Alexandre Kantorow released his first album for BIS in 2016, performing Liszt's piano concertos to critical acclaim: "I'm here to tell you that Alexandre Kantorow is Liszt reincarnated" wrote one impressive reviewer, in Fanfare Magazine. Not yet 20 years old, the French pianist and son of violinist and conductor Jean-Jacques Kantorow now explores his Russian roots, in a recital that opens with Rachmaninov's weighty First Piano Sonata, inspired by Goethe's play Faust, and its three main characters, the scholar Faust, his beloved Gretchen and Mephistopheles, the Devil's emissary. The nostalgic intimacy of Méditation and Passé Iointain, from Tchaikovsky's Op. 72 collection, offers respite from the drama, but tension returns with Guido Agosti's virtuosic piano arrangement of three extracts from Stravinsky's Firebird. Kantorow closes his Russian recital with Mily balakirev's "oriental fantasy" Islamey, one of the iconic works of the piano literature. Fiendishly difficult, the piece famously inspired Ravel to write something that would be even harder to play (his gaspard de la nuit). A committed Russian nationalist, Balakirev himself found the inspiration for Islamey during a journey to the Caucasus when he was introduced to the local music tradition.
Original motion picture soundtrack from A Letter From Helga All music is composed by Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir except "I'm Not The Loving Kind" is composed by John Cale Arranged by Kristín Anna and Davíð Þór Jónsson Accordion, pianos, marxophone, synthesiser and vocals performed by Kristín Anna Cornett performed by Áki Ásgeirsson Cello arrangement and performance on tracks 1, 2, 7 and 15 by Gyða Valtýsdóttir Tuba, trombone, alto horn and euphonium on tracks 1, 10, 12 performed by Ingi Garðar Erlendsson Hammond organ on "I'm Not The Loving Kind" performed by Davíð Þór Jónsson Additional vocals on "I'm Not The Loving Kind" performed by Davíð Þór, Kristín Anna and Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir Recording engineering by Úlfur Hansson, Kristín Anna, Gyða Valtýsdóttir, Gabríel Ólafsson and Reykjavík Orkestra Mixed and produced by Kristín Anna Mastered by Styrmir Hauksson
Born in Ontario in August 1919, Tommy Reilly studied violin from the age of eight, and began playing harmonica at the age of eleven. Though he had played in England in 1935 – 37 and continental Europe in 1937 – 39, it was not until his arrest (while studying violin at the Leipzig Conservatory) and subsequent internment 1939 – 45 in prisoner-of-war camps that he developed his virtuosity on the harmonica, basing his ideas of phrasing and interpretation on the playing of Jascha Heifetz. Returning to London in 1945, Reilly began parallel careers as a concert soloist and recitalist, a popular BBC radio and television performer, and a studio musician-composer. He performed with most of the major European orchestras and toured all over the world as a concert soloist. Inspiring the composition of more than thirty works by other composers, Reilly also transcribed a great deal of repertoire for the instrument, in addition to composing his own works. In 1967 he designed a concert harmonica, later manufactured by Hohner and marketed as the Silver Concerto Chromonica. In 1992, he became the first harmonica player to be made a Member of the Order of the British Empire. His other awards included the Gold Medal of the Deutscher Harmonika-Verband, and a Golden Badge from the British Association of Composers, Authors and Songwriters. Sir Neville Marriner and Igor Stravinsky were among those who admired his playing.
Almost forty years after his first recording on Chandos, this unique limited-edition release gathers some of the best and most-awarded recordings on the label by one of the most prolific conductors of all time: Neeme Järvi. It highlights a 200+ discography that explores an astonishingly wide repertoire, with selections from the legendary complete series of Prokofiev’s symphonies and Tchaikovsky’s ballets to the groundbreaking discoveries of composers such as Atterberg or Suchon. It features nearly a dozen of the numerous orchestras with which he has collaborated, including the RSNO, Chicago Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, all here celebrated at their best. Offered at a very special price and retaining the original covers, this product also includes very special notes by James Jolly, Editor in Chief of Gramophone, as well as exclusive photos and interviews with figures central to Järvi’s extraordinary musical life.
Past praise of previously released material included in this set:
Prokofiev: Symphony No 6, Waltzes Suite / Järvi, SNO
As in all of his Prokofiev symphony recordings–this was the first, by the way–Järvi really digs into the music. The engineering is as big and bold as the performances. This recording deserves classic status.
– ClassicsToday
Smetana: Má Vlast / Järvi, Detroit Symphony
Järvi and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra deliver an expansive reading of the complete work, and their feeling for the music's vivid imagery and richly Romantic expression is spot on.
