ArkivMusic

OPERETTE - WIEN BERLIN PARIS

ERATO

Available as CD

$17.49

Jul 05, 2024

A true living legend - inheritor of the great Soviet/Russian tradition, mentored by Sviatoslav Richter. A classic coupling echoing the legendary 1975 Richter album with Matacic. A musician who belongs among the most celebrated pianists of our time, who follows in the footsteps of the great Russian musicians of the Soviet era, such as David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter, and Emil Gilels. She has won the prestigious Enescu, Marguerite Long, and Queen Elizabeth international piano competitions and been awarded prizes such OPUS KLASSIK Instrumentalist of the Year in 2020, the Caecilia Prize, and the Diapason d'Or. Her third Warner release (after critically acclaimed albums of the complete Schubert sonatas and Beethoven piano concerti) features Grieg's and Schumann's piano concerti. Her interpretation of Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No.2 in E Flat Major is a constant #1 in Warner Classics UK's top-streamed tracks - now at almost 70M streams worldwide.

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 1; Piano Sonata No. 2; Core

Piano Classics

Available as CD

~~$19.99~~ $14.99

Mar 21, 2025

Back in 2015, Fanfare singled out Ekaterina Litvintseva's first solo album of Rachmaninoff, including the Moments musicaux Op.16, as an 'impressive outing. Her playing is tonally rich and extremely thoughtful.' Since then, she has assembled an impressive and critically acclaimed catalogue on Piano Classics, including most recently the great Trio elegiaque which Rachmaninoff wrote in memory of Tchaikovsky: 'an attractive and valuable disc' (Fanfare). Litvintseva now turns to a trio of uncontested masterpieces by the Russian composer, demonstrating within a single album the range of his stylistic evolution over the course of 40 years. He was still a teenager, studying at the Moscow Conservatoire, when he wrote his First Piano Concerto in 1891. On the instruction of his teachers, he took the Grieg Concerto as a model, and poured his own invention into it: a remarkably successful strategy, as it turned out, because the finished work is both strong and personal, touched with many of those fingerprints of gesture and harmony which we have come to think of as quintessentially Rachmaninoff. These include flights of lyric fantasy and equally sudden, unexpected turns towards melancholy introspection. Rachmaninoff had become an international celebrity by 1913, when he took his family to live the high life with him in Rome, at a home which Tchaikovsky had once used. In the Italian capital he began work on the imposing Second Piano Sonata, though the work had to be completed back at the family estate, Ivanovka, when his daughters came down with typhus. Rachmaninoff overhauled the Sonata in 1931, cutting and in some places simplifying it's form, and it is this version which Litvintseva plays: a stylistic bridge between mid-period and late-style in a composer whose capacity for reinvention has often been underestimated. By 1941 he was an exile living in the US and Switzerland, where he wrote his Variations on a theme of Corelli - the 'La folia' theme adopted by countless of his predecessors. Informed by decades of pianistic and creative mastery, Rachmaninoff makes the theme his own with a neoclassical severity and haunting economy of expression. Thus, taken as a whole, Ekaterina Litvintseva's new album pays a wide-ranging and personal tribute to a composer who has inspired her playing since her formation in Siberia. - Ekaterina Litvintseva is one of the most remarkable pianists of her generation. Her recordings won her enthusiastic acclaim in the international press: "a notable moment in the history of Chopin interpretation" (Fanfare); "a sense of spontaneous invention" in Mozart's K.271 (Gramophone) and "an expressive depth" in Brahms's 1st Piano Concerto (BBC Music Magazine). She previously recorded for Piano Classics an album with piano works by Dora Pejacevic (PCL10226), as well as the Works for Piano and Orchestra by Chopin (PCL10142 and 10274), which was a CD Of The Week at Classic FM. - In this new release Litvintseva displays her innate feeling for the idiom in works by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943): the youthfully exuberant First Piano Concerto, the monumental Second Piano Sonata and the innovative Corelli variations Op. 42, cornerstones of the piano repertoire nowadays, and played with vigour, drama and a deep sense of poetry. The concerto is accompanied by the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, conducted by Vahan Mardirossian.

Nordic Violin Favourites / Kraggerud, Engeset, Dalasinfoniettan

Naxos

Available as CD

~~$19.99~~ $13.99

May 29, 2012

This fabulous recording features lesser known violin repertoire played with a keen advocacy.

This fabulous recording features lesser known violin repertoire, played with a keen advocacy by soloist Henning Kraggerud and Dalasinfoniettan. Excepting the works of Ole Bull, the remaining pieces were composed between 1910 and 1930. However, none of this music embraces the radically dissonant sounds found in Austrian-Germanic music of this period. Anyone with a love of Holst and Vaughan Williams, Grieg and J.P.E. Hartmann will positively revel in this repertoire.

The CD opens with six modestly arranged Norwegian folksongs by Carl Olsen. The first movement begins with violin alone, played here with great sensitivity and refinement. Olsen ensure that even when the orchestra enters, the melody always stands out, keeping the harmonic writing fairly simple so that it compliments, rather than competes, with the melody. Throughout these songs, Kraggerud’s sound is burnished and rich, varying his vibrato to give greater shape and ardor to his phrasing, while the orchestra led by Bjarte Engeset, prove to be equally sensitive partners.

Atterberg’s Suite No. 3 was originally intended for a violin and viola soloist; this arrangement, for two violins, is its premiere recording. Both solo parts are played by Kraggerud, and while there is nothing to fault in his playing or in the engineer’s dubbing, I found myself resistant to this idea, as I would have liked to hear him interact with another player. Nevertheless, the playing is stunningly beautiful, the forlorn atmosphere of the first two movements gently dispelled by the final movement’s more uplifting waltz.

The Two Sentimental Romances very much reminded me of Vaughan Williams, in both their use of modes and constantly shifting textures. The first Romance, in A Major, is bright and inviting, a perfect evocation of a beautiful summer day, while the second F-minor Romance, marked Allegro patetico, brings greater intensity and a return to that forlorn atmosphere that many Nordic composers easily inhabit.

Ole Bull was considered the “Nordic Paganini”, well known not only for his great virtuosity but also his improvisational abilities. Memories of Havana was composed during Bull’s 1844 tour of Cuba. The score and solo part are lost, but a complete set of orchestral parts survives, so Kraggerud has reconstructed the solo part. The work’s structure is similar to Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsodies: several sections based on a national folk tune, connected by interlude material that is meant to give the listener (and performers) a break between moments of virtuosic writing. Mountain Vision features a tune by Bull that became incredibly popular in Norway, so much so that a text was written for the tune, called “The Herdgirl’s Sunday.” Similarly structured, the work includes not only includes Bull’s melody, but four other folk tunes. Both are performed with plenty of fire and beauty, without ever becoming over sentimentalized.

The final selections feature the music by the better known composers, Halvorsen, Sibelius and Sinding. Halvorsen’s Norwegian Dance No. 3, as the title suggests, is predominantly light-hearted and joyful in its outer sections, though the middle section features gentler, less rhythmic music that features a long-breathed, arching melody. Sibelius’s Six Humoresques express what the composer called “the sadness of living a life that was only occasionally illuminated by the sun”. These are performances of great sophistication and delicate beauty, more affecting that the rather heavy-handed treatment they receive in the Mutter/Staatskappelle/Previn 1996 DG recording.

Evening Mood clearly shows the influence of Sinding’s four years of study in Leipzig, featuring warmth of color that gently dispels the somewhat despondent mood of the previous Sibelius set, making for a satisfying hour plus of gorgeous music-making.

The recording itself is truly excellent, the soloist well integrated into the sound-picture. The engineers have fully captured the room’s warm ambience without any loss of clarity and there is a good front to back perspective. Notes are excellent and informative, but printed in a font size that might actually be in negative numbers. I look forward to more recordings from these performers.

