From the moment Karen Gomyo first heard Astor Piazzolla on album, at the age of fourteen, she was spellbound: ‘I had never heard such a combination of sensuality, fierceness, playfulness, sadness and nostalgia.’ As a violinist she found the role of the violin in Piazzolla’s music especially inspiring, and soon started playing it herself – first in various group combinations, and eventually together with Piazzolla’s longtime pianist Pablo Ziegler and his Tango Quartet. For the present disc she has chosen to record strings-only versions of three works originally for tango quintet (Seasons), guitar and flute (Histoire), and solo flute (Études). Piazzolla’s Cuatro Estaciones were initially conceived neither as a suite nor as a tribute to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Verano porteño (Summer) was composed first, as part of the incidental music for a play, with the other three following several years later. If the Seasons provide a soundtrack to the year as it unfolds in Buenos Aires, Histoire du Tango describes the development of the tango itself in four chapters – from the brothels around year 1900 to the concert halls where Piazzolla himself performed his tango nuevo. These two works frame three of Piazzolla’s Tango Études, which Karen Gomyo performs solo, while otherwise being partnered by the strings of the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire (Seasons) and the guitarist Stephanie Jones (Histoire).

Albert Camus once wrote ‘when I describe what the catastrophe of modern man looks like, music comes into my mind – the music of Gustav Mahler’. If asked to specify a particular work, it is quite possible that Camus would have proposed Symphony No. 6 in A minor – the symphony that Bruno Walter claimed portrayed ‘a terrifying, hopeless darkness, without a human sound’. Nevertheless, the period during which Mahler wrote his Sixth was one of the most successful and happiest of his life – prior to any marital difficulties, at the time of the birth of his second daughter Anna, his professional reputation growing. Alma Mahler, in her memoirs, suggested that the symphony was in fact predicting instances of future distress in the composer’s own life, and she and various commentators have proposed various interpretations of different elements. Most famous of these are possibly the hammer strokes in the Finale, falling, according to Alma, like ‘blows of fate’ on the ‘hero’ of the symphony. But Osmo Vänskä has a reputation for engaging with even the most iconic scores at face value, avoiding preconceived ideas and ‘time-honored’ traditions.

His and the Minnesota Orchestra’s recording of Mahler’s Sixth follows upon the 2017 release of the composer’s Fifth Symphony. Nominated to a 2018 Grammy Award, that interpretation has been described as ‘at once committed and detached, intense and transcendentally timeless’ (Norman Lebrecht) and ‘an exceptional performance that promises great things to come’ (allmusic.com).

REVIEWS:

The Finnish maestro opts for the revised order of middle movements, the searing andante preceding the scherzo, with its “old fatherly”, Ländler-like trio. The Minnesotans shine in the eerie sonorities of the finale, building to another allegro energico, but ending, movingly, in the minor tonality.

– Sunday Times (UK)

The interpretation here is intensely focused and utterly compelling, and the playing is impassioned and unnervingly vivid in the multichannel format, so listeners who loved the exceptional analog versions by Solti and Tennstedt or modern digital recordings by Abbado, Tilson Thomas, and Pappano can be sure that Vänskä's audiophile version ranks just as high in quality. The integrity of the performance and the expressive heights that are achieved carry the day and make Vänskä's recording essential for Mahler buffs.

– All Music Guide

Cincinnati Opera’s newest release is a live recording of the world premiere production of Blind Injustice, with music by Scott Davenport Richards and libretto by David Cote. Developed in collaboration with the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) and the Cincinnati-based ensemble Young Professionals Choral Collective, Blind Injustice explores the true stories of six individuals who were wrongfully imprisoned and ultimately freed by the OIP. The opera’s narrative was drawn from the book Blind Injustice written by OIP director and formal federal prosecutor Mark Godsey, as well as personal interviews with the six exonerees. The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra’s John Morris Russell conducts, with stage direction and dramaturgy by Robin Guarino. Hailed as “a powerful piece of music theater” by The Wall Street Journal and “a moving new work” by Opera News, Cincinnati Opera’s world premiere production of Blind Injustice explores the true stories of six individuals who were tried, convicted, imprisoned, and ultimately freed by the Ohio Innocence Project. With a “rich soundscape” (NPR’s All Things Considered) featuring elements of opera, pop, jazz, and blues, Blind Injustice interweaves the exonerees’ individual stories to create a moving portrait of perseverance, grace, and forgiveness.

