New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 20th August 2021
Today's new releases include Norwegian opera overtures from Oslo, Haydn's L'isola disabitata from the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Vivaldi's Four Seasons from thirteen-year-old violinist Christian Li (who becomes the youngest person to record the works professionally), and cantatas which Telemann composed for George II and III of England.
Haydn: L'isola disabitata
Anett Fritsch (Costanza), Sunhae Im (Silvia), Krystian Adam (Gernando), André Morsch (Enrico); Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Bernhard Forck
Written for the Esterházy Court and premiered in 1779, Haydn’s azione teatrale about a scorned woman marooned on a desert island was unusual for its time in deploying orchestral accompaniment throughout, rather than using secco recitative to move the action forward; this recording uses Thomas Busse’s 2007 edition of the score, which restores instrumental passages which Haydn cut out of concern that they may prove too demanding for performers and audience alike.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Masterminded by the Norwegian National Opera’s former conductor Terje Boye Hansen, this collection features the overtures from Waldemar Thrane’s Fjeldeventyret, Martin Andreas Udbye’s Fredkulla, Ole Olsen’s Lajla, Catharinus Elling’s Kosakkene, Sigwardt Aspestrand’s Der Recke von Lyrskovsheid, Hjalmar Borgstrøm’s Thora paa Rimol and Johannes Haarklou’s Væringene i Miklagard, and a dance from Arne Eggen’s Olav Liljekrans.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Following the digital-only release of Bazzini’s Ronde des Lutins last year, the thirteen-year-old Chinese-Australian violinist’s first full-length album sees him play-directing Vivaldi’s most popular work; it was Li’s performance of Summer at the 2018 Yehudi Menuhin Competition which led to him becoming the youngest prize-winner in the contest’s history. The Seasons are followed by the aforementioned Bazzini, the Méditation from Massenet’s Thaīs, Kreisler's Tambourin Chinois, and Li Zili’s Fisherman’s Harvest Song.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Premiered in Munich in 1837 with the composer conducting, Lachner’s Symphony No. 6 was immediately hailed as ‘a magnificent creation’ and ‘an outstanding masterpiece’ by two contemporary reviewers, and was subsequently praised for its ‘masterly order and clarity’ by Robert Schumann (who had been critical of Lachner’s previous work); it’s coupled here with the early Bassoon Concerto, possibly the composer’s first orchestral work.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
This programme from Cunningham and friends traces the evolution of the ‘fantastical style’ from its Italian roots to its later incarnations across Central Europe, featuring Carlo Farina’s Sonata Seconda detta la Desperata, Giovanni de Macque’s Prime Stravaganze, Giovanni Mealli’s La Castella Sonata, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer’s Sonatae unarum fidium, and music by Marco Uccellini, Ignazio Albertini, Francesco Corbetta, and Biber.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
This debut album from the A4s (formed at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2013 and featuring players from some of the UK’s top brass bands) includes world premiere recordings of Bramwell Tovey’s Street Songs, Daniel Hall’s The Black Dahlia and three of Christian Overhead’s Five Miniatures, plus new arrangements of works by Bartók, Bruckner, Bernstein, Elgar, Kentaro Sato, and José Serebrier.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Ridout and Dupree make their debut on Harmonia Mundi with the viola-player’s own arrangement of Schumann’s Dichterliebe and excerpts from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet (transcribed by Vadim Borisovsky). A former BBC New Generation Artist, Ridout’s early career successes include first prize at both the Cecil Aronowitz Competition (2014) and Lionel Tertis Competition (2016).
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
First Ladies features Elfrida Andrée’s Violin Sonata in B flat (which receives its world premiere recording here), Mel Bonis’s Violin Sonata in F sharp minor Op. 112 from 1922, and Ethel Smyth’s Violin Sonata in A minor Op. 7, written in 1887 and dedicated to Mendelssohn’s daughter Elizabeth Lili Wach.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Telemann: Cantatas for the Hanoverian Kings of England
Hanna Zumsande (soprano), Dominik Wörner (bass), Barockwerk Hamburg, Ira Hochman
This album features a triptych of works written for British monarchs during the Seven Years' War: Bleibe, lieber König, leben was composed for George II in 1760, Lieber König, du bist tot for his funeral later that year, and Großmächtigster Monarch der Briten for the birthday of George III in 1761 or 1762. The programme is completed by two sacred cantatas: Gib, daß ich mich nicht erhebe and Du bleibest dennoch unser Gott.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Rameau: Platée (DVD)
Marcel Beekman (Platee), Jeanine De Bique (La Folie), Cyril Auvity (Mercure/Thepsis), Marc Mauillon (Momus/Citheron), Edwin Crossley-Mercer (Jupiter); Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Les Arts Florissants, William Christie, Robert Carsen
Filmed in an empty Theater an der Wien last December and streamed in April, Robert Carsen’s 2014 production (which is set in the world of high fashion and depicts Jupiter as the late Karl Lagerfeld) was described as ‘a candy-coloured baroque dream’ by Salzburger Nachrichten and ‘A must-see – and not only for fashion-freaks!’ by Bühne.
Available Format: 2 DVD Videos
Rameau: Platée (Blu-ray)
Marcel Beekman (Platée), Jeanine De Bique (La Folie), Cyril Auvity (Mercure/Thepsis), Marc Mauillon (Momus/Citheron), Edwin Crossley-Mercer (Jupiter); Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Les Arts Florissants, William Christie, Robert Carsen
Picture format: 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Available Format: Blu-ray
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