David A. McConnell , MusicWeb International

Viktor Kosenko: Piano Music, Vol 1 - 11 Etudes / Shkoda

Toccata

Available as CD

~~$20.99~~ $15.99

Oct 10, 2006

KOSENKO 11 Etudes in the Form of Old Dances, op. 19 • Natalya Shkoda (pn) • TOCCATA 36 (69:01)

Viktor Stempanovich Kosenko (1896–1938) trained at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where he studied composition and theory with Mikhail Sokolov, a Rimsky-Korsakov pupil, and piano with Irina Miklashevskaya. His early years were hard, much as they certainly were for most other artists of his generation in a young Soviet Union. It wasn’t until 1929 that his employment prospects began to improve with a teaching position at Kiev’s Lysenko Institute of Music and Drama. In 1934, he accepted a post at the Kiev Conservatory, and in 1938, he received the Order of the Red Banner. With many concerts, a great deal of teaching, and a small number of published works to his credit, Kosenko died in his early forties of kidney cancer.

As for the Eleven Etudes , they fit into a genre of “olden style” pieces that reflected late 19th/early 20th-century nostalgia for a sentimentalized or nationalized 17th- or 18th-century past. A variety of composers tried their hand at this, including Grieg, Parry, Elgar, Giordano, Massenet, Reger, and Saint-Saëns, among others. Their works were never intended to be mistaken for period music, but were amiable stylizations that embedded thematic, harmonic, or contrapuntal devices in a generalized Romantic language, then poured the results into small-scaled Baroque or Classical dance forms.

Kosenko’s collection of gavottes, minuets, courantes, rigaudons, etc, fits perfectly into this group. It’s conventionally Romantic, with nothing evident of the olden style save in titles and a very occasional turn of phrase. Brahms, instead, is the main influence on Kosenko. Rhetorical devices and harmonic progressions occasionally point directly to specific pieces by the older master (the Sarabande in A Minor glances at Brahms’s Piano Concerto in D Minor), but the overall sense is of a composer finding his own creativity in the language of another, rather than simply as a Brahmsian manqué. The quality of the works varies, but at their best, they demonstrate some imagination, an idiomatic use of the instrument, and a good deal of charm.

Yet even if the music had no significant quality of its own, it would still be interesting because it had been composed at the end of the 1920s in the Soviet Union. This was a period unfriendly to traditional nationalists like Glière, much less composers who “whored after foreign gods.” (Fears of ideological contamination from abroad have a lengthy history in Russia, and the government there has always played this card successfully—much as governments have done elsewhere, but seldom with such ceaseless success.) Although the radicals of the Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians who briefly controlled the Soviet musical apparatus in the late 1920s were never as doctrinally unified as some musicologists believe, their repeated friendliness to Kosenko is surprising. Beginning in 1927, they invited the composer to give a concert of his music in Kharkov each year, for three consecutive years. Kosenko was also allowed to publish some of his music at that time, and his teaching position at the Lysenko Institute has already been mentioned. None of this would have been possible without RAPM intervention; yet these were the same people who urged the desertion of traditional classical structures for “revolutionary” ones, and the abandonment of the classical repertoire as bourgeois and formalistic. Perhaps RAPM’s Ukrainian branch was more ideologically flexible than its Russian one? The whole matter remains curious, and in need of greater elucidation through modern scholarship.

Natalya Shkoda’s thesis project for her Ph.D. earlier this year in piano performance at Arizona State University was a combination of this CD and a research paper on Kosenko’s op. 19. I hope the research paper went well, because the CD is an attractive testament to her current level of skill. She displays a solid technique and a convincing ability to modulate between the intimacy of such works as the Gavotte in B Minor (a lovely little thing, Brahms in an autumnal mood) and the ambitious, flashy Passacaglia. Her rhythmic sense is elastic, and her affection and knowledge of this music is obvious at every turn.

Sound quality is good and close, with fine presence along the full range of the instrument. Shkoda herself supplies the better than average notes. As this is marked volume 1, I assume more is on the way, and I sincerely look forward to hearing it, too.

FANFARE: Barry Brenesal

Sgambati: 6 Nocturnes, Etudes & Other Works

Piano Classics

Available as CD

$19.99

Mar 21, 2025

A detailed portrait of a 'one-work composer': nocturnes, studies and miniatures by Giovanni Sgambati, as well as the famous Melodie de Gluck which has linked his name with many of the world's most illustrious pianists. When Richard Wagner visited Rome in 1876, he was so impressed by Sgambati's two piano quintets that he introduced him to Ludwig Strecker - head of Schott in Mainz - and invited the publisher to bring Sgambati «to the attention of the wider musical world, since in Rome 'he is not in the right place'. Although he was highly regarded by the likes of Wagner and Liszt, Sgambati was almost totally forgotten after his death in 1914. The Piano Classics label has played a leading part in the composer's renaissance, with an ongoing survey on record of the composer's complete piano music. 'I am a pianist and a music populariser,' says Cecilia Faccini. 'I have always seen music as the best form of language through which I can express myself. When I play I try to establish a deep and intimate communication with the listener.' She has applied herself to reviving Sgambati as both a scholar and a performer, and on this new album she makes a personal selection which is designed to reflect various aspects of the composer, as a teacher, an arranger, and an original tone-poet. Inevitably, the album opens with the Melodie de Gluck which transcribes the Dance of the Blessed Spirits from Orfeo ed Euridice for the 19th-century keyboard. In her booklet essay, Facchini remarks that the Nocturnes are among 'the most interesting of Sgambati's compositions. Composed between 1873 and 1897, these pieces require a refined use of the touch and pedalling to create contrasting musical atmospheres. The heritage of Liszt's pianism and style of composition seems to be evident even on first listening.' She also includes a set of Concert Etudes Op.10 to illustrate Sgambati's importance as a composer-pedagogue, whose didactic works were reprinted in many significant 'piano methods'. A violinist who played Beethoven with Sgambati remarked that 'his piano technique was impeccable, clear and pure even in the most difficult passages. His sound was smooth and harmonious, his use of pedals as accurate as ever. Gifted with a touch of great beauty, his fingers could sing on the keyboard.' In this regard, Cecilia Facchini is a worthy successor and advocate for Sgambati in the 21st century. - Born in Rome, to an Italian father and an English mother, Giovanni Sgambati (1841-1914), received his early education at Trevi, in Umbria. In his early twenties he met Franz Liszt in Rome, where the great composer resided for a period each year from 1861. The young man immediately became his favorite pupil, a faithful interpreter of his compositions and a precious collaborator for the mission that warmed both their hearts: to spread classical music in the Roman society of the time. Liszt's Roman school was based in Sgambati's home, where the master trained the best pianists of the time. Sgambati was the first to conduct his Dante Symphony. Liszt took him with him on his travels and introduced him to Richard Wagner, who deeply admired his compositions. His fame grew rapidly, leading him to give concerts all over Europe and in Russia. He received invitations and signs of esteem from the most important musicians of his time: in addition to Liszt and Wagner, he was friends with Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Massenet and Busoni. - Sgambati's piano music consists of a wide variety of shorter pieces. This new recording presents his 6 Nocturnes, 2 Etudes de concert and a set of Morceaux, works with a solid and well-defined structure, innovative ideas and interesting harmonic choices, showing mastery of the musical discourse and a unique expressiveness, all concentrated in a few minutes. - Cecilia Facchini graduated in piano at the Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali in Ravenna under the guidance of Alessandra Ammara and continued her studies at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, where she obtained a Master in Music Performance in Anna Kravtchenko's class. She followed master courses with Roberto Prosseda, Paul Badura- Skoda, Boris Berman, Claudio Martinez-Mehner, Lilya Zilberstein, Jeffrey Swann and, for chamber music, with the Parma Trio.

