New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 29th December 2017
Today's new releases include another fantastic early tribute to next year's Debussy centenary from one of our greatest pianists, an imaginative recording debut from an award-winning young cellist, and a rare opportunity to catch a certain keyboard virtuoso showing his mettle as a collaborative pianist. There's also a gorgeous collection of balletic duets on DVD and blu-ray from Opus Arte, showcasing great Royal Ballet couples such as Tamara Rojo & Carlos Acosta and Natalia Osipova & Matthew Golding.
The British pianist's commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Debussy's death includes Images, Estampes, L'isle joyeuse, Children's Corner and La plus que lente; The Guardian described his recent live performances of the latter works at the Royal Festival Hall as 'deftly affectionate' and 'gorgeously languid'.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Brahms & Schumann – Chamber Music with Piano
Yevgeny Sudbin (piano), Hrachya Avanesyan (violin), Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Diemut Poppen (viola), Alexander Chaushian (cello)
Chamber music hasn't figured prominently in this brilliant Russian pianist's discography to date (nor, come to that, have either of the composers featured on this album), but he proves to be a galvanising and sympathetic team-player here, always aware of when to step into the limelight and when to recede or support.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
J S Bach: Violin Concertos
Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin), Serge Zimmermann (violin), Berliner Barock Solisten
Zimmermann (recently acclaimed for his accounts of the Bach violin and keyboard sonatas with Enrico Pace) directs the Berlin baroque soloists from the violin, with his son Serge joining him not for the famous 'Bach double' but for an arrangement of the concerto for oboe and violin BWV1060.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4
Estelí Gomez (soprano), John Taylor Ward (baritone), Thomas Dausgaard
Dausgaard (who takes over as Seattle's Music Director in September 2019) harnesses all the infectious energy of his compatriot's two best-known symphonies in these electric performances from the orchestra's home-ground, Benaroya Hall – the Seattle Times described the Espansiva as a 'series of musical thunderbolts'.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The BBC Young Musician winner makes her recording debut with music by Prokofiev, Shaporin and Miaskovsky, all inspired by Mstislav Rostropovich - and all composed in the immediate aftermath of a government decree which imposed heightened restrictions on Soviet artists and denounced Shostakovich, among others, as a Formalist.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Spányi continues his exploration of CPE Bach's compositions for 'Kenner und Liebhaber' ('Connaisseurs and Amateurs'), before bringing the 34th instalment of this epic series to a close with what is very possibly the final keyboard work written by the composer – the F major Sonata Wq 65/19.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Northern Irish lyric soprano Nelson makes an attractive case for the songs of the German late Romantic composer Georg Schumann (1866-1952), hugely popular during his lifetime but only infrequently performed today - almost everything on this collection is a world premiere recording.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
16 show-stopping 'steps for two', including excerpts from Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Giselle, and La fille mal gardée, as well as more recent ballets such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter's Tale. The roster of choreographers includes Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon, whilst Tamara Rojo, Carlos Acosta, Alina Cojocaru, Natalia Osipova, Matthew Golding and Steven McRae are among the featured artists.
Available Format: DVD Video
16 show-stopping 'steps for two', including excerpts from Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Giselle, and La fille mal gardée, as well as more recent ballets such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter's Tale. The roster of choreographers includes Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon, whilst Tamara Rojo, Carlos Acosta, Alina Cojocaru, Natalia Osipova, Matthew Golding and Steven McRae are among the featured artists.
Available Format: Blu-ray
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
