Baritone Gérard Souzay never had the opportunity to develop a following due to his brief operatic career. Yet experts recognized his innate musicality and his perfect pronunciation of German - his Lieder interpretations are considered legendary. Souzay limited himself to recitals of German Lieder and French mélodies, but what you'll hear provides sheer delight. He still is a singer for aficionados, but this historic recital, recorded in his prime, will surely further this great singer's reputation throughout the world.

This new release is part of the Best Loved series, covering a substantial selection of iconic and entertaining works from the Naxos catalogue. This series will be accompanied by supplementary online playlists. Includes works by Purcell, Bach, Handel, Couperin and Rameau taken from recordings such as Wolfgang Rübsam’s Goldberg Variations (8.573921), Byrd’s Fantasias performed by Glen Wilson (8.572433), and Carillon from Poulenc’s Suite française played by Christopher D. Lewis (8.573364).

Birth of the symphony: Handel to Haydn' explores the development of the symphony in the eighteenth century, surveying groundbreaking musical advances across Europe. (AAM)

Forced into exile from his native Italy by the onset of Fascism, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco sailed to the US in 1939. He arrived at dawn one muggy summer morning, and immortalized the moment, a turning point in his life and his music, in the finale of his Third Violin Concerto. The piece was commissioned from him by Jascha Heifetz, both to give himself an impressive new commission from a young and talented but not too radically inclined composer and as a way of helping a fellow émigré find his feet in a new and strange land. Castelnuovo-Tedesco certainly wrote with Heifetz’s technique in mind as well as his predilection for big cantabile melodies. Despite its concerto title, the piece was conceived for violin and piano like a sonata. The moods of the work, cast in traditional three-movement form, mirror the composer’s own, shifting from initial confusion to nostalgia to ebullience. However, Heifetz did not care for the piece, especially the finale, and it lay unplayed until this pair of Italian musicians gave its first performance of modern times in 2016. Writing in the booklet, Fulvio Luciani considers it ‘one of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s major works’; this is its second recording, but Luciani and Motterle enjoy a familiarity with the music unrivalled by any other living interpreters. As well as several attractive miniatures dating from the composer’s pre-war years in Italy, Luciano and Motterle also present the first recordings of his postwar arrangements of piano music by Chopin and Brahms. They are acts of love on the part of a pianist that engage with the violin, and the outcome is remarkably fresh and persuasive.

Members of the Brodsky Quartet meet the internationally famous flautist Lisa Friend in an album of key works of the flute repertoire: Mozart's flute quartets. Highly praised for previous recordings, her own compositions, solo recitals in Europe, the US, and Asia, as well as appearances with prestigious orchestras, Lisa Friend devotes her very first recording on Chandos to witty, colorful interpretations or Mozart. The flute quartets of Mozart are central to the classical flute repertoire - and deservedly so: the composer's characteristic charm, wit, beauty, and elegance are in evidence throughout. These works convincingly embody Mozart's desire to compose music that engages trained musicians, while also entrancing lay listeners without their necessarily knowing, precisely why.

Selections from the star tenor's early recital recordings, including music of Verdi, Puccini, Bizet, and more.

John Corigliano's Third Symphony, for large wind orchestra, represents a major contribution to the band repertoire, and its fascinating exploitation of timbre and texture should win it listeners beyond that particular niche. The concept, "Circus Maximus", promises to be fun: Corigliano compares the decadent ancient Roman entertainment district to our modern glut of cable television channels and reality TV. Movements such as "channel surfing" offer a deft Ivesian collage of sounds, while the two central nocturnes are lovely, in very different ways. My only wish is that Corigliano didn't take himself quite so seriously: to equate the slaughter and mayhem of Roman entertainment to, say, the Real Housewives of New Jersey surely is pushing the comparison too far. Moreover, it runs the risk of sounding snobbish (not the music, the notes). Remember, when Ives did this sort of thing it was the popular tunes and other found objects that he was celebrating, and the classical tradition that he was thumbing his nose at (with good reason).