Klami: Northern Lights, Cheremissian Fantasy / Peltonen, Storgards, Helsinki PO

Ondine

Available as CD

$18.99

Jan 26, 2010

Uuno Klami was the Finnish Ravel, his music characterized by superb craftsmanship, glittering orchestration, and melodies that sound like you might have heard them before but can't remember where. The Cheremissian Fantasy for cello and orchestra is a case in point, saturated with the folk music of far-off Cheremissia (or wherever). It doesn't matter, either there, or in the Kalevala Suite, the closest thing that Klami has to a popular international hit. Northern Lights will be new to most collectors. It's an 18-minute symphonic poem that more than lives up to its title: alternately atmospheric and brilliant, it rises to an imposing climax that reveals Klami's gifts as an orchestrator to excellent effect.

While both the Fantasy and the Kalevala Suite have been recorded previously--and very well (BIS has a fine Klami series from Lahti)--this new release is outstanding in every way. The Helsinki Philharmonic knows this music as well as anyone, and in any event is a first-class ensemble no matter what the repertoire. John Storgards leads vibrant interpretations, with Samuli Peltonen an impressive cello soloist. The sonics are superbly lifelike, with plenty of detail and a wide dynamic range. Highly recommended.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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KLAMI Northern Lights. Cheremissian Fantasy. 1 Kalevala Suite • John Storgärds, cond; 1 Samuli Peltonen (vc); Helsinki PO • ONDINE ODE 1143-2 (65:25)

Uuno Klami (1900–1961) is one of the best-known of those Finnish composers who flourished in the wake of Sibelius, although Klami was also influenced by French and Russian music of the early 20th century. He was especially renowned for his orchestral works, of which the five tone poems comprising the Kalevala Suite (1943) are the most familiar and most often recorded. His best music maintains a bracing rhythmic momentum and reveals an attractive vein of lyricism.

The tone poem Northern Lights (1946) was new to me. The piece does not seem to have been recorded before (or, at any rate, no previous recording appears to be available). It evokes a Sibelian atmosphere; Klami’s music became more appreciably nationalistic after the Second World War. It is a lovely work, with a Ravelian sheen to the orchestration. While there are moments where swirling woodwind and harp glissandi suggest the dazzling phenomenon of the northern lights, Klami’s penchant for melodic cells keeps the music anchored. Around the 10-minute mark a cheeky waltz episode appears, and a suitably grand chorale provides a satisfying coda.

The Cheremissian Fantasy for cello and orchestra (1931) is in two movements, slow and fast, its thematic material loosely based on folk tunes from northern Finland. The cellist is given the bulk of the melodic material, which young soloist Samuli Peltonen plays here with fine tone and lots of heart.

The main work on this disc is the Kalevala Suite . In five movements, its layout could be regarded as symphonic. The first movement, “The Creation of the Earth,” is the equivalent of a sweeping symphonic allegro with a mysterious introduction and gentle postlude added. The second movement,“The Sprout of Spring,” is a scherzo with a lyrical second subject; the third, “Terhenniemi,”—apparently a late addition—serves as an evocative interlude before the calm of the slow movement, “Cradle Song for Lemminkäinen,” and grandeur of the finale, “The Forging of the Sampo.”

The suite’s programmatical basis lies in the great Finnish national epic, the Kalevala , which also inspired much of Sibelius’s music. Indeed, Klami’s work was initially commissioned by Robert Kajanus, chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic and a friend and champion of the older composer. (Kajanus died before the suite reached its final completed form.) Sibelius does not seem to be a major influence until the final movement, and even then the theme on which the movement is based (first played by the English horn) primarily suggests Grieg. Again, Klami’s melodic ease and expertly detailed orchestration leave their stamp on the work.

Storgärds and the modern-day Helsinki Philharmonic give it everything they’ve got in this stunningly recorded program: Tender moments sound gorgeous, the climaxes leap out at you, and Storgärds’ plush, well-balanced orchestral textures do not preclude tension or drama. In the Kalevala Suite , a greater sense of urgency informs a 1973 performance on a Finlandia disc with the same orchestra conducted by Jorma Panula (which includes the only other recording of the Cheremissian Fantasy , with Arto Noras); it may be difficult to track down. Panula rerecorded the suite alongside other works of the composer for Naxos, but rougher sound blunts that performance and the Turku Philhamonic Orchestra is not quite in the Helsinki league. This new Ondine release is definitely the one to go for.

FANFARE: Phillip Scott

Rheinberger: Complete Organ Concertos / Stefan Johannes Bleicher

MDG

Available as SACD

$24.99

Nov 01, 2010

RHEINBERGER Organ Concertos: No. 1 in F; No. 2 in g. 3 Pieces for Cello and Organ • Stefan Johannes Bleicher (org); Douglas Boyd, cond; Musikkollegium Winterthur; Cäcilia Chmel (vc) • MDG 1643 (SACD: 57:58)

Josef Rheinberger (1839–1901) is frequently named alongside Max Bruch, Karl Goldmark, Robert Fuchs, and Carl Reinecke when mention is made of late 19th- to early 20th-century German Romantic composers who cultivated an essentially conservative style influenced by the Mendelssohn-Schumann-Brahms-Joachim axis. Budding composers from abroad, including America, flocked to Germany to study under these men and to have bestowed upon them the mantle of a proper German pedigree. In Leipzig, Reinecke could claim Grieg, Sinding, Svendsen, Janá?ek, and Weingartner among his students; while in Munich, Rheinberger could name Humperdinck, Parker, Chadwick, Wolf-Ferrari, Thuille, and Furtwängler among those he instructed.

Rheinberger’s instrument was the organ, a fact that’s hard to ignore based on his vast output in which the organ plays a dominant role. Yet, in his entire voluminous catalog—the solo organ pieces alone occupy 12 CDs—the two concertos on this disc are the only concerted works I’m aware of that he wrote for organ and orchestra. The mind leaps immediately to the similar compositions by Rheinberger’s French contemporaries Widor and Guilmant, but the reality is that Rheinberger’s concertos are in a more classical mold and of a thematic content somewhat similar to the chorale-like melodic and harmonic manner of Saint-Saëns. Oddly, as well, there are not a few passages that seem to anticipate the sort of ceremonial hubbub and pageantry one hears in Elgar’s soon-to-be pomp and circumstance mode. Rheinberger’s concertos, however, predate the earliest of Elgar’s coronation marches by 17 and seven years, respectively.

The Concerto No. 1, dated 1884, two years before Saint-Saëns’s brilliant “Organ” Symphony, is modestly orchestrated for three horns (or two horns and bassoon) and strings, with the organ filling in for the absent winds. Scoring in the Concerto No. 2 of 10 years later isn’t much augmented, but to the earlier ensemble Rheinberger adds two trumpets and timpani, so that the organ must still furnish the sonorities that would ordinarily be supplied by flutes, oboes, and clarinets. If the Second Concerto finds its voice somewhere between Saint-Saëns and Elgar, the First Concerto reaches a bit further back, perhaps to Mendelssohn and Schumann.

These are not hard works to like. They’re tuneful, spirited, and engaging enough that one doesn’t miss the fuller symphonic approach that Saint-Saëns took to the orchestra or the more variegated splashes of color Widor and Guilmant drew from their Cavaillé-Coll and French organs.

