New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 15th April 2022
Today's new releases include Beethoven's Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3 from Kristian Bezuidenhout, the Freiburger Barockorchester and Pablo Heras-Casado, the Bach cello suites from Bruno Philippe, piano works by Germaine Tailleferre from Nicolas Horvath, and American soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen's debut album of opera arias with the Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice (including a cameo from Jonas Kaufmann as Rodolfo).
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3
Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano), Freiburger Barockorchester, Pablo Heras-Casado
Bezuidenhout and Heras-Casado conclude their period-instrument Beethoven cycle, which prompted both artists to be nominated for Opus Klassik Awards in 2020 and has been praised for its 'admirable sense of spontaneity' (BBC Music Magazine), 'brilliantly coloured playing' (Sunday Times), and 'precise and imaginative ensemble' (Gramophone).
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Highly regarded by Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, Wranitzky was born in Moravia in 1756 but spent much of his career in Vienna, where he enjoyed significant success as a conductor as well as composing over forty symphonies, a huge number of string quartets, and ten operas. This album opens with the Overture to his Oberon (which pre-dates Weber's setting by 35 years and is believed to have influenced Emanuel Schikaneder's libretto for Mozart's Die Zauberflöte), and also includes the 'La Paix' and 'La Tempesta' symphonies.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Following a first volume featuring the Eroica (described as 'splendidly put across' by The Sunday Times), Uys & Schoeman continue their traversal of Scharwenka's arrangements of Beethoven symphonies for piano duet with No. 5, supplemented by Schumann's Andante & Variations in B flat Op. 46 and Saint-Saëns's Variations on a Theme of Beethoven in E flat Op. 35.
Read David's article with the duo about the project here.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The French cellist spent much of the 2020 lockdown immersing himself in what he refers to as 'the most sublime pages written for my instrument', comparing the differences between the various manuscripts and working with gut strings and a baroque bow for the first time; he describes the results as 'probably the [recording] where I present myself most intimately - I have put everything I have into it'.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
A prize-winner at the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition, the French bassoonist presents an all-Russian programme of music transcribed for bassoon and piano, including arrangements of the Rachmaninov Cello Sonata and a selection of Shostakovich Preludes, solo piano works by Scriabin and Tchaikovsky., Rimsky-Korsakov's 'The Nightingale Enslaved by the Rose', Glinka's ' Do Not Tempt Me', and Auerbach's 'I Walk Unseen'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
A transcription of Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit for three marimbas is the centrepiece of this album from the French percussion trio; their programme also includes 'Feria' from same composer's Rapsodie espagnole, the Allegro scherzando from the Rachmaninov Cello Sonata, two dances from Falla's La vida breve, Fauré's 'Les berceaux', and the world premiere recording of Colombian composer Daniel Arango-Prada's Prisme for prepared marimbas.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Described by the composer’s granddaughter as being ‘as though Tailleferre herself was performing these works’, this is the first of three planned volumes of her complete piano music and includes world premiere recordings of the Pastorale Amazone, Pastorale Inca, Marche funèbre (comique?), Suite dans le style 'Louis XV', Petites Ouvertures d'airs anciens, and Sous le rempart d'Athenes.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Radford's tribute to the trailblazing American saxophonist (1893-1940) includes Wiedoeft's own Valse Marilyn and Waltz-Llewellyn, the Waltz No. 2 from Shostakovitch's Suite for Variety Orchestra, Erwin Schulhoff's Hot-Sonate, Justin Ring & Fred Hager's Danse hongroise, four extracts from Weill's Threepenny Opera, and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (arranged for alto, soprano & tenor saxophones & piano by Jun Nagao).
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
As well as relatively popular works such as 'As Torrents in Summer', 'They are at rest' and 'Give unto the Lord', this collection of Elgar's choral music also features comparative rarities including Queen Alexandra's Memorial Ode ('So many true princesses have gone') and the Credo on Themes from Beethoven's Symphonies 5, 7 and 9 (written when the composer was sixteen), plus world premiere recordings of several early hymns and psalms.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
From the Hills of Dream: The Forgotten Songs of Arnold Bax
Jeremy Huw Williams (baritone), Paula Fan (piano)
All eighteen songs here are world premiere recordings, and five of them had never previously been performed; much of the material was transcribed from the original manuscripts by eminent Bax scholar Graham Parlett, who died before the recording was completed last year. Featuring songs in four languages, the repertoire encompasses the composer's fascination with the landscapes and literature of the the Celtic world as well as his explorations of Norse/German mythology and French folksong.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The American soprano's debut album (which kicks off a long-term partnership with Sony) includes scenes and arias from Don Giovanni, Otello, Rusalka, La traviata, Les vêpres siciliennes, Il trovatore, and Die lustige Witwe; Jonas Kaufmann, whose 2019 album Wien featured a memorable cameo from Willis-Sørensen, returns the favour by joining her for 'O soave fancuilla' from La bohème, which the pair sang together at the Bayerische Staatsoper in late 2020.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Monteverdi: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (DVD
Charles Workman (Ulisse), Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani (Telemaco), Delphine Galou (Penelope), John Daszak (Iro), Mark Milhofer (Eumete); Accademia Bizantina, Ottavio Dantone, Robert Carsen
Recorded at Florence's Teatro della Pergola last June, Carsen's staging was described as 'as simple as it is brilliant... strong, coherent, and compelling' by OperaWire, who also praised Dantone's 'engaging, dramatically centered, and sensitive' working edition of Monteverdi's score and Workman's 'outstanding' Ulisse.
Available Format: 2 DVD Videos
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
