harmonia mundi UK
Classical new releases
SEPTEMBER 23
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 23rd 2016, call-off September 9th
Shortlisted Recordings, winners announced on Monday 22nd August WF Bach Harpsichord Concertos Il Convito / Maude Gratton (Mirare MIR162) Monteverdi Madrigali, Vol 1 – Cremona Les Arts Florissants / Paul Agnew (Les Arts Florissants AF005) ‘Concert Royal de La Nuit’ Ensemble Correspondences / Sébastian Daucé (Harmonia Mundi HMC952223/24) Beethoven Cello Sonatas Xavier Phillips; François-Frédéric Guy (Evidence Classics EVCD015) Tippett String Quartets Heath Quartet (Wigmore Hall Live WHLive0080/2) Maxwell Davies. Panufnik Symphonies Nos 10 LSO /Sir Antonio Pappano (LSO Live LSO0767) Isaac Missa Misericordias Domini etc Cantica Symphonia / Giuseppe Maletto (Glossa GCD P31908) Beethoven Lieder und Bagatellen Werner Güra; Christoph Berner (Harmonia Mundi HMC902217)
RELEASE DATE 23RD SEPTEMBER 2016
Refuge from the Flames The Savonarola Legacy ORA / Suzi Digby
Label: harmonia mundi UK File Under: Classical/Choral Catalogue No: HMW906103 Barcode: 3149020610329 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack ORA: Zoe Brown, Julie Cooper, Elizabeth Drury, Camilla Harris, Emilia Morton, Emma Walshe [S] David Clegg, Edward McMullan, Eleanor Minney, Kim Porter [A] Jeremy Budd, Steven Harrold, Nicholas Madden, Nicholas Todd [T] Richard Bannan, Ben Davies, William Gaunt, Edmund Saddington [B]
Following the stunning success of their best-selling debut, Suzi Digby’s crack vocal ensemble ORA presents their new album: ‘Refuge from the Flames’. Dedicated to the legacy of Girolamo Savonarola, 15th century Dominican and religious reformer, this new CD further showcases ORA's commitment to bringing together Renaissance choral masterpieces and commissioned reflections from contemporary composers. ORA bring a wealth of experience that gilds these pieces, both new and old, into the lustrous works of art they truly are. “We begin and end this second ORA album with two contrasting settings of the Miserere mei (Psalm 50, Vulgate). Over the centuries this text has inspired reflections by many Christian writers, none more influential than those by Girolamo Savonarola, and we have devoted much of this album to his extraordinary legacy. Central to the recording is Savonarola’s meditation on the psalm, 'Infelix Ego', written shortly before his execution. We present it here in William Byrd’s justly famous setting, and in a newly commissioned masterpiece by the Latvian composer Eriks Ešenvalds.” Suzi Digby OBE [artistic director & conductor] 1 Allegri: Miserere [arr. Ben Byram Wigfield] 2 Animuccia/Savonarola: Iesù, sommo conforto 3 Anon/Savonarola Alma, che sì gentile 4 Anon/Savonarola Che fai qui, core? 5 Bettini: Ecce quam bonum 6 Verdelot: Letamini in Domino 7 Byrd: Infelix ego 8 Eriks Ešenvalds (b.1977): Infelix ego *world premiere recording commissioned by ORA* 9 Richafort: O quam dulcis 10 Le Jeune: Tristitia obsedit me, magno 11 Anonymous: Ecce quomodo moritur 12 Clemens non Papa: Tristitia obsedit me, amici 13 James MacMillan (b.1959): Miserere ALSO AVAILABLE: HMW906102 Upheld by Stillness “you’ll go a long way to hear singing this good. Truly, this is British choral music’s new golden age.” Independent on Sunday*****
RELEASE DATE 23RD SEPTEMBER 2016
VIVALDI: Concertos for 2 Violins Giuliano Carmignola Amandine Beyer Gli incogniti Vivaldi’s double concertos resemble jousts: there is bound to be comparison between the two protagonists, but in the end the triumph will be collective. And the least one can say is that Amandine Beyer and her illustrious guest Giuliano Carmignola, in his hm debut, have breathed new life into this dazzling form of musical theatre! “Who better to disclose the poetic utterances of these pieces with their highly developed ‘esprit de fantaisie’ than Giuliano Carmignola? I cannot think of any other violinist at the moment who feels this music with such depth and delicacy of expression and who can sustain the melodic line in a manner which mirrors the sustained style of an operatic aria.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2010
Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: HMC902249 Barcode: 3149020224922 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Giuliano Carmignola Amandine Beyer / Gli incogniti
ALSO AVAILABLE: HMC902221 VIVALDI Teatro a la moda “a parade of exhausting virtuosity applied to grace and beauty, played with dazzling vivacity by Amandine Beyer” The Independent, 21st November 2015 “an earthy, raw and brilliant response to some of Vivaldi’s most scintillating violin concertos” The Observer, 29th November 2015 BBC MUSIC CONCERTO CHOICE "Vivaldi was a supreme master of musical invention, as this recording triumphantly demonstrates” BBC Music Magazine, February 2016 ***** ADVERTISED IN BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
