Fingal's Cave] Op. 26 BRUCH: Scottish Fantasia Op. 46 MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 3 'Scottish' Op. 56

Cleveland Orchestra / Georg Szell David Oistrakh, State Symphony Orchestra of USSR New York Philharmonic Orchestra / Leonard Bernstein Bruch’s Scottish Fantasia and Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony and Hebrides Overture pay tribute to the country’s rugged beauty. David Oistrakh, accompanied by a remarkable (but nameless) harpist, conjures up the ancient, remote feel of Caledonia (Loch Ossian, pictured). Then with Leonard Bernstein you embark on a voyage of discovery, enjoying all the ‘mod cons’ (to quote Debussy) and trappings of a modern orchestra.

Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: PRD250328 Barcode: 3149028075328 1250$/ Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal 1/ Cleveland Orchestra / Georg Szell January 1963 2-5/ David Oistrakh, State Symphony Orchestra of USSR Moscow 24/12/60 [live] 6-9/ New York Philharmonic Orchestra / Leonard Bernstein NY 13/1/1964

RELEASE DATE 11TH MARCH 2016

Winchester Cathedral: 50th Anniversary EP Choristers of Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral celebrate 50 years since the release of Geoff Stephen's 'Winchester Cathedral' – a 1966 release for the New Vaudeville Band that reached No.1 in the charts in the USA and Canada, selling over 3 million copies and subsequently winning a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Recording. For this new disc Geoff Stephen's has allowed the words of his tune to be adapted by the Choristers of Winchester Cathedral Choir, under the direction of Andrew Lumsden, "to celebrate the forthcoming 50th Anniversary of the original recording and to present the Cathedral as "a beacon of light" in the dark days through which we live". This special EP release also includes arrangements of 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' and 'Climb Every Mountain' alongside Andrew Lumsden’s new arrangement of Geoff Stephen’s Winchester Cathedral.

Label: Signum Classics File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: SIGCD449 Barcode: 635212044926 BUDGET Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal The Boy Choristers of Winchester Cathedral, Andrew Lumsden

Tracks: [1] Winchester Cathedral - New Version / Geoff Stephens, arr. Lumsden [2] Somewhere Over the Rainbow / Harold Arlen, arr. Lumsden [3] Climb Every Mountain / Rodgers and Hammerstein arr. Lumsden

CHORAL

NOMINEES

Signum SIGCD430 Brahms & Bruckner Motets Tenebrae/Nigel Short; Mark Templeton, Helen Vollam, Patrick Jackman (trombone) “Don’t be fooled by the compact dimensions of Bruckner’s motets. They have lofty symphonic ambitions, and Tenebrae and its enterprising conductor Nigel Short match their demands with an ease and economy that’s rarely heard, from the deepest bass to the soaring sopranos. Majestic Brahms, too, with immense power, huge dynamic range and ringing intonation.”

CONCERTO

Myrios MYR016 Tchaikovsky/Prokofiev Concertos/ Kirill Gerstein “This recording of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto replaces the inauthentic bombast of the familiar final-published score with the composer’s favoured version. From the soloist’s first entry, sensitively performed by Kirill Gerstein, we discover a lyrical, intimate work, belying its reputation as a hackneyed warhorse.”

INSTRUMENTAL

Wigmore Hall Live WHLive0076/2 Mozart Piano Sonatas Nos 6, 12, 14 & 16; Fantasia in C minor, K475 Christian Blackshaw (piano) “After years away, Christian Blackshaw returned to the stage at the top of his game. A Wigmore Hall Mozart series in 2012 revealed his thoughtful artistry, exemplified by this superlative volume, the third in the series. Four varied sonatas and the dark Fantasia in C minor are all played with his hallmark luminous tone, natural grace and authority.”

VOCAL

Harmonia Mundi HMC902217 Beethoven An die ferne Geliebte, and other Lieder; Bagatellen Op. 126 Werner Güra (tenor), Christopher Berner (fortepiano) “Beethoven’s heart and mind is uncovered as his song-cycle An die ferne Geliebte is put within the context of an interleaving of the composer’s songs and bagatelles. Werner Güra’s beautifully enunciated tenor recreates the spiritual struggle in Beethoven’s songs, and Christoph Berner’s fearless playing, as accompanist and soloist, sets the songs into new and thrilling relief.” VOTING CLOSES 19TH FEBRUARY: awards.classical-music.com

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Expect huge coverage following the launch at the Tower of London from: The Daily Telegraph Financial Times The Guardian The Evening Standard BBC Music Magazine Gramophone Magazine Classical Music Magazine Choir & Organ Magazine Early Music Today Magazine The Stage “...the end result was rather special. As was the quality of performance... Digby drew finely controlled yet rhythmically fluid performances from her expert singers throughout... On all accounts, a memorable debut.” George Hall, The Guardian

POSTERS AVAILABLE NOW

HMW906102 Upheld by Stillness Renaissance gems and their reflections Volume 1: Byrd Radio: BBC Radio 3 CD Review Classic FM Radio BBC Radio 3 Music Matters RTÉ lyric fm Album of the Week Classic FM has confirmed: Smooth Classics – day of release 12th Feb Aled Jones – Sunday Morning show 14th Feb Online: Sinfini, Planet Hugill TV: Good Morning Britain (ITV) Advance features: London Live, Classic FM (on air and online), Gramophone Magazine and Classical Music

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