Coming Soon,
Debussy & Rameau from Víkingur Ólafsson and other forthcoming highlights
Spring highlights include a recital of Rameau and Debussy from Gramophone’s Artist of the Year Víkingur Ólafsson, a second helping of Korngold from John Wilson (this time with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra), Schubert, Berg and Liszt from prize-winning South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho, and a studio recording of Verdi’s Otello from Sir Antonio Pappano, starring Jonas Kaufmann, Federica Lombardi and Carlos Álvarez.
For his third album on Deutsche Grammophon, the award-winning Icelandic pianist pairs two composers who share what he describes as ‘a kind of freedom and discipline, juxtaposed’ – selections from Rameau’s Pièces de clavecin are interspersed with excerpts from Debussy’s Préludes and Children’s Corner. Look out for James’s interview with Víkingur about the project next month. Released 27th March.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Verdi: Otello
Jonas Kaufmann (Otello), Federica Lombardi (Desdemona), Carlos Álvarez (Iago), Orchestra e Coro dell'Academia Nationale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
Since his debut as the ‘Lion of Venice’ at Covent Garden in 2017, Kaufmann has returned to the role several times in Germany, and joined forces with Pappano (who conducted those first London performances) and his Roman orchestra last year for his first studio recording of the opera; the cast includes the young Italian soprano Federica Lombardi singing her first Desdemona and veteran Iago Carlos Àlvarez, who has previously recorded the role for Christian Thielemann and Riccardo Muti. Released 27th March.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Korngold: Violin Concerto
Andrew Haveron (violin), RTÉ Concert Orchestra, John Wilson, Sinfonia of London Chamber Ensemble
Following his much-praised recording of the Symphony in F sharp, Theme and Variations and Straussiana with Sinfonia of London last summer, Wilson and his Irish orchestra turn to one of Korngold’s most popular works, with violinist Andrew Haveron (who contributed an eloquent solo in the Méditation from Massenet's Thaïs on Wilson’s recent French album Escales) as soloist. Released 27th March.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The young South Korean pianist’s third solo recital disc takes its title from Schubert’s Fantasy D760, a work which The Straits Times deemed to be ‘a perfect match to Cho's piano style’ following a recent performance in Singapore; the programme also includes piano sonatas by Berg and Liszt. The album will also be issued on vinyl. Released 3rd April.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
For her second album on Pentatone, Weilerstein tackles the cellist’s Everest – she’s been performing the complete Suites in recital on a regular basis over the past couple of years, with the Los Angeles Times observing that ‘her command of the cello, of its sound and of Bach, was consummate’ in a review of a 2018 performance in Costa Mesa, and Classical Source describing her playing at St John’s Smith Square as ‘formidable in all departments’. Released 3rd April.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Haydn’s eponymous Symphony No. 49 is bookended here by Gérard Grisey’s Quatre Chants pour franchir le seuil (which he described as ‘a musical meditation on death’ and which turned out to be his final work) and Luigi Nono’s monody for solo soprano Djamila Boupachà, part of the song-cycle Canti di Vita e d’Amore - the piece was inspired by an Algerian militant of the same name who was sentenced for death in 1961 but freed the following year. Released 27th March.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The Argentinian countertenor has been a key figure in the revival of interest in the works of Leonardo Vinci ('one of the finest opera composers of his age' - Gramophone) over the past eight years or so, singing major roles on the world premiere recordings of Artaserse and Catone in Utica; this solo album features arias from Il Medo, L’Ernelinda, Il trionfo di Camilla, Gismondo, re di Polonia and Elpidia. Released 17th April.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Elgar: Sea Pictures & The Music Makers
Kathryn Rudge (mezzo), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko
Petrenko’s previous recordings of Elgar with the Liverpool Philharmonic have been praised for their ‘sumptuous but textured orchestral sound’ (BBC Music Magazine on Symphony No. 2) and ‘ideal mix of the grand and the intimate’ (The Sunday Times on the Enigma Variations); Liverpudlian mezzo Kathryn Rudge, who made an impressive appearance on the recent world premiere recording of Parry’s Judith, joins them for two of the composer’s finest works for voice and orchestra. Released 24th April.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Donizetti: Il Paria
Albina Shagimuratova (Neala), René Barbera (Idamore), Britten Sinfonia, Sir Mark Elder
Elder described Donizetti’s neglected 1829 opera about religious intolerance in ancient India as ‘an absolute masterpiece’ when discussing this project with Katherine last March, and in a review of the Barbican performance of the work (given shortly after this studio recording was made) Classical Source observed that Il Paria ‘is obviously a score that has been crying out for the Opera Rara treatment’. American tenor René Barbera is the titular outcast, a role written for the superstar high tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini. Released 15th May.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