Anyway, that's not really important: what matters is that this is good music whatever its inspiration, and the coupling, the Gazebo Dances, is breezy and fresh as the title suggests. Outstandingly exciting performances and terrific recorded sound round out this very attractive release of good contemporary American music. And if Corigliano is being a bit provocative, it's never at the expense of your basic enjoyment. First rate.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This new collection of pieces for Lyrical Clarinet follows Michael Collins’ first volume which included sonatas by Poulenc and Saint-Saens. This varied repertoire ranges from short, cheerful numbers to romantic and enchanting, and brilliantly displays the incredible technical and dynamic range of the instrument. Clarinetist Michael Collins has won multiple awards for his performance, namely the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year Award in 2007. He has also become increasingly regarded as a conductor, and currently serves as Principal Conductor of the City of London Sinfonia.

Towards the end of his life, short of money and heavily in debt, Mozart had the opportunity to visit King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia – a famous patron of the arts and a keen and above-average musician. Mozart performed for the King and left with some cash and a commission for a set of six string quartets, of which these are the only three he completed. They are ground-breaking in the way in which Mozart utilised the voicing of the instruments. King Friedrich was a viola da gamba player turned cellist, and these works feature extensive melodies for the cello, usually in a high register, thus emancipating the cello from the bass line and introducing a more evenly blended texture. Firmly established as one of the leading quartets of their generation, the Doric String Quartet enjoys a worldwide reputation and has performed at festivals and concert halls around the globe. Exclusive Chandos artists, the Quartet has drawn widespread critical acclaim for its recordings and won a number of prestigious awards.

REVIEW:

Their collective tone is both sweet and sinewy, with vibrato used for expressive effect rather than as a default setting. Contrapuntal textures are ideally lucid.

– Gramophone (Editor's Choice, Sept. 2021)

Launched by its prologue Das Rheingold (8660374-75), Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) - one of the supreme works in the history of music - continues with Die Walküre. Part II of the tetralogy centres on the young lovers Siegmund and Sieglinde, whose relationship angers Ficka, goddess of marriage, and on the disobedience of the Valkyrie Brünnhilde who is sent to carry out Fricka’s wishes. Performed by an all-star international cast, the work features thrilling set-pieces such as Wotan’s Farewell and the Ride of the Valkyries.

Krzysztof Meisinger writes of his new release: “When I was asked to write an introduction to my début album for Chandos, I wondered for a long time what it should be about. My artistic path? The key to the program selection for the album? Or maybe my subjective description of the pieces I have recorded? I decided to explain in a few words my relationship with the guitar – a difficult relationship, full of passion, but also of doubts. It all started with delight. The guitar has always been a magical instrument to me. While playing, the musician is in direct contact with the string and the sound. The players, these ‘magicians’, whose recordings fascinated me at the beginning of my musical education were Andrés Segovia and Julian Bream. Thanks to them, I understood that the guitar is the instrument of my life, and that it is to its kind that I want to devote my artistic energies.

"A little time later, I started to notice some imperfections, which made me ask different questions. Why is the guitar repertoire so small, when you compare it to that of other concert instruments? Why is the guitar not able to convey all those emotions which I want to express? It took me some time looking before I came upon the answer. And the answer was this: to turn all those ‘disadvantages’ into virtues. After all, a guitar cannot be pretentious. It is what it is, a guitar –an intimate, sublime, beautiful instrument... It is the most honest mirror of the musician. It reaches the deepest corners of the soul, and allows both the performer and the listener to touch heaven in a nasty world.”

REVIEW:

Someone will eventually write a book about how and why so many excellent guitarists emerged from Eastern Europe, a region in whose music the guitar played only a minor role. This album, the Chandos debut of Krzysztof Meisinger, is one of the best so far.

The title, Elogio de la Guitarra (or "Praise of the Guitar"), makes it sound like a spiritual essay, but in fact, this is a piece of virtuoso display. None of Meisinger's selections is even close to being a chestnut, and fans will welcome these commanding performances... Chandos backs Meisinger with excellent sound, picking up the physicality of the guitarist's performances but not loading them down with extra-musical noise. An exciting, impressive debut.