RELEASE DATE 23RD SEPTEMBER 2016
SCHUBERT: Piano Trios Op 99, D898 & 100, D929 Nocturne Op.148 D.897
Andreas Staier Daniel Sepec Roel Dieltiens "One glance at Schubert’s trio, and the miserable hustle and bustle of human existence vanishes, the world takes on fresh lustre", wrote Robert Schumann in 1836 of Schubert’s Piano Trio D898. He was equally admiring of the Viennese composer’s other great trio, D929, notably its funeral march-like Andante con moto, later to achieve cinematic fame in Kubrick’s 'Barry Lyndon'. Here three peerless interpreters bring out every nuance of these endlessly fascinating works on their ‘period instruments’, including a splendid copy of an 1827 Viennese fortepiano.
Label: harmonia mundi File Under: Classical/Chamber music Catalogue No: HMC902233/34 Barcode: 3149020223321 NORMAL Price Format: 2 CD Packaging: digipack Andreas Staier [fortepiano Christopher Clarke (1996) after Conrad Graf, Vienna 1827] Daniel Sepec [violin Lorenzo Storioni, Cremona 1780] Roel Dieltiens [cello Marten Cornelissen (1992) after Stradivarius]
ALSO AVAILABLE: HMG508398/99 Beethoven Violin Sonatas, Trios Daniel Sepec, Andreas Staier [wt Jean-Guihen Queyras] “Underpinned by the musicianship of Andreas Staier, these recordings are real classics. Sepec is using Beethoven's own violin.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2014 **** BBC Radio 3 BUILDING A LIBRARY 1ST CHOICE Dec 2014
RELEASE DATE 23RD SEPTEMBER 2016
Master & Pupil: Beethoven, Czerny, Liszt BEETHOVEN: Bagatelles Op.126. Piano Sonata No.30 Op.109 CZERNY: Variations on a theme by Rode Op.22. Funeral march for Beethoven Op.146 LISZT: Piano Sonata
Melvyn Tan
Label: Onyx Classics File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: ONYX4156 Barcode: 880040415626 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Melvyn Tan [piano]
Melvyn Tan has a strong association with the music of Beethoven having made pioneering recordings for EMI of the 5 Piano Concertos and the Choral Fantasia with Sir Roger Norrington and the London Classical Players. He also made several discs of the sonatas, and one very special recording on the then newly restored Broadwood piano that was Beethoven’s own instrument. On this disc Melvyn plays on a modern Steinway. The theme of the CD is Master & Pupil. Focusing on three of the great pianist composers of the 19th century who represent the beginning of a long line of masters and pupils that can be traced to the present day via Martin Krauss and Edwin Fischer to Alfred Brendel and Paul Lewis. The young Carl Czerny (along with Ferdinand Reis) became a long term pupil and friend of Beethoven at the early age of 10, performing some of the concertos, and working with Beethoven on preparing works for their premiers – not an easy task. A brilliant virtuoso and a highly skilled (if over productive) composer, his legacy lives on to this day in his studies – every pianist will have come across these. His reputation was held in high regard by Liszt, Brahms and Debussy, and it was the young Liszt that Czerny took under his wing in 1819. Liszt later dedicated his 'Transcendental Studies' to Czerny. In 1823 Beethoven saw the 12 year-old Liszt perform and after kissed the child on the forehead. Liszt’s monumental B minor Sonata is the true heir to Beethoven’s visionary late sonatas. BBC Radio 3 will broadcast live MT's Wigmore Hall recital of the CD programme on 13 October Interviews: BBC Radio 4 Front Row BBC Radio 3 In Tune BBC MM James Naughtie interview feature Melvyn has recently featured as one of the guests on BBC Radio 4's Midweek programme. + aiming for one major TV show ADVERTISED IN BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
RELEASE DATE 23RD SEPTEMBER 2016
CHOPIN: Complete Sonatas Piano Sonata No.1 in C minor Op. 4 Piano Sonata No.2 in B flat minor op35 Piano Sonata No.3 in B minor op 58
Joseph Moog
Label: Onyx Classics File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: ONYX4152 Barcode: 880040415220 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Joseph Moog [piano]
