New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-Up - 29th November 2024
Tippett: Piano Concerto & Symphony No. 2
Steven Osborne (piano), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
Two years on from their Gramophone Award-winning live recording of The Midsummer Marriage, Gardner and the LPO present the Piano Concerto (composed shortly after the opera, with which it shares a strong musical kinship) and Symphony No. 2 from 1957. The Piano Concerto was recorded in January 2023 (when The Guardian opined that 'it would be hard to imagine a more convincing account' of a work which was deemed unplayable by Julius Katchen before its premiere), whilst the symphony was captured this April: The Times's Rebecca Franks declared that 'Gardner is on a roll with Tippett, and whatever the fiddly intricacies of the score, his players were in full command.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Tippett is also the core of this new recital from Alexander Soares, which includes the Piano Sonata No. 4 (written shortly after the composer's eightieth birthday and originally conceived as an homage to Beethoven's Bagatelles) and the single-movement Piano Sonata No. 2 from 1962, which draws on material from his second opera King Priam. Tippett's admiration of Beethoven is referenced by the inclusion of the 'Les Adieux' sonata here, and the recital closes with Oliver Knussen's 10 Variations from 1989 - Knussen was a great champion of Tippett's work, and described an early encounter with the Ritual Dances as a formative influence on his own music.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Brett Dean: In spe contra spem and other works
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Elsa Dreisig, Emma Bell (sopranos), Edward Gardner, Karina Canellakis, Vladimir Jurowski, Hannu Lintu, Enrique Mazzola
The seven pieces here were recorded live in concert during Dean's tenure as the LPO's Composer-in-Residence from 2020-2023; scored for two sopranos and orchestra, the title-work ('In hoping against hope') is an excerpt from a planned opera about Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, and sets extracts from the two women's letters. The album also includes the Viola Concerto for Lawrence Power, the Cello Concerto for Alban Gerhardt, Notturno inquieto, Three Memorials, Amphitheatre, and The Players for accordion and orchestra (which revisits material from Dean's 2017 opera Hamlet).
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
The Japanese pianist (who has been blind from birth) makes his debut on Deutsche Grammophon with the formidably challenging Hammerklavier Sonata, coupled with Liszt's solo piano transcription of the song-cycle An die ferne Geliebte. 'Nobu' (as he is affectionately known) performed the Hammerklavier at the Van Cliburn Competition in 2009, sharing the Gold Medal with Haochen Zhang; jury chairman John Giordano described his performance as 'flawless', observing that 'For anyone, it’s extraordinary. But for someone blind who learns by ear, it’s mind-boggling.' Cliburn himself deemed his playing 'absolutely miraculous'.
The album will be released on CD on 21st March 2025.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Born near Weimar in 1688, Johann Friedrich Fasch spent time working in Bayreuth and Prague before being invited to apply for the position of Thomaskantor in Leipzig, where he had been a boy chorister (the position was eventually filled by JS Bach). The Philadelphia baroque ensemble Tempesta di Mare has been championing his music since 2007 and recorded this programme of Ouverture-Suites, a sinfonia and a violin concerto at the 2023 International Fasch Festival in Zerbst (where Fasch spent the last thirty-six years of his life as court Kapellmeister).
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Edward Nesbit: Nativity
Angharad Lyddon (mezzo), Benedict Nelson (baritone), Anneke Hodnett (harp), Martin Owen (horn); The Choir of King’s College London, Joseph Fort
Composed in 2022, Nesbit's Christmas cantata sets part of the Tilethatchers Play (from the York Cycle of Mystery Plays) and seasonal verse by Welsh metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan: the Tilethatchers text is set as a dialogue between Mary and Joseph, whilst the Vaughan poems are allocated to the choir and framed as a commentary on the narrative. The choir's album of other sacred choral works by Nesbit received four stars in BBC Music Magazine and was named as one of Gramophone's Best Classical Albums of the Year, thanks to his 'distinctive voice that pairs a mysterious melodic beauty with a beautifully crafted texture.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
The Japanese conductor (who died earlier this year) first worked with the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1966 and maintained a close relationship with the orchestra for the rest of his life, becoming an honorary member in 2016. Produced in close consultation with Ozawa and his family, this set includes Mendelssohn's Elijah, Bruckner's Symphony No. 7, Mahler's Symphony No. 1, Strauss's Eine Alpensinfonie, Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, and Ravel's Piano Concerto in G with Martha Argerich.
Available Format: 6 CDs + Blu-Ray Video
The Norwegian violinist performs Vivaldi's evergreen set of concertos on the Hardanger fiddle here, infusing them with folk music traditions from her native country. Reviewing the results, Rondomagazin observed that 'Where Vivaldi's Italian spring makes the birds sing, Nordic chirps are heard here; where the Italian thunderstorm rages, a Scandinavian storm appears', concluding that the project 'effortlessly fuses folk music and baroque and makes the seasons dance between the worlds on three different Hardanger violins'.
Available Format: CD
Christopher Young: Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror
Saya Hashino (organ), Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, Frank Strobel
Premiered at a cinema screening in Zürich last February, Young's score for F. W. Murnau's silent Expressionist vampire-film was commissioned by the Europäische FilmPhilharmonie to mark Nosferatu's centenary, and went on to win the IFMCA Kyle Renick Special Award. Especially renowned for his work on thrillers and horror-films, Young's previous credits include the scores for Hellraiser (1987), Species (1995), The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), Deliver Us from Evil (2014), and Pet Sematary (2019).
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
The Norwegian duo's programme of Schubert's Goethe settings includes 'Der König in Thule', Vier Gesänge aus 'Wilhelm Meister', 'Grenzen der Menschheit', 'Erster Verlust', ''Der du von dem Himmel bist' and 'Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh'. Their discography together has included albums dedicated to Mozart, Mahler, and the Norwegian composers Catharinus Elling and Eivind Groven; the latter won Kielland a nomination for Female Singer of the Year at the Opus Klassik Awards in 2020, and was warmly received by Fanfare for her 'lovely singing' and Mortensen's 'colorful playing'.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
