New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 6th September 2019
Today’s new releases include Brahms’s Deutsches Requiem from Daniel Harding and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Handel’s Joseph and his Brethren from Nicholas McGegan and Philharmonia Baroque, French and Spanish repertoire from Imogen Cooper, and world premieres of orchestral works by Russian composer Alexander Veprik, a contemporary of Shostakovich.
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem
Christiane Karg (soprano), Matthias Goerne (baritone), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding
Three years on from their account of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Paul Lewis (one of our Recordings of the Week in April 2016), Harding and his Swedish forces tackle the Requiem, recorded in Stockholm last October; his soloists, too, have both won considerable acclaim for their interpretations of the composer's music.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
McGegan’s previous Handel recordings with Philharmonia Baroque have been praised for their ‘convivial panache’ (Early Music Today), ‘sprightly playing’ (International Record Review) and ‘incisive intelligence’ (BBC Music Magazine); the cast here includes Diana Moore as Joseph, Nicholas Phan as his sons Simeon and Judah, and Philip Cutlip as the Pharoah.
Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
For her first recording on a baroque cello, Bertrand plays a Carlo Tononi instrument from the beginning of the eighteenth century, which she describes as ‘bringing about a convergence, a simultaneity between Bach’s writing and its materialisation in sound…which I had never experienced before’.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Cooper traces connections between Spanish and French styles in a recital which includes Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte and Alborada del gracioso, Falla’s Homenaje a Debussy, excerpts from Albéniz’s Iberia and Recuerdos de Viaje, Mompou’s Cancion y danza No. 6, and Debussy’s L'isle Joyeuse, La soirée dans Grenade and La Puerta del Vino.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
World premiere recordings of five orchestral works by the Russian composer (1889-1958), who was deported to the Gulag in 1950 after falling victim to Stalin’s anti-Semitic policies: Dances and Songs of the Ghetto (1927), Five Little Pieces for Orchestra (1930), Two Symphonic Songs (1932/35), Pastorale (1946), and Two Poems (1956).
Available Format: SACD
The spirit of dance infuses this third instalment of piano music from the Swiss composer and teacher (1865-1950), who devoted much of his career to developing Eurhythmics; several of the works here testify to his interest in jazz and ragtime, as well as to the influence of Debussy, Fauré and Chabrier.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
A collection of transcriptions and original works for flute and guitars, including Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, Paulo Bellinati’s Baião de Gude, Poulenc’s Trois Mouvements Perpétuels, Piazzolla’s Histoire Du Tango, and music by Fauré, Ibert, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, and Donizetti.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The innovative Scottish chamber ensemble are joined by clarinettist Maximiliano Martín for newly-commissioned works by Paul Harrison, Tim Garland, Martin Kershaw and Mike Kearney, plus Robert McFall’s own arrangements of four quirky shorter works by the composer and bandleader Raymond Scott, including Portofino and Tobacco Auctioneer.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The third volume of The Sixteen’s survey of Purcell’s music for royal occasions includes Hear my prayer, Welcome to all the pleasures, and From hardy climes and dangerous toils of war (composed for the wedding of Prince George and Princess Anne in 1683); reviewing the album last month, The Sunday Times observed that ‘Christophers’s immaculate style and some fine solos shine out’.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Recorded at the Barbican in September 2017, Rattle’s first concert as the London Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director featured Helen Grime’s Fanfares, Thomas Adès’s Asyla, Harrison Birtwistle’s Violin Concerto, Oliver Knussen’s Symphony No. 3, and Elgar’s Enigma Variations; The Guardian described the concert as ‘a rigorous, uplifting kick-off for the LSO’s Rattle years’.
Available Format: DVD Video + Blu-ray
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