What we know as ‘Handel’s Opus 3’ is most likely little more than a brazen attempt by the London publisher John Walsh to make some quick money. In 1715, Walsh had issued a pirated edition of Corelli’s 12 Concerti Grossi Opus 6 which proved an instant success and left him constantly looking for similar opportunities. Almost 20 years later, perhaps in the knowledge that the royal protection granted to Handel’s musical output was about to expire, Walsh assembled a set of six orchestral pieces for a wide range of instruments. He prefaced them with a wholly misleading title-page – based on Corelli’s style-defining collection – and advertised them as Handel’s ‘Opera Terza’. It is likely that Handel never took part in the selection and organization of the individual movements, although he may have been involved in the revisions made when a reprint was necessary a few years later. Selected from various sources, the six concertos certainly don’t form an organic cycle – in complete contrast to the future Op.?6 concerti grossi, which Handel carefully conceived as a set. The fact remains that Opus 3 contains some of Handel’s best-loved music, in instrumental combinations that are colorful and often unexpected – aspects that Martin Gester and his musicians in the Tasmanian period band Van Diemen’s Band make the most of.

REVIEW:

Handel's op. 3 collection is a test for any group: staying true to the letter & spirit of the score, while keeping the music sounding fresh and alive. Martin Gester and his Tasmanian group Van Diemen's Band have done exactly that, in this wonderful new album from BIS. There's plenty of fire burning here, but it's within the context of impressive musical discipline and lightly-worn Historically Informed Performance scholarship. BIS provides the kind of direct and transparent sound that allows Early Instruments to flourish. This is a highly recommended release!

-- Music for Several Instruments

Directed by Julian Jarrold, Evelyn Waugh's novel, Brideshead Revisited receives its first cinematic adaptation this summer with a cast which includes Academy-Award winner Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon, Matthew Goode, Hayley Atwell and Ben Whishaw. The screenplay is written by Jeremy Brock and Andrew Davies. Brideshead Revisited follows the memoirs of Charles Ryder and his involvement with the Flyte family who own the Brideshead Estate. It relives the hedonistic days of 1920s Oxford University and tells an evocative story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence with particular focus on Charles's relationship with brother and sister, Sebastian and Julia and their mother, Lady Marchmain. Chandos is delighted to have been given the opportunity to record Adrian Johnston's soundtrack, the first original film score on Chandos Movies. Having won both BAFTA and Emmy Awards for his scores, Adrian Johnston has had an impressive career in television and film to date including Becoming Jane, Kinky Boots, The Mayor of Casterbridge and White Teeth. Adrian Johnston writes of the Brideshead Revisited recording "I was thrilled to have an opportunity to work with Chandos - a label whose philosophy I have always liked, and whose CDs of Philip Lane's fine film score reconstruction I have particularly admired. I know that to release a 'non historical' film score was somewhat of a departure for the label, but I hope that Brideshead Revisited can somehow exist as a Chandos product, and perhaps open up the way for future film music collaborations." The BBC Philharmonic is conducted by Olivier Award winner Terry Davies who has a wide range of credits in film, theatre and TV including Shakespeare in Love, Becoming Jane, House of Mirth and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

During the 1930s, Bliss, Britten, and Berkeley all contributed major works to the repertoire for string orchestra, following in the footsteps of Elgar and Vaughan Williams. They are joined on this album by Frank Bridge whose Lament was composed during the First World War. This is the fourth recording by John Wilson with his award-winning Sinfonia of London. Bliss composed Music for Strings after he had completed the film score for Korda’s Things to Come, driven by his desire to compose a piece of ‘pure music’, expressing his own ideas rather than those of others. Commissioned in May 1937 by Boyd Neel for the Salzburg Festival that summer, Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge was composed at great speed, and helped to establish the young composer’s international reputation. Dedicated to his teacher, Frank Bridge, the theme is taken from the second of Bridge’s Three Idylls for string quartet. Lennox Berkeley composed his Serenade for Strings at Snape Maltings, where he was living with Britten in 1938 / 39. By the time of its completion the nation was at war and the music seems to reflect the composer’s anxious mood as the world faced an uncertain future.

REVIEWS:

The players may have changed since Barbirolli but the spirit has not. And the sound. Sumptuous is one word – but because this is Wilson that goes hand-in-hand with the keenest articulation. There’s a rosiny immediacy about it all, like being on the podium, or better yet inside the sound.. Wilson’s way with strings has come a long way from Hollywood – but the lustre is inescapable.

– Gramophone (Editor's Choice, February 2021)

Here in the Bridge Lament is a prime example of the heartfelt precision and beauty of tone that typifies John Wilson’s Sinfonia of London. There’s plenty of heart, too, in their superlative treatment of Britten’s marvellous Bridge variations, warmly delivered even during the parody character pieces clustered together in the first half. Wilson’s team prove equally adroit in Berkeley’s Serenade.

– BBC Music Magazine

A unique collaboration: the All-Star Orchestra's Music Director Gerard Schwarz guest conducts the United States Marine Band. Founded by an Act of Congress in 1798, it is America's oldest continually active musical ensemble. Three programs feature masterpieces for symphonic band and the history of the famed ensemble.