There are two or three more recordings of these works available than I find reviewed in the Fanfare Archive. In 23:6, John Bauman covered a Classico release featuring organist Ulrik Spang-Hansen with the Chamber Philharmonic of Bohemia led by Douglas Bostock; while in 28:5, James Reel readdressed a Capriccio recording that had originally been reviewed in 16:2 and was recycled in SACD format with the rear channels presumably artificially processed. That disc featured organist Andreas Juffinger with Harmut Haenchen conducting the Berlin RSO. Not reviewed, as far as I can tell, are recordings by Ulrich Meldau with Daniel Schweizer presiding over the Zurich Symphony Orchestra on the Motette label, and a more recent Naxos version by organist Paul Skevington with Timothy Rowe leading the Amadeus Chamber Ensemble. Of these several editions, the only one I have for comparison purposes is the Juffinger in its “enhanced” SACD incarnation.

The Capriccio booklet has nothing to say about the organ, though the recording was made in Berlin’s Jesus-Christus-Kirche, so I assume the instrument to be of German, Swiss, or Dutch pedigree, but for the concertos the new MDG recording is to be preferred. Newly recorded in February 2010, the disc is in true surround format. Full-page specifications are given on Winterthur’s historic Stadrkirche organ built by E. F. Walcker in 1887–88 and restored in 1980–84 by the Swiss firm currently doing business as Kuhn Organ Builders, Ltd. And MDG’s Bleiche and Boyd are considerably more animated than Capriccio’s Juffinger and Haenchen in every movement of both concertos, delivering performances that are crisply articulated and in which the organ and orchestra are beautifully integrated.

MDG’s bonus is three pieces— Abendlied, Pastorale, and Elegie —Rheinberger transcribed for cello and organ from a set of six pieces he’d originally written for violin and organ at the dual requests of church organist Johann Georg Herzog and the composer’s publisher, August Robert Froberg. Adagio meditation-type pieces for a solo string instrument accompanied by organ were rarities, if indeed they existed at all at the time. Rheinberger’s contributions are exactly what you would expect—the musical equivalent of votive candles flickering in the transepts. Cellist Cäcilia Chmel plays prayerfully enough, but the angels remain frozen in their friezes, unmoved by Rheinberger’s entreaties.

Definitely recommended for enjoyable, if not great, music, fine performances, and superb recording. I will not, however, be throwing away my Juffinger and Haenchen on Capriccio for the simple reason that it includes Rheinberger’s Suite for Violin and Organ, op. 166, a lovely neobaroquish affair that echoes with distant strains of Bach, Handel, and Corelli, and is a more substantial and preferable alternative to the three cello pieces on the current disc.

FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

Right Through The Bone - Rontgen / Arc Ensemble

Sony Masterworks

Available as CD

$11.99

Nov 06, 2007

Wonderfully warm, committed and utterly convincing. A fascinating disc.

If you are puzzled, as I was, by the title of this CD then there is a logical explanation which is given at the beginning of the booklet notes. It was Julius’s cousin Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923) who discovered X-Rays, who won the Nobel Prize in 1901 and who ultimately transformed medical science. Knowledge of Conrad however led Grieg to say, after hearing a piece by Julius, that the music “went right to the bone”, hence the CD title. Although it seems to be just a clever remark it has more than a ray of truth!

The music of Julius Röntgen is just beginning to be noticed again after years of lying forgotten on dusty shelves. “Oh no,” you say, “Not another mediocre worthy dug out by musicians with nothing else to do.” Well if you think that then read on - indeed listen on - because I can tell you that this is very fine music indeed. The revival which is just beginning is worth every penny and every column inch spent on it. So let’s forget that this music was written when Bartók, Schoenberg and Ives were at their heights and take it with an innocent ear just as it comes. Indeed it may be more helpful to remember that Röntgen is almost an exact contemporary of Elgar.

A few words of biography first. In 1924 Röntgen retired from public life to concentrate on composing. Although already quite prolific, many more works started to flow from him. He had studied in Leipzig, meeting Liszt and Franz Lachner, Carl Reinecke and Heinrich von Herzogenberg, but he made the surprising decision to live and work in Amsterdam. There, amongst other activities, he was one of the founders of the Concertgebouw and even more significantly he was instrumental in establishing the Amsterdam Conservatoire. He worked there not as a Director but as an accompanist and so he had time to compose. He also had influence as Director of an organization with the snappy title ‘The Society for the Promotion of Musical Arts’ which meant at that time much new music.

You may fear that Brahms might have been a strong influence. Röntgen was the soloist in the first Dutch performance in 1884 of the master’s 2nd Piano Concerto under Brahms’s direction. After that Röntgen saw Brahms socially as it were for many years. Also Röntgen liked to work on quite large canvases, yet he is no clone of Brahms indeed there is much originality here. The ghostly and eerie second movement of the Viola Sonata’s outer section is like nothing else I can describe, and the finale has an occasional touch of Debussy about it. The initial impassioned Allegro has an opening idea which has remained with me for some days. The excellent booklet notes by Simon Wynberg mentions César Franck as an influence.

The CD begins with a fine and arresting work: the Quintet for piano and strings. In its opening movement there is a restless and memorable idea, sextuplets or quadruplets in the piano and cello with the violins above singing a lovely melody canonically in the minor key. The melting sequences also give the music an unforgettable character. The compound time second movement, marked Allegro, is rhythmically memorable with a wonderful passage towards the end over an ostinato pedal building to the final bars. The slow movement is questing and exploratory at first until a cello melody answered by violin takes over with a melody which Borodin would have been proud of. At the end of the contrapuntal and at times fugal Con moto finale Röntgen quotes briefly his first movement opening and ends the piece in a questing atmosphere.

The Clarinet Trio falls into three movements with an especially sunny initial movement. Brahms did come to my mind during this piece but none the worse for that. The main weight of the work rests on the finale with its memorable ‘Sostenuto’ opening suddenly transforming into a friendly Allegro commodo. It is the earliest work (1921) here and has the occasional Mendelssohnian touch in its lightness and sophistication.

The String Sextet really has little in common with the two by Brahms although it is in a late-Romantic style. The first movement may remind one more of Max Reger; the booklet writer mentions Max Bruch. With the grace and ease of the second movement Andante we step gently into the world of Dvo?ák, except that the middle section is unexpectedly storm-tossed before subsiding again. Curiously it’s followed by another Andante which is a set of variations and then an Allegro of great vigour, especially for the cellos.

The performances are wonderfully warm, committed and utterly convincing. These are young performers who, one assumes, have not come across Röntgen before. The booklet pictures them and gives some biographical details. I remember reading a sensational review of their debut in New York in 2003. This is, in my view, top quality musicianship and even if the music was not that interesting I would still be praising the music-making. The recording only serves to enhance all that they achieve.

This then is a fascinating disc and I urge you to look into it. From there you might join me in a search for more music by this, as yet, little known but true master of the early twentieth century.

-- Gary Higginson, MusicWeb International

Martucci: Piano Concerto No 1, Etc / Coggi, La Vecchia

Naxos

Available as CD

$19.99

May 26, 2009

MARTUCCI Piano Concerto No. 1. 1 La canzone dei ricordi 2 • Francesco La Vecchia, cond; Gesualdo Coggi (pn); 1 Silvia Pasini (mez); 2 Rome SO • NAXOS 8.570931 (67:53 Text, no Translation )

Giuseppe Martucci (1856–1909) was a forerunner to the so-called “generazione dell’ottanta” of composers (see Malipiero review elsewhere) that sought to initiate a new golden age of instrumental music in Italy to vie against the overwhelming dominance of opera. Most of those who would follow in his footsteps—and the list is long, including the likes of Casella, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Menotti, Pizzetti, Respighi, Rota, Wolf-Ferrari, and Zandonai—hedged their bets by playing both sides of the fence; but Martucci was unique for his time and place in that he wrote no operas whatsoever. Ironically though, in his role as a conductor, introducing Wagner’s operas to Italy may have done more to poison the well of Italian opera than any of his works as a composer did to stanch the opera rage. If you can’t lead the cattle away from the watering hole, do the next best thing: contaminate the water and kill them.