Tignor has released 9 LPs across the Western Vinyl and New Albion labels to critical acclaim within the classical and experimental communities. He has collaborated with numerous artists at the boundaries of popular music including Keith Kenniff (Helios), Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, John Congleton, and post-rock titans This Will Destroy You. While a young artist in NYC, Tignor mixed bands at CBGBs, was an assistant to La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, and served as the technical director for 9 years for a New Music festival produced by Phillip Glass. Tignor discovered computers through his college electronic music studio (as a creative writing major), subsequently obtained his Masters in computer science from NYU, proceeded through Princeton's PhD program in music composition, and was later recruited for a software engineering position at Google, where he has worked since 2011.
Tignor has released 9 LPs across the Western Vinyl and New Albion labels to critical acclaim within the classical and experimental communities. He has collaborated with numerous artists at the boundaries of popular music including Keith Kenniff (Helios), Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, John Congleton, and post-rock titans This Will Destroy You. While a young artist in NYC, Tignor mixed bands at CBGBs, was an assistant to La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, and served as the technical director for 9 years for a New Music festival produced by Phillip Glass. Tignor discovered computers through his college electronic music studio (as a creative writing major), subsequently obtained his Masters in computer science from NYU, proceeded through Princeton's PhD program in music composition, and was later recruited for a software engineering position at Google, where he has worked since 2011.
This thoughtfully sequenced recording explores sacred music written in the sixteenth and twenty-first centuries. It includes a famous madrigal, a starting point for a mass setting by Philippe de Monte, positioned alongside well-crafted, but previously unrecorded music from the same period. They are complemented by striking contemporary pieces by female composers, including Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Cecilia McDowall, Melissa Dunphy, Rosa Elliott and Kerry Andrew.
The soundtrack of the 1978 movie version of Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway masterpiece, A Little Night Music finally finds its way to CD. Directed by Hal Prince, the all-star cast features Elizabeth Taylor, who sings the famous “Send in the Clowns,” Diana Rigg, Lesley-Ann Down, Len Cariou and Hermione Gingold. This newly-remastered CD is transferred from the original stereo masters, and includes a previously unreleased instrumental cue, along with two other instrumental cues taken from the mono soundtrack of the film. The complete version of "Every Day a Little Death" is also included from the mono soundtrack, as the carriage ride verse written for the film was not included on the stereo master. Featuring liner notes by Sondheim archivist Peter E. Jones.
MUSICAL NUMBERS
1 OVERTURE / NIGHT WALTZ (LOVE TAKES TIME) 4:20 Orchestra, Company 2 THE GLAMOROUS LIFE 4:52 Chloe Franks 3 NOW / SOON / LATER 7:53 Len Cariou, Lesley-Anne Down, Christopher Guard 4 YOU MUST MEET MY WIFE 3:51 Len Cariou, Elizabeth Taylor 5 EVERY DAY A LITTLE DEATH 2:28 Diana Rigg, Lesley-Anne Down 6 NIGHT WALTZ 1:06 Orchestra 7 A WEEKEND IN THE COUNTRY 6:04 Company 8 IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL 4:20 Len Cariou, Laurence Guittard 9 SEND IN THE CLOWNS 4:17 Elizabeth, Taylor, Len Cariou 10 POOR OLD FREDERICK 1:53 Orchestra Previously unreleased 11 SEND IN THE CLOWNS (REPRISE) / FINALE 4:31 Elizabeth, Taylor, Len Cariou, Company
BONUS TRACKS
12 EVERY DAY A LITTLE DEATH (FILM VERSION) 4:00 Diana Rigg, Lesley-Anne Down Previously unreleased, mono recording 13 NIGHT WALTZ (FILM VERSION) 1:47 Orchestra Previously unreleased, mono recording 14 END CREDITS (FILM VERSION) 1:27 Orchestra Previously unreleased, mono recording
One of the world's most sought after and in demand mezzo sopranos, Jennifer Johnston's career takes her to the world's greatest opera houses working with some of the greatest conductors and singers or our time. Featuring the iTunes No.1 hit single "You'll Never Walk Alone," this album is a deeply personal and affectional musical love-letter to her native Liverpool.
This newly discovered live-recording of a performance of the Love Supreme suite is a revelation. Recorded at The Penthouse in Seattle on October 2, 1965, this recording transports the listener to a prime seat for piece of musical history. While not studio-quality audio, the power of the performance shines through. This version is also of the full suite and features an expanded band that includes the same Classic Quartet and Pharoah Sanders in his first official gig as part of Coltrane’s group.
Deems Taylor (1885-1966) was one of America's truly original 20th Century composers, his works crossing between serious classical and a somewhat more popular vein. An ASCAP Board of Directors member for over thirty years, he also served as ASCAP President from 1942-48. Of the 24 songs featured on this Centaur release, sung by soprano Elizabeth Tryon accompanied by George Small, virtually all, if not all are receiving their first recordings. Ms. Tryon, often referred to as "two voices in one artist" sings both classical music and Top 40 pop, making her a perfect candidate for this literature.
