Coming Soon,
Bach Passions from Raphaël Pichon and John Eliot Gardiner
Upcoming highlights for early spring include the St. Matthew Passion from Pygmalion and Raphaël Pichon (with Julian Prégardien and Stéphane Degout), a third recording of the St. John Passion from Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir (with two rising stars as the Evangelist and Jesus), a Strauss collection from Andris Nelsons and his Boston and Leipzig orchestras, an autobiographical new recording from 97-year-old American pianist Ruth Slenczynska, and Weinberg's solo violin sonatas from Gidon Kremer.
JS Bach: Matthäus-Passion
Julian Prégardien (Evangelist), Stéphane Degout (Christus), Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
With soloists including Sabine Devieilhe, Lucile Richardot, Tim Mead, Reinoud Van Mechelen and Christian Immler, this Matthew Passion was recorded following a live performance at the Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence which was acclaimed by BachTrack for the 'exceptional quality' of Prégardien's story-telling, Degout's 'implacable resolution' as Christus, and the 'natural buoyancy' of the performance as a whole.
Released 11th March.
Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Bach: St. John Passion
Nick Pritchard (Evangelist), William Thomas (Jesus), English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, John Eliot Gardiner
Recorded live at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford on Good Friday 2021, Gardiner’s John Passion was praised by The Arts Desk for the ‘bright expressiveness’ of the Monteverdi Choir (singing from memory), and the ‘great pathos’ brought to the role of Jesus by young bass William Thomas; The Times observed that ‘the crowd choruses were thrillingly delivered’ and that ‘Gardiner shaped every word of the chorales for maximum emotional impact’.
Released 4th March.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Nelsons describes this project as 'a dream come true: some of my absolute favorite music...with my two beloved orchestras': highlights include Eine Alpensinfonie, Tod und Verklärung, Ein Heldenleben and the Symphonia Domestica from Boston, and Don Juan, Also sprach Zarathustra and Till Eulenspiegel from Leipzig, plus Don Quixote with Yo-Yo Ma and the Burleske with Yuja Wang. The two orchestras come together on the final disc for the Festliches Präludium, written in 1913 for the opening of the Wiener Konzerthaus.
Released 6th May.
Available Formats: 7 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Over six decades on from her first recordings for the label, the 97-year-old pianist returns to Decca with a programme celebrating some of her remarkable musical relationships: her teacher Rachmaninov is represented by Daisies and the Prelude Op. 32 No. 5, and her former classmate Samuel Barber by the Nocturne Op. 33 and ‘Let’s Sit It Out’. The album also features works by Debussy, Grieg, JS Bach and Chopin (including the Prelude Op. 28 No. 23 in F major, which she played at the funeral of her lifelong friend Vladimir Horowitz in 1989).
Released 18th March.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The Latvian violinist celebrates his 75th birthday with this recording of Weinberg's three solo sonatas, composed in 1964, 1967 and 1979 respectively. Kremer has championed Weinberg's music throughout his long career; his discography includes his own arrangements of the 24 Preludes (originally for solo cello) in 2019, the Violin Concerto with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Daniele Gatti (released last year), and a superb collection of orchestral and chamber works with Kremerata Baltica in 2014.
Released 18th February.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Ranging across eight centuries and taking in many different countries, Prohaska's programme was conceived in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and includes pieces by Guillaume de Machaut, Luigi Rossi, Barbara Strozzi, Henry Purcell, Christoph Graupner, Leonard Cohen and Lennon & McCartney.
Released 25th March.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Three years on from his debut album Love and Death, the British pianist continues his partnership with Warner with this album of Rachmaninov and Gershwin, featuring the former’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (with which Bartlett won BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2014) and the latter’s Rhapsody in Blue; the programme also includes arrangements of both composers’ solo piano works by Earl Wild.
Released 4th March.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Another former BBC Young Musician of the Year makes her first appearance on Chandos with a programme of 'Tales From Prague To Budapest', including cello sonatas by Janáček and Kodály, and shorter works by Dvořák, Viteszslava Kaprálová, and András Mihály. Van der Heijden's debut recording 1948 (featuring works by Prokofiev, Myaskovsky and Shaporin, and released on Champs Hill) won the Newcomer of the Year category at the BBC Music Magazine Awards in 2019, and was described by Gramophone as 'a thought-provoking disc from an impressive and intelligent young cellist'.
Released 18th February.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge & other songs
Nicky Spence (tenor), Julius Drake (piano), Timothy Ridout (viola), Piatti Quartet
Following their multi-award-winning recording of Janáček's Diary of One Who Disappeared in 2019, Spence and Drake team up for another programme of works by a composer who drew inspiration from folk-music. In addition to On Wenlock Edge, the album includes The House of Life, the Four Hymns from 1914 (in the version for tenor, viola and piano), and two numbers from the 15 Folk Songs from the Eastern Counties: 'The saucy bold robber' and 'Harry the Tailor'.
Released 1st April.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The Hungarian soprano and French countertenor have appeared opposite one another on numerous recordings (including a fine Gluck Orfeo and a concept-album exploring the same myth), but in this instance Jaroussky appears in his relatively new capacity as conductor. The all-Handel programme features snapshots of soprano heroes and heroines from operas including Deidamia, Alcina, Arianna in Creta, Amadigi di Gaulo, Alcina, Giulio Cesare, and Radamisto.
Released 18th February.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The American soprano's second solo album for Deutsche Grammophon focuses on three tragic heroines which have become central to her repertoire in recent seasons: Donizetti's Lucia (which she will sing in Munich, Naples and New York this spring), Gounod's Juliette, and Verdi's Violetta. Sierra's debut recording, There's a Place for Us, won the Newcomer Prize at the Opus Klassik Awards in 2019, and prompted Opera News to declare that 'there’s no question as to her technical and interpretive skills or her commitment to text and drama'.
Released 4th March.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
In addition to an audio recording of the Stabat Mater, this release includes a filmed version of the work, directed and written by Sebastian Pańczyk and also starring Polish actress Michalina Olszanska; you can watch a short trailer for the project here. (Please note the short running-time of this album: c. 19 minutes for each format).
Released 18th March.
Available Formats: CD + DVD Video, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
This third volume of ‘Renaissance Gems and their Reflections’ from the British vocal ensemble centres on settings of Marian texts by Tomás Luis de Victoria, with contemporary responses by Francisco Coll, Alexander Campkin, Mark Simpson, Cecilia McDowall, Will Todd and Julian Wachner. The first two instalments, Upheld by Stillness and Many are the Wonders, focused on Byrd and Tallis respectively, with the latter winning an Opus Klassik Award in 2018.
Released 25th March.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann (DVD)
Benjamin Bernheim (Hoffmann), Olga Peretyatko (soprano), Luca Pisaroni (bass-baritone); Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Kent Nagano
Released to mark the 200th anniversary of ETA Hoffmann's death, this production was filmed in Hamburg last autumn, with Olga Peretyatko taking on all four soprano roles and Luca Pisaroni sing the four villains; Bernheim was hailed as 'tenor perfection' by Süddeutsche Zeitung at the premiere, whilst Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung applauded the 'fairytale theatre magic' of Daniele Finzi Pasca's new production.
Released 25th February and also available on Blu-ray.
Available Format: DVD Video
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