-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)

On her second volume of Polish violin works, Jennifer Pike presents works by Bacewicz, Poldowski, and Szymanowski. Renowned for her “dazzling interpretative flair and exemplary technique” (Classic FM), violinist Jennifer Pike has taken the musical world by storm with her unique artistry and compelling insight into music from the Baroque to the present day. (Chandos)

Judith Bingham is established as one of the foremost British composers writing for the organ. The powerfully atmospheric and evocative music in this recording richly demonstrates her gift for creating compelling works which draw inspiration from a broad range of historical, literary and artistic sources. The Åkerman & Lund organ of Västerås Cathedral is the perfect vehicle for this colorful program, and both Heaven and Earth and Eternal Procession for two organs also feature the cathedral’s Fredriksborg choir organ. Tom Winpenny’s acclaimed recording of Bingham’s Jacob’s Ladder and other works for organ can be heard on Naxos 8.572687.

This new album is the latest release from 2013 Cincinnati World Piano Competition gold medal winner, Marianna Prjevalskaya. Featuring Variations on Themes by Chopin and Corelli, the album was recorded at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in the Robert J. Werner Recital Hall. +“Rachmaninoff’s finest writing, where compositional skills give birth to a world of endless pianistic possibilities.” (Prjevalskaya)

Peter Hope is an English composer whose name is not well known to the public, but some of his music certainly is. A veteran of the light music genre, he has been a fulltime composer and arranger for fifty years, working for many years with the BBC Concert Orchestra- many of his arrangements becoming classics in their genre, also writing music for the marriage of the Crown Prince of Spain and many other public events. His theme tune for BBC TV news ran for over a decade, known to practically every person in the UK. Since 2000 he has concentrated on more serious and extended compositions, though retaining a commercial sense of approachable style. This album features four wind sonatas and two other works, performed by instrumentalists of high caliber and renown. All the works are receiving the premiere recording and one is being considered as the music for an animated film based on the music itself.

Mediņš (1890–1966) was one of the pioneers of Latvian music. His was a conductor, teacher, and wrote the first Latvian opera. The 24 Dainas were written over a period of 4 decades, and show influence of Rachmaninoff, Grieg, and Scriabin. This is the first complete recording on CD.

REVIEW:

The Latvian composer Janis Medins (1890–1966) studied piano and string instruments as a child and claimed he was exclusively selftaught as a composer. His 24 Dainas (short character pieces drawing from a rich poetic and musical tradition with subjects based on folklore) are similar in some respects to other cycles of Preludes by Rachmaninoff and others (and the term is rendered “Prelude” in English for the CD). Medins has a fine ear for tonal harmony heavily colored by chromatic voiceleading, and the works, like No 17, usually balance virtuosic brilliance and full-voiced, quasiorchestral textures. Powell, who is a composer as well as a pianist himself, furnishes a careful but highly expressive reading. The recording replicates a concert-like acoustic.

-- American Record Guide

In April, the United Kingdom celebrated the birthday of the longest serving monarch in British history. This release is the perfect soundtrack to the celebrations. Some of Britain’s most popular artists and ensembles have gathered together for this two-disc set, which includes patriotic anthems and popular tunes. Musicians include Russell Watson, Jonathan and Charlotte, The Band of H.M. Royal Marines, The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, and The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

SHOSTAKOVICH New Babylon. A Year Is like a Lifetime • Frank Strobel, cond; Kai Adomeit (pn); Southwest German RO Kaiserslautern • HÄNSSLER 93.188 (2 CDs: 135.49)


New Babylon is not one of Shostakovich’s standard, propagandistic, political potboilers. This is the music of the enfant terrible of Soviet music. Composed in 1928 immediately following his satirical opera, The Nose , the score for the silent film New Babylon reflects Shostakovich’s lifelong fascination with the cinema and his experience as a piano accompanist for silent films. The film’s directors, Grigori Kosintev and Leonid Trauberg, were considered to be avant-garde, if that were possible at the time. New Babylon deals with the rebellion of the Paris commune in 1870–71, with a superimposed tragic love story between a working girl and a bourgeois soldier. Shostakovich had recently completed his brilliant First Symphony, and the directors immediately wanted him to score the film. Shostakovich’s music is laced with dissonance, acerbic wit, bitonality, and flirts with atonality. The composer utilizes numerous fragmentary quotations from sources as disparate as Offenbach, Tchaikovsky, and the Marseillaise.


