Pianist Rafał Blechacz plays Bach, and Andreas Ottensamer explores the clarinet's early repertoire. Gabriel Crouch and Gallicantus delve into the music surrounding Queen Mary's 'phantom pregnancy' of 1554-5, while fellow choir Stile Antico explore the music of Giaches de Wert. On DVD and Blu-ray Nina Stemme stars in a performance of Turandot from La Scala conducted by Riccardo Chailly, which begins a complete Puccini opera cycle.
Johann Sebastian Bach - Rafał Blechacz
Rafał Blechacz (piano)
Rafał Blechacz, winner of the 2005 International Chopin Piano Competition, has been immersed in Bach since his childhood and has cultivated a strikingly natural eloquence in his mature interpretations of the composer’s keyboard works. Rafal’s interpretation flows not least from his formative experience as an organist.
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Handel: Sonya Yoncheva
Sonya Yoncheva (soprano), Academia Montis Regalis, Alessandro de Marchi
Sonya Yoncheva devotes her second solo album to the music of Handel, showing another facet of her wide-ranging repertoire. Being an alumna of William Christie’s Le Jardin des Voix, the Baroque era formed her musical understanding at an early stage of her career, laying the foundation for her versatile & broad-reaching repertoire.
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Andreas Ottensamer: New Era
Andreas Ottensamer (clarinet), Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Kammerakademie Potsdam, Albrecht Mayer
Andreas Ottensamer presents a dazzling selection of the clarinet’s early repertoire, with works by J. and C.P. Stamitz, Mozart and Danzi, together with the Kammerakademie Potsdam. It also features duets with Albrecht Mayer and Emmanuel Pahud - two of Ottensamer’s friends and colleagues at the Berliner Philharmoniker.
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Queen Mary's Big Belly
Gallicantus, Gabriel Crouch
Gallicantus perform music surrounding the fascinating yet tragic story of Queen Mary Tudor’s ‘phantom pregnancy’. The music performed here resonates with the circumstances of the mid-1550s, including items composed outside of Mary’s reign; from the royal ceremonies in which Mary participated as queen, and music directly tied to the specific events of 1554-5. This includes a newly-reconstructed Litany which was performed during Mary’s assumed pregnancy.
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Richard Strauss: Tone Poems, Vol. 5
SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, François-Xavier Roth
This is the fifth and final instalment of the Strauss Complete Tone Poems Cycle performed by the Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg under their chief conductor François-Xavier Roth, featuring Metamorphosen and Symphonia Domestica.
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 16 bit)