During his lifetime, Martucci was best known as a conductor, pianist, and teacher, Respighi being one of his more prominent students. His compositional output is not overly large, totaling fewer than 100 published opus numbers. Among them, however, are two symphonies, two piano concertos, two piano trios, a piano quintet, one sonata each for violin, cello, and organ, and a considerable volume of pieces for solo piano.

The current release—Volume 3 in Naxos’s complete survey of Martucci’s orchestral music—contains works that are not new to the recorded catalog. The Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor and La canzone dei ricordi were both coupled together, as here, in another Martucci survey a decade or so ago on the ASV label. The artists there were pianist Francesco Caramiello in the Concerto, soprano Rachel Yakar in the vocal work, and Francesco D’Avalos leading the Philharmonia Orchestra. That entire collection is now available in a super-budget four-disc set on Brilliant Classics. At about the same time that ASV was busy with their Martucci project, along came Sony with their release of the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B? Minor played by pianist Carlo Bruni, paired once again with La canzone dei ricordi , sung by Mirella Freni. The conductor and orchestra on that recording were Riccardo Muti and La Scala Philharmonic.

The good news is that I have the Freni/Muti CD, so I’m able to compare the Sony recording with the new Naxos. The bad news is that of the D’Avalos survey on ASV, I have only the two symphonies, but not the disc with the Piano Concerto; thus, I’m unable to compare Caramiello to Coggi. So let me begin with La canzone dei ricordi (“The Songs of Memories”), which seems to be one of Martucci’s more enduring works. As originally completed in 1887, the piece was conceived for mezzo-soprano and piano. It wasn’t until 11 years later (1898) that Martucci orchestrated it. The piece is a setting of seven poems by Rocco Pagliera. Unless one is fluent in Italian, Naxos’s printing of the texts in Italian only is highly frustrating. The Sony with Freni provides translations in English, French, and German.

The poems, as can be deduced from the work’s title, are about dreams recollected, mostly of longed-for, but alas, only imagined loves. More interesting are Martucci’s formal design and musical content. Each song ends in a different key from which it started. The song that follows it begins in the key in which the previous song ended. Thus, by the end, we have returned to the key and the poem with which the cycle began. Stylistically, Martucci’s indebtedness to Wagner is unmistakable, but it’s a Wagner tinted—some might say tainted—by some of Puccini’s more pastel orchestral touches that one hears in La bohème . Martucci undoubtedly knew the opera, which premiered in 1896, two years before his orchestration of La canzone dei ricordi.

Freni was 60 when she recorded the Martucci with Muti in 1995. Age had added a degree of weight to a soprano voice that in its youth was lighter and more lyric in character. I’m not suggesting she would have made a good Brunhilde, but her projection in these songs comes across as sounding more Wagnerian than does Silvia Pasini’s delivery on the new Naxos. Nor by any means is it just a matter of voice. Freni dispatches the cycle in just over 28 minutes, compared to Pasini’s drawn-out 33:50. The result is that Freni’s reading has tremendous dramatic thrust, frequently sounding like an agitated Brunhilde railing in high dudgeon against Wotan, while Pasini sounds more like Mimi in her “Mi chiamano Mimì” aria from La bohème.

If my description has led you to believe that I prefer Freni to Pasini in this song cycle, you’d be wrong. Martucci may have been a Wagner champion, but he was not Wagner; and Pagliera’s poems, to which Martucci set his music, are not about mythic warriors, heroes, and the downfall of the gods. They’re about dreams remembered in that half-conscious state of waking. Pasini, I believe, comes closer to capturing the more impressionistic character of the poetry and the music; and Francesco La Vecchia has under him in the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma a better ensemble than Muti did at the time in his La Scala Philharmonic.

Since I have no other recordings of the Piano Concerto against which to compare Gesualdo Coggi’s performance, I can be brief. If you love big, Romantic piano concertos, Martucci’s D-Minor Concerto is right up there with some of the best of them. Echoes of Schumann, Grieg, and Brahms’s First Concerto (his Second hadn’t been completed yet when Martucci wrote his score in 1878) reverberate throughout the score, and maybe even a hint every now and then of Tchaikovsky (assuming Martucci had heard it in its original 1875 version prior to starting work on his own Concerto). Gorgeous music, gorgeous playing, gorgeous recording; this one is not to be missed.

FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

Bull: Violin Concertos / Folleso, Ruud, Norwegian Radio Orchestra [Hybrd SACD + Blu-ray Audio]

2L

Available as Blu-Ray with SACD

$44.99

Apr 27, 2010

BULL Sæterjentens Søndag . Violin Concerto in A. Concerto Fantastico in e. I Ensomme Stunde. La Verbena de San Juan. Et Sæterbesøg • Annar Follesø (vn); Ole Kristian Ruud, cond; Norwegian RO • 2L 67 (Blu-ray audio: 69:21)

& SACD

Tall, preternaturally handsome Ole Bull captured the fancy of concertgoers in Europe, and in the United States as well. In fact, at a time when classical artists like Henri Vieuxtemps had trouble making inroads in the American hinterland (supposedly after an initially disappointing reception, he composed his first set of variations on Yankee Doodle ), Bull made immediate connections with his program of atmospheric, sentimental, and technically dazzling pieces that he had composed himself—and always with his audiences in mind. Nevertheless, as had Paganini, whom he idolized, before him, he proved himself able to win the admiration of first-rank composers. The opening work on this program, Sæterjentens Søndag (The Herd Girl’s Sunday Morning), represents just such a simple song, one that must (and seems calculated to) have drawn an admiring tear from his listeners. Annar Follesø gives an appropriately sensitive and atmospheric account of it (with the accompaniment arranged for orchestra by Johan Svendsen), along with Ole Kristian Ruud and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. The two concertos, recently discovered, represent the more virtuosic side of Bull’s personality. The first, in A Major, opens with a long and symphonically conceived tutti, with some of the quieter passages sensitively orchestrated. The soloist enters with a showy cadenza that must have been in part just what Bull’s audiences wanted—and even expected. The writing for violin sounds like a (derivative?) mix of Paganini’s pyrotechnical wizardry and De Bériot’s suave tunefulness. Still, many listeners may doubt that Bull has integrated his thematic materials as successfully (or at least consistently) into the passagework as did his contemporaries the Henris (Vieuxtemps and Wieniawski). But Follesø displays the natural virtuosic flair to play some of these seemingly aimless passages without retaining his tongue in his cheek, as well as an affinity for the concerto’s genial ethnic harmonic and melodic atmosphere. The brief slow movement also opens with an extended orchestral passage; but the soloist claims the limelight upon his entry in an affecting passage on the G string. The Rondo pastorale that brings the concerto to a close features thematic fireworks in double-stops, and while some of the later material grows almost maudlin, Bull always manages to hold his listeners’ interest.

