Coming Soon,
John Williams's new violin concerto and other forthcoming highlights
Written for Anne-Sophie Mutter and first performed in Boston last year, the world premiere recording of John Williams's Violin Concerto No. 2 will be issued on Deutsche Grammophon in June as part of the composer's ninetieth birthday celebrations.
Other stand-out releases for May and beyond include Brahms from the Pavel Haas Quartet and friends, Bach's Mass in B minor and Weber's Der Freischütz from René Jacobs, a recital of Polish songs from Jakub Józef Orlinski and Michał Biel, and male soprano Samuel Mariño's debut album on Decca - featuring opera arias written for female singers en travestie as well as for castrati.
John Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2
Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), Boston Symphony Orchestra, John Williams
When my colleague James spoke to Anne-Sophie Mutter about her previous John Williams recording Across the Stars a few years ago, she told him that 'a [Williams] violin concerto would be such a gift for the repertoire and for the next generation...Hopefully the moment will come when he has the time to address that issue'. Her wish has since been fulfilled: the results were premiered by composer and dedicatee in Tanglewood last year, and were described by the Boston Globe as 'a glimpse of what might have been had Williams’s career played out in the concert hall rather than on the silver screen'.
Released 3rd June.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor Op.34 & String Quintet in G major Op.111
Pavel Haas Quartet, Boris Giltburg (piano), Pavel Nikl (viola)
This project had its genesis whilst the same musicians were working on their recording of Dvořák's Piano Quintet and String Quintet back in 2017; that album was one of our Recordings of the Year, and also went on to win the Chamber Category at the 2018 Gramophone Awards as well as a Diapason d'Or.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Weber: Der Freischütz
Maximilian Schmitt (Max), Polina Pasztircsák (Agathe), Kateryna Kasper (Ännchen), Dimitry Ivashchenko (Kaspar); Freiburger Barockorchester, Zürcher Sing-Akademie, René Jacobs
Following his revelatory series of Mozart recordings in the 2000s and a superb account of Beethoven's Leonore in 2019, Jacobs ventures into more Romantic operatic territory with this period-instrument Freischütz, which restores the prologue initially conceived for the Hermit by the librettist Friedrich Kind. Jacobs also includes Kind's drinking-song for Kuno which Weber never set, sung here to music from Schubert's similarly supernatural Singspiel Des Teufels Lustschloss from a few years earlier.
Released 29th April.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
JS Bach: Mass in B minor
Robin Johannsen (soprano), Marie-Claude Chappuis (mezzo), Helena Rasker (alto), Sebastian Kohlhepp (tenor), Christian Immler (bass-baritone); Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, RIAS Kammerchor, René Jacobs
Drawing on the work of musicologist Wilhelm Ehmann, Jacobs rejects both the standard modern practice of reserving soloists for arias and also what he describes as the ‘dubious passing fad’ for using minimal vocal forces throughout. Instead, he opts for a performance that operates on ‘three vocal levels’: some choral passages are sung by full choir, others by a smaller group of three voices per part from within the choir, and others (including the entire Qui tollis, Et incarnatus and Crucifixus) by the four or five soloists alone.
Released 13th May.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Recorded in Dolby Atmos at La Scala, Chailly's celebration of his homeland as muse centres on Mendelssohn’s ‘Italian’ Symphony (given here in the revised 1834 version), and also features Schubert’s two Overtures in the Italian Style, plus the overtures to three early Mozart operas which were premiered in Milan: Mitridate, Re di Ponto, Ascanio in Alba, and Lucio Silla.
Released 20th May.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
This is the final instalment of Blomstedt's Brahms series with the Gewandhausorchester, which was launched in 2020 to widespread critical acclaim: the previous volumes have been described as 'traditional Brahms performances in the best sense, filled with the insight of a lifetime on the podium' (Fanfare on Symphony No. 1 and the Tragic Overture) and 'fresh, lithe and generous' (The Observer on Symphony No. 2).
Released 13th May.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The first of several releases marking the pianist and conductor's eightieth birthday this November, this collection of Barenboim's favourite encores was recorded at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin in spring 2020 and includes excerpts from Schumann's Fantasiestücke and Kinderszenen, a selection of Chopin Études, 'Clair de lune' from Debussy's Suite Bergamasque, and the Tango from Albéniz's Espagne.
Released 8th May.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The seventeen-year-old pianist makes his debut on Warner with a programme of works by four composers who helped to raise money to pay for the statue of Beethoven which was unveiled at the inaugural Bonn Beethovenfest in 1845: Liszt's Sonata in B minor and Grande Étude on Paganini's La Campanella, Schumann's Fantaisie in C major, Mendelssohn's Variations sérieuses (both written especially for the fundraising effort), and Chopin's Prelude in C sharp minor, No. 25.
Released 6th May.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
For his first song-recital on disc, the Polish countertenor teams up with his long-term friend and compatriot Michał Biel to champion repertoire from their native country: the album takes its title from a triptych of songs by Henryk Czyż (1923-2003), and also includes music by Stanisław Moniuszko, Karol Szymanowski, Mieczysław Karłowicz, Tadeusz Baird, and Paweł Łukaszewski.
Released 6th May.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The Venezuelan male soprano's 2020 album Care pupille was described as 'a stellar debut' by Fanfare, whilst Opera praised his voice's 'great natural beauty and phenomenal technique'. His first appearance on Decca features world premiere recordings of arias by Cimarosa and Joseph Bologne (aka Chevalier de Saint-Georges), plus excerpts from Mozart's Lucio Silla, Idomeneo, La Clemenza di Tito and even Le nozze di Figaro - Cherubino's 'Voi che sapete' opens the album.
Released 27th May.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Following recordings of 'Winter Journey' with Roderick Williams and 'Swan Song' with Sir John Tomlinson, Glynn continues his Schubert in English series with Scottish tenor Nicky Spence, who's established a fine reputation for singing works in translation through his long-term relationship with English National Opera (including a powerful Siegmund in 'The Valkyrie' last year). As on previous instalments, the translation is by writer and director Jeremy Sams, whose 'Winter Journey' was praised as 'lucid and poetic' by The Sunday Times.
Released 20th May.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