An abridged Melodiya version conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky was released in 1976 by CBS, and a more-or-less complete recording has been recently available on Capriccio conducted by James Judd. That was the most definitive recording, at least in terms of completeness, prior to the appearance of this one. The program notes state that this complete reconstructed version—including all the music cut from the film—is based on the composer’s personal manuscripts stored in the Glinka museum in Moscow and the orchestral parts and piano score printed for the premiere. The manuscript was edited by the D-S-C-H publishing house and cross-referenced to a proof copy from the composer’s personal estate. In addition, Frank Strobel synchronized the newly edited music with the 1929 premiere version of the film. All of this is not surprising when you consider Strobel’s incredible reconstruction of Prokofiev’s complete score for Alexander Nevsky ( Fanfare 28:3).


There appears to be no reason to doubt the authenticity of this version, but it really doesn’t matter because Strobel’s performance and Hänssler’s sound are superior to the previous Capriccio recording. Capriccio’s soft edged, more distantly miked sound does not serve the music as well as the more brash, brassy, and closely miked sonics on this recording. There is over an hour and a half of outrageous, funky, melodic but gently dissonant music reminiscent of The Nose and his impish ballets. Strobel’s conducting, aided by incisive and dynamic sound, is flamboyant as befits the music. Shostakovich’s bad-boy early style is an acquired taste for some, but if you have any interest in this aspect of Shostakovich’s art, New Babylon will be a treasure.


A Year Is like a Lifetime is an entirely different story, but is not without interest. It begins with three cues featuring straightforward, bombastic statements of the ubiquitous Marseillaise (as opposed to the fragmentary references and variations in New Babylon ), urgent low strings, strident brass, and slashing snare drums. But at the end of the “Intermezzo” a strange thing happens. The music subsides into pianissimo quivering strings and tolling bells from the sound world of the 11th Symphony. Then a 15-minute subdued, atmospheric, and introspective “Farewell” featuring a plaintive French horn solo is clearly the emotional and musical heart of the score. It is followed by a delicious, tongue-in-cheek waltz and a brief reappearance of some faceless battle music. The suite concludes with the horn solo and music of the “Farewell,” now more upbeat in a surprisingly understated way, with wind and brass chords embellished by lush, rising and falling string configurations building to a climax that Golden Age film music fans will love. Thus the noisy bombast offers contrast rather than dominating a score that remains cinematic, but is predominantly subdued and eminently likeable in the style of The Song of the Forests oratorio.


This album is a clear winner in every conceivable way. The music, performance, and sound make it required listening for any adventurous listener interested in the music of Shostakovich beyond the symphonies and string quartets.


FANFARE: Arthur Lintgen

MESSIAEN Visions de l’Amen. DEBUSSY En Blanc et noir • Ursula Oppens, Jerome Lowenthal (pn) • ÇEDILLE CDR 90000 119 (60:51)


In 1941, Olivier Messiaen was released from Görlitz prison camp, where he had been taken following the fall of France in the Second World War. Visions de l’Amen for two pianos was his first large work after this. The listener will search in vain for any shred of a reaction to the war in this music: Messiaen was inhabiting an intellectual and spiritual space far removed from the ravages of war. It was premiered in Paris in 1943 by the composer and his brilliant 19-year-old pupil, and eventual wife, Yvonne Loriod. Her part—taken by Ursula Oppens on the current disc—“has the rhythmic difficulties, the bunches of chords, everything concerned with speed, allure, and quality of sound”; his had “the principal melody, the thematic elements, everything demanding emotion and power.” So Messiaen wrote in the preface to the score.