This release is a joint project between American string sextet Cuatro Puntos and student ensembles from Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), opened in Kabul in 2010 after a period of Taliban rule in which instruments were destroyed and musicians were outlawed. The special goal of ANIM is on supporting the most disadvantaged members of Afghan society, many students are orphans and street vendors. Cuatro Puntos is based in Hartford, Connecticut. The ensemble is a non-profit organization centered around global peace and cooperation achieved through the writing, teaching and performance of music across the world. The title work is by composer Sadie Harrison; in recognition of her unique integration of modern composition and traditional Afghan folk music, she was given the honor of being named a Visiting Fellow at Goldsmiths, London. This album is the result of her time there. The Rosegarden of Light alternates between interludes performed by the Ensemble Zohra, the ANIM all-girls ensemble and fantasies on their material performed by Cuatro Puntos. "At a time when we are bombarded every day by images of the world in crisis, The Rosegarden of Light is a joyful celebration of musicians who share a fundamental right to express themselves through the universal language of music." - Blackmore Vale Magazine

REVIEW:

Music can mean many things to different people and to some it can mean everything. Music can represent religious beliefs, create political conversations, and preserve the cultural aspects of a civilization. Now imagine living in a place where music has been heavily censored since the 1970s, a ban on instrumental music wasn’t lifted until 2001, and the first performance of a decades old children’s book moved people to tears because they thought the songs were lost. This is Afghanistan. This is the importance of the “Rosegarden of Light” release.

The liner notes tell of books about Afghan music and its history and a website to view videos of performers. The performances are lively and solid, mostly a mix of Indian, Persian, and Pashtun, with some strongly influenced by western music. The music isn’t the most difficult, but simply having groups like the ANIM Junior Ensemble of Traditional Afghan Instruments playing folk songs and the all-female Ensemble Zohra existing at all is a major accomplishment. The US string sextet Cuantro Puntos does the heavy lifting on the culturally mixed pieces, and the collaborative works turn an already important musical release into something even greater.

-- Fanfare

Alfred Hitchcock commissioned his film scores from composers who were Hollywood’s master-craftsmen. The concert items prepared from those scores feature a dazzling variety of styles, from Baroque and jazz to dark Romanticism and angular angst, all using the orchestra with breathtaking virtuosity. The conductor John Mauceri, as at home with this repertoire as any other musician, has prepared a number of concert suites from the film scores and some of them receive their first recordings here. This recording was made live in concert in Danish Radio’s new concert hall in Copenhagen. The booklet contains an introductory text by John Mauceri and an extensive, illustrated essay on Hitchcock and his use of film music and work with composers by British film-music historian John Riley.

REVIEWS:

The concert recordings contain some ambient noises and quirks of balance (lots of bass tones). But the pluses are powerful: the orchestra's flair, the vivid colors and audible adrenalin. Even the most dedicated film buff should deepen their appreciation as Hitchkock's composers run the gamut.

– BBC Music Magazine

Hitchcock was the enabler of many hours of orchestral music that are part of the 20th century’s legacy. Herrmann’s scores for Vertigo and Psycho, and Franz Waxman’s for Rear Window, stand out. The Wagnerian Scène d’Amour, from Vertigo, comes over as one of the great slow movements.

– Sunday Times

Zoltán Kodály’s orchestral output is relatively small but brimming with Hungarian spirit. JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic (BPO) present one of the composer’s most popular works, the Háry János Suite, alongside Summer Evening and the Symphony in C major. Falletta and the BPO’s acclaimed previous Kodály album is on 8573838.

REVIEW:

This is JoAnn Falletta’s second recording for Naxos of music by Kodály and it is every bit as fine as that earlier one. It includes two works which deserve greater exposure than they have received. It also contains Kodály’s most popular orchestral piece, the Háry János Suite. There have been plenty of excellent accounts of this suite, particularly by such Hungarian conductors as István Kertész and Iván Fischer. Falletta holds her own against those, even if none I have heard surpasses Kertész in this music, including his 1964 recorded sound.

The primary reason to get this CD is the rarely performed Symphony in C, a piece that Kodály worked on over a long period beginning in the 1930s and completing only in 1957. It is an attractive and well-orchestrated work with memorable themes and characteristic of Kodály in its harmony and rhythms.

There is plenty of detail to be savoured and at the same time good, but not excessive reverberation. Another fine production from Naxos.

-- MusicWeb International

The trumpet has had many concertos written for it by composers from the Soviet era and beyond. Appealing in its unabashed melodies and colorfully nostalgic feel, Arutiunian’s Trumpet Concerto became popular in the West, while Weinberg’s emotive Trumpet Concerto in B flat major was summed up by Shostakovich as a ‘symphony for trumpet and orchestra’. Shostakovich’s own playful Concerto No.1, Op. 35 is recorded here with Timofei Dokschizer’s extended trumpet part, bringing it closer to the Baroque ‘double concerto’ model that the composer may initially have intended.