The nominally programmatic Concerto fantastico (with movements representing night, dawn, and day) also begins with a long tutti and features even more flamboyant passagework, which Follesø plays with aplomb. As in Bull’s Concerto in A Major, the streamers seem to be stretched pretty thinly over their underlying framework. Once again, though, Follesø (and Ruud and the orchestra) play their roles without sounding smugly superior to the program. The slow movement, built on a simple, heartfelt tune, sounds affecting in the same way as did the other concerto’s corresponding movement. The finale, a short but intoxicating romp with lyrical pauses for breath, seems even more shrewdly calculated for effect than does the other concerto’s finale. Once again, Follesø provides a rollicking, technically dazzling account. I Ensomme Stunde (La Melancolie), here arranged by Johan Halvorsen and Wolfgang Plagge, offers Grieg-like fare like that in Sæterjentens Søndag . The more extended fantasy, La Verbena de San Juan , however, with its percussion-rich orchestration, sounds like a sort of Norwegian counterpart to Sarasate’s ethnic concoctions, although it seems to go a step further in local color. According to the notes, Bull wrote it for Queen Isabella of Spain upon the occasion of a tour in 1846. The queen, again according to the notes, enjoyed Bull’s music—and perhaps other attentions. According to the notes, Bull incorporated Sebastian Yradier’s Jota Aragonesa out of gratitude to that composer; audiences should recognize it. They should also recognize Sarasate’s whistling harmonics (also familiar from Paganini). And Bull, as did Sarasate, incorporated left-hand pizzicatos liberally in his works. Follesø is equal to the challenges both these techniques pose.

Et Sæterbesøg includes references to folk fiddling with drones that I’ve always associated with the Hardanger fiddle or at least its style. The notes relate that, coupled with the words to Sæterjentens Søndag, it’s become a part of Norway’s cultural heritage. For those inclined, as many have been, to dismiss Bull as a sort of musical charlatan, the lyrical outpouring in the song’s middle should invite at least a second look. Arve Tellefsen played a program of Bull’s music for violin and orchestra with Andrew Karsten and the Bergen Symphony Orchestra in 1988 (Norsk Kulturraå ds Klassikerserie 50008), including two works on Follesø’s, Et Sæterbesøg, I Ensomme Stunde , and the Adagio sostenuto from the Concerto fantastico . Tellefsen’s version of Et Sæterbesøg takes advantage of bells to enhance the mountain atmosphere, and his “Hardanger” sounds twangier, even if he doesn’t draw as deeply affecting a cantabile from its lyrical passages (or those of I Ensomme Stunde— though Tellefsen’s version of the concerto’s slow movement throbs with a warmer expressivity despite his edgier tone production).

The Blu-ray version (audio only), to which I listened (although I used the CD version of Follesø’s program in making the comparison with Tellefsen’s program), provides extraordinarily sharp definition, hardly losing clarity in the midst of a somewhat reverberant setting. Whether or not this medium will offer relief to listeners fatigued by the roughness of even the best CDs, in particular in recordings of violin tone, it represents an improvement over CDs, as did DVD-Audio, among formats dependent on high-storage media (the sound: 24 bit and at least 192 kHz, with a choice of 5.1 DTS HD, 7.1 DTS HD, or 2.0 LPCM). Notes in the highest registers hiss and spit, yet with a relaxing smoothness and stimulating three-dimensional (a metaphor only) projection. The entire program, in this rich smorgasbord of formats, should appeal to lovers of the violin and perhaps to general listeners as well. As did Paganini and figures like Sinatra and Presley, Ole Bull represented a cultural phenomenon that should interest at least historians. His success in his own time demonstrates that, at least to the extent that his effect didn’t depend on his personality, genuine musicality underlay his work. It’s apparent in this collection. Recommended on that account, as well.

FANFARE: Robert Maxham

Reinecke: Complete Violoncello Sonatas / Manuel Fischer-dieskau, Connie Shih

MDG

Available as CD

$23.99

Sep 01, 2011

For British listeners, the name of Reinecke is likely to evoke Stanford’s recollection - after an uninspiring period of study with him - that “of all the dry musicians I have ever known, he was the most desiccated”. Scandinavians will remember that Grieg thought no better of the man and that for Svendsen, “not only is he envious and bloodless … he is also in the highest degree villainous”. Yet many musicians sought him out during his long reign at the Leipzig Gewandhaus (1860-1895), including Sullivan, Bruch, Delius and the three just mentioned, while Elgar travelled to Leipzig in 1882 to hear him conduct.

If this all suggests a plodding academic, the “Undine” Sonata for flute and piano, the one work by Reinecke that remains at least on the fringe of the repertoire, is neither academic nor lacking in fantasy. A disc containing the First Symphony, the Violin Concerto and some smaller pieces suggested to me that further examination of Reinecke would be never less than pleasant, if hardly thrilling. Maybe thrilling would be too strong a word for these cello sonatas too, but they do suggest he was more inspired in chamber music than in larger orchestral pieces.

In some ways the first sonata is the most attractive of all. Its ballad-like opening theme immediately catches the attention and the second theme is not only well contrasted, it is introduced in a very remote tonality indeed. What is striking about this movement is the mastery with which it combines free-flowing, rhapsodic feeling with tight formal control. Though Reinecke is said to have looked back to Mendelssohn and Schumann for his models, and certainly rejected Liszt and Wagner, his music combines romantic spirit with an intuitive sense of form. Here, at least, he was able to make his own personal fusion of classical ideals and romantic freedom. The second movement also contains a number of quite contrasting ideas and the finale has much surging passion.

The claims of the second sonata are not to be underestimated, either. After a short but brooding introduction the first movement leads off with a pithy, expressive idea that revolved in my head for some days afterwards. Again, Reinecke’s formal control is tight even while the effect is of free rhapsody. The themes tend not to appear and reappear in the expected places and tonalities, and are inclined to undergo transformations just where an exact recapitulation might seem in sight. The second movement is marked “Quasi fantasia” and has much soaring romantic melody. The finale starts with a catchy tune but is inclined to chase its own tail a bit too much for its own good. This, admittedly, is a common failing among 19^th century finales when not written by Brahms.

Altogether, it may be said that, if Reinecke did not revolutionize sonata forms, he nevertheless evolved an intuitively inventive way of reinterpreting received formal wisdom. The interesting thing is that exactly the same thing could be said about his grudging pupil Stanford’s chamber music, even down to a tendency to write finales that chase their own tail. One is bound to wonder if Reinecke’s music did not have a greater influence on Stanford than he later cared to admit, having been so disappointed by the man himself. Also common to both composers is a complete equality between the two partners, with plenty of challenging material for both players and a continual melodic interplay that must make Reinecke’s chamber music rewarding to perform. Ultimately, I suppose this music inhabits smiling valleys and pleasant domestic surroundings rather than soar above the mountain peaks, but we can surely find a place for music that does this so attractively.

The third sonata arouses more ambivalent reactions. Dedicated “to the shade of Brahms”, who had just died, its formal mastery will not be questioned. Furthermore, while in one sense it occupies harmonic ground solidly rooted in Schumann, its restless modulations look ahead to the world of Reger. It is a bitter, even vehement work by a composer whose art was by then left high and dry by musical progress. The only problem is that Reinecke’s easy flow of melodic inspiration seems to have dried up. The themes are clear-cut and functional, but neither the composer’s masterly development of them, nor these performers’ imagination and conviction, can hide the fact that the cupboard is a little bare. Only the second theme of the finale recalls the warmth of earlier years. Nevertheless, as often with late works by composers clinging to the style of their youth in the teeth of what they perceive as ugly modernism, the sense of isolation and disillusionment can be moving in themselves. Here, too, the case of Stanford is an obvious parallel.

Manuel Fischer-Dieskau, just in case you’ve been wondering, is the great baritone’s son. It would seem that interventionism, as an interpretative creed, runs in the family. But, like his father at his best, MF-D knows how to intervene in a way that brings the music to life, and he extracts the maximum range of expression from these scores. The Canadian pianist Connie Shih has an easy technical command and a well-rounded tone in the heavier moments. She and the cellist seem in full agreement over how to play this music. They leave me wondering why the first two sonatas, at least, never made it into the not very large repertoire of romantic cello sonatas.

