20th Century

Neeme Järvi in Concert

The legendary conductor Neeme Järvi celebrated his eighty-fifth birthday in the summer of 2022, in Tallinn, giving a series of concerts with his beloved Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. This album serves not just as a commemoration of those wonderful concerts, but also as a personal calling card for this remarkable musician. (Chandos)

1CD# CHAN 20262 $20.99

American Masterpieces – Grofe, Thomson, Gould, Copland

“Abravanel’s account highly recommendable.. played with great conviction” [Thomson] “colours glowing, resonantly atmospheric, most enjoyable” [Gould] “so vivid and atmospheric.. astonishing recorded sound. Guaracha irresistibly catchy” [Copland] “orchestral vitality and rhythmic power” – Penguin Guide (Alto)

1CD# MOB414510 $10.99

Shostakovich: Chamber Symphonies, Opp. 49a & 110a

The Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 35, written in 1933, is one of the last works written in Shostakovich’s first creative period which was not yet overshadowed by Stalinist repressions and is peppered with a great deal of parodistic allusions. With the present recordings the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie under its young, energetic chief conductor Pietari Inkinen draws a convincing bow across Shostakovich’s work. (SWR Classic)

1CD# SWR19124CD $18.99

Weinberg: Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 4

In the past twenty years the Polish-born, Moscow-based Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919–96) has been recognized as one of the major voices in twentieth-century music. This fourth and final volume of his music for solo violin, violin and piano and two violins completes the only survey to take all of these works into account. (Toccata)

1CD# TOCC0188 $18.99

Bacewicz: Music for String Orchestra

Grażyna Bacewicz was born on 5 February 1909 in Łódź. In 1919, she joined the Helena KijeńskaDobkiewiczowa Music Conservatory in Łódź, where she took violin and piano lessons, and for 18 years, she was active as a concert violinist. The present release is a showcase of her music for string orchestra. (Dux)

1CD# DUX1793 $19.99

Silvestrov: The Messenger

Alfred Schnittke and Arvo Pärt have both called the Ukrainian Valentyn Silvestrov “one of the greatest composers of our time”. He is also one of its true originals; though a leading figure in the former Soviet Union’s avant-garde in the 1960s, he subsequently came to realize that “the most important lesson of the avant-garde was to be free of all preconceived ideas – particularly those of the avant-garde. (Challenge)

1CD# CC 72939 $16.99

Shostakovich:

Works Unveiled

This release is the fruit of the French pianist Nicolas Stavy’s efforts to uncover unknown works by Dmitri Shostakovich. Spanning some fifty years of the composer’s career, these rarities include early piano pieces influenced by Chopin and the fragment of an unfinished violin sonata, but is bookended by arrangements of symphonic music, by Shostakovich himself and by Mahler, a constant influence. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2550 $19.99

Brahms, Kornauth & Korngold: Vienna 1913

The years 1900–1914 were perhaps the most thrilling period in European music history. Our program selection for this album focuses on two works written in Vienna in 1913 – the “summer of the century”, as author Florian Illies calls a pivotal year that put an end to the long 19th century and introduced the somber 20th century. (Cavi)

1CD# AVI 8553517 $17.99

20th Century Titles In Brief

Arnold: Clarinet Concerto & Orchestral Works

Rumon Gamba leads the BBC Philharmonic in this collection of lesser-known pieces by the British composer Sir Malcolm Arnold. This album features music from across his compositional career. (Chandos)

1CD# CHAN 20152 $20.99

Bacewicz: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4

The Third Symphony for large symphony orchestra was written in early 1952 and the monumental and pathetic music shows a hitherto unknown face of the composer. (CPO)

1CD# 555556-2 $16.99

Palmgren: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 6

The sixth volume in this series presents a panorama of Selim Palmgren’s works, featuring Ungdom, Op. 28 and Three Pieces, Op. 54, which includes Raindrops and Moonlight. (Grand Piano)

1CD# GP909 $16.99

Pictures of Light – Music of William Baines

This album includes a number of impressionist piano solos and also the first recording (and first performance) of the Five Songs, presented by veteran tenor Gordon Pullin. (Divine Art)

1CD# DDA25234 $18.99