Messiaen offers seven meditations on various theological subjects, somewhat tenuously linked by the idea of “Amens,” much as he was to do in his next great cycle, Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jésus , where another difficult-to-translate word, regard , is used to provide cohesion to the 20 meditations on the birth of Christ. In Visions de l’Amen , the first piece represents an act of creation—no less than the Creation of the Universe—while the last describes the final Consummation. The second and fifth illustrate the adoration of God by cosmic and celestial creatures; the third and sixth describe the suffering of Jesus and of humanity; the central fourth piece is about desire “in its highest spiritual sense,” as the composer put it.


A considerable degree of cohesion over these disparate pieces is achieved by the use of a single theme, the theme of Creation, in four sequences of chords. This provides the material for most of the seven movements. As he was to do with Vingt Regards , Messiaen allots the first movement to a statement of the theme. In this case, over 39 measures, it is played five times by Lowenthal while Oppens contributes metrically complex, bell-like music (“bells shivering in the Light,” as the composer put it). The opening, pianissimo , is wonderfully evocative. The low chords of Creation, deep inside the piano, are barely more than a cosmic growl, Oppens and Lowenthal drawing in the listener compellingly. This opening Amen of Creation is one long crescendo and the players sculpt the increasing dynamics with complete conviction so that the apparently abrupt cut-off is surprising, even on repeated listening.


Jerome Lowenthal observes in his CD notes that, on its first performance, Visions de l’Amen aroused immediate enthusiasm in some and annoyance in others, and it is in pieces like the fourth movement, Amen of Desire , that the possibly annoyed listener is tested the most. Messiaen has two themes of Desire, the first somewhat sweet, the second extraordinarily saccharine, if vigorous. Yet it is essential that we remember that Messiaen was completely sincere and unironic in this writing. It places a huge burden on the performers, who have to play with complete conviction if all parties are not to collapse in laughter. Paul Griffiths in his book Olivier Messiaen and the Music of Time describes this second theme as “[moving] through ever splashier paroxysms of cheapened harmony” and it is to their credit that Oppens and Lowenthal pull this movement off triumphantly.


If the first movement is a composed crescendo, the last, Amen of the Consummation , is a more or less continuous fortissimo . It is a tour de force in this recording: Lowenthal hammers out the Creation theme in the middle register while Oppens manages seemingly superhuman feats in the extreme upper and lower registers simultaneously, peal upon peal of bells pouring out. And, not content with starting this movement seemingly flat-out, both players are able to summon even more energy for the final measures, which are awe-inspiring.


Turning to the fine performance by Katia and Marielle Labèque on Erato, still sounding very good, it is clearly a recording one could live with very happily (as one has). However, the newcomer has the edge in terms of sheer weight of sound. That fuller sound picture emphasizes the intensity of Oppens’ and Lowenthal’s reading, which really takes no hostages. When the sustain pedal is finally released to cut off the huge reverberation of the final chords of the work, one realizes that the attention has been held for 46 minutes through the sheer conviction of all (composer and players) concerned.


Rather than provide more Messiaen, Cedille has opted for Debussy’s two-piano work En Blanc et noir (In White and Black). The link here is that Debussy wrote this music in the France of the First World War. If you’ll look in vain for references to war in Messiaen’s music, here there are a number of allusions, more or less elliptical, to it. The middle of three movements, Lent, Sombre , opens very somberly, and Oppens’ and Lowenthal’s performance brings out all the subsequent mercurial, shadowy shifts of mood and harmony. Their reading of En Blanc et noir is warmer than some—entirely to the advantage of the music—entirely clear and recommendable.


Ursula Oppens turns in a performance of the Messiaen whose “speed, allure, and quality of sound” are impeccable while providing a large amount of “emotion and power” as well, while Jerome Lowenthal is no less compelling in his performance. It’s a shame that Cedille provides only 10 seconds to recover from Visions de l’Amen before the Debussy breaks in, but this is a trivial cavil, faced with such a commanding and excellent disc.