Cellists reading these words may be wondering where they can get the scores. They will be delighted to find that the IMSLP-Petrucci Library, a great Internet resource, apparently offers all three for free download. They will be a bit less delighted when they find that the file of no.1 is missing pages 4-15, jumping from the first page of the first movement to the last page of the second, so you get only the finale complete. Also, there’s not a cello part, instead there’s an alternative violin part. The second sonata is complete but the piano part of no.3 lacks the last page, or maybe the last two. In compensation you get pages 10 and 11 twice. I used to think that people who do things for love not money do them properly, but on this showing even some who work for love are as slap-happy as any half-hearted employee anxious for the next coffee break. Granted, one shouldn’t look a gift-horse in the mouth, but we may reasonably check that it has all four legs.

None of this little grumble, obviously, affects the value of this finely recorded and excellently annotated disc of three cello sonatas well worth investigating. The name of Reinecke is beginning to come alive for me.

-- Christopher Howell, MusicWeb International

Delius: A Mass of Life, Idyll / Opie, Hill

Naxos

Available as CD

~~$29.99~~ $14.99

Jun 26, 2012

To witness a performance of Delius’s A Mass of Life, arguably his supreme creative achievement, is to look into the heart of the composer and his Nietzsche-inspired world. Moreover, this ravishing music, written between 1898 and 1905, represents Delius at the height of his powers, when musical ideas seemed to pour out of him at a time when he had finally learned to assimilate, in an entirely individual, not to say maverick manner, a confluence of modernist styles embracing Grieg, Wagner, Strauss, Charpentier and Debussy.

There is no doubt from the vivid opening choruses of Parts 1 and 2 of this recording (and what openings!) that the message of the work is a life-affirming one. There is a dynamic momentum to the tempi which perfectly evokes Zarathustra’s ruling passion, the Will of Man, and there is a richness to the orchestral sound which adds to the sense of muscularity. The chorus negotiate Delius’s often awkward vocal intervals with great skill and the intonation is virtually flawless. Just occasionally the sheer weight of the orchestral sound, which is quite forward on this recording (more so than Hickox), is apt to overwhelm the voices but this is a minor distraction.

Hill brings energy and élan to the third section, ‘In deine Auge’ (for me perhaps the most exhilarating section of Part 1), where the parallel with the end of Act 2 of Die Meistersinger is almost palpable and where the most unusual example of a Delius fugue (!) is given life, vigour and meaning.

Alan Opie, who has the lion’s share of the solo music in the work, is almost Wotan-like in his performances. From his first Nietzschean dance he is majestic and brings out of the score that vibrant, heady, Teutonic contemporaneity with which Delius had clearly become enthralled at this point in his career. Opie’s singing of what is effectively the role of Zarathustra has immense authority and his impressive range (up to high G) is ideal for Delius’s onerous vocal demands.

Andrew Kennedy, Catherine Wyn-Rogers and Janice Watson also offer fine lyrical interpretations of their solo parts and the choral accompaniments are allowed to intermingle subtly as an extension of the orchestra. The BSO are on fine form too, and special mention needs to be made of the haunting horn-playing in the introduction to Part 2 (‘On the Mountains’), a sound which sums up so much of Delius’s nature music.

This is a must for any Delius Liebhaber and, with the added bonus of the late Prelude and Idyll, a marvellous starting point for anyone new to Delius’s unique but compelling art.

-- Jeremy Dibble, Gramophone
3622320.az_DELIUS_Mass_Life_Prelude.html

DELIUS A Mass of Life. Prelude and Idyll1 • David Hill, Cond; 1Janice Watson (sop); Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mez); Andrew Kennedy (ten); 1Alan Opie (bar); Bach Ch; 1Bournemouth SO • NAXOS 8.572861-62 (2 CDs: 118:19 Text and Translation)

A Mass of Life is quintessential Delius, musically and existentially, composed over 1904–05 in the first great rush of his maturity. From the bounding affirmative choruses to the breathtakingly sustained nature contemplations, from the melancholy to the ecstatic, the Mass of Life traces and forecasts the gamut of Delian affect with a concision, fullness, and abundance he might rival but never achieve so comprehensively again. Unless I’ve missed something, this is but the fourth recording of the work since Beecham’s nonpareil 1952 account. Though its musical demands are daunting—if nowhere near as challenging as those of Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand,” with which it invites comparison—the primary bar to frequent performance is its text, drawn by Delius’s friend Ernst Cassirier largely from the Dance Songs of Nietzsche’s Also sprach Zarathustra. For those coming in late, one recalls the oft-quoted passage in Eric Fenby’s Delius as I Knew Him: “When, one wet day … he was looking for something to read in the library of a Norwegian friend … and had taken down a book, Thus Spake Zarathustra—a book for all and none—by one Friedrich Nietzsche, he was ripe for it. The book, he told me, never left his hands until he had devoured it from cover to cover. It was the very book he had been seeking all along, and finding that book he declared to be one of the most important events of his life. Nor did he rest content until he had read every work of Nietzsche that he could lay his hands on”—to which Fenby, a devout Catholic, adds—“and the poison entered his soul.” For listeners and performers today it may still be something of a jolt to find, in place of the supplicating Kyrie that the unfortunate term “Mass” leads one to expect, a glowingly charged hymn to the Will, “dispeller of need, my own necessity,” followed by Zarathustra’s brief praise of laughter (“My own laughter I pronounced holy”), succeeded by Zarathustra’s love duet with Life in a meadow filled with dancing girls, an archetypal encounter transpiring in a mythical dimension “beyond good and evil,” beyond place and time, crowned by the first, murmured, utterance of the Bell Song, the work’s central mystery. A Mass of Life may, of course, be enjoyed for its power and sensuous magic without reference to its text, but only to those nurtured on Nietzsche will it reveal its full import. Shrugging incomprehension of the text renders Benjamin Luxon’s Zarathustra, for Charles Groves (with the London Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra), merely mellifluous, while Peter Coleman-Wright’s deadpan delivery for the late Richard Hickox—with the Waynflete Singers directed by today’s conductor, David Hill, and the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Orchestra—proves anesthetically workmanlike. When it appeared in 1997, I rated that reading, on Chandos, the best since Beecham’s (Fanfare 20:6). That honor goes now to the present offering. While Alan Opie does not efface memories of Bruce Boyce, for Beecham—whose delivery resonated from the nexus of Delius’s realization of Nietzsche—he teases the text gingerly, making a credible Zarathustra. In some numbers, Delius asks the soloists to share parts, with some of Zarathustra’s lines persuasively taken by Andrew Kennedy, and a portion of Life’s happily rendered by Janice Watson, though Catherine Wyn-Rogers’s beguiling, seductive Life recalls Monica Sinclair’s divinatory geste for Beecham. The choral work is beyond praise, though in Hill’s brisk approach the melting lyricism heard chez Beecham tautens and leaps.

Idyll is a late reworking of music from Margot la Rouge, composed in 1902 for the new opera competition offered by the music publisher Sanzogno. Though it failed to score and was not heard in Delius’s lifetime, it comes from the composer’s ripest years and contains gorgeous swaths of his richest utterance, which he salvaged in 1932, recomposing it to words by Whitman and making an extended love duet of it. Idyll has not lacked for vocally lustrous, persuasive performances submerging Whitman’s quaintness (“Behold me when I pass, hear my voice, approach, draw close, but speak not. Be not afraid of me”) in absolute conviction. Of major interest, the lovingly lingering 1981 account led by Eric Fenby—who took down the score from dictation by the blind, paralyzed Delius—features Felicity Lott and Thomas Allen (deleted Unicorn-Kanchana UKCD 2073). Meredith Davies’s still-available 1968 tilt at Idyll, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, is made memorable by the divinatory partnership of Heather Harper and John Shirley-Quirk. In keeping with his go at the Mass of Life, Hill pushes the work a bit, spurring the impassioned moments to escalate from the pervasive tone of wistful elegy. Opie, as the anonymous man, is authoritatively resonant, in response to Janice Watson’s brightly edged soprano (touched by a bit of vibrato), with its gloriously amber lower register, buxomly filling the part of the nameless woman.