The lute by Sixtus Rauwolf heard on this recording was probably built in the last decade of the sixteenth century. Some hundred years later, in 1715, it was converted to suit the musical tastes and demands of the baroque period. For this disc, Jakob Lindberg has chosen works that could have formed part of the repertory of the presumably German owner of the instrument at around the time of its final conversion. For German lutenists from about the middle of the seventeenth century, it was France that provided the aesthetic and musical model, and towards the end of the century, when the lute rather suddenly and inexplicably dropped out of fashion in Paris certain French luthistes travelled abroad and met with great success in German-speaking lands. With them, they took their music and special traditions of lute-playing, evidence of which can be seen in the music of several of the German composers included here. The release closes with a suite of pieces by Silvius Leopold Weiss, the most famous lutenist of the baroque era.
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REVIEWS:
He is stately and expressive in Reusner’s Padoana while seizing upon the extravagant trills and strums evoked by the Dufault and the elegant deportment of the Mouton. Lindberg similarly relishes the toccata-like textures, bittersweet harmonies and melodic attractiveness of Kellner.
– Gramophone
The Rauwolf highlights the variegated colours of the music (far more than a modern lute could), and its lower courses have a plangent resonance…Given pride of place at the end of this parade is Silvius Leopold Weiss, whose music Bach admired and arranged. Lindberg luxuriates in Weiss’s rich and varied style…The recording – like the instrument itself – is velvety and intimate.
The Newberry Consort and EnsAmble Ad-Hoc present A MEXICAN CHRISTMAS, an album of 17th century traditional music for worship and celebration. The collection features pieces commonly heard in both liturgical service and in the streets, and evoke the solemnity and fanfare heard in Mexico City’s convents and plazas, with jubilant vocals and lively strings, guitars, and percussion. Organ, harp, bassoon, and a variety of Mexican traditional instruments bring this exuberant and diverse music to life.
‘A Minimal Sax’ takes a journey through the last 30 years of minimalist music, one of the most influential artistic movements of the last century. An accomplished young Italian ensemble takes us from the purism of ‘New York Counterpoint’ by Steve Reich through the soulful strains of the Saxophone Quartet by Philip Glass, to the funky rhythms of Michael Torke’s ‘July’ and the catchy offbeats of Michael Nyman’s Second String Quartet, in a version for saxophones which here receives its world premiere recording. Back in 1968 it was Nyman who coined the term Minimalism, in an article for ‘The Spectator’, to describe music by composers such as Cornelius Cardew that could be relied upon for its effect in clearing a listener’s mind. ‘Simple idea, straightforward structure, intellectual control, theatrical presence and intensity in presentation’: these were the other criteria he applied to music or at any rate musical events masterminded by Nam June Paik and the ‘Naked Cellist’, Charlotte Moorman. By that point, Reich and Glass had already been writing influential pieces such as It’s gonna rain which shared the qualities listed by Nyman. Their works for saxophone date from later in their careers, once Minimalism had been established as an unstoppable cultural force that had brought millions of young listeners into concert halls. They were attracted by the hypnotic repetitions that are a trademark of these pieces, particularly suited to the medium of saxophone quartet, but even more to the rhythmic rigor and fresh yet recognisable harmonies shared by all four works here. Founded in 2017, the Freem Saxophone Quartet comprises four recent graduates from distinguished Italian conservatoires who have already played in festivals and concert halls the world over. As an ensemble they perform the established repertoire for saxophone quartet and commission a great deal of new music. This is their debut album.
Pianist Christian Blackshaw presents A Moment in Time, an intimate exploration of Franz Schubert's late masterworks. The album features the Four Impromptus, D. 899, written in 1827, in which Schubert transforms the simple impromptu into "a harmonically connected cycle of unparalleled beauty." From the dramatic intensity of the first to the serene beauty of the third and the triumph over darkness in the fourth, Blackshaw reveals the depth, subtlety, and emotional brilliance of Schubert's music. The album also presents the Sonata No. 21 in B-flat Major, D. 960, one of Schubert's last major works for solo piano, composed during spring and autumn of 1828. It's movements traverse hope, despair, and luminous introspection, culminating in a finale of quiet triumph. For Blackshaw, these performances are a personal reflection - a snapshot in time of both Schubert's genius and his own lifelong engagement with these works.
A Most Marvellous Party: Tribute to Noël Coward / Bevan, Spence, Middleton
Signum Classics
CD
$10.49$20.99Save 50%Jan 05, 2024
To mark the 50th anniversary of Noël Coward's death, celebrated musicians and regular Signum artists Mary Bevan, Nicky Spence and Joseph Middleton join forces for this album of works by Coward and his contemporaries. Featuring songs such as Parisian Pierrot and The Man I Love, the album comprises of a collection of solos, duets and instrumental songs by composers such as Ned Rorem, Liza Lehmann, William Walton, and Benjamin Britten.
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