FANFARE: Jeremy Marchant


What a great idea to pair two major 20th-century French two-piano works, both composed in wartime. More importantly, Ursula Oppens and Jerome Lowenthal prove an inspired pair, pianistically speaking. Throughout Visions de l'Amen's seven movements the pianists navigate the composer's tricky rhythms and frequently thick textural hurdles with impressive ensemble exactitude, uninhibited dynamism, and cogent organization of melodic and decorative elements. One good example of this can be found in the third movement, Amen de l'Agonie de Jésus, where, in the Bien modéré section, the second piano's fortissimo tune is perfectly contoured against the first piano's chords in the same register (left-hand forte, right-hand mezzo-forte). Similarly, the duo's long-lined animation and textural diversity in the seventh movement prevents the music from sounding long-winded and from bogging down.

Oppens commands the first piano part's big chords and wide leaps with the utmost solidity, definition, and rhythmic focus, and always knows when to dominate and pull back. Lowenthal has all of the good tunes (as well as the bad ones; I still cannot get through the second piano's sickly sweet fourth-movement solo without wincing), and he relishes accents more than certain of his discographical competitors. He also allows himself freedom in solo passages when expressively appropriate, such as in his ever-so-slight yet heart-quickening accelerandos under certain crescendos in the second movement.

In contrast to the lean and streamlined profile characterizing the Kontarsky brothers' reference recording of Debussy's En blanc et noir, Oppens and Lowenthal opt for full and generous sonorities, even when playing quietly. Although they seemingly employ as little sustain pedal as possible, a mellifluous yet strong legato quality emerges from massive chords, rapid bass-register rumblings, and fleeting flourishes. Who said you can't be impressionistic and clear at the same time? Save for slightly congested climaxes, the full-bodied engineering is excellent. Lowenthal's superb, highly informative annotations add further value to this desirable release.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

An uncommon pairing. Well worth hearing. A fascinating release.

Sophie Moser and Katja Huhn have chosen an absorbing programme of two contrasting violin sonatas. Firstly there’s a rarely-heard score byf Wilhelm Furtwängler: his difficult and serious Second Sonata. The coupling is Beethoven’s optimistic Sonata No. 8 in G major, much better known but often overshadowed by the composer’s more famous Spring and Kreutzer sonatas.
 
The first thing that I noticed was the attractive presentation. Full of interesting information the booklet includes fascinating reproductions of a 1940 recital programme of Furtwängler’s D major Sonata with descriptions in German.
 
It may come as a surprise to some readers that in addition to the demands of a heavy conducting schedule Furtwängler found time to compose. Furtwängler was fifty-two when he completed his Violin Sonata No.2 in 1939. Cast in three movements it is a long work lasting over forty minutes. At times it reminded me of the chamber music of Reger and Hindemith. I found the sound quality excellent being especially clear and well balanced.
 
Marked Allegro moderato the opening movement has a sunny disposition with a tinge of mystery. Soon developing into a fierce storm the forceful music surges over the listener like a torrent. Much of Moser’s violin part is for its highest register. Thankfully Huhn’s piano is never allowed to dominate. An uneasy calm pervades the Lento. Although the piano textures are heavy the lyricism is predominantly passionate. There are passages of greater weight and angst but this soon diminishes. A curious short passage for pizzicato at 8:53-9:08 is impassive and characterless. Moser and Huhn drive the pace of the Finale: Presto like a gale-force wind. Here Furtwängler’s writing encompasses dramatic emotional contrasts with extremely wide dynamics. Short passages of relative calm provide only a brief respite from the near frenetic writing. Rather abruptly the score ends with a sudden outburst of energy.
 
Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 8, sometimes known as the ‘ little G major’, is the last in a set of three sonatas. Published as op. 30 in Vienna in 1803 the set bears a dedication to the monarch Tsar Alexander I of Russia. With regard to the sound quality I found Huhn’s piano placed too far forward in the balance which creates an unappealing bright metallic resonance when played with force. 

The playing here is assured with plenty of zest in the uplifting and joyous opening Allegro assai. Contrasting starkly with the outer movements the central movement is more relaxed and features light Viennese rhythms. A temperament of childlike simplicity makes few demands on the listener. Briskly taken by Moser and Huhn the lyrical Finale: Allegro vivace just bounces along with playing that feels fresh and buoyant. 

The Beethoven and Furtwängler violin sonatas are an uncommon paring on disc. Furtwängler’s D major score is well worth hearing and makes this a fascinating release.
 
-- Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International