harmonia mundi UK
Classical new releases
SEPTEMBER 16
DISTRIBUTED LABELS: ACCENT RECORDS, ACTES SUD, ALIA VOX, APARTE, BELVEDERE, THE CHOIR OF KINGS COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, CHRISTOPHORUS, CSO RESOUND, EDITION CLASSICS, EVIDENCE CLASSIQUES, FRA MUSICA, GLOSSA, harmonia mundi, HERITAGE, LA DOLCE VOLTA, LES ARTS FLORISSANTS EDITIONS, LSO LIVE, MARIINSKY, MIRARE, MYRIOS, NAÏVE, ONYX, PAN CLASSICS, PRAGA DIGITALS, RCO LIVE, SIGNUM CLASSICS, UNITED ARCHIVES, UNICORN, WIGMORE HALL LIVE
available September 16th 2016, call-off September 2nd
RELEASE DATE 16TH SEPTEMBER 2016
MOZART: Zaide K344 Sophie Bevan Allan Clayton Jacques Imbrailo Darren Jeffery Classical Opera Ian Page Continuing Classical Opera's critically acclaimed complete cycle of Mozart operas on Signum Classics is this release of 'Zaide'. The opera is set in a totalitarian regime where a couple have fallen in love (Zaide and Gomatz), incurring the jealousy of the ruling sultan (Soliman). One of very few of Mozart’s works to be written without a commission, Mozart completed 15 numbers before abandoning the work to fulfil the commission for 'Idomeneo'. These include two searing melodramas, some superb ensembles and a sequence of arias including the heavenly 'Ruhe sanft' sung by Sophie Bevan.
Label: Signum Classics File Under: Classical/Opera & Vocal Catalogue No: SIGCD473 Barcode: 635212047323 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Sophie Bevan: Zaide Allan Clayton: Gomatz Jacques Imbrailo: Allazim Darren Jeffery: Osmin Stuart Jackson: Sultan Soliman Jonathan McGovern: Vorsinger The Orchestra of Classical Opera, Ian Page [conductor]
ALSO AVAILABLE: SIGCD343 Mozart: Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots, K35 “Page and the Orchestra of Classical Opera have an unerring knack for making the most out of the young Mozart's characterful music...an ideal synthesis of muscular directness and Mozartian elegance...[Worldliness's arias] are both sung with mischievous elan by Sophie Bevan.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2013 SIGCD433 Mozart: Il re pastore, K208 “It is hard to imagine hearing another performance as convivial and life-affirming as this. The Orchestra of Classical Opera play supremely well...Page’s unobtrusive pacing of the pastoral mini-drama and sage weighting of orchestrally accompanied recitatives pull the listener along gently.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2015 SIGCD400 Mozart: Mitridate, rè di Ponto, K87 “This excellent recording is probably the one that Mozart completists will want to have: it contains not only unflaggingly stylish virtuosic singing...but also a useful compendium of seven previously unrecorded arias and a duet...The supporting soloists are also first rate, and Ian Page and the Orchestra of the Classical Opera company provide exemplary accompaniment throughout.” The Telegraph, 17th November 2014 ****
RELEASE DATE 16TH SEPTEMBER 2016
TELEMANN: 12 Fantasias for solo violin, Hamburg, 1735 TWV 40:14-25
Fabio Biondi
Label: Glossa File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: GCD923406 Barcode: 8424562234062 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Fabio Biondi [Ferdinando Gagliano violin from the 18th century]
Alongside his success directing Europa Galante, Fabio Biondi's sixth CD for Glossa is the first to showcase his talents as a solo violinist. Telemann’s 'Fantasias for Solo Violin' are reflections both of his full maturity as a composer and of being a highly proficient violinist himself The exceptionally prolific composer published sets of fantasias for solo instruments – flute, viola da gamba as well as violin – without basso continuo in Hamburg in the 1730s. The dozen fantasias recorded here are written for an unaccompanied instrument and manage to embrace both the long-established polyphonic German style – with fugues and multi-part writing for the violin – and the more modern Italian stile galante. Fabio Biondi plays a Ferdinando Gagliano violin from the 18th century, recorded in June 2015 by Fabio Framba in the Brescian Chiesa di Sant’ Eufemia, Corte Franca in Italy. If Telemann’s violin music has been greatly overlooked on record it can have no better champion than Fabio Biondi and this Glossa CD booklet also benefits from an essay from the Director of the Bach-Archiv in Leipzig, Peter Wollny.