Winner of the Gramophone Magazine’s Young Artist of the Year award in 2015, the year he was nominated for a Grammy for the Moszkowski & Grieg concertos album, Joseph Moog is recognised as one of the truly outstanding young virtuoso pianists of our time. The same magazine, reviewing Moog’s Rachmaninov 3rd concerto called it "one of the most formidable" performances in the catalogue – praise indeed! For his new release Joseph has turned to Chopin – the complete piano sonatas. The first sonata is a rarely heard work. It shows the young composer as yet untouched by the influences of Beethoven, Hummel, Field, Kalkbrenner and the other great composer pianists of the period. It owes more to Mozart and the late classical period. By the time of the 2nd sonata, Chopin had fully absorbed the early romanticism of Hummel and Field, and developed a strong distinctive voice. The slow movement, a funeral march is one of the most famous pieces of music ever composed. The 3rd sonata is a masterpiece, one of the greatest works for piano of the 19th century, and represents the total mastery Chopin had achieved by the end of his tragically short life. ALSO AVAILABLE: ONYX4089 Rubinstein Piano Concerto No.4, Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.3 ONYX4106 Scarlatti Illuminated ONYX4126 Scharwenka Piano Sonata No.2, Tchaikovsky Piano Sonata in G op37 ONYX4144 Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Moszkowski Piano Concerto in E major "Clearly he is already among the most brilliant of pianists...as the concerto approaches its grandiloquent close, you will witness a heart-stopping bravura of a sort rarely encountered." Gramophone magazine.
RELEASE DATE 23RD SEPTEMBER 2016
Schumann and Brahms Recorded live at Wigmore Hall, London, on 18 November 2014
Christiane Karg Malcolm Martineau
Label: Wigmore Hall Live File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: WHLIVE0084 Barcode: 5065000924850 MID Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Christiane Karg [soprano] Malcolm Martineau [piano]
Bavarian soprano Christiane Karg made her Wigmore Hall debut in 2012 with a beautiful song recital which also became her first release on Wigmore Hall Live [WHLIVE0062]; four years on we are excited to present her second release. A regular guest at the world’s leading opera houses, singing roles from Musetta (La bohème) to Amor (Orfeo ed Euridice), she is also revered for her enchanting performances on the concert platform alongside conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Christiane is joined by Malcolm Martineau celebrated as one of his generations greatest accompanists. This recital explores the unique relationship between the Schumanns and Brahms. After Robert’s death Brahms’s passion for Clara grew but it was reciprocated only with a protective motherly care. They remained close friends but Brahms never truly recovered. This programme presents love in many different guises from the stirring ‘Widmung’, to the heartfelt ‘Liebst du um Schönheit’ and the love-drunk passion of ‘Meine Liebe ist grün’. 1 Robert SCHUMANN: Widmung Op. 25 No. 1 2-5 Clara SCHUMANN: Er ist gekommen Op. 12 No. 2, Liebeszauber Op. 13 No. 3, Sie liebten sich beide Op. 13 No. 2, Liebst du um Schönheit Op. 12 No. 4 6-13 Robert SCHUMANN: Frauenliebe und -leben Op. 42, 14 Die Löwenbraut Op. 31 No. 1 15-22 BRAHMS: Von ewiger Liebe Op. 43 No. 1, Auf dem See Op. 59 No. 2, Meine Liebe ist grün Op. 63 No. 5, O kühler Wald Op. 72 No. 3, Lerchengesang Op. 70 No. 2, Wir wandelten Op. 96 No. 2, Feldeinsamkeit Op. 86 No. 2, Mondnacht WoO 21 ALSO AVAILABLE: WHLIVE0062 Christiane Karg sings Strauss, Fauré, Debussy, Poulenc BBC MUSIC CHORAL & SONG CHOICE January 2014
RELEASE DATE 23RD SEPTEMBER 2016
HANDEL: Susanna, Oratorio in 3 Acts HWV66 Live from the Göttingen International Handel Festival, 5th May 2016
Göttingen Festival Orchestra Laurence Cummings
Label: Accent Records File Under: Classical/Opera & Vocal Catalogue No: ACC26406 Barcode: 4015023264069 3 FOR 2 Price Format: 3 CD Packaging: digipack Emily Fons – mezzo-soprano - Susanna Christopher Lowrey – countertenor - Joacim Colin Balzer – tenor - 1st Elder Raimund Nolte – bass-baritone - 2nd Elder Ciara Hendrick – mezzo-soprano - Daniel NDR Choir Göttingen Festival Orchestra Laurence Cummings – direction
After the patriotic ‘victory oratorios’, the oratorio 'Susanna' marks a turning point in Handel’s composition. This Old Testament narrative is a popular motif in the domain of art history. Many a portrayal exists of the steadfast Susanna being watched – unbeknown to her – by two lusting elders as she bathes. Likewise, the scene of the supposed adulteress appearing before the judges who sentence her to death inspired painters such as Rembrandt, Giorgione, Gentileschi and Corinth. In adopting this as his subject, Handel chose a heroine who is neither a queen nor a prophet. The piquant account from the Book of Daniel drew from him magnificent inventiveness in the music, which also includes passages in the lighter vein characteristic of the English ‘ballad opera’ popular at the time. Susanna’s virtue, however, is extolled in monumental choruses. The present live recording is a production of the 2016 International Handel Festival in Göttingen, highly praised by the critics at their performances in Göttingen, Berlin, and Wroclaw. Laurence Cummings, the Festival's Artistic Director, a renowned Händel specialist, stands at the helm of the Göttingen Festival Orchestra, aided by an excellent vocal cast and the NDR Choir.
