‘Arguably one of the strongest recordings in the whole Mörbisch operetta series, this is strongly recommended, and not just to die-hard operetta fans.’ (Fanfare on Der Graf von Luxemburg). This Operetta Edition presents popular works by Franz Lehár that were recorded at the Mörbisch Festival and feature the Mörbisch Festival Choir and Orchestra under the direction of Rudolf Bibl and Wolfdieter Maurer (Der Zarewitsch). The edition comprises Das Land des Lächelns, Giuditta, Die lustige Witwe, Der Graf von Luxemburg and Der Zarewitsch.

REVIEW:

At the helm of the Mörbisch Festival Orchestra is Austrian conductor and pianist Rudolf Bibl (1929-2017), except for Der Zarewitsch under Wolfdieter Maurer. The cast of artists in each of these delightful operettas is far too extensive to identify individually but be assured, each production is echt Lehár and, of course, unmistakably Viennese. The librettos are sung in German.

-- The Whole Note (CA)

Recorded following an acclaimed solo concert tour, renowned performer, composer and conductor Thomas Adès performs a collection of Leos Janácek’s works for piano. Nearly all of the music for solo piano written by Leoš Janácek (1854-1928) dates from before the First World War and thus belongs to the period before the composer’s remarkable late creative surge, which was triggered by the hugely successful 1916 production in Prague of his third opera, Jenufa (1894-1903; rev. 1907-8), and facilitated by his retirement from his teaching position at the Brno Organ School. Nevertheless, all three of Janácek’s major solo piano works – On an Overgrown Path (1900-1911), From the Street 1 October 1905 (1905-6) and In the Mists (1912-13) – contain music that is both profoundly individual and also integral to the now widespread view of the composer as one the most original musical voices of early twentieth-century music.

REVIEWS:

Adès’s account of On an Overgrown Path eschews sentimentality and refuses to duck the suppressed violence that occasionally erupts. His care shown over Janácek’s inner part writing is often revelatory, and he seems very much at one with the near improvisatory nature of these pieces. There is perhaps less delicacy in his approach to the more elusive soundworld of In The Mists, but his performance is impressive for its clarity and cohesion.

– BBC Music Magazine

It’s apparent from the get-go that Adès is determined to check all expressive clichés at the recording studio door, accept Janácek’s plain-spoken syntax and lack of artifice for what they are, and simply play the music straight. Adès seems less interested in colour or moody subtext than rendering text with intensive clarity in the two-movement Sonata. An illuminating release.

– Gramophone

No buffo couple, no choruses, no dance scenes, and, most of all, no psychological conflict: the action of Cloclo is not at all typical of Franz Lehár. It is a chamber operetta but more than a mirthful intermezzo for the lyrical opera Paganini: it is its comedic counterpart. The foxtrot “Ich habe La Garçonne gelesen” became the operetta’s hit at the premiere on 8 March 1924. It referred to Victor Margueritte’s novel of the same name about a prototypical young woman of the 1920s who leads an independent existence, wears short dresses and sports a bobbed hairdo, and, to top it all, is a sexual libertine. Unanimously enthusiastic reviews followed last year after the semi-scenic performance on which our recording is based, and the Lehár Festival in Bad Ischl won the coveted “Operettenfrosch July 2019” for this rewarding rediscovery. The Bavarian Radio, full of praise, raved: “Marius Burkhard in the meantime has reached an astonishing level with his Lehár Orchestra. His feel for the right tempos but especially his sense of the tonal values of Lehár’s score attest to his status as one of today’s best operetta conductors. And the most marvelous thing: every member of the orchestra has obvious fun and a smile on her or his face. Don’t be a frog, kiss him. The Operetta Editorial Staff is convinced and offers its congratulations for great operetta courageousness.”

SOMM RECORDINGS is delighted to announce Elgar from America, Volume II: the first commercial release of three historic performances from 1940s’ New York featuring legendary Elgarian interpreters including violinist Yehudi Menuhin and conductors Malcolm Sargent and Arturo Toscanini at the helm of the NBC Symphony Orchestra. The results offer a fascinating transatlantic perspective on a titan of British music while revealing his musical legacy in a country he visited annually from 1905-07 and again in 1911. The featured recordings date from the first half of the 1940s and have been restored and remastered by the multi-award-winning audio restoration engineer Lani Spahr, who also provides informative booklet notes. Menuhin, long associated with Elgar since his 1932 recording of the Violin Concerto, is heard here in a 1945 performance of the work, abbreviated to fit radio constraints of time. It is conducted by Sargent who also leads an account of Cockaigne (In London Town) Concert-Overture from the same year. Toscanini’s 1940 performance of the Introduction and Allegro for Strings marks the only time he conducted it with the NBC SO, joined here by Mischa Mischakoff and Edwin Bachmann violins, Carlton Cooley viola, Frank Miller cello. Elgar from America, Volume I (ARIADNE 5005) was hailed by Classical Music Daily as “a fine start to this historic cycle” while MusicWeb International called it “a model of one of the things the album should be doing: filling the medium to capacity with engaging and/or controversial interpretations that one cannot simply over-hear... Essential listening.”

Also available on Blu-ray

Premiered on May 21st, 1892 at Milan’s Teatro Dal Verme under the baton of Arturo Toscanini, Pagliacci was immediately a huge success, and today it’s Leoncavallo’s most represented operas as “Vesti la giubba” is perhaps one of the most famous operatic arias of all times. The composer drew inspiration from a real incident that had occurred in a Calabrian town, an incident steeped in love and death, which inspired him to write his personal contribution to the new stylistic-aesthetic trends of Italian opera. In the Prologue, Leoncavallo inserted an outright manifesto of Verismo (“real theatre”). His aim was to “paint a scene from real life” and since “the artist is a person, […] he should write for the people. Therefore, he took inspiration from real life.” In the story of Nedda, Tonio and Canio we therefore find a well combined mix of art and reality, operatic theatre and life, with the second almost taking over the first, to the extent that the chorus, towards the end, exclaims, “This scene seems so real!” This production was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in September 2019 and it was acclaimed as a great success by the critics. Conductor Valerio Galli “reads the score with the proper technique, succeeding in enhancing all the various shades for each scene … Pagliacci is conducted with passion… a careful eye to the dramatic development of the story and the sound is rendered with a variety of shades and colors”.

REVIEW:

This is good, solid, Italianate, passionate singing, notably from the tenor and soprano. The picture is sharp, with subtitles easily found. The sound is crystal clear, bringing out the best of the timpani and brass to good effect. The voices are well to the fore. There is a short extra with the directors discussing the production. For those who like their verismo full-blooded and idiomatically led, this is for you. Highly recommended.

– Fanfare (David Cutler)

Ivan Bessonov (*2002) is an exceptional musical phenomenon: He began his professional training as early as 2012 and took up piano studies at the Central Music School for Particularly Gifted Children of the Moscow Conservatory. In 2015, he made his debut in his native Russia as a film music composer. His international breakthrough came in 2018 when he won the 'Eurovision Young Musicians Competition' in Edinburgh, one of the more important international music competitions. On this recording he offers a challenging program of Russian classics and an original composition.