RELEASE DATE 16TH SEPTEMBER 2016
COUPERIN: Ariane consolée par Bacchus Les Talens Lyriques Christophe Rousset Couperin came from a dynasty of musicians very much in the public eye, starting with the beginning of the reign of Louis XIV. This dynasty would remain important after the death of Francois Couperin, known as Couperin le Grand ('the Great'). Chosen personally by the Sun King for the Chapelle Royale at Versailles, he was quickly forgotten after his death, being eclipsed by Rameau. However history would consider him the most accomplished expression of French genius in the 18th century. Here, the cantata 'Ariane consolée par Bacchus' is unveiled and served by a dream cast led by Christophe Rousset. This first release on the Aparté label is the forerunner of a boxed set to celebrate the occasion of Couperin's 250th birthday.
Label: Aparté File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: AP130 Barcode: 3149028078329 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Stéphane Degout [baritone] Les Talens Lyriques: Christophe Coin [viol] Laura Mónica Pustilnik [lute] Atsushi Sakai [viol] Gilone Gaubert-Jacques, Virginie Descharmes [violins] Jocelyn Daubigney, Stefanie Troffaes [flutes] Gilles Vanssons, Vincent Blanchard [oboes]
1-6 Ariane consolée par Bacchus, cantata 7-15 Apothéose de Lully 16-22 Apollon persuade Lully et Corelli que la réunion des Goûts français et italien doit faire la perfection de la musique. Essai en forme d'ouverture. 23-29 Le Parnasse ou l'Apothéose de Corelli, 1724 Grande Sonade en trio
RELEASE DATE 16TH SEPTEMBER 2016
CALDARA: The Cervantes Operas Arias & instrumental pieces
María Espada, Emiliano González Toro, João Fernandes La Ritirata / Josetxu Obregón Arias from the operas Don Chisciotte in Corte della duchessa (Vienna, 1727) and Sancio Panza Governatore dell’isola Barattaria (Vienna, 1733) with instrumental interludes included in the original operas, composed by Nicola Matteis (c.1650-c.1714).
Label: Glossa File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: GCD923104 Barcode: 8424562231047 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack María Espada [soprano] Emiliano González Toro [tenor] João Fernandes [bass] La Ritirata, Josetxu Obregón [artistic direction]
In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes, La Ritirata and Josetxu Obregón have created a programme for Glossa sallying forth on the back of music composed by Antonio Caldara and inspired by 'El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha'. Antonio Caldara was neither the first nor the last composer to have his compositional ingenuity sparked off by Cervantes’ timeless masterpiece. He may well have been propelled forwards by his own experiencing the Spanish soundscape within a century of the publication of the two parts of the Don Quijote: Barcelona was a working 'port of call' for Caldara after Mantua and Rome and before Vienna. For the Viennese court he wrote a pair of operas (with librettos by GC Pasquini): 'Don Chisciotte in Corte della Duchessa' and 'Sancio Panza Governatore dell’isola Barattaria', and from these works Obregón – like Caldara also a cellist – has put together a selection of arias. Soloists María Espada, Emiliano González Toro and João Fernandes invest their abundant collective artistry in bringing to life a rapid series of Cervantine characters, not least the Spanish knight and his squire. Interspersed between these vocal contributions are a series of instrumental ballets composed for these operas by Nicola Matteis, who also worked at the Viennese court. In the booklet essay Begoña Lolo and Adela Presas set the scene for Caldara’s contribution to the musical legacy of Don Quixote. ALSO AVAILABLE: GCD923101 Falconieri: Il Spiritillo Brando "toe-tapping instrumental music alternating with songs featuring the character voice of Raquel Andueza captures perfectly the essence of Spain… it is a stunning and utterly convincing triumph.” Early Music Review, August 2013 GCD923102 Arriaga: Complete String Quartets "La Ritirata give lively and alert accounts, clearly in sympathy with the music.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2014 **** GCD923103 The Cello in Spain: Boccherini and other 18th-century virtuosi "Obregón is a brilliant performer … Technically the playing is superb and Obregón and his colleagues play with aplomb in the extraverted pieces but also with refinement in the more intimate items.” MusicWeb International, 4th January 2016
RELEASE DATE 16TH SEPTEMBER 2016
MOZART: The Oboe Concerto, & other works for oboe Frank de Bruine Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century
Label: Glossa File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: GCD921123 Barcode: 8424562211230 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Frank de Bruine [oboe] Lenneke Ruiten [soprano] Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century: Rémy Baudet, Franc Polman [violins] Yoshiko Morita [viola], Albert Brüggen [cello] Maggie Urquhart [double-bass] Teunis van der Zwart, Stefan Blonk [horns] Kenneth Montgomery [conductor]
Following the death of Frans Brüggen in August 2014, the decision was taken by the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century to continue touring the world, and inviting various guest conductors who have worked with the ensemble over the years, such as Daniel Reuss and Andrea Marcon, and indeed Kenneth Montgomery, who directs the orchestral pieces on this brand new recording for Glossa. The first recorded result of the post-Brüggen era is this Mozart CD with a programme centred on the oboe, which has been devised by longstanding orchestra member, Frank de Bruine. Mozart has been central to the Orchestra’s music making and the composer made many friends with wind players – including oboists – and wrote abundantly for them. De Bruine, himself is the soloist in the C major Oboe Concerto (the original version of the Flute Concerto, KV 314) and is present in two chamber pieces, the F major Oboe Quartet, KV 370 and the D major Divertimento, KV 251. The CD closes with the concert aria, “Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!”, KV 418 sung by Dutch soprano Lenneke Ruiten. This new chapter in the recorded history of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century is crowned with an essay by scholar Clemens Romijn. 1-3 Concerto for oboe and orchestra in C major, KV 314 4-6 Quartet for oboe, violin, viola and cello in F major, KV 370 7-12 Divertimento for 2 violins, viola, bass, oboe and 2 horns in D major, KV 251 13 Aria for soprano and orchestra, “Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!”, KV 418
RELEASE DATE 16TH SEPTEMBER 2016
3 Decades of Anonymous 4: 1986 – 2016 Anonymous 4 The ladies of the chart-topping vocal quartet Anonymous 4, famed for their 'unearthly' vocal blend and purity of sound, have triumphed in concert on three continents; their listeners have bought nearly two million copies of the group’s recordings for harmonia mundi. This retrospective collection includes highlights from their 25-year collaboration with harmonia mundi, with repertoire ranging from 12th-Century ecstatic chant to American roots.
Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: HMU907570 Barcode: 093046757021 MID Price Format: 1 CD Anonymous 4
1 Gloria 2 Agnus dei trope: Qui pius ac mitis 3 Sequence: Jesu Cristes milde moder 4 Wayfaring Stranger 5 Abbeville 6 Alleluia: Fuit virgo (Virgin full of grace) 7 Amours, dont je sui - L'autrier, au douz mois - Chose Tassin (Mo 270) 8 Nella partita 9 Discant: Fa fa mi / Ut re mi 10 The Wagoner's Lad 11 The Faded Coat of Blue, or, The Nameless Grave 12 A New Year Carol 13 Offertory: Ascendens Ihesus in montem 14 Lullay my child / This ender nithgt 15 Responsory: Spiritui sancto 16 Prosa: Portum in ultimo 17 Prosa: Clemens servulorum 18 On doit fin[e] Amor - La biauté - [In seculum] (Mo 134) 19 Polyphonic Song: Salve virgo virginum 20 An teicheadh go héigipt 21 Shall We Gather At The River 22 Just Over in the Gloryland
RELEASE DATE 16TH SEPTEMBER 2016
Tribute to Hans Rosbaud
Hans Rosbaud, 1895-1962 the Austrian conductor is an unsung hero in the world of mid-20th century music. He gave masterly performances and premieres of a wide range of music. He was a highly cultured and discrete Austrian scholar, equally dedicated to the First and Second Viennese Schools, and paved the way for Boulez who commenced in his wake in Baden-Baden. 1-3 BERG: Three Pieces for Orchestra Op. 6 4-9 WEBERN: 6 Pieces for Large Orchestra Op.6 6:5 6LQIRQLHRUFKHVWHU %DGHQ %DGHQ 0DUFK
Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: PRD250333 Barcode: 3149028083224 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal SWR Sinfonieorchester, Baden-Baden Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Maria Bergman, Hans Rosbaud [pianos] Werner Grabinger, Erich Seiler [percussion]
10 SIBELIUS: Valse Triste Op. 44, Berlin Nov 1954 11 SIBELIUS: Tapiola Op. 112 Berlin March 1957 %HUOLQ 3KLOKDUPRQLF 2UFKHVWUD 12-14 BARTOK: Sonata for 2 pianos & percussion Sz110 Baden-Baden Oct 1953 0DULD %HUJPDQ +DQV 5RVEDXG >SLDQRV@ :HUQUH *UDELQJHU (ULFK 6HLOHU >SHUFXVVLRQ@
RELEASE DATE 16TH SEPTEMBER 2016
Wilhelm Furtw채ngler: First Vienna School MOZART: Le Nozze di Figaro Overture K492, Symphony No.40 K550 HAYDN: Symphonies 88 & 94 [Surprise]
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Wilhelm Furtw채ngler Every concert conducted by the great Furtw채ngler was a unique and unrepeatable experience. His improvised touches added a vibrancy and immediacy which surprised audiences and even the orchestra. During the difficult post war years he conducted opera (e.g. Wagner in Milan) more than concerts, leaving few performances of Mozart or Haydn symphonies for posterity. Most of this precious heritage fits onto a single SACD.
