New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 7th October 2022
Today's new releases include a 'fan-letter' to György Kurtág (taking in music by JS Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Schumann and Bartók along the way) from Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson on Deutsche Grammophon, opera duets by Verdi, Ponchielli and Puccini from Jonas Kaufmann and Ludovic Tézier with luxury support from Antonio Pappano and the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia on Sony, French bel canto arias from Cuban-American soprano Lisette Oropesa on Pentatone, and the Bach Orchestral Suites from John Butt and the Dunedin Consort on Linn.
Inspired by a 2021 meeting with his hero György Kurtág in Budapest, the Icelandic pianist's musical autobiography features selections from the Hungarian composer's Játékok ('Games') interleaved with pieces by JS Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Schumann and Bartók, plus Icelandic and Hungarian folk songs and the world premiere of Thomas Adès's The Branch. The 2CD set comprises two complete recordings of the programme - one on grand piano, the other on an upright.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Insieme - Opera Duets
Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Ludovic Tézier (baritone), Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
Having appeared opposite one another on Pappano's multi-award-winning Aida, Kaufmann and Tézier team up again for duets from operas including La forza del Destino (which they sang together to great acclaim both at Covent Garden and the Bayerische Staatsoper), Otello, Don Carlos, Les vêpres siciliennes, La Gioconda and La bohème.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
French Bel Canto Arias
Lisette Oropesa (soprano), Dresdner Philharmonie, Sachsischer Staatsopernchor, Corrado Rovaris
Following her terrific first album of Mozart arias and a breathtaking Traviataon Pentatone, the American soprano turns to French Donizetti and Rossini, with a programme including 'L'heure fatale approche...Juste ciel' from Le Siège de Corinthe, 'Sombre fôret' from Guillaume Tell, 'En proie à la tristesse' from Le Comte d'Ory, and 'Ô ma mère' from Les Martyrs.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Recorded immediately after lockdown, Hahn describes this project as 'my return after an extended time out of the spotlight', observing that 'rediscovering my voice felt like the time following an eclipse'; the album comprises Dvořák’s and Ginastera’s violin concertos plus Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The French harpischordist and violinist (both founder-members of Le Consort) explore the legacy of the Francœur family, focusing primarily on sonatas by the brothers Louis (c.1692-1745) and François (1698-1787) and also including a piece by Louis's son, Louis-Joseph. The programme also features music by Jean-Baptiste Anet and Jean Durocher, plus works which the younger Francœur brother composed in collaboration with François Rebel.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Inspired by an enigmatic note referencing isolation and unrequited love which Schubert penned one morning in 1822, Pichon's programme hinges on the Unfinished Symphony and also features excerpts from the operas Alfonso und Estrella and the uncompleted oratorio Lazarus (aka Die Feier der Auferstehung), songs including 'Der Doppelgänger' and 'Ave Maria' (the latter sung by Sabine Devieilhe), and music by Weber and Schumann.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Five years on from a recording of Images, Estampes and Children's Corner which was described as 'irresistible' by both The Sunday Times and Classical Source, Osborne returns to Debussy with a programme which opens with the Danse bohémienne from 1880 and closes with Les soirs illuminés par l'ardeur du charbon, composed during the bitter winter of 1916-17 and given to the composer's coal merchant in exchange for fuel. Also includes the Suite Bergamasque, Deux Arabesques and Images oubliées.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Scriabin: The Poem of Ecstasy & Prometheus
Yevgeny Sudbin (piano), Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Lan Shui
Scriabin's music has long occupied a special place in the Russian pianist's repertoire, and his previous recordings of the solo works have been greeted with widespread acclaim: the Gramophone Guide declared that his 2007 BIS recital was 'flecked with personal touches and brilliances above and beyond even Scriabin's wildest demands', whilst his 2015 recording of the Piano Concerto won an International Classical Music Award.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Khachaturian: The Concertante Works for Piano
Iyad Sughayer (piano), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Andrew Litton
This young Jordanian-Palestinian pianist made his recording-debut with an arresting recital of Khachaturian's solo works back in 2019, with Gramophone noting that he 'portrays Khachaturian’s affective extremes with a conviction that diverts attention from the not insignificant technical challenges involved' and Fanfare describing him as 'a most mature artist already'. Now he tackles the Piano Concerto written for Lev Oborin in 1937, the Masquerade Suite (originally conceived as orchestral incidental music) in an arrangement by Alexander Dolukhanian, and the Concerto-Rhapsody from 1967.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos 6 & 8
Roderick Williams (baritone), BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus, Martyn Brabbins
This penultimate release in Brabbins's Vaughan Williams series received five stars in the latest edition of BBC Music Magazine, with Stephen Johnson declaring that 'even against formidable competition [in No. 6], Martyn Brabbins impresses handsomely'. The symphonies are complemented by three choral folk-song arrangements (Tarry Trowsers, The Carter, and Ward the Pirate), and the 1941 setting of W E Henley's poem England, My England (with Roderick Williams as soloist).
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Following their acclaimed recordings of the Passions, Brandenburg Concertos, Christmas Oratorio, Violin Concertos and an album of cantatas which won the Choral prize at this year's BBC Music Magazine Awards, the Dunedins continue their Bach odyssey with the Orchestral Suites: reviewing their Proms performance of the works in 2019, The Times observed that '[Butt's lively tempos produced plenty of lithe, energetic playing'.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Described by The Times as 'a musician of tremendous versatility and taste, with a poetic sense of pulse', the 23-year-old Japanese pianist's successes to date include First Prize at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in 2017 and Silver Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition two years later (where his programme included Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 10 K330 - the work which originally inspired him to take up the piano).
Available Formats: 5 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
