New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 24th February 2023
Today's new releases include Bartók's The Wooden Prince and Dance Suite from the WDR Sinfonieorchester and Cristian Măcelaru, the 1919 version of Stravinsky's Les Noces from Les Siècles and Ensemble Aedes, the Brahms violin sonatas from Ning Feng and Zee Zee, and Rachmaninoff's Vespers from the Choir of King's College London and Joseph Fort.
Following their recording of Dvořák's Legends and Czech Suite last September, the Köln orchestra and their Principal Conductor present another pair of works inspired by folk music; the ballet music for The Wooden Prince is given here in its entirety, and is followed by the Dance Suite which celebrates its centenary this year. The album is an Editor's Choice in the latest issue of Gramophone, with Edward Seckerson declaring that 'the character, soloistically and collectively, of the WDR Sinfonieorchester leaves little to be desired'.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Stravinsky revised the orchestration of his ballet-cantata depicting a Russian peasant wedding several times before its eventual premiere in 1923, but Romano presents it in the 1919 version for percussion ensemble, two Hungarian cimbaloms, harmonium, pianola and voices - which received its first performance only in 1981, when Pierre Boulez conducted it in Paris. It's complemented here by Robin Melchior’s arrangement of Boléro, scored for the same forces.
(There's more Stravinsky in the offing from Les Siècles next week, by the way, in the form of the Violin Concerto with Isabelle Faust and François-Xavier Roth).
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
It was a 2006 performance of the Beethoven concerto at the Salzburg Festival with Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker which brought the German violinist Veronika Eberle to international attention; this recording captures her London performance of the same work last year (incorporating new cadenzas by Jörg Widmann), which prompted The Strad to remark that 'when the LSO Live album of the concert appears, it should make for essential listening'. Also includes the incomplete Violin Concerto in C major WoO5 - a 259-bar fragment from the early 1790s.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Štilec's series of music by his compatriot Wranitzky has been praised in Fanfare for his 'inherent knack for the style' and the 'splendid' playing of the Pardubice orchestra. The mainstay of this fifth instalment is the ballet music for Das listige Bauernmädchen ('(‘The Cunning Farmer Girl’), commissioned by Empress Marie Therese; the programme also includes the divertissement Vorstellungen which was composed for Emperor Franz II’s birthday celebrations in 1803, and the final contradance of a Quodlibet written for the same occasion.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Arne Nordheim: Suite from The Tempest
Beate Mordal (soprano), Jeremy Carpenter (baritone), Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra enjoyed a close relationship with Norwegian composer premiering his first orchestral work (Canzona), as well as his last (Fonos). His Shakespeare-inspired 1979 ballet The Tempest fuses orchestral and electronic sounds: Nordheim observed that 'Of all the works of Shakespeare that I know, there is none in which music is so often mentioned and plays such a great role as in The Tempest'.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Zehetmair served as Music Director of Northern Sinfonia (his first conducting post) from 2002 until 2014 - this recording captures his final concert in the role, which took place at The Sage Gateshead and prompted The Guardian to observe that 'It's testimony to Zehetmair's mercurial talent that he's still capable of springing these surprises even in the most familiar repertoire'. The programme comprises John Casken's That Subtle Knot, Bartók's Viola Concerto (with Zehetmair's wife Ruth Killius as soloist), and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The Chinese violinist considers Brahms's three sonatas to be 'the crown jewel' of the violin and piano repertoire: 'Ever since I first heard them on a recording, I fell in love with them. And after performing them myself many, many times over the past 20 years, I have learned to appreciate the beauty of the lyrical melodies even more, and more deeply understand the musical philosophy of this great composer'. His partner here is Zee Zee (also known as Zhang Zuo), winner of the First International Piano Competition in China and the Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
The first volume of the French string quartet's Mendelssohn survey was warmly received: the album was a Gramophone Editor's Choice last October (with Richard Wigmore noting that 'the Van Kuijk marry high technical polish...close attention to Mendelssohn’s detailed markings and a spirit of youthful, spontaneous ardour'), and was described as 'a disc that glories in playing of extraordinary richness, purity, delicacy and vigour' by the Sunday Times. This second instalment comprises the two Op. 44 quartets and the Op. 80 (written shortly after the premature death of the composer's sister, Fanny).
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The first review of this recording is already in, with The Yorkshire Times describing the London choir's account of the Vespers as 'an assuredly faultless interpretation of the divine masterpiece, luminous, richly textured, rapturous and reverent' and deeming it 'a must-have for all who love Rachmaninoff'; the release marks the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth, which falls on 1st April.
The Choir of King’s College London and Delphian Records will donate proceeds from sales of this recording to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
This collection of a cappella choral works by the Estonian composer (b.1959) takes its title from a 2020 composition inspired by St Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians and dedicated to the performers on this album. The programme also includes Missa Brevis from 2013, Triglosson Trishagion (indebted to the Orthodox tradition and sung in Russian, Estonian and Greek), the Virgil and Ovid-inspired Omnia mutantu, and Rändaja õhtulaul ('Wanderer's Evening Song') from 2001.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Recorded in anticipation of the composer's bicentenary in 2024, the Wiener Philharmoniker's Bruckner 11 project is the orchestra's first complete Bruckner cycle - so named because it includes the two early symphonies in F minor and D minor as well as the canonical nine symphonies. This instalment features Symphonies Nos. 3 and 6 (recorded at the Musikverein in 2020 and 2022 respectively), supplemented by interviews with Thielemann about both works.
Available Format: DVD Video
Eine Winterreise
Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo), Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano), Christof Loy (director)
Filmed last February in Basel, this 'Winter Journey' features only six songs from Schubert's Winterreise itself, interspersed with songs from Schwanengesang and Die Schöne Müllerin; making use of silent actors, dancers and video-projections, Loy's concept explores how the composer's life may have played out had he survived beyond the age of 31. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung described the experience as 'a dense evening [which] takes a surprising turn'.
Available Format: DVD Video
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