Label: Praga Digitals File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: DSD350126 Barcode: 3149028086522 NORMAL Price Format: 1 SACD Packaging: cristal Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Wilhelm Furtw채ngler
1 Live Salzburg Festival 7/8/1953 [K492] VPO 2-5 Studio Recordings Vienna Musikvereinsaal 7-8 Aug 1948, 17/2/1949 [K550] VPO 6-9 Studio recording Berlin 18-19 June 1950 BPO 10-13 Studio recording Musikverein [Surprise]11-17 May 1951 VPO
RELEASE DATE 16TH SEPTEMBER 2016
BEETHOVEN: Complete Violin & Piano Sonatas Pierre Fouchenneret Romain Descharmes The ten Sonatas for piano and violin constitute a monument of chamber music. The first nine, written over a short period, between 1798 and 1803 (the tenth would come later, in 1812), clearly illustrate the composer's journey towards artistic maturity, from the influence of Mozart and Haydn in the first three sonatas towards a more complex, very modern language of which the 'Kreutzer' Sonata is a perfect example. Pierre Fouchenneret, one of the foremost representatives of the young generation of violinists, a chamber player who has been singled out for numerous international prizes and distinctions, takes up the challenge of recording this major cycle in three concerts alongside pianist Romain Descharmes, 'a marvel of class and purity', as Christian Merlin so rightly described him. By their refreshing, profound and pertinent vision of these works, going in turn from fieriness to extreme poetry without ever losing sight of the necessary classicism of the style, they take us on a 'non-stop' journey to the peak, the heart of the Beethovenian universe, on the threshold of Romanticism. Magical!
Label: ApartĂŠ File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: AP129 Barcode: 3149028078220 MID Price Format: 3 CD Packaging: digipack Pierre Fouchenneret [violin] Romain Descharmes [piano]
RELEASE DATE 16TH SEPTEMBER 2016
SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartets 5, 8 & 11 Quatuor Debussy This recording from the Quatuor Debussy offers a comparative look at teh works for string quartet by Dmitri Shostakovich. The programme features String Quartet No. 5 [1952], No. 8 [1960] and No. 11 [1966]: one from each of the composer's three creative periods, presented in reverse chronological order. The fifth and eighth quartets share a five note motif that also appears in Symphony No. 10. The Quatuor Debussy were the first signing to new label Evidence Classics back in 2014. Founded by Nicolas Bartholomée, who also created founded Ambroisie, Aparté and Little Tribeca, and Emmanuel Chollet, the creator of label Fiat Lux and ex EMI / Virgin France, Timpani Records and Believe Digital, Evidence is intended to be based on the greatest French and foreign virtuosos but also young talents who will have the freedom to explore many different directories and musical genres.
Label: Evidence Classics File Under: Classical/Chamber music Catalogue No: EVCD018 Barcode: 3149028079029 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Quatuor Debussy
ALSO AVAILABLE: EVCD001 Schubert and Janacek Quartets “An excellent pairing, touched by poignancy and drama. The Debussy Quartet are certainly dramatic” BBC Music Magazine, October 2014 *** “Though the recording is on the resonant side, the detail is clear and effective. If you happen to want these two works on a single disc, here are two good performances.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2014 “the playing is beautiful … an unsettling performance, and that is a compliment.” The Strad, 26th August 2014
RELEASE DATE 16TH SEPTEMBER 2016
Ragna Schirmer plays Maurice Ravel Miroirs, Gaspard de la nuit, Pavane pour une infante défunte
Label: Belvedere File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: BCD08002 Barcode: 4260415080028 MID Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Ragna Schirmer
Playing pieces from 'Miroirs' and 'Gaspard de la nuit', empathetic pianist Ragna Schirmer reveals the essence of Ravel's artistic compositions with delicate brilliance. These musical works are animated by an incomparable union of mechanical precision and aching fantasy and these mournfully beautiful sound creations epitomise the artistic soul Maurice Ravel wove into his compositions so assuredly. Ragna Schirmer has won the highly regarded International Bach Competition in Leipzig twice and the receipt of two of Germany’s top classical music awards, the ECHO Klassik, reflect her remarkable career. Her tutors include Bernard Ringeisen in Paris, himself a student of Marguerite Long, friend and student of Maurice Ravel. She performs in the greatest concert halls of Europe, China and New Zealand, as well as at renowned music festivals such as the Heidelberger Frühling (artist in residence 2010), the Beethovenfest Bonn, the MDR-Musiksommer, the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt, and the Salzburg Festival. She has played with Zubin Mehta, Sir Roger Norrington, Kurt Masur, Sir Neville Marriner, and Herbert Blomstedt, to name only a few, and has performed with orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Leipzig Gewandhaus and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Miroirs (1905): 1 Noctuelles, 2 Oiseaux tristes, 3 Une barque sur l'océan, 4 Alborada del gracioso, 5 La vallée des cloches Gaspard de la nuit (1908): 6 Ondine, 7 Le Gibet, 8 Scarbo Pavane (1899): 9 Pavane pour une infante défunte