One caveat: In the headnote the title of the work is given per the album, but you will search the catalog of Delius’s works in vain for an orchestral Prelude. The work so designated is simply the first three minutes—an orchestral prelude, to be sure—of Idyll and has never, until now, been listed separately. The fake title generates a phantom work to bedevil buyers, scholars, and connoisseurs, and detracts from—rather than adding to—the program’s generosity.

Sound packs an immediate wallop making for occasional congestion. In the opening chorus, for instance, the leaping underlining of trombones and tubas becomes indistinct, overwhelmed by choral mass, and while one can pick out the glockenspiel, its function of festive accentuation is lost. In quieter passages, and in the capture of the vocalists, on the other hand, this upfront take is gratifyingly welcome. In German, Zarathustra’s pronouncements recall and parody the Lutheran Bible, in light of which the ostensibly stilted thee-ing and thou-ing of William Wallace’s singing translation—made for Beecham and used by him for all of his public performances (according to notes by Delius aficionado Lyndon Jenkins)—fall into place, if not quite into King James English. Whitman’s text is included.

In sum, a superb production and the grandest addition to the Delius discography in many years. Highest recommendation.

FANFARE: Adrian Corleonis

Guarneri Quartet - The Complete RCA Victor Album Collection

Sony Masterworks

Available as CD

~~$199.98~~ $149.99

Mar 28, 2025

In the early 1960s, four young musicians who had been playing chamber music at Rudolf Serkin’s Marlboro School and Festival in Vermont were encouraged to form a string quartet. In July 1964, the Guarneri Quartet gave its first concert and less than a year later made its first recordings under contract to RCA Victor. For the next 45 years, with only one change of personnel, the Guarneris performed all over the world and amassed a large, wide-ranging, prize-winning discography. Sony Classical now presents, for the first time in a single collection, all the recordings made by the Guarneri Quartet for RCA between 1965 and 2005.

When the announcement came of its retirement at the end of the 2008–09 season, the eminent British critic Rob Cowan wrote a perceptive, affectionate tribute to the Guarneri Quartet in Gramophone, comparing it to the Juilliard Quartet, the other superb ensemble that had dominated the American quartet catalogue for so many years. Using their respective Bartók recordings as an example, he contrasted the “cut-glass precision” of the Juilliard’s early-60s set to the Guarneri’s “volatile, free-spirited, generously expressive and tonally rich” performing style in its RCA cycle from the mid-70s.

That characterization of the Guarneri Quartet’s playing runs through virtually all the reviews garnered in their long recording career, a story that began with the 1966 release of two of Mozart’s late “Prussian” Quartets and an album coupling Dvořák and Smetana. HiFi Stereo Review wrote that “not since the Juilliard String Quartet set the New York music world on its collective ear some 25 years ago has a new chamber group created such a furor as the Guarneri Quartet on the occasion of its New York début in February, 1965. This pair of discs demonstrates eloquently what all the shouting was about, for these players – Arnold Steinhardt, John Dalley, Michael Tree, and David Soyer – blend precision with flexibility of phrasing and rhythm in a way not often encountered in contemporary American string groups. Here, indeed, is the influence of the seed bed from which the quartet stems – the Marlboro of Rudolf Serkin, Alexander Schneider, and Pablo Casals … To the Smetana [‘From My Life’] the Guarneri Quartet brings blazing intensity and fierce rhythmic verve, while the wonderful slow movement of the Dvořák [Op. 105] comes forth from the stereo speakers with an almost orchestral lushness, yet with inner voices flawlessly balanced.”

Other critics concurred in their reviews of these two LPs: “The foursome produces an unfailingly luscious tone, plays with letter-perfect intonation, and displays all sorts of felicitous pinpoint balances and coloristic effects. And how these gentlemen stay together … even in the most wayward of tempo changes. In short, this is ensemble work of a transcendental variety … The Guarneri Quartet is the most gifted group of its kind I have heard in years” (High Fidelity). “This is distinguished Mozart playing indeed. Its technical excellence needs little comment: as with the Dvořák/Smetana record … last month, with this team you take technical mastery for granted as soon as you hear the first phrase, and straightaway it's the intensely musical quality of the playing which strikes you. Theirs is Mozart played with the classical virtues, above all with firm line, poise and sensibility. The surface of the music is polished, but how much the Guarneri Quartet find beneath” (Gramophone).

Arthur Rubinstein was the quartet’s longtime keyboard partner. In 1966, they recorded the Piano Quintets of Schumann and Brahms: “Rubinstein and the Guarneris search out to equally convincing effect the flowingly lyrical aspects of the music, and this yields special rewards in a ravishing slow movement [the Brahms]” (HiFi Stereo Review). Dvořák’s followed in 1971: “The performance is beautifully balanced between the gentleman at the keyboard and the gentlemen with strings, and the sense of give and take comes from the experience of many collaborations” (High Fidelity).

They also recorded the piano quartet literature, beginning in 1967 with “beautiful performances” (High Fidelity) of Brahms. Their reading of Fauré’s Op. 25 in C minor was judged (also by High Fidelity) to be “beautifully played and exquisitely well reproduced. The instrumental lines are wonderfully clear in this highly directional recording … Rubinstein displays his regal style.” And in a disc containing both of Mozart’s piano quartets, “the playing throughout both sides is extremely beautiful … and superbly integrated – at once expressive and elegant, making all of Mozart’s points with clarity, straightforwardness, and the exalted give-and-take that is the life’s breath of real chamber music. The recorded sound, too, is exceptional for its richness, balance, and clarity” (HiFi Stereo Review).

One of many other composers who feature prominently in Sony’s Guarneri collection is Haydn. About the ensemble’s 1977 recording of the two Op.77 quartets, HiFi Stereo Review wrote that “these spirited, attractive performances of Haydn's two greatest string quartets are marked by a sense of real involvement. Articulation is crisp, ensemble is impeccable, and there is an organic flow from the first phrase to the last in each work”, while Gramophone praised their “deeply thoughtful, powerfully paced” 1986 reading of Haydn’s Seven Last Words.

With reinforcement from the Budapest Quartet in 1965, the Guarneris produced an “absolutely stunning performance (HiFi Stereo Review) of Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence sextet. In 1966, they recorded quartets by Mendelssohn and Grieg (the latter receiving its CD première in this set): “The Guarneri ensemble does itself proud throughout this disc – most notably in the Mendelssohn, in which they display a tonal homogeneity and a warmth of phrasing that are truly striking. It is as though one instrument, not four, were producing the lovely sound that emerges from the speakers. Happily, the RCA recording staff has come up here with a string quartet sonority of the utmost intimacy, yet endowed with just enough room tone to enhance the naturally warm tone of the Guarneris” (HiFi Stereo Review).

But the heart of any string quartet’s repertoire is inevitably the Beethoven cycle, and it is with these works that the Guarneris were most closely associated. They made their complete recording for RCA between 1966 and 1969. Gramophone described the Early Quartets as “elegant and buoyant, with well-chosen tempos, subtle bowing, crisp articulation, telling contrasts between staccato and legato, and a consistent sense of style.” HiFi Stereo Review enumerated the virtues of their Middle Quartets: “(1) excellent intonation; (2) glowing tone; (3) ensemble that is balanced and accurate but always flexible and natural; (4) superb phrasing and line-building; (5) good feeling for a high Beethoven style. These are strong and expressive readings that often achieve great poetic insight and a powerