april classical wp

DISTRIBUTED LABELS: ACCENT RECORDS, ACTES SUD, AGOGIQUE, ALIA VOX, AMBRONAY, APARTE, ARTE VERUM, AUDITE, BEL AIR CLASSIQUES, THE CHOIR OF KINGS COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, CONVIVIUM, CHRISTOPHORUS, CSO RESOUND, DELPHIAN, DUCALE, EDITION CLASSICS, FRA MUSICA, GLOSSA, harmonia mundi, HAT[NOW]ART, LA DOLCE VOLTA, LES ARTS FLORISSANTS EDITIONS, LSO LIVE, MARIINSKY, MIRARE, MODE, MUSO, MYRIOS, NAÏVE, ONYX, OPELLA NOVA, ORFEO, PAN CLASSICS, PARADIZO, PARATY, PEARL, PHILHARMONIA BAROQUE, PHIL.HARMONIE, PRAGA DIGITALS, RADIO FRANCE, RAM, REAL COMPAÑIA ÓPERA DE CÁMARA, RCO LIVE, SFZ MUSIC, SIGNUM, STRADIVARIUS, UNITED ARCHIVES, WAHOO, WALHALL ETERNITY, WERGO, WIGMORE HALL LIVE, WINTER & WINTER, YSAYE

APRIL 7 2014

available7thApril,call-off 28th March

harmonia mundi UKClassicalnew release

LSO LIVE commemorates SIR COLIN DAVIS in the

100TH RELEASE

APRIL GRAMOPHONE EDITOR’S CHOICERECORDING OF THE MONTHMARIINSKY MAR0548 Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos No 1 and 2Denis Matsuev/Valery GergievAPRIL GRAMOPHONE EDITOR’S CHOICEharmonia mundi HMC902167 CPE Bach MagnificatRIAS Chamber Choir, AAM-Berlin/RademannAPRIL GRAMOPHONE EDITOR’S CHOICELSO LIVE LSO0746 Bruckner Symphony No 9LSO / Bernard HaitinkAPRIL GRAMOPHONE EDITOR’S CHOICEDELPHIAN DCD34123 Sheppard Sacred Choral MusicChoir of St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, Duncan FergusonGRAMOPHONE Reissue of the monthSIGNUM SIGCD367 Tavener The Veil of the TemplePatricia Rozario, Holst Singers, ECO / Stephen LaytonIRR Outstanding, March issueDELPHIAN DCD34119 Ronald Stevenson Passacaglia on DSCHJames Willshire BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE OPERA CHOICE, AprilAGOGIQUE AGO015 Scarlatti Carlo Re d’AlemagnaFabio BiondiBBC MUSIC MAGAZINE CHAMBER CHOICE, Aprilharmonia mundi HMC902125 Beethoven Piano TriosFaust, Queyras, Melnikov

RELEASE DATE7TH APRIL 2014

Label: harmonia mundiFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: HMC902159Barcode: 3149020215920NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: cristal Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin

MOZART: Adagios & Fugues [after JS Bach]Fugue arrangements for stringsAkademie für Alte Musik Berlin

Prelude & Fugue in D minor K405/4 after J.S. Bach, BWV 877 [WTC Bk 2]Larghetto cantabile in D major & Fugue K405/5, BWV874 [WTC, Bk 2]Adagio & Fugue in A minor, BWV 867 (WTC Bk 1]Allegro in C minor K Anh 44 & Fuga a due Cembali K426 Adagio cantabile & Fugue in E flat major, BWV 876 [WTC Bk 2]Adagio & Fugue in C minor K546 Adagio & Fugue in E major K405/3, BWV 878 [WTC Bk 2]Adagio & Fugue in B minor 6’08 after J.S. Bach, BWV 849 [WTC Bk 1]Adagio & Fugue in D minor, BWV 849 [WTC Bk 1]

It has often been overlooked that, between Bach’s death (1750) and the triumphant revival of his 'St Matthew Passion' byMendelssohn in 1829, other composers had already investigated the œuvre of this ‘old master’. Mozart was the mostfervent among them; thanks to the discoveries of Baron van Swieten, he had the opportunity to explore 'TheWell-Tempered Clavier' and make the string arrangements from it featured on this disc.Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin add to their extensive Bach discography with Stephan Mai as konzertmeister. His note onthe scoring explains that "In K426, K426a, and K546 we follow Mozart’s own indications as to scoring. The other studyworks that have come down to us in manuscript scores (for string quartet) offer scope for instrumentation in differenttextures: string orchestra, string quartet, wind alone, and a combination of strings and wind, as in the last work on theprogramme, serve the dramaturgical conception of this CD and follow no particular principle apart from that of feasibility.It goes without saying that the contrapuntal unfolding of the lines in J. S. Bach’s fugues was not to be altered for the sakeof the instrumentation, for example by redistributing the voices."


Label: harmonia mundiFile Under: Classical/SecularVocal musicCatalogue No: HMU907604Barcode: 093046760427NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: slipcase Tamara Stefanovich [piano]Mark Padmore [tenor]Thomas Larcher [piano] Mark Padmore appears at the Wigmore Hallon 18th May and 7th July [BBC lunchtime concert]

Thomas LARCHER: What BecomesSmart Dust, Poems, What Becomes, A Padmore CycleMark Padmore

Thomas Larcher’s sound world is both original and captivating in its fusion of contemplative harmonies with innovativeperformance techniques. Written for and performed by tenor Mark Padmore, 'A Padmore Cycle' features the composer atthe keyboard. Works for solo piano performed by Tamara Stefanovich round out this programme of first recordings.Born 1963 in Innsbruck, composer Thomas Larcher studied piano and composition in Vienna. He first gained renownprimarily as a pianist, performing with major orchestras and prominent conductors such as Claudio Abbado, PierreBoulez and Franz Welser Möst. In 1998, he began to define himself more clearly as a composer. Since then he hascomposed works for the San Francisco Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, the BelceaQuartet, and for Leif Ove Andsnes, Matthias Goerne, Mark Padmore and Viktoria Mullova and Matthew Barley.He has recorded five CDs with ECM, most recently 'Madhares' with Kim Kashkashian, Till Fellner and Dennis RussellDavies. Thomas Larcher has won numerous distinctions, including the Choc de la Musique and the British ComposerAward (International category) 2012. The UK premiere of A Padmore Cycle, orchestrated version will be in November 2014with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

“His extraordinary, arresting, communicative music is one of this century’s wonders...” The Times

"Leif Ove Andsnes, who had initially inspired me to write What Becomes, set conditions for me in composing it. Hisrequirement was that the piece must fit into a recital program that pianists would consider “normal” (although, in truth,such “piano recitals” are anything but “normal”; most are little more than geriatric museum tours by candlelight)...In Mark Padmore I found a companion willing to accompany me into remote musical territory, someone with the courageand openness to hold back his voice at many stages so that it would sound brittle and fragile as well as very exposed, yetall the while his voice remained extremely precise and present. Only that enabled me to draw a musical arc through thedisparate texts." Thomas Larcher


Label: harmonia mundiFile Under: Classical/SecularVocal musicCatalogue No: HMU807524Barcode: 093046752460NORMALPrice: Format: 1 SACDPackaging: digipackAnonymous 4:Ruth Cunningham, Marsha Genensky,Susan Hellauer, Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek

Marie et MarionMotets & Chansons from 13th-century FranceAnonymous 4

Marie: Mater dei plena, Mater virgo pia EIUS (Mo 66), He mere diu, La virge marie (Mo 146) A la clarte qui tout (Mo 189), Marie assumptio afficiat, Hujus chori suscipe (Mo 322) Chanson: De la gloriouse fenix, Ave lux luminum, Salve virgo rubens (Mo 56) The Song: Plus joliement c’onques, Quant li douz tans (Mo 257) Reverdie: Volez vous que je vous chant, J’ai les biens, Que ferai biau sire (Mo 138)Que ferai biaus sire, Ne puet faillir (Mo 77)Marion: Pensis chief enclin (Mo 239), L’autre jour par un matinet , Hier matinet trouvai (Mo 261) Quant florist la violete, El mois de mai (Mo 135), Sans orgueil et sans envie (Mo 225), Trois serors (Mo 27) Chanson: Amors me fait commencier, En mai quant rosier, L’autre jour par un matin, (Mo 269) The Sorrow: Pucelete bele et avenant, Je languis des maus (Mo 143) Diex qui porroit, En grant dolour (Mo 278), Pour chou que j’aim, Li joli tans (Mo 299) Marie-Marion: Chanson: J’ai un cuer trop lait, Par une matinee, Mellis stilla (Mo 40) Or voi je bien / Eximium decus (Mo 273), Plus bele que flor, Quant revient et fuelle, L’autrier joer (Mo 21)

Returning to the Montpellier Codex for this programme of motets and chansons from 13th-century France, Anonymous 4explores two dominant themes of the period: love and longing for the earthly/earthy Marion and the heavenly/virginalMarie. The Montpellier Codex, from which Anonymous 4 draw all these motets, was collected in Paris around the year 1300 andis the richest single source of 13th-century French polyphony. With a repertory spanning the entire 13th century, itcontains polyphonic works in all the major forms of its era: organum, conductus, hocket and, primarily, motet (315 motetsin all).Renowned for their unearthly vocal blend and virtuosic ensemble singing, Anonymous 4 combine historical scholarshipwith contemporary performance intuition to create their magical sound. Enchanted by live performances and 20 albumsof medieval, contemporary and American music, Anonymous 4’s listeners have bought nearly two million copies of thegroup’s recordings for harmonia mundi.

“From the opening ‘Gaude, Virgo, Salutata’ chant sequence to the final ‘Ave Maris Stella’ hymn, the performance had allthe polish, dynamic suppleness and warmth of tone that have always been Anonymous 4’s hallmarks.” The New York Times


Label: harmonia mundiFile Under: Classical/SecularVocal musicCatalogue No: HMC902144Barcode: 3149020214428NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipack Werner Güra [tenor]Christoph Berner [fortepiano]Julia Schröder [violin]Roel Dieltiens [cello]

HAYDN: Scottish AirsPiano Trio Hob. XV:27Werner Güra

The Lea-Rig, Morag, Sleep’st thou, or wak’st thou (Deil tak’ the wars), O wise and valiant Willy (Rattling roaring Willy), Trio in C major Hob. XV:27 - AllegroTwas at the hour of dark midnight (Barbara Allan), Jenny’s Bawbee, Mary’s Dream, Trio in C major Hob. XV:27 - Andante The night her silent sable wore (She rose, and let me in), William and Margaret, Bessy Bell and Mary Gray Trio in C major Hob. XV:27 - Presto There was a lass (Willie was a wanton wag), Highland Air: The Lone Vale, My Love she’s but a lassie yet

These arrangements of Scottish traditional melodies are among the little-known gems of Haydn’s later years. Nearing theend of his long career but still at the height of his powers – these settings are contemporary with 'Die Jahreszeiten' andhis last two masses – Haydn responded to the commission with arrangements full of life and wit.The process of adapting the airs for drawing-room performance was not limited to the provision of new words: early18th-century anthologies usually equipped the melodies with a figured bass to enable keyboard accompaniment, withoptional cello support. By the end of the century, it had become customary to add an obbligato violin part too. This wasthe scoring Haydn used in his first arrangements of Scottish songs, made for William Napier. According to hisbiographers, Griesinger and Dies, the composer provided the first batch of 100 settings free of charge to help thepublisher out of serious financial difficulties [most un-Scottish, Ed.]. The present disc, however, offers a selection fromthe more ambitious arrangements, 208 in all, that Haydn made for George Thomson (1757-1841), an ardent collector ofold Scots airs who published them fully scored for piano trio. These he commissioned not from minor local musicians, butfrom the foremost European composers of the day; just as the new poetic texts, when he judged these were required,were sought from leading Scottish writers. Burns began to write for him in 1792, and continued till his death in 1796, thecollections from first to last containing about 120 of his songs.George Thomson relates that he was first inspired to dedicate his life’s work to these national melodies when he heardthem sung by two Italian artists: Signora Corri and the celebrated castrato Tenducci. Hence their execution here by adistinguished team of lieder and historically-informed performance specialists, who introduce artful variations (birdsongimitations, pizzicato, drone effects) into the settings much as their most accomplished predecessors would have done.


Label: harmonia mundiFile Under: Classical/SecularVocal musicCatalogue No: HMC902179Barcode: 3149020217924NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipack Sophie Karthäuser [soprano]Eugene Asti [piano] CONCERT: Wigmore Hall 30th JuneMozart & Schumann

POULENC: Les Anges musiciensSophie Karthäuser

Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon FP 122, “Bleuet” FP 102 (Apollinaire) Voyage à Paris FP 107 n°4 (Apollinaire) - n°4 de “Banalités"Montparnasse FP 127 no.1 (Apollinaire) - n°1 de “Deux mélodies de Guillaume Apollinaire” Hôtel FP 107 no.2 (Apollinaire) - n°2 de “Banalités”“Trois poèmes de Louise Lalanne” FP 57, Ce doux petit visage FP 99 (Paul Éluard)Main dominée par le coeur FP 135 (Paul Éluard), Vocalise-Étude FP 44Tel jour telle nuit FP 86 (Paul Éluard), Fiançailles pour rire FP 101 (Louise de Vilmorin)La courte paille FP 178 (Maurice Carême), Deux chansons pour Yvonne Printemps

Francis Poulenc’s corpus of songs is one of the most generous and accomplished in the French repertoire. Born in 1899and living until 1963, he inherited the art of the 19th century, which he succeeded in renewing while remaining within thebounds of tonal language, setting mostly contemporary poets (Apollinaire, Éluard, Aragon, Louise de Vilmorin). He drewhis inspiration from the atmosphere specific to each text, but also from listening attentively to the timbre and rhythm ofthe poet reading his or her own works. This was, in the composer’s view, an essential key to penetrating the mystery oftheir creations. Associating the specific experience of the poet with his own personal memories, Poulenc created anexpressive aura unique in the song output of his time.

Belgian soprano Sophie Karthäuser studied with Noelle Barker at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.She is now in great demand in the foremost international venues, especially as a Mozart singer. She sang her firstPamina (Die Zauberflöte) under René Jacobs and her first Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) under William Christie. She hasespecially close relationships with the Théâtre de la Monnaie (Brussels) and the Theater an der Wien (Vienna) inBaroque and Classical roles.Since winning the Audience Prize at the Wigmore Hall Song Contest she has developed an acclaimed career as arecitalist, enjoying a particularly close artistic partnership with the distinguished American pianist Eugene Asti. [This is hisfirst appearance on the harmonia mundi label.]Her extensive discography includes successful releases of aria and song recitals and complete operas. She may beheard in the harmonia mundi recordings of Mozart’s 'La finta giardiniera' and Pergolesi’s 'Septem verba a Christo' underthe direction of René Jacobs. This is her first recital programme for harmonia mundi.


Label: OrfeoFile Under: Classical/OrchestralCatalogue No: C878141ABarcode: 4011790878126NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: cristalCity of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraAndris Nelsons Lots of UK concerts in May & June

Richard STRAUSS: Also sprach Zarathustra Op. 30, Don Juan Op.20, Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche Op. 28City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraAndris Nelsons

In this year of Richard Strauss’s 150th birthday, it seems natural that the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra underAndris Nelsons should add the ultimate candle to the birthday cake, as it were, given that their previous recordings ofStrauss's works for Orfeo ['Ein Heldenleben' C803091A, 'Alpine Symphony' C833111A) have been amongst the label'smost successful of recent years. Here, the CBSO and its music director offer us a selection of the early tone poems: 'DonJuan', 'Till Eulenspiegel' and 'Also sprach Zarathustra'. In 'Don Juan', Strauss combined big tunes and orchestralvirtuosity with a dash of immorality and wacky humour. Nelsons and the CBSO delight in the Don’s life of adventure andconquest that comes to a sticky end. The macabre climax to 'Till Eulenspiegel', with the hanging of the protagonist, ispreceded by a witty exploration of just about every possible orchestral timbre, with Strauss pulling out all the stops todepict Till’s merry pranks. The world-class CBSO, homogenous across all the sections of the orchestra, is just what’sneeded for the great 'Also sprach Zarathustra'. “Freely based on Friedrich Nietzsche” (as Strauss himself wrote), Nelsonsand the CBSO do equal justice to Zarathustra’s address to the sun and to the mysterious close in which the motives ofMan and Nature alternate in their respective keys. This new recording undoubtedly counts as one of the most awaitedhighlights of #Strauss150.

recorded Birmingham Symphony Hall Sept. 2011, Jan. 2012, Jan. 2013

ADVERTISED IN THE BBC PROMS GUIDE


Label: LSO LiveFile Under: Classical/OrchestralCatalogue No: LSO0766Barcode: 822231176626SPECIAL PriceFormat: 8 SACD, 4 CD, 1DVDPackaging: box setSir Colin DavisLondon Symphony Orchestra ADVERTISED IN BBC, IRR, Barbican Concert Series Documentary on Sky Arts in AprilCover artist, interviews in Classical Music MagazineFull page feature in Gramophone Expect media attention!

Sir Colin Davis AnthologySir Colin DavisLondon Symphony Orchestra

BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique (SACD for the first time)DVORAK: Symphony No 9 (SACD for the first time)BERLIOZ: Overture Les Francs Juges, Te Deum (Previously unreleased)SIBELIUS: Oceanides (Previously unreleased)VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Symphony No.4 (Previously unreleased)BERLIOZ: Les TroyensELGAR: Enigma Variations, Introduction & AllegroSIBELIUS: Symphony No 2, Pohjola’s DaughterTIPPETT: A Child of our TimeWALTON: Belshazzar, Symphony No 1Moritz documentary DVD – Previously unreleased

Sir Colin Davis was instrumental in the success and development of LSO Live, including the label’s first Grammy Award.He also played a huge part in the pre-eminence of the LSO across the globe for more than 50 years.This unique collection of 13-discs is the 100th release on LSO Live, and will be a limited edition release. The collectionpays tribute to not only Sir Colin’s work with LSO Live, but more specifically his relationship with LSO through thedecades.The collection includes previously unreleased material from the LSO Live archive, and two much loved recordings onhigh-resolution SACD for the first time, Dvorak Symphony No 9 and Berlioz Symphonie fantastique. Never before seenprivate correspondence and photos from Sir Colin’s archives accompany the discs.The anthology is completed with a bonus DVD documentary by Reiner Moritz. This portrait includes his last publicstatements, and contributions from Sir David Attenborough, Sir Simon Rattle and Roger Wright. The documentaryhighlights his work in masterclasses, opera, concerts and to-camera talk which reveals the man behind the musician.

13-disc set: 8 SACD, 4 CD & 1 DVD [60 min] in rigid box with lift-off lid+commemorative book incorporating photo postcardsTotal audio playing time 11 hours, 75min, 45sNotes in English, French and German, DVD subtitles in French, German, Italian, Spanish & Japanese

L I M I T E D E D I T I O N OF 5000


Label: LSO LiveFile Under: Classical/Opera &VocalCatalogue No: LSO0751Barcode: 822231175124MID PriceFormat: 1 SACDPackaging: cristalJennifer Johnston [Jocasta]Stuart Skelton [Oedipus]Gidon Saks [Creon]Fanny Ardant [narrator]Gentlemen of the Monteverdi ChoirLondon Symphony OrchestraSir John Eliot Gardiner

STRAVINSKY: Oedipus Rex, Apollom MusagèteJennifer Johnston Stuart Skelton Gidon Saks Fanny Ardant Monteverdi ChoirLondon Symphony OrchestraSir John Eliot Gardiner

Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts the LSO on this his first release for LSO Live, Stravinsky’s 'Oedipus Rex' and 'Apollonmusagète'. Also featured on the release are the gentlemen of the Monteverdi Choir, considered one of the world’sleading choirs, and a mix of international and home-grown soloists including Jennifer Johnstonand Stuart Skelton. French actress Fanny Ardant, who has appeared in more than 50 motion pictures, takes the rôle ofnarrator.'Oedipus Rex' and 'Apollon musagète' are both ancient Greek-themed works by Stravinsky. The rich string harmoniesand textures in the ballet score of 'Apollon musagète' are pleasantly mesmerising, expressive and calmly indulgent. Incontrast, the dramatic and hauntingly compelling opera-oratorio 'Oedipus Rex' is composed of an assemblage ofmonumental and powerful sounds, such as playful woodwinds, robust brass and agile strings, with magnificent vocalsfrom the choir and soloists.Sir John Eliot Gardiner is touring a programme of Mendelssohn Symphonies with the LSO to France and Switzerlandduring January and March, after which the orchestra head, with Daniel Harding, to the Far East. Gardiner's MonteverdiChoir celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2014 in March with concerts in France and Spain, performing Monteverdi’s'Vespers'.

"An electrifying LSO performance under John Eliot Gardiner, who obtained razor-sharp rhythms and cracked-ice windand brass sonorities from his players" The Evening Standard

"Stuart Skelton was the suavely plausible Oedipus, perfectly calibrating his change from swaggering self-confidence, tohorror-struck despair. Jennifer Johnson was a formidable Jocasta, venomously spitting out her dismissal of the oracleswhile Gardiner thrillingly energised the cascading wind instruments beneath her;Gidon Saks was an oleaginous Creon, ratcheting the drama up another notch in his only aria. Not a single dramatic detailwas missed; Gardiner ensured that everything was vividly present and straight to the dramatic point." The Guardian ADVERTISED IN BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE, APRIL ISSUE


Label: NAÏVEFile Under: Classical/Opera &VocalCatalogue No: V5373Barcode: 8221860537373 FOR 2 PriceFormat: 3 CDPackaging: box setXavier Sabata [Tamerlano]Max Emanuel Cencic [Andronico]John Mark Ainsley [Bajazet]Karina Gauvin [Asteria]Ruxandra Donose [Irene]Pavel Kudinov [Leone]Il Pomo d'OroRiccardo Minasi

HANDEL: TamerlanoHWV 18 Dramma per musica in 3 acts | 1731 versionXavier Sabata Max Emanuel Cencic John Mark Ainsley Karina Gauvin Ruxandra Donose Pavel Kudinov Il Pomo d'OroRiccardo Minasi

Following the recording of several complete Baroque operas: Faramondo, Farnace, Artaserse, Alessandro, all receivedwith unrestrained critical enthusiasm eg Gramophone Editor's Choice, BBC Music Magazine CD of the Month, HandelRecording Prize, Max Emanuel Cencic once again brings together a fine group of singers and orchestra for the rarelyrecorded Handel opera, 'Tamerlano'. The title role is taken by the exceptional counter-tenor, Xavier Sabata. A remarkable boxed-set released simultaneouslywith an extensive concert tour in Europe.

ALSO AVAILABLE: APARTE AP048 Handel Bad Guys / Xavier Sabata, Il Pomo d’Oro, Riccardo MinasiFinalist, International Opera Awards 2014

"Sabata’s recital is rewarding. His technique and intonation are flawless. His ornaments are tastefully discreet and heseems to effortlessly surmount Handel’s exacting coloratura." Nicholas Anderson, BBC Music Magazine – July 2013


Label: NAÏVEFile Under: Classical/Opera &VocalCatalogue No: OP30553Barcode: 709861305537MID PriceFormat: 3 CDPackaging: box setAnders Dahlin [Dario]Sara Mingardo [Statira]Delphine Galou [Argene]Riccardo Novaro [Niceno]Roberta Mameli [Alinda]Lucia Cirillo [Oronte]Sofia Soloviy [Arpago]Giuseppina Bridelli [Flora]

VIVALDI: L’incoronazione di DarioDramma per musica Libretto di Adriano Morselli Venezia, 1717Edizione a cura di Stefano Aresi (primo atto) e Giovanni Andrea Secchi (secondoe terzo atto)Anders Dahlin, Sara Mingardo Delphine Galou, Roberta Mameli Accademia Bizantina / Ottavio Dantone

•• WORLD PREMIERE COMPLETE RECORDING ••

'L'incoronazione di Dario', composed in 1717, is the Vivaldi Edition's 16th opera and its 53rd release. It marks the halfwaypoint in a bold enterprise launched by Naive in 2000: the recording of the 450 works in Vivaldi's personal library. In thefootsteps of the Mozart and Bach revivals 30 years ago, this is the most ambitious recording project of the century.'L’incoronazione di Dario' must be considered one of Vivaldi’s most successful operas. Immediately opening withexceptional arias, it moves at a rapid pace, holding the listener’s attention throughout. Recitatives are interspersed witharioso interludes and there no less than eight 'big' numbers sure to join the ranks of 'Vivaldi’s best opera arias'. The excellent cast acts out this drama with conviction: Anders Dahlin’s sings Dario, with impeccable intonation andstunning coloratura passages; Sara Mingardo, as Statira, brings great depth and beauty, most especially in her Act 2solo Cantata accompanied only by viola da gamba. Delphine Galou sings with an impressive natural ability and passionand two of her arias in particular are sure to remain benchmarks: 'D’un bel viso' and 'Ferri, ceppi, sangue, morte';Roberta Mameli, Riccardo Novaro, Sophia Soloviy and Lucia Cirillo are all excellent and each of them has at least onestar aria. Ottavio Dantone’s conducting is marked by his ability to bring out the many subtilties in this music and by his profoundunderstanding of recitativos which he is able to bring fully to life as theatre.

[Live recording, a co-production with Deutschland Radio]

“going way beyond a mere accompaniment of recitatives and arias. It was a veritable coronation.” •• Weser Kurier

“Best of all, Delphine Galou was bewitching everybody in the manner of a singing sexus. Sara Mingardo however issinging her guile-less elder sister Statira with the wonderful softness, pleasure and rich deepness of a baroque mother.”•• Concert Ottavio Dantone conducts Handel's 'Rinaldo' at Glyndebourne this August


Label: Wigmore Hall LiveFile Under: Classical/SecularVocal musicCatalogue No: WHLIVE0067Barcode: 5065000924690MID PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: cristalIan Bostridge [tenor]Julius Drake [piano]Recorded live at Wigmore Hall, London, on 13September 2013

Songs by SchubertIan Bostridge Julius Drake

Der Strom, D565, Auf der Donau, D553, Lied eines Schiffers an die Dioskuren, D360Nachtstuck, D672, Viola, D786, Abendstern, D806, Gondelfahrer, D808, Auflosung, D807Widerschein, D949, Alinde, D904, Rastlose Liebe, D138, Geheimes, D719, Versunken, D715Der Winterabend, D938, Die Sterne, D939, Strophe aus ‘Die Gotter Griechenlands’, D677Encores: An den Mond, D259, Spoken introduction, An den Mond, D296

From the wild energy of ‘Der Strom’ to the rapt contemplation of the sublime ‘Die Sterne’, this varied and sensitivelycrafted programme explores a great range of psychological insights in the composer’s Lieder. Ian Bostridge's eloquent feeling for words and music in Schubert, developed and refined over more than two decades,runs deep. His acclaimed interpretations strike a balance between the formal craft and concision of Schubert’s writingand its parallel qualities of spiritual vision and philosophical reflection. Bostridge's Wigmore Hall Schubert series willcontinue in May 2014 and Season 2014/15.

CONCERT: Thursday 22 May 2014 - Ian Bostridge and Julius Drake, Wigmore Hall, Schubert, 7:30 PM


Label: Onyx ClassicsCatalogue No: ONYX4130Barcode: 880040413028NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackViktoria Mullova [violin] Matthew Barley [cello] Paul Clarvis [percussion] Luis Guello [dr, perc] Carioca Freitas [guitar]

Stradivarius in Rio Viktoria MullovaMatthew BarleyPaul Clarvis

Songs by Claudio Nucci, Caetano Veloso, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Pixinguinha, Arnaldo Baptista, Zequinha de Abreu,Marisa Monte, Waldir Azevedo, Henrique Vogler, Sueli Costa

Brazil and everything Brazilian is going to very much in the news in 2014 with the World Cup taking place there. Brazilianmusic and the spirit of Rio will be everywhere, so Viktoria Mullova’s new album ‘Stradivarius in Rio’ arrives at just theright time!Working with musicians from Rio and London, Viktoria has selected 13 wonderfully evocative songs from some of thegreat composers of Brazilian popular music including Caetano Veloso and Antonio Carlos Jobim to name just two. All thesongs are heard in stunning new arrangements and you will be surprised at how many you know.'Stradivarius in Rio' is a wonderfully evocative album that captures the sound and spirit of Rio and its unique music.

ADVERTISED IN CLASSICAL MUSIC PRESS


Label: GlossaFile Under: Classical/SecularVocal musicCatalogue No: GCD921516Barcode: 8424562215160NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackRoberta Invernizzi [soprano]Marina De Liso [mezzo-soprano]La RisonanzaCaterina Dell’Agnello [cello]Craig Marchitelli [archlute & theorbo]Fabio Bonizzoni [harpsichord]

HANDEL: Duetti da CameraRoberta Invernizzi, Marina De LisoLa Risonanza / Fabio Bonizzoni

Sono liete, fortunate (HWV 194)Troppo cruda, troppo fiera (HWV 198)Beato in ver chi può (HWV 181)Tanti strali al sen mi scocchi (HWV 197)Langue, geme, sospira (HWV 188)Conservate, raddoppiate (HWV 185)Se tu non lasci amore (HWV 193)A mirarvi io son intento (HWV 178)No, di voi non vuo’ fidarmi (HWV 190)Fronda leggiera e mobile (HWV 186)

George Frideric Handel’s 'Duetti da camera' from La Risonanza represent a welcome extension of the ensemble’saward-winning series of Handel solo cantatas on Glossa, and come with the luxurious vocal pairing of Roberta Invernizziand Marina De Liso.These chamber duets, scored for soprano and alto, were written across a period spanning four decades: first, afterHandel’s move to Hanover in 1710, following his remarkable Italian compositional apprenticeship which yielded quantitiesof cantatas, motets and instrumental chamber works; next in the 1720s, when he was writing Italian operas and music forthe Court in London; and lastly when he was composing English oratorios in the 1740s. Such vocal duos had becomepart of an established tradition, especially in Italy, during the late 17th century.Soprano Roberta Invernizzi who has applied Italian grace and charm to many Glossa recordings (most recently 'La bellapiù bella') is ideally matched by Marina De Liso, whose rich mezzo tones have made her another firm audience favouriteacross Baroque and Classical repertories. Fabio Bonizzoni provides luxurious continuo support on the harpsichord withthe assistance of cellist Caterina Dell’Agnello and theorbo player Craig Marchitelli.


Label: GlossaFile Under: Classical/ChambermusicCatalogue No: GCD923102Barcode: 8424562231023NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackLa Ritirata:Hiro Kurosaki, Miren Zeberio [violins]Daniel Lorenzo [viola]Josetxu Obregón [cello]

ARRIAGA: Complete String Quartetson period instrumentsLa Ritirata

Quartet No. 2 in A major, Quartet No. 1 in D minorQuartet No. 3 in E flat major, Tema variado en cuarteto Op. 17

It is no real surprise that Josetxu Obregón’s La Ritirata has recorded the string quartets of Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga tofollow up its earlier Early Baroque programme of 'Il Spiritillo Brando', also on Glossa. Cellist Obregón’s principal teacheris Anner Bylsma and the two musicians share a deep fascination with the music of an earlier Classical composer in LuigiBoccherini.In this new recording the Bilbao-born Obregón is joined by violinists Hiro Kurosaki and Miren Zeberio, and viola DanielLorenzo: the underlying spirit of La Ritirata being of an intensive consideration of musical (and other) sources beforeattempting fresh interpretations of scores. They have also included the 'Tema variado en cuarteto' Op 17 – in order to getcloser to the sound world of the Spanish composer, who left his native Basque Country at the age of 15 to study andcompose in Paris in 1821. Five short years of life remained to him before an untimely death ended a hugely promisingcareer.Original scores, a violin treatise by Arriaga’s teacher in Paris and the use of period instruments for the first time on arecording of the Arriaga works, all form the backbone of the critical apparatus for La Ritirata’s new and vital approach tothese portentous works. Arriaga's significance in music is currently being shorn of its romantic legend and replaced byan assessment which is still intriguing but greatly more realistic.

ALSO AVAILABLE:GCD923101 Falconieri Il Spiritillo Brando, Dance Music /La Ritirata, Josetzu Obregon“Its unearthing and bringing together into a highly intelligent programme has been a major work of scholarship initself…This is a CD full of wonderful music-making and with charming discoveries to be made round every corner.” EarlyMusic Review, August 2013


Label: AuditeFile Under: Classical/ChambermusicCatalogue No: AUDITE92659Barcode: 4022143926593NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 SACDPackaging: cristalMandelring QuartetGunter Teuffel COVER ARTISTS OF THE STRAD, APRILISSUE

MENDELSSOHN: Complete Chamber Music for Strings, Vol. 4String Quintet No. 1 Op. 18*, String Quintet No. 2 Op. 87*, Four pieces for String Quartet Op. 81Mandelring QuartetGunter Teuffel [viola]*

This album brings to a close Audite’s complete recordings of Mendelssohn’s Chamber Music for Strings with theMandelring Quartett. Sitting alongside the better-known, substantial body of eight works for string quartet and the OctetOp. 20, Mendelssohn’s quintets for two violins, two violas and cello are often overlooked. This recording proves that thisis mostly to do with the genre, and less so with the works themselves, both of which are significant compositions.The Quintet in A major Op. 18 was written in 1826, during Mendelssohn’s period of apprenticeship in Berlin, whichprovided the atmosphere and venue, not only for Lea Mendelssohn’s famous salon, but also for musical performances.Mendelssohn was mostly guided by Mozart for his first quintet; in the charm of his melodic ideas, in the transparentsonorities of an ensemble with double violas, and in the contrapuntally concentrated network of themes and motifs.It would take nearly two decades for Mendelssohn to return to the string quintet genre. The Quintet in B flat major reflectshis symphonic experience. The first violin opens the piece, soaring with orchestral might over the trembling lower voicesinto a jubilant first theme – this atmosphere is maintained in the outer movements and, in the inner movements,contrasted with more intimate colours.The two single movements for string quartet from the posthumous collection of 'Four Pieces for String Quartet' Op. 81 –the Capriccio of 1843 and a youthful Fugue – complete this estimable recording series.

ALSO AVAILABLE:Complete Chamber Music for Strings vol. I audite92656 (SACD)"Of particular delight is their Minuetto … Throughout, the playing is technically immaculate and the whole disc is recordedwith absolute clarity. One looks forward to the promised continuation of this complete edition of Mendelssohn’s stringchamber music." THE STRAD RECOMMENDS – September 2012

Complete Chamber Music for Strings vol. II audite92657 (SACD)

Complete Chamber Music for Strings vol. III audite92658 (SACD)"The outstanding German group the Mandelring Quartet have the attributes Mendelssohn demands: great virtuosity,evenness of tone, precision, expressive intensity, and force combined with the light touch needed to capture thecomposer’s effortless sense of movement...The Mandelring/Cremona performance of the Octet’s presto finale isdazzling." David Carins, The Sunday Times - October 2013


Label: Praga DigitalsFile Under: Classical/OrchestralCatalogue No: DSD350086Barcode: 3149028028324NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 SACDPackaging: cristalAaron Copland [piano], New York PhilharmonicOrchestra/Leonard BernsteinUtah Symphony Orchestra/Maurice AbravanelLondon Symphony Orchestra/Antal DoratiWilliam Warfield [baritone], ColumbiaSymphony/Aaron Copland

COPLAND: Piano Concerto, El Salón MéxicoAppalachian Spring, Old American SongsMaurice AbravanelAntal DoratiWilliam WarfieldLeonard BernsteinAaron Copland

'Appalachian Spring' and 'El Salón Mexicó' are archetypical of what many people consider to be the sound of Americanmusic, evoking the vast landscapes, cowboys and pioneer spirit. Yet, in the 20th century perhaps only Stravinsky was asadept in as many styles as Aaron Copland [1900-1990]. His Piano Concerto, first performed by Serge Koussevitsky, is agood example of Copland the modernist but he also wrote chamber music, ballets, operas and film scores, as well asteaching, writing and latterly conducting. The winter of 1950 saw Copland take a break from writing his superlative'Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson' and, inspired by a Pears and Britten recital in late 1949, he took five of his favouriteAmerican songs and arranged them for voice with piano. Pears and Britten liked them so much that they gave thepremiere together at the Aldburgh Festival in 1950. The distinguished black singer William Warfield and the composergave the American premiere at Town Hall, New York in January 1951. They were so popular that Copland made asecond set for Warfield and himself, changing some of the words to avoid racist implications. Both sets are given here.

El Salón México RTV1 Salt Lake City 10 Feb 1959, Utah Symphony Orchestra/Maurice Abravanel

Appalachian Spring Watford Town Hall, 15-16 June 1961, London Symphony Orchestra/Antal Dorati

Old American Songs New York Manhattan Center, 10-12 January 1962, William Warfield [baritone], ColumbiaSymphony/Aaron Copland

Piano Concerto New York old Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center, 13 January 1964, Aaron Copland [piano], New YorkPhilharmonic Orchestra/Leonard Bernstein


Label: Praga DigitalsFile Under: Classical/OrchestralCatalogue No: DSD350100Barcode: 3149028029727NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 SACDPackaging: cristalVienna Philharmonic Orchestra Wilhelm Furtwängler [conductor]Elisabeth Schwarzkopf [soprano]Philharmonia OrchestraOtto Ackermann [conductor]

Richard STRAUSS: Don Juan Op. 20, Till Eulenspiegel Op. 28Four Last Songs, Tod und Verklärung Op. 24Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Wilhelm Furtwängler Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Philharmonia OrchestraOtto Ackermann

Wilhelm Furtwängler conducts three of Richard Strauss' symphonic poems in Vienna reproduced in the best possiblesound, and paired with the first recording in London of the 'Vier Letzte Lieder', under the supervision of Walter Legge [MrSchwarzkopf]. A homage to Richard Strauss for his 150th anniversary. One of the best recordings of ElisabethSchwarzkopf at her peak.

Don Juan, Musikvereinsaal Vienna, March 2-3 1954Tod und Verklärung Musikvereinsaal Vienna, 21, 23-24 March 1950Till Eulenspiegel Musikvereinsaal Vienna, March 19544 Last Songs, London, Waldorf Town Hall 25 Sept 1953


Label: Praga DigitalsFile Under: Classical/OrchestralCatalogue No: DSD350107Barcode: 3149028038026NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 SACDPackaging: cristalVienna Philharmonic OrchestraWilhelm Furtwängler

Richard WAGNER: Orchestral MusicVienna Philharmonic OrchestraWilhelm Furtwängler

Der fliegende Holländer -OvertureLohengrin -Prelude Act 1Tannhäuser -OvertureDie Meistersinger von Nürnberg -Overture, Dance of the ApprenticesDie Walküre -Ride of the WalkyriesDie Götterdämmerung -Siegfried's Rhine Journey, Siegfried's Funeral Music

Not until 1949 did Wilhelm Furtwängler invest in the Germanic interpretation tradition initiated by Wagner himself andcontinued by Hans von Bülow and Arthur Nikisch. His 'subjective' style of interpretation, deeply influenced by the theoriesof Jewish Viennese musicologist Heinrich Schenker was diametrically opposed to the more 'objective' Arturo Toscanini.Yet here we have the stunning lyricism contained in these grandiose pages that create the magic of the Wagnerian epic,illustrated by the incomparable Vienna Philharmonic in all its splendour.

dates tbc, etc


Label: Les Arts FlorissantsEditionsFile Under: Classical/SecularVocal musicCatalogue No: AF002Barcode: 3149028052824NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CD+ 2 BOOKSPackaging: digipackDaniela Skorka [soprano]Emilie Renard [mezzo-soprano] Benedetta Mazzucato [mezzo-soprano] Zachary Wilder [tenor]Victor Sicard [baritone]Cyril Costanzo [bass]Les Arts FlorissantsWilliam Christie [direction]

The Garden of Mr. RameauLe Jardin de Monsieur RameauLes Arts FlorissantsWilliam Christie

MONTÉCLAIR: Jephté - Ouverture - Rigaudon I, Riez sans cesse - Menuet I - Dans ces beaux lieux, Symphonie, De quels nouveaux concerts DAUVERGNE: Hercule Mourant - Quelle voix suspend mes alarmes? La Vénitienne - Prélude - Pour braver les périls,Ciel, ilme laisse, Livrons-nous au sommeilRAMEAU Hippolyte & Aricie: Quels doux concerts, Ah! loin de rire (Canon), Réveillez-vous, dormeur sans fin (Canon)RAMEAU Les Fêtes d’Hébé: Première Entrée: La Poésie, Air puis Choeur: Revenez, tendre amant, Je vous revois, Sans cesse les oiseaux font retentir, Ariette vive: Fuis, porte ailleurs tes fureursRAMEAU Dardanus: Hâtons-nous, courons à la gloire (IV, 4), Voici les tristes lieux, Monstre affreux (IV, 4-5), Mais un nouvel éclat (V, 3), Des biens que Vénus nous dispenseRAMEAU Les Indes galantes: Troisième Entrée: Les Fleurs, Quatuor: Tendre AmourGRANDVAL: Cantate Rien du tout GLUCK: L’Ivrogne corrigé - Trio Maudit ivrogne, Quatuor Il est mort, L’Ivrogne corrigé - Terzetto Rendez mon époux à la vie (II, 5), L’Ivrogne corrigé - Quatuor Que de plaisirs l’Amour nous donneCAMPRA: L’Europe galante – La France Gayment, Quoi! Pour l’objet de votre ardeur, L’Amour, en comblant nos désirs,Paisibles lieux, Marche Rondeau, Que vois-je, quel spectacle! Aimez, belle Bergère, Que je sache du moins, Voyez à vos genoux, Lorsque Doris me parut belle, Que n’adressez-vous mieux, Quel funeste coup

In this new album, William Christie invites us to a wander in the vocal art of the 18th Century, at the time of Rameau andhis contemporaries. These musical treasures, as with the famous gardens ‘à la française’, are closely linked to thesetimes of splendour. The soloists come from the Jardin des Voix, the Arts Florissants’ Academy for young singers in whichthe most promising talents of the upcoming generation had the priviledge to work with the ensemble, before starting aworldwide tour of the most prestigious venues. This recording crowns their work.A deluxe illustrated boxed set with two booklets including an unreleased short-story commissioned by Les ArtsFlorissants written by Adrien Goetz, the French writer, journalist and Art historian.


Label: Signum ClassicsFile Under: Classical/ChoralCatalogue No: SIGCD375Barcode: 635212037522NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: cristalVOCES8Les Inventions

A Purcell CollectionVOCES8Les Inventions

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem, To the Hills and the Vales, By Beauteous Softness Mix’d with Majesty,O God, Thou Art my God, How Happy the Lover, ‘Cold Song’ (What Power Art Thou...),Behold, O Mightiest of Gods, My Heart is Inditing of a Good Matter, Bid the Virtues, Hail! Bright Cecilia,Strike the Viol, Second Dirge Anthem (Morley) / Thou Knowest Lord, Fairest Isle, Full Fathom Five

The young, virtuoso a cappella ensemble VOCES8 return to disc on Signum with a sumptuous collection of early worksby Henry Purcell, one of England’s greatest composers. Joined by the specialist early music ensemble ‘Les Inventions’,the group explores Purcell’s astoundingly diverse output. There is hardly a genre in which he did not express himself:anthems, odes, funeral music, semi--operas, masques, sonatas, consort--music, songs and catches populate hisextraordinarily multifaceted œuvre. It is this astonishing diversity that Signum and VOCES8 celebrate.


Label: Signum ClassicsFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: SIGCD377Barcode: 635212037720MID PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: cristalOrchestra of the Age of EnlightenmentKati Debretzeni director / violin

VIVALDI: Four SeasonsOrchestra of the Age of EnlightenmentKati Debretzeni [director, violin]

With its vivid poetry and technical ingenuity, Vivaldi’s 'Four Seasons' was ground-breaking at the time of its compositionand to this day remains as influential and transfixing as ever. In this recording, violinist Kati Debretzeni directs theOrchestra of the Age of Enlightenment based on the energetic, historically-informed performances given last Februarywhen, with renowned choreographer Henri Oguike, the OAE fused authentic performance with contemporarychoreography.The booklet includes a ‘Guided tour of the Four Seasons’, allowing listeners to follow the poetry that inspired Vivaldi asthey hear the performances on the disc, including additional composer’s notes from Vivaldi’s own scores.Born in Transylvania, Kati Debretzeni studied with Ora Shiran and Baroque violin with Catherine Mackintosh and WalterReiter at the Royal College of Music in London. Since the year 2000 she has led the English Baroque Soloists under SirJohn Eliot Gardiner, and since 2008 is one of the leaders of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, which she hasdirected and lead in the UK, Europe and the US. Kati features as soloist on two versions of Bach’s Brandenburgconcertos, with the European Brandenburg Ensemble under Trevor Pinnock (Gramophone Award, 2008), and again withthe English Baroque Soloists. She has directed from the violin various ensembles in Israel, Poland, Norway, Iceland andthe UK, and teaches the Baroque and Classical violin at the Royal Conservatory of Music in The Hague.

Video clips on the OAE's website [and vimeo] of 'V4 Seasoned': http://www.oae.co.uk/event/four-seasons/.


Label: Signum ClassicsFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: SIGCD376Barcode: 6352120376212 FOR 1 PriceFormat: 2 CDPackaging: cristalTamsin Waley-Cohen [violin]Huw Watkins [piano]

1917: Works for Violin and PianoTamsin Waley-Cohen Huw Watkins

CD1: DEBUSSY: Violin Sonata in G minor, L.140, RESPIGHI: Violin Sonata in B minor, P.110

CD2: SIBELIUS: Five Pieces for Violin & Piano, Op.81, ELGAR: Violin Sonata in E minor, Op.82

Rising-star violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen is joined by the eminent pianist-composer Huw Watkins in a diverseprogramme of works that were all influenced in different ways by the era in which they were composed. The works wereconcieved at four very different points in the composer’s lives: Debussy, at the end of his life; Respighi in the first flush offame; Elgar, although not old, enjoying his last creative period; and Sibelius in his prime, composing prolifically.These four contrasting works were all composed as the Great War drew to a close, but none of them specificallyattempts to conjure up images of the conflict, nor act as any kind of programmatic memorial to its victims. Rather, theseworks are all conceived as absolute music, albeit, in the case of the Elgar and Debussy sonatas, imbued with amelancholy regret that may have been a reflection of those tragic four years.


Label: DelphianFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: DCD34142Barcode: 801918341427NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: cristalBenjamin Nicholas [the new Dobson organ ofMerton College, Oxford]

The Merton OrganBenjamin Nicholas

BACH / DUPRE: Sinfonia from Cantata No. 29 (‘Wir danken dir, Gott’)BACH / DURUFLE: Ertödt uns durch dein’ Güte from Cantata No. 22 (‘Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe’)FRANCK: Pièce héroïque, SYANLEY: Voluntary in A minor, Op. 6 No. 2 MESSIAEN: Prière après la Communion, BACH: Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV565MENDELSSOHN: Andante with Variations in D, LANGLAIS: Dialogue sur les mixtures DUPRE: Cortège et Litanie, VIERNE: Clair de lune, Carillon de Westminster

In a golden age of organ-building, Merton College’s new Dobson instrument stands out as exceptional. It is only the thirdAmerican-built organ sent to the UK since the Second World War, a bold commissioning choice which BenjaminNicholas, Reed Rubin Organist and Director of Music in Merton’s recently established choral foundation, and hiscolleagues made after considering three factors. The College required an instrument that could sympatheticallyaccompany its daily choral services – with sufficient flexibility to accommodate the works of many eras – and thathonoured the Chapel’s ancient architecture. The instrument also had to be equipped to perform a large part of the solorepertoire, and it is the success of this third aim that Benjamin Nicholas sought to demonstrate when putting together theprogramme for the instrument’s first outing on disc. From the pre-pedalboard sophistication of native Stanley, to themesmerising hues of Messiaen – and encompassing snapshots from the instrument’svast literature in between – no inquisitive listener will feel short-changed by the gluttony oftextures and colours on display here. In his debut appearance on disc as a soloist, Benjamin Nicholas combines flair and intelligence as he presents thestunning instrument he helped mastermind.


Label: DelphianFile Under: Classical/ChoralCatalogue No: DCD34136Barcode: 801918341366NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: cristalThe Choir of King’s College LondonDavid Trendell

DESENCLOS: Messe de Requiem, Salve Regina, MotetsPOULENC: Litanies à la vierge noire de Rocamadour, VILLETTE: MotetsThe Choir of King’s College LondonDavid Trendell

Alfred DESENCLOS: Messe de Requiem Pierre VILLETTE: O sacrum convivium, Hymne à la Vierge, Attende DomineDESENCLOS: Salve regina, Nos autem Francis POULENC: Litanies à la Vierge noire

Winner of the coveted Prix de Rome, Alfred Desenclos remains an almost unknown figure in 20th-century music. Hiscontribution to the distinguished French tradition of Requiem Mass settings dates from 1963; incorporating influencesfrom Gregorian chant as well as rich harmonies based on added-note chords, this piece with its passionate outpouringsis a revelation. It forms the centrestone of David Trendell’s programme, which also features music by Villette – whoshared Desenclos’ interest in jazz – and Poulenc, whose return to Catholicism in 1936 initiated a line of pieces, beginningwith the 'Litanies à la Vierge noire de Rocamadour', that represent some of the most significant religious choral music ofthe 20th century.Trendell’s choir is on ravishing form, and the organ at his alma mater, Exeter College, Oxford, partners this music like avelvet glove.

"David Trendell’s fine choir glows with warmth and commitment" The Observer, May 2012

"Credit to David Trendell for eliciting sustained intensity of expression … youthful timbre imparts a freshness to theinterpretation" BBC Music Magazine, August 2013


Label: Convivium RecordsFile Under: Classical/ChoralCatalogue No: CR016Barcode: 700153370028MID PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: cristalGeorgina Stalbow [soprano]Johnny Herford [baritone]Convivium SingersNeil Ferris [conductor]

Quintet: Helen Davies, Rosie Tompsett [violins]Amy Stanford [viola], Leonie Adams [cello]Alice Kent [double bass]

FAURE: Requiem Op. 48, Cantique de Jean Racine Op. 11Ave Verum Corpus, Tantum Ergo Op.55,SAINT-SAËNS: Ave Verum Corpus, DE SEVERAC: Tantum ErgoConvivium Singers

This new arrangement of Fauré's Requiem, for string quintet and organ by Michael Higgins, was firstperformed on Remembrance Sunday in 2007 in the intimate setting of the choir stalls at St. John’s Church, Wimbledon.By using a small number of singers, similar to the 20 or so in Fauré’s choir at the Madeleine, added to the chambermusic quality of the strings, unique colours and textures are created which breathe new life into an otherwise familiar butcontinually evolving work.Fauré’s 'Ave verum corpus' is written in a style that recalls his Requiem – simple and emotional. The text, attributed toPope Innocent VI, is a prayer for the Feast of Corpus Christi and in just five lines coversthe Incarnation, the Passion, the Eucharist and the Last Judgement. The 'Cantique de Jean Racine' is an early work,winning first prize from l’Ecole de Musique Classique et Religieuse of Paris where he was a student of CamilleSaint-Saëns. Scored originally with harmonium and string quartet accompaniment, recorded here in a new arrangementfor string quintet, one can hear rhythmic triplets contrasting with the steady declamation of Racine’s text.

Convivium Singers is an award winning, critically acclaimed choral ensemble, providing opportunities for young singers atthe early stages of performing careers, as well as for talented musicians who have chosennot to pursue careers in music. The ensemble specialises in performing and recording sacred and secular music by livingBritish composers. They were described as "an extraordinarily good choir to listen to" by BBC Radio 3’s ‘CD Review’,with reference to the recently released [Naxos] disc of music by Jonathan Dove.Convivium Singers have also delved into early music, and their CD of motets by Peter Philips (ConviviumRecords) received a five-star review in Choir & Organ.Johnny Herford won the 2013 Kathleen Ferrier Song Prize and of the Jean Meikle Duo Prize at the 2013 Wigmore HallInternational Song Competition.


Label: ELOQUENTIAFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: EL1446Barcode: 3760107400468NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackLuigi Piovano [cello, conductor]Strings of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia

SCHUBERT: Sonata D821 'Arpeggione'String Quartet D810 'Death & the Maiden' [trans Mahler]Accademia di Santa CeciliaLuigi Piovano

Recently appointed chief conductor of the string orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Luigi Piovano has puttogether a dramatic programme for their CD debut on Eloquentia. He has arranged Schubert's 'Arpeggione' Sonata forpiccolo cello solo 5-string, to get as close as possible to the original instrument and to allow execution in the originaloctaves. The addition of orchestra gives a new dimension to the work and seems a natural progression. The stringquartet 'Death & the Maiden' is given here in Mahler's overwhelming orchestral version of 1896.

ALSO AVAILABLE: EL1233 Mahler Kindertotenlieder / Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen wt Sara Mingardo"...both beautiful and uncomfortable. It's also absolutely riveting. Originally scored for medium voice and orchestra, theKindertotenlieder appear on this disc in their incarnation for chamber orchestra...,this tautly expressive interpretationpushes the sense of grief and loss to an almost palpable level. Add Sara Mingardo to the mix, and it's pretty muchunimprovable ... In fact, as programmes go, this is one of the most expertly compiled and emotively performed you'll findaround. If perhaps not the cheeriest."Charlotte Gardner 23/3/2012- BBC Review

EL1024 Saint-Saens Cello Works “Luigi Piovano’s outgoing performances of the two Saint-Saëns concertos perfectly illustrate the spontaneity thathappens in live concerts” David Denton, The Strad, August 2011

EL1021 Bach Cello Suites"I rate his account of the suites very highly as he exudes a feeling of being totally at ease with the music." The Strad,September 2010


Label: StradivariusFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: STR33975Barcode: 8011570339751NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackAlberto Rasi [viola da gamba] Patrizia Marisaldi [harpsichord]Claudia Pasetto [viola da gamba]

CPE BACH: Gamba SonatasTrio in sol minore Wq 88/H 510Sonata à Viola da Gamba Solo e Basso in Do Wq 136/H 558Solo, a Viola di Gamba è Basso in Re Wq 137/H 559Alberto Rasi

The last decade of the 18th century was the last of the viola da gamba: this is confirmed in the registers of musicalchapels around mid century which clearly show the progressive reduction, to the point of disappearance, of viola dagamba players, while the number of cellists grew. Nonetheless, the viola da gamba could count on very fertile ground likethat of Frederick II’s court at Potsdam, already identified at the time as the 'School of Berlin'. By the 1780s this groupproduced a viola corpus of about 50 works attributable to seven composers. Among these was the violist LudwigChristian Hesse, who joined Potsdam in 1741, together with Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and whose father, HernstChristian, a famous virtuoso, had learnt French viola playing directly from Marin Marais and Antoine Forqueray during astay in Paris from 1698 to 1701. The stylistic metamorphosis of the viola da gamba would find its most complete anddefinitive realisation in the berlin setting.These sonatas are in three movements, in the order slow-fast-fast, based on the Italian model; very different in stylefrom the French pièces produced until the middle of the century. Above all, it is music which was born in a restrictedprofessional context and not conceived, like the French music, for the vast number of amateurs (none of these worksappears in contemporaneous printed form). Moreover, the chronological, environmental and cultural consistency of the'Berlin School', which in Frederick II had its strong figure of reference, enabled this viola centre to maintain a constantand exclusive uniformity of style.


Label: ApartéFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: AP080Barcode: 3149028042221NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackOphélie Gaillard [cello]Pulcinella Orchestra

CPE BACH ProjectSonata 'Sanguineus et Melancholicus', Sinfonia in B minCello Concertos WQ 172 & 170Ophélie Gaillard

A portrait, on the tercentenary of the composer's birth, of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788), probably the mostgifted of the sons of Johann Sebastian Bach. Highly admired in his own century by Haydn, Gluck and Mozart, he standsout today as a brilliant and highly original composer. For CPE Bach, music had to be an expression of personal feelingsand to achieve his aim, he revolutionised the established principles of form, harmony and rhythm. The Trio Sonata'Sanguineus und Melancholicus' is a rarity in the composer's output in that it is a quasi-programmatic work. It presents aconversation between one sanguine (first violin) and the other melancholic (second violin). The same duality is foundthroughout the recordings presented here, from the well-known Sinfonia No. 5 to the two brilliant cello concertos. Underthe bow of cellist Ophélie Gaillard, at the head of the Pulcinella Orchestra, these pieces come as a revelation!

ALSO AVAILABLE:AP001 Dreams"This is much more rewarding than traditional crossover fare and left me wanting to hear Gaillard’s seductive tones inmore traditional cello repertoire." TheArtsDesk.com, 21 August 2010

AP017 J S Bach Cello Suites “Gaillard always retains the underlying pulse while projecting an elegant and well-shaped view of the invention, withcareful voicing of different melodic strands that highlights the counterpoint…an artist who truly goes beyond the notes.”The Strad, August 2011

AP045 Bach Arias Sandrine Piau, Pulcinella/Ophélie Gailard

AP053 Brahms Cello Sonatas wt Louis Schwizgebel-Wang“some exceptional ensemble playing… Ophélie Gaillard voices the melodic lines perceptively… there’s a marvellous airyelegance… brilliantly surmounted in the high-voltage finale delivered here with great fervour.” The Strad – August 2013

“Ophelie Gaillard has always displayed an extraordinary palette of colours and these come alive more than ever on thisrecording...One of her strengths lies in her unobtrusive but deliberate phrasing, which, makes sense of the music withoutlabouring it. She demonstrated the power of this approach with great skill in her elegant second recording of the BachCello Suites but now exhibits it in Brahms’s sonatas.” Caroline Gill, Gramophone- November 2013


Label: ApartéFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: AP062Barcode: 3149028040425NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackVanessa Wagner [piano]

RAVEL: Piano WorksPavane pour une infante défunte, Valses nobles et sentimentalesGaspard de la nuit, Ma Mère l'OyeVanessa Wagner

'Pavane pour une infante défunte', an early work, takes us into the world of dance that perfumes the musical world ofRavel. 'Gaspard de la nuit' in the French Romantic tradition, is a triptych inspired by three of Aloysius Bertrand'sprose-ballads: Ondine, the water nymph; Le Gibet (Gallows), paints a gruesome picture of 'a bell tolling from the walls ofa city, beneath the skyline, and the body of a hanged man, reddened by the setting sun'; Scarbo, depicts the night-timemischief of a mocking dwarf. We return to the dance with the bold 'Valses nobles et sentimentales', a series of waltzeswritten in 1911. Finally, 'Ma Mère l'Oye' (Mother Goose), shows Ravel's affection for his childhood days.Vanessa Wagner brings out the modernity of these scores, their sudden movements of violence, their moments ofineffable sweetness. She plays with rigour, intensity and a velvet touch.

ALSO AVAILABLE:Aparte AP008 Schubert Piano SonatasAmbroisie AM134 Variations Actes Sud ASM09 Dubois - Piano Concerto No. 2"Soloist Vanessa Wagner plays an 1874 Érard - the lighter, clearer sound perfectly foiled by Les Siècles; the concerto’smanic, chattering close sounding so, so French. Delicious." theartsdesk.comActes Sud ASM08 Dusapin-Etudes Pour Piano Nos. 1-7


Label: Pan ClassicsFile Under: Classical/OrchestralCatalogue No: PC10309Barcode: 7619990103092MID PriceFormat: 2 CDPackaging: digipackKarl-Andreas Kolly [piano]Sarastro QuartettWiener Jeunesse Orchester • Herbert Böck(CD1)Musikkollegium Winterthur • Werner AndreasAlbert (CD2)

Franz SCHMIDT: Works for piano left hand & orchestra written for Paul WittgensteinKarl-Andreas Kolly Sarastro Quartett

Concerto in E flat (1934), Chaconne in C minor, for orchestra (1931)Concertante Variationen on a theme by Beethoven, Quintet in D major

Franz Schmidt was one of the most influential personalities in Viennese musical life during the first three decades of the20th century. A cellist and pianist who was much sought after as a chamber music partner, he played with the ViennaPhilharmonic (under Gustav Mahler, amongst others), was the solo cellist of the Vienna State Opera and a member ofthe same string quartet with Arnold Schoenberg. He later became a professor at the Vienna Music Academy, for hissecond instrument, the piano, and then rector of that institution. After the deaths of Berg and Schreker and the departure of Schoenberg and Zemlinsky, he was considered the mostimportant composer in the Vienna of the 1930s; his style can be classified as a late-romantic succession to Bruckner.Schmidt wrote next to nothing for solo piano, for he "internally heard only grand symphonic music". Today, we canindeed consider ourselves fortunate that Schmidt met the pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who had lost his right arm in the FirstWorld War and commissioned the most important composers of his time to write piano works for him for the left hand.Schmidt's two great works for one-handed piano and orchestra – the Piano Concerto and the Beethoven Variations – areon this double CD alongside the Quintet for Piano and Strings composed for Wittgenstein. The programme is completedby the great orchestral Chaconne in C-sharp minor.


Label: Pan ClassicsFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: PC10310Barcode: 7619990103108NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackGunar Letzbor [violin]Ars Antiqua Austria:Erich Traxler (harpsichord, organ positive)Jan Krigovsky (violone) Hubert Hoffmann (lute)

ex Vienna: Anonymus Habsburg Violin Music from Manuscript XIV 726 of the Minorite Monastery inViennaGunar LetzborArs Antiqua Austria

Toccata (no. 94) in A minor Sonata (no. 87) Sonata (no. 74) in F major Musicalisch Urwerck (no. 68) in A minor Sonata (no. 4) in D major Sonata (no. 77) in A major Sonata (no. 73) in A minor Das Post-Horn (no. 69) in B major

Manuscript XIV 726 of the Minoritenkonvent in Vienna is one of the most important sources of Austrian baroque music.From the over hundred sonatas contained in it, Gunar Letzbor has compiled the series "ex Vienna" consisting of threeprogrammes which shed light on various aspects of Austrian violin music. In the first part of the series, 'Anonymus',Gunar Letzbor has recorded violin works from this Viennese manuscript, in which the names of the composers are notspecified. The selected pieces reveal a broad expressive spectrum, also containing echoes of baroque dance music.What all the works share is their high technical standard: high registers, unusual bowing, polyphonic passages,onomatopoeia and runs to be played at breakneck speed bearing witness to a high standard of violin playing north of theAlps: whoever wrote these works must have been an outstanding violinist.Gunar Letzbor is the established specialist in performing Austrian baroque music; in particular, he has intensivelygrappled with works of Biber, Muffat and Schmelzer, to name but three examples. In so doing, he is constantly searchingfor an especially Austrian baroque string sound. On this recording, Letzbor is accompanied by Erich Traxler (harpsichord,organ positive), Jan Krigovsky (violone) and Hubert Hoffmann (lute) of Ars Antiqua Austria


Label: MirareFile Under: Classical/OrchestralCatalogue No: MIR244Barcode: 3760127222446NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackTai Murray [violin]Orchestre Poitou-Charentes Jean-François Heisser [conductor, piano]

American JourneyBERNSTEIN: Serenade, BARBER: Adagio for stringsHERRMANN: Psycho Suite, GERSHWIN: Three PreludesIVES: The Unanswered QuestionTai Murray Jean-François Heisser

Whilst still influenced by the traditions of Western Europe, 20th century American music was also a testing ground fornew techniques. From the neo-classicism of Bernstein's 'Serenade' to the outstanding professionalism of BernardHerrmann's film scores, via the vitality of Gershwin and the innovations of Charles Ives, to the poetic lyricism of Barber's'Adagio', this CD presents five very different facets of a journey into the New World.

ALSO AVAILABLE:HMU907569 Ysaÿe 6 Sonatas for violin solo “the perfection of Murray’s intonation has tipped so far over into another league of accuracy that it adds an extradimension of enjoyment to an already superlative disc.”Gramophone Editor's Choice, May 2012

“It is without doubt that Murray’s style of playing is more mature than that of many seasoned players; and, with a debutrecord this outstanding, it can safely be assumed that she will exceed many expectations – she’s certainly exceededmine.” Muso, February/March 2012


Label: MirareFile Under: Classical/ChambermusicCatalogue No: MIR241Barcode: 3760127222415NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackTrio Les Esprits:Adam Laloum [piano]Victor Julien-Laferrière [cello]Mi-Sa Yang [violin]

BEETHOVEN: Trio in Emin Op. 70 No. 2SCHUMANN: Trio No. 3 in G min Op. 110Trio Les Esprits

Every composer of piano trios has tried to achieve the perilously difficult task of balancing three dissimilar voices:Beethoven, at the height of his mastery, produced a refined, delicate work; Schumann, in the autumn of his life, seeksnew paths to express his tormented universe. With this debut CD, the youthful Trio Les Esprits, with Adam Laloum on piano, presents a poetic manifesto.


Label: Paraty ProductionsFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: PTY411116Barcode: 3760213650047NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackLouis Thiry [organ]Patrick Bismuth [violin, viola, viola da spalla]

Francisco Correa de ARAUXO: TientosLibro de tientos y discusrsos de musica practica theorica de organo intituladoFacultad organica Alcala de Henares 1626Louis Thiry Patrick Bismuth

Francisco Correa de Arauxo, who deserves to be better known, was probably of Portuguese origin but became one ofthe greatest Spanish organists of the famous Golden Age [el siglo de oro] of the 17th century. In the musical transition between Renaissance and Baroque, Tientos were the most commonly employed genre ofSpanish musicians of the time and these were written particularly for the Iberian organ which has a unique keyboard,divided at middle C in two equal registers.


Label: Paraty ProductionsFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: PTY409212Barcode: 3576074092120NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackEmmanuelle Guigues [viola da gambe]Bruno Procopio [harpsichord, direction] Sylvia Abramowicz [viol]Rémi Cassaigne [theorbo, baroque guitar]

COUPERIN: Portrait d'IrisSuites pour viole de gambe et pièces de clavecinEmmanuelle Guigues Bruno Procopio

Pièces de violes avec la basse chifrée par Mr F.C.: 1st & 2nd suitesLes Goûts-Réunis ou Nouveaux Concerts: 14th Concert & last in this oeuvrePieces de clavecin: La Manon, La Garnier, Les Ondes, Les Graces Incomparables ou La Conti, L'himen-amour,L'Amazône, Les Bagatélles, Les Baricades mystérieuses, Le Tic-Toc-Choc ou Les Maillotins

Following an album dedicated to J.S. Bach, Emmanuelle Guiges and Bruno Procopio have dedicated their latest albumto François Couperin, 'the great', for the Paraty label. The 'Pièces de violes avec la basse chifrée par Mr FC ' published in 1728 and cited by the Mercure de France in August1729, had long been considered lost . It was only in the 1930s that Charles Bouvet discovered them by chance, thanks toresearch in the archives of the National Library. One may wonder about the reasons that convinced François Couperinnot sign this collection with his name in full, as he did for his other compositions. The mystery remains but it is the timbreof the instrument that transcends.


Label: Paraty ProductionsFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: PTY113215Barcode: 3760213650122NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackDuo Mélisande:Sébastian LlinaresNicolas Lestoquoy [guitars]

J.S. BACH: The Goldberg VariationsDuo Mélisande

Like many others during his time, Bach practiced adaptation and transcription of his own music as well as that by hiscontemporaries. He did not hesitate to have his own work undergo a metamorphosis proper to breathe new life. The'Goldberg Variations' in particular, have led to many transcriptions for many instruments or combinations of instruments.However, from the picked strings of the harpsichord to the guitar, the distance in this case is fairly minor. Inexhaustiblemasterpieces reworked ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpPRQu7O68I


Label: Accent RecordsFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: ACC24287Barcode: 4015023242876NORMAL PricePackaging: digipackPierre Pitzl [guitar]

Rome • Paris • Madrid European Baroque Guitar Music Pierre Pitzl

ROMEMichelangelo BARTOLOTTI Secondo libro di chitarra, c 1655: Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Brando, Sarabande,Gigue, PassacaglieGiovanni Battista GRANATA Soavi concenti di sonate, 1659: Allemanda, Balletto, Passacaglia, Sarabanda, Allemanda,Passacaglia

PARISFrancisque CORBETT La guitarre royalle, 1670: Prelude, Allemande, Courante, ChaconeRobert de VISEE Livre de pièces pour la guittarre, 1686: Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue, Bourée

MADRIDGaspar SANZ Instrucción de musica, 1674/97: Preludio o Capricho arpeado por la X, Passacagles por la X Francisco GUERAU Poema harmonico, 1694: Canario, Passacaglia de 7.° tono, Passacaglia de 8.° tono, Marionas

After the guitar had just recently been more or less "invented" in Spain (for this reason it was called guitarra espanola orchitarra spagnuola), it did not take long for it to start its trium-phal march through all of Europe in the mid-17th century.The guitarist Pierre Pitzl presents this development on his first solo CD for Accent in exemplary fashion, using theexamples of three musical centres and composers active there: Granata and Bartolotti in Rome, De Visée and Corbettain Paris as well as Sanz and Gerau in Madrid. The image resulting from this is a highly variegated one: only a strummedinstrument in the beginning, the guitar soon devel-oped a highly differentiated technique consisting of both strummingand plucking. In this way, a new style of composition and sound was created hand in hand with a previously un-heard-of,bold treatment of dissonances.The attraction of this CD is found precisely in this variety and high technical standard. Pierre Pitzl satisfies thesedemands with impressive bravura, for he is a master - more so than hardly any of his peers - of the "mixed style" with itssubtle alternation between strumming and plucking.


Label: Accent RecordsFile Under: Classical/SecularVocal musicCatalogue No: ACC24290Barcode: 4015023242906NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackL’Angelo: Cornelia Samuelis [soprano]L’Anima: Chiyuki Okamura [soprano]Il Mondo, La Coscienza: Franz Vizthum[countertenor]La Carne, Il Musico: Christian Dietz [tenor]Il Demonio: Yorck Felix Speer [bass]

Francesco RATIS: Dialoghi con l’AngeloDramatic cantatas & popular songsNuovo AspettoMichael Dücker

The famous 'Passacalli della Vita' aria, a genuine hit on the Early music scene, has been rumoured not to be an originalcomposition from the 17th century at all, but the work of a present-day musician. Lutenist Michael Dücker has attemptedto get to the bottom of this story, and obtained a copy of the printed edition ostensibly containing the song. As thingsturned out, not only was the sought-for aria original, but there were many other musical treasures hidden in this bundle ofapproximately 200 pages. In this printed edition of 1657, of which only a few copies survive today, Francesco Ratis, organist of the Oratorium Orderat Chiavenna, compiled numerous popular and folkloristic canzonette and provided them with spiritual texts. The aim ofthis music was to convert the listeners with catchy melodies to dialect texts, thereby encouraging them to be pious. Themost exciting and interesting item in the bundle is a type of miniature oratorio hidden at the end of the collection. Itconsists of four dialogues featuring angels, demons and musicians who, in each case, confront personified figures suchas the soul, the world, the conscience and the body. Ratis primarily transformed the dialogues in a songlike fashion.Through richly-coloured instrumentation (e.g. psalterium, harp, trombone and baroque guitar) the Ensemble NuovoAspetto brings out the various characters in a particularly vivid manner. Several instrumental works of this period havealso been included as a supplement.


Label: NAÏVEFile Under: Classical/SecularVocal musicCatalogue No: V5371Barcode: 822186053713MID PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackCarole Bouquet [the narrator]Gérard Depardieu [the devil]Guillaumepardieu [the soldier]Pascal Moraguès [clarinet]Sergio Azzolini [bassoon]Marc Bauer [cornet]Daniel Breszynski [trombone]Vincent Pasquier [double bass]Michel Cerutti [percussion]Shlomo Mintz [violin & conductor]

STRAVINSKY: Histoire du SoldatA Soldier's TaleCarole Bouquet Gérard Depardieu Guillaume Depardieu Sergio AzzoliniShlomo Mintz

Recorded in 1997, this jewel of Naïve Classique catalogue has been unavailable for several years. As the work isperformed at Paris Opéra Comique in April 2014, Naïve is happy to reissue that title featuring prestigious actors andmusicians.

'Histoire du Soldat' (The Soldier’s Tale) came about in a difficult economic context: Diaghilev’s Ballets were no longertouring, due to the war, and the Russian revolution had deprived Stravinsky of his remaining savings. As for Ramuz,some of whose works had been published in France, he was no longer receiving any royalties. Thus, the two friendswondered “Why not write something together which would entail only a limited number of instruments and two or threecharacters?”And so Histoire du soldat come into being. Its musical forces were limited: an ensemble of seven instrumentsrepresenting all the sections of the orchestra plus a highly developed percussion part. The first performance broughttogether friends and well-known artists, Ernest Ansermet conducted. Initially, their grand project included touring with aportable stage, like the itinerant players of the Middle Ages, but the devastating Spanish influenza epidemic and thearmistice of November 1918 put an end to that idea.Nonetheless, 'Histoire du soldat' would later be performed regularly, featuring famous names eg Jean Cocteau in the roleof the reader (Geneva, 1934), celebrity couple Carole Bouquet and Gérard Depardieu in 1997...


Label: StradivariusFile Under: Classical/OrchestralCatalogue No: STR33875Barcode: 8011570338754NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackGianluca Littera [harmonica]Orchestra StesichorosFrancesco Di Mauro [conductor]

Concert for harmonica & orchestraGianluca Littera

Graham WHETTAM: Concerto scherzoso for harmonica and small orchestraGabriel FAURE: Pavane (arr. Gianluca Littera)Alan HOVHANESS: Seven Greek Folk Dances Op. 150, for harmonica and string orchestra (based on Greek folk tunes)Astor PIAZZOLLA: OblivionVilém TAUSKY: Concertino for Harmonica and Orchestra

“When Stradivarius proposed that I myself present the discographic project that they had finished recording I immediatelyaccepted with great enthusiasm. I must say that this task for me is easy in some ways, since a CD for harmonica andorchestra has the advantage of being something extremely rare. In addition, the repertory here proposed enables me toillustrate the possibilities of the instrument in sound, in a broad and varied way. In fact, this recording includes threeoriginal compositions written for Harmonica and Orchestra and two transcriptions that I myself have arranged. Thesetranscriptions, although they were not originally for the Harmonica, further contribute to emphasising the timbriccharacteristics of this instrument. When one listens to 'Oblivion' by Piazzolla one can clearly hear the timbric similarity tothe bandoneón, the instrument that Piazzolla composed and performed on. In fact the two instruments belong to thesame family, that of the free reeds..." Gianluca Littera, in the liner notes


Label: StradivariusFile Under: Classical/OrchestralCatalogue No: STR33936Barcode: 8011570339362NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: cristalMaria Grazia Bellocchio [piano]

Ivan FEDELE: Two MoonsSuite Francese, Etudes boréales, Two Moons, Due Notturni con figuraMaria Grazia Bellocchio

The Royal Academy of Music paid tribute to charismatic Italian composer Ivan Fedele in a mini-festival only thisFebruary. Director of the Venice Biennale, Fedele, b.1953, is a well-known and influential figure across Europe, howeverhis music has rarely crossed the channel until now, with the first ever UK festival dedicated to his music: a 3-daycelebration that included UK premieres of works large and small, masterclasses and an interview with the man himself.One of his greatest admirers is Pierre Boulez and it is in France that Ivan Fedele consolidated his reputation as acomposer [hence 'Suite francese'] whose opus amounts to nearly 100 titles and includes composition of every type:orchestral pieces, works for the theatre, electro-acoustic and chamber music. This survey of Fedele's piano music is wellworth exploring: for all those in need of sun-drenched spectralism!


Label: Winter&WinterFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: 910212-2Barcode: 025091021222NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackTeodoro Anzellotti [accordion]

Hungarian DiaryLIGETI: Musica Ricercata, KURTAG: Játékok [selection]LISZT: Bagatelle sans tonalité, Nuages Gris, ResignazioneTeodoro Anzellotti

György Kurtág heard Teodoro Anzellotti play and was sufficiently inspired to adapt his 'Játékok' [a work in progress since1973] for accordion. From this the idea was born of creating an album with the title 'Hungarian Diary'. Kurtág's 'Games',originally inspired by the spontaneity of playing children, is joined by Ligeti's 'Musica ricercata', composed by Ligeti inBudepest 1951-3, before he left communist Hungary to live in the Western world, is a highly radical oeuvre, anexperiment of minimalistic sound-and rhythm structures. Finally 'Hungarian Diary' is completed with the inclusion of worksby Franz Liszt: in Hungarian 'Liszt Ferencz'. Liszt composed these compositions during the last ten years of his life andhis pioneering innovations in the resolution of tonality in his late works created the impetus for Teodoro Anzellotti torecord these pieces together. Teodoro Anzellotti is one of the most important accordion players in the contemporary music scene. His musicality,virtuosity, and almost unlimited pleasure in discovery of new sounds, have inspired composers like Luciano Berio, HeinzHolliger, Mauricio Kagel, Matthias Pintscher, Wolfgang Rihm, Salvatore Sciarrino, Dieter Schnebel and Jörg Widmann tocreate new works for the accordion.

ALSO AVAILABLE:910170-2 Bach: The Goldberg Variations Gramophone Critics’ Choice

"So here’s this masterpiece transcribed for, err, accordion. Does it work? It does – there’s a wheezy intimacy about theinstrument which suits this piece well, and everything sounds so very human, so very alive. The aforementioned slowvariation 25 is heavenly – Teodoro Anzellotti’s restraint and control are breathtaking, and the flourish opening Variation16 Overture is dazzling. The accordion’s colours occasionally prompt more outré associations, with SpongebobSquarepants and Parisian holidays coming to mind more than once. But no matter – this is a supremely entertaining disc,played with virtuosity and good humour. Plus I’m a sucker for Winter and Winter’s deluxe presentation". Graham Rickson,TheArtsDesk.com, 21 August 2010


Label: AuditeFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: AUDITE92660Barcode: 4022143926609NORMAL PriceFormat: 1 SACDPackaging: digipackHansjörg Fink [trombone]Elmar Lehnen [organ]

Requiem for trombone and organHansjörg FinkElmar Lehnen

• Introitus: Requiem aeternam• Kyrie• Sequenz: Dies irae, Dies illa• Offertorium: Domine, Jesu Christe• Sanctus / Benedictus• Agnus Dei• Lux aeterna• Libera me• In Paradisum

The form of the requiem is an ideal breeding ground for musical adventures, as music history has shown. It knows allfacets of sorrow and death: gentle death, mourned death, unrelenting death, transfigured death. This recording addsanother piece to the mosaic. Here, the age-old tradition of the requiem mass and the vibrant joie de vivre of jazzelements meet combining liturgy, pirituality and sensuality. Hansjörg Fink and Elmar Lehnen add their own, liberal figures to the existing foundations. They prove to be successfulborder-crossers [!]. Hansjörg Fink performs as ensemble player and soloist in the most diverse music styles and feels equally at home in bigbands, theatre and musical productions, pop bands and the great jazz festivals as he does in symphony orchestras,chamber ensembles and solo projects. He is first trombone of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, touring regularly. As afreelance musician he frequently appears in concerts and on CD, radio and television recordings with renownedEuropean big bands, including the WDR Big Band and the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Following studies in Aachen and Paris, where he graduated with distinction, Elmar Lehnen was organist and choirmasterin Mönchengladbach for ten years. He was appointed to succeed Wolfgang Seifen as organist of the papal basilica of St.Marien in Kevelaer in 2000. In addition, Elmar Lehnen devotes himself to a busy international concert schedule.


Label: GlossaFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: GCDC80008Barcode: 8424562800083MID PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackLuciano Contini [archlute]

Giovanni ZAMBONI: Sonate d'intavolatura di leuti, Lucca 1718 Sonatas 1-4, 6, 7, 9Luciano Contini

Luciano Contini provides ample evidence of the lute tradition which continued far into the Baroque period with hisrecording of the Sonate d’intavolatura di leuto by Giovanni Zamboni, which now makes a welcome return to thecatalogue as part of Glossa’s Cabinet treasure trove. Even well into the 20th century, the Italian tradition was thought tohave ceased around 1650, yet Zamboni’s collection was printed in 1718, and his music calls to mind – for Dinko Fabris inhis booklet note – the influence of Corelli and Weiss as much as it does that of Piccinini. Contini – who is an ensembleplayer with many leading groups – is here a virtuoso soloist on the archlute, an admirable advocate for a style of playingand for a neglected composer.


Label: GlossaFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: GCDC80009Barcode: 8424562800090MID PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackMarcello Gatti [transverse flute]Giovanni Togni [fortepiano]Giovanna Barbati [cello]

Johann Christoph Friedrich BACH: Sonatas for traverso andfortepianoMarcello GattiGiovanni TogniGiovanna Barbati

Another reason to take a look into the Glossa Cabinet series comes with the reappearance of Marcello Gatti’s delightfulinterpretation of transverse flute Sonatas by Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (son number 9 of JS), who worked in thecourtly surroundings of Bückeburg in central Germany in the last part of the 18th century. These sonatas were composedaround the time of JCF’s visit to see his brother Johann Christian in London in 1778 and combine the Italian galante stylewith the sensitivity of the Empfindsamer Stil. Elegantly performed by Gatti and Giovanni Togni, fortepiano, with cellistGiovanna Barbati joining for a Trio in D major (from the middle of the 1780s), the recording was captured in sound bySigrid Lee and Roberto Meo.


Label: GlossaFile Under: Classical/InstrumentalCatalogue No: GCDC80010Barcode: 8424562800106MID PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackL'AmorosoGuido Balestracci [viola da gamba, direction]

Seconde Stravaganze: Venetian & Neapolitan music for violconsortL'AmorosoGuido Balestracci

Guido Balestracci’s passion for extending the repertoire of the viol consort, especially with Italian music, took flight withthis 1999 recording of Seconde Stravaganze (made originally for Symphonia) and now available on Glossa Cabinet.Happy to push boundaries in an “extravagant” but well thought-through way Balestracci – with his ensemble L’Amorosoof gambas, harp, keyboard instruments and percussion – conjured up an entertainment of Venetian and Neapolitanmusic for viol consort. Whether these 16th and 17th century pieces (Gesualdo, Trabaci, Del Buono, Montalbano,Legrenzi, Storace et al) were originally scored for voices, organ, harpsichord or viols, Balestracci and his musicianscreate transformations which remain true to the first composers’ intentions, and which sound as fresh today as when theywere first recorded.


Label: GlossaFile Under: Classical/OrchestralCatalogue No: GCDC81118Barcode: 8424562811188MID PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackOrchestra of the 18th centuryFrans Brüggen

BEETHOVEN: Symphonies 5 & 6Orchestra of the 18th centuryFrans Brüggen

It was but a few years after founding the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century in 1981 that Frans Brüggen first turned hisattention to the music of Beethoven’s Nine Symphonies and endeavoured to perceive that special orchestral landscape,in order to transform it into musical sound, with the use of period instruments rediscovering historical tonal colours. Theindefatigable Dutch conductor returned to immerse himself anew in this glorious music with a complete cycle made in theautumn of 2011 and released by Glossa in the following year. From this new survey, the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies arenow appearing on Glossa Cabinet, and continue to demonstrate the rapport he shares with his orchestra for one ofclassical music’s greatest challenges of realising the intimate and the familiar in these symphonies, a challenge achievedhere on record by way of concert performances (Brüggen has long distanced himself from studio recordings).


Label: GlossaFile Under: Classical/ChoralCatalogue No: GCDC81201Barcode: 8424562812017MID PriceFormat: 2 CDPackaging: digipackEmanuela Galli [Susanna]Barbara Zanichelli [Daniele]Roberto Balconi [Testo]Luca Dordolo [Secondo Giudice]Matteo Bellotto [Primo Giudice]Ensemble AuroraEnrico Gatti

STRADELLA: La SusannaOratorio per musica (1681)Emanuela Galli Barbara ZanichelliRoberto Balconi Luca Dordolo Matteo Bellotto Ensemble AuroraEnrico Gatti

A few years after the assassination of Stradella, Pierre Bourdelot and Pierre Bonnet-Bourdelot included a story of theepisode in their Histoire de la Musique in 1715, and consequently the ‘legend of Stradella’ was born. According to thelegend, Stradella had disappeared with the lover of a Venetian noble, who in response hired a band of assassins topursue the lovers from city to city. In the booklet of this CD – with its recording from Enrico Gatti, his Ensemble Auroraand Emanuela Galli in the title role – are contained the latest results of Carolyn Gianturco’s investigation into the life andworks of Stradella, including some completely new information. 'La Susanna', an erotic oratorio, was written by Stradellain 1681 on commission from Francesco II, Duke of Modena, who was very fond of the genre. A fine summary of theoratorio’s noteworthy qualities was put forth in a letter by a gentleman who had been present at rehearsals of its firstperformance. He wrote that he was ‘estatic about the sinfonias, about the variety of the arias, about the exquisiteness ofthe recitative and about the diversity and unexpectedness of the subjects and about the rarity of the basso continuo’.


Label: GlossaFile Under: Classical/ChoralCatalogue No: GCDC81405Barcode: 8424562814059MID PriceFormat: 1 CDPackaging: digipackChoir & Orchestra of the RenaissanceRichard CheethamMichael Noone

Sebastian de VIVANCO: Missa in manus tuasChoir & Orchestra of the RenaissanceRichard CheethamMichael Noone

Sebastián de Vivanco stands, without doubt, as one of the most neglected composers of the Spanish Golden Age.Ironically, the greatest contribution to this neglect is the accident of his having been born in Ávila at about the same timeas that other colossus of Spanish music from Ávila, Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611). Blinded, perhaps, by thestunning brilliance of Victoria, scholars and performers alike have been slow to discern an equally bright star sparkling inthe same constellation. This important recording from The Orchestra of the Renaissance, directed by Richard Cheethamand Michael Noone, first released by Glossa in 2002 and now happily incorporated into the Glossa Cabinet collection,captures the music of Vivanco – and, in particular his 'Missa In manus tuas', in all its splendour.


Label: WalhallFile Under: Classical/Opera &VocalCatalogue No: WLCD0379Barcode: 4035122653793BUDGET PriceFormat: 2 CDPackaging: cristal

Wolfgang von WALTERSHAUSEN: Oberst ChabertColonel ChabertMusic tragedy in 3 acts after the novel La Comtesse à deux maris by Honoré deBalzac

Otto Wiener [Graf Chabert]Julius Patzak [Graf Ferraud]Gertraud Hopf [Rosine]Franz Fuchs [Derville]Franz Bierbach [Godeschal]Kurt Equiluz [BoucardNiederösterreichisches TonkünstlerorchesterF. Charles Adler [conductor]14/3/1956

Hermann Wolfgang Sartorius Freiherr von Waltershausen (Göttingen, 12 October 1882 - Munich, 14 June 1954) Germancomposer, conductor, teacher and writer. Dating from 1912, this version of a Balzac story, set in Paris in 1817, is one of the earliest attempts to fuse verismo withpost-Wagnerian German opera and is notable for its harmonic adventurousness (Opera Grove). It is the only one ofWaltershausen’s five stage works to do so. By the time it was revived in March of 1933, shortly before the Hitler regimestripped the composer of his post as director of the Music Academy of Munich, it had received over 100 performancesacross Europe before vanishing into the same post-war avant-garde inspired void as did most of the music of hiscontemporaries. The music should delight anyone interested in conservative, post-Wagnerian German opera.

FIRST RELEASE ON ANY FORMAT



VERDI: Macbeth

Hans Braun [Macbeth]Walter Kreppel [Banquo]Christel Goltz [Lady Macbeth]Anton Dermota [Macduff]Erich Majkut [Malcolm]Vienna Radio Choir & OrchestraArgeo Quadri [conductor] Vienna 1960, sung in German, in good sound. First release on any format.

Argeo Quadri (1911–2004) was an Italian conductor best known for his work with Italian and French opera. From 1957he was largely resident at the Vienna State Opera



Giovanni Battista BONONCINI: Polifemo

Herbert Alsen [Polifem]Jetty Topitz-Feiler [Galathea]Anton Dermota [Acis]Alfred Poell [Glaukus]Fritzi Margaritella [Silia]Emmy Funk [Circe]Maria Kytka [Venus]Grosses Orchester der RAVAG / Max SchönherrVienna 1944

First release, sung in German

“In 1702, following the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession, Bononcini moved to the court of Queen SophiaCharlotte in Berlin, where he became the queen's favourite composer and broadened his public reputation with aproduction of a new opera, 'Polifemo'.From 1720 to 1732 he was in London, where for a time his popularity rivaled George Frideric Handel's, who had arrivedin London in 1712. The tories favored Handel, while the whigs favored Bononcini. Their competition inspired the epigramby John Byrom that made the phrase ‘Tweedledum and Tweedledee’ famous. Handel steadily gained the ascendancy,and Bononcini became a pensioner of the Duchess of Marlborough, who had led his admirers. Bononcini left Londonafter charges of plagiarism were proven against him: he had palmed off a madrigal by Antonio Lotti as his own work.”

"Anton Dermota was one of the most musical tenors singing at his time. In Vienna, the highly-esteemed tenor was aleading representative of the lyric category. He was an outstanding figure in Austria’s musical life. It is a delight to hearhis smooth line, his gleaming tone and his ‘slavic-elegiac’ vocalism. His smooth, honeyed mezza voce was marvellous.He had an imaginative way with Italian and French music. Today, he is best remembered as a Mozartiantenor…whatever he sang was superbly chiselled and presented as precious musical gems!” Andrea Shum-Binder,subito-cantabile

april classical wp

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