New Release Round-up,
Ones that got away - Autumn/Winter 2018
As it's a relatively quiet time of year for new releases, this week we've decided to round up a few of our bestselling titles from the past three months which haven't perhaps received the attention they deserve in the form of a newsletter, including Parry rarities from Rumon Gamba and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, historically-aware Schubert from the superb Chiaroscuro Quartet, and Terpsichorean Scarlatti from the young French harpsichordist Jean Rondeau.
Following their much-praised accounts of Haydn’s ‘Sun’ Quartets, the Chiaroscuros (formed in 2005 and led by Alina Ibragimova) offer Classically-informed readings of two Schubert quartets preoccupied with light and shade: the youthful Quartet No. 9 in G and ‘Death and the Maiden’, recently described in The Strad as ‘performances of brisk, fierce beauty’.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
This commemoration of the centenary of Parry’s death comprises three world premiere recordings: the original version of the Fourth Symphony from 1889 (‘no aficionado should miss the opportunity to get to know this likeable symphony in its initial guise’ - Gramophone), the short ballet Proserpine from 1912, and three movements from the Suite moderne, composed in 1886 and revised six years later.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Ravel & Duparc: Aimer et mourir
Magdalena Kožená (mezzo), Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Robin Ticciati
One of Katherine's October Editor's Choices, this second instalment in Ticciati's series of French repertoire with his new orchestra includes Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales and Second Daphnis et Chloé Suite as well as five of Duparc's best-loved songs from Magdalena Kožená. Read our interview with her about the recording here.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Berlioz: Grande Messe des Morts
Bror Magnus Tødenes (tenor), Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Choirs, Edward Gardner
Few works benefit from surround-sound quite as much as Berlioz’s colossal Requiem, which runs the gamut from fanfares to wake the dead to moments of hushed intimacy. This studio SACD recording was made in Norway last May; reviewing the live performance which opened the Bergen International Festival a few days later, BachTrack’s Aksel Tollåli observed that ‘it was the immersive, quiet sections conjured up by Gardner that made the performance special’.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Dvořák: Piano Trios Nos. 3 & 4
Christian Tetzlaff (violin), Tanja Tetzlaff (cello) & Lars Vogt (piano)
A Radio 3 Record Review Disc of the Week in October and a Gramophone Editor's Choice this month, this Dvořák album from the Tetzlaff siblings and their regular collaborator Lars Vogt is a worthy successor to their joint Brahms project a couple of years ago; indeed, the Third Piano Trio has been described as an homage to the latter composer.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Begun in 2015 and completed at the beginning of this year, van Zweden’s Hong Kong Ring Cycle was a daring undertaking for a symphony orchestra almost entirely unacquainted with Wagner - but it’s proved to be a triumph, with their playing receiving acclaim for its ‘transparency and depth’ (Opera Magazine), ‘warmth, robustness and precision’ (The Times) and ‘lustre and refinement’ (The Guardian). Read the conductor’s thoughts on the project here.
Available Formats: 14 CDs, MP3, FLAC
A real contrast to Federico Colli’s big-boned Scarlatti recital on a Steinway at the beginning of the year, the young French harpsichordist’s third album on Erato explores twenty of the sonatas which Scarlatti composed during his time at the royal court of Madrid, and was recently described by Gramophone as indispensable listening for ‘anyone in love with Scarlatti or with the sound of the harpsichord’.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The Cambridge college’s advent service is broadcast on Radio 3 nearly every year, and like its higher-profile Christmas counterpart from King’s includes a mixture of traditional carols and commissions; this compendium of highlights from the past four years includes new music by John Joubert, Francis Jackson and Judith Bingham as well as repertoire staples by Gibbons, Palestrina and Britten.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Suzuki and his Japanese choir present a selection of carols (including In dulci jubilo, Away in a Manger, It came upon the midnight clear and O come, o come, Emmanuel) in new a cappella arrangements by his son Masato, interspersed with Louis-Claude Daquin’s ‘noëls variés’ – keyboard variations on Christmas songs performed on chamber organ by the conductor.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Puccini: Madama Butterfly (DVD)
Ermonela Jaho (Cio-Cio San), Marcelo Puente (Pinkerton), Scott Hendricks (Sharpless), Elizabeth DeShong (Suzuki); Royal Opera House, Antonio Pappano, Moshe Leiser/Patrice Caurier
The Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho is widely recognised as one of today’s greatest Butterflies, and her 2017 performance at Covent Garden prompted The Guardian to declare that ‘[her] combination of vulnerability and torrential emotion just tears you in two’. You can read Katherine’s 2016 interview with her (in which she explores the parallels between Butterfly and Leoncavallo’s Zazà) here.
Available Format: DVD Video
Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Blu-ray)
Ermonela Jaho (Cio-Cio San), Marcelo Puente (Pinkerton), Scott Hendricks (Sharpless), Elizabeth DeShong (Suzuki); Royal Opera House, Antonio Pappano, Moshe Leiser/Patrice Caurier
Audio format: LPCM: 2D
Picture format: 16:9
Available Format: Blu-ray
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