RELEASE DATE 23RD SEPTEMBER 2016
Cifras Selectas de Guitarra / Guitar Music by Santiago de Murcia Private Musicke Pierre Pitzl Hundreds of prints with guitar music were published in France and Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries. As such, it is all the more surprising that only nine books remain from Spain, the instrument’s country of origin. Half the surviving solo pieces for guitar come from Santiago de Murcia (1673-1737). Murcia’s fourth book, Cifras selectas de guitarra, dated 1722, only reappeared a few years ago in Santiago de Chile. It contains a multitude of Spanish variations.
Label: Accent Records File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: ACC24316 Barcode: 4015023243163 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: digipack Private Musicke Pierre Pitzl [guitar after Antonio Stradivari, Cremona 1688 by Karl Kirchmeyr (Vienna 2014) 4-course guitar by Karl Kirchmeyr (Vienna 2002) bass lutes by Karl Kirchmeyr (Vienna 2008 & 2010) viola da gamba after Anton Posch, Vienna 1736 by Matthias Bölli (Vienna 1996) theorbo after Cristofolo Choc, Venice 1620 by Jiri Cepelak (Prague 1999)]
“Our original intent was only to record pieces from the most recently discovered book, Cifras selectas. However, the more we delved into the matter, the more we grew curious as to the versions contained in the other books. We eventually wound up thinking about Sanz and his contemporaries and looked up his collection of similar dances. We failed to resist the temptation to ‘’smuggle” in some of his works to compare with Murcia’s. In the end, a representative sample of Santiago de Murcia’s works was formed. We have kept the title 'Cifras selectas', for the selection from a substantial collection became a selection from substantial life works.” (Pierre Pitzl) 1 Canarios por la A [tutti] 2 Zarambeques o Muecas 3 Marsellas 4 Preludio por la E 5 Passacalles por la E 6 La Azuzena 7 Los Impossibles 8 Baylad Caracoles 9 Passacalles por la B 10 Jacaras (Sanz) 11 Jacaras de el Torneo 12 Preludio por la 13 Passacalles por la 14 Menuet 15 Zarabanda 16 La Jotta 17 Marionas 18 Canarios por la A (Sanz, Santa Cruz)
RELEASE DATE 23RD SEPTEMBER 2016
Sir Peter MAXWELL DAVIES: Into the Labyrinth Op. 111, Sinfonietta Academica Cantata for tenor and chamber orchestra
Scottish Chamber Orchestra Peter Maxwell Davies The second of a set of three works for chamber orchestra written in 1983, and the only one using voice, 'Into the Labyrinth' was written for Neil Mackie and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and first performed by them at the St. Magnus Festival, in the Cathedral, Kirkwall, in June 1983, under the baton of James Conlon. This Unicorn reissue is the only recording currently available. The symphonic song-cycle in five continuous movements ponders the influence of modern times on ancient ways of life, with words from 'The Well' by George Mackay Brown. The other works in the trilogy are 'Sinfonia Concertante' and 'Sinfonietta Academica': the latter recorded here was written by Maxwell Davies in 1983 for the quartercentenary of Edinburgh University. The first performance was given by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Edward Harper in October 1983.
Label: Unicorn File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: UKCD2022 Barcode: 053068202220 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Neil Mackie (tenor) Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Peter Maxwell Davies (conductor)
"The fine Scottish tenor, Neil Mackie, gives a superb performance, confirming this as one of Maxwell Davies’s most beautiful and moving inspirations...Strong intense performances under the composer, helped by a first-rate recording." Penguin Guide to Compact Discs
RELEASE DATE 23RD SEPTEMBER 2016
MAHLER: Symphony No. 6 Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein Mahler specialist, Jascha Horenstein, conducts the sixth symphony - an acclaimed 1966 performance with the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. "It is a sober reading that holds together with wonderful concentration." Penguin Guide to Compact Discs ALSO AVAILABLE: UKCD2006 Mahler 3 / LSO [1970] “Horenstein is the most intensely committed……..the result has the sort of frisson-creating quality one knew from Horenstein’s live performances and the recording quality is both full and brilliant.” Penguin Guide
Label: Unicorn File Under: Classical/Orchestral Catalogue No: DKPCD2024/5 Barcode: 053068202428 2 FOR 1.5 Format: 2 CD Packaging: cristal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein (conductor)
“this is the work of a master conductor, and the LSO responds superbly.” Sunday Times, 1st May 2016 UKCD2012 Mahler 1 / LSO 1969 “Horenstein and the LSO of the 1960s made an exceptional Mahler team, as this 1969 studio recording vividly demonstrates. The combined virtuosity (dazzling violins at the start of the finale) and delicacy bring the First Symphony thrillingly to life.” Sunday Times, 31st July 2016
RELEASE DATE 23RD SEPTEMBER 2016
GRAINGER: Chosem Gems for Piano Penelope Thwaites Unicorn is delighted to reissue Australian pianist, Penelope Thwaites’ highly acclaimed selection of Grainger miniatures for solo piano including 'Country Gardens' and Shepherd's Hey'. "one of the pleasures of Thwaites's playing is that her obvious enjoyment of them (she will occasionally pause for a fraction of a second before some especially luscious chord) doesn't get in the way of the music's main thrust. The most memorable moments in the collection are those where she ensures that a beautiful melody (One More Day, say, or the open nostalgia of Grainger's own Colonial Song) is set in relief by not embedded in, loving garlands of embellishment... An excellent basic Grainger collection." Gramophone
Label: Unicorn File Under: Classical/Instrumental Catalogue No: DKPCD9127 Barcode: 053068912723 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Penelope Thwaites [piano]
Danish Folk-Music Suite: The Power of Love, The Nightingale and the Two Sisters, Jutish Medley One more day, my John, Knight and Shepherd's Daughter, Near Woodstock Town, Country gardens, (The) Sussex Mummers' Christmas Carol, Shepherd's Hey, To a Nordic Princess, Love at first sight, Children's March: Over the hills and far away, Bridal Lullaby, Handel in the Strand, Colonial Song, Paraphrase on the Waltz of the Flowers from Tchaik, Free Settings of Favourite Melodies, FaurĂŠ: Nell, Op. 18 No. 1, Dowland: Now, O Now, I Needs Must Part
RELEASE DATE 23RD SEPTEMBER 2016
LISZT: The Power of Music Philip Langridge, John Constable Ihr Glocken von Marling, Am Rhein, in schönen Ströme (two versions), Bist du! Vergiftet sind meine Lieder, Jugendglück, Freudvoll und leidvoll (3) Songs from Wilhelm Tell, (Die) Drei Zigeuner, (Der) Glückliche; Kling leise, mein Lied, (Die) Macht der Musik, Wer nie sein Brot mit Tränen ass, Ich möchte hingehn, (Die) Vätergruft, Ich scheide, Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh Rarely recorded and seldom performed in the concert hall, Philip Langridge unearths a forgotten corner of Liszt’s oeuvre: the songs which he wrote throughout his life and which range from austere miniatures to grandiose affairs conceived on a large scale. He is sensitively accompanied by John Constable.
Label: Unicorn File Under: Classical/Secular Vocal music Catalogue No: DKPCD9162 Barcode: 053068916226 NORMAL Price Format: 1 CD Packaging: cristal Philip Langridge (tenor), John Constable (piano)
"Liszt’s songs, a much underrated part of his output, find a most sympathetic interpreter in Philip Langridge. He has the intelligence and poetic sensibility to appreciate their very varied nature, and indeed without such qualities no singer is likely to make very much of them…Theirs is a sensitive partnership, and Constable is scrupulous in judging when the piano is supportive, when almost contradictory, when independent, when the soloist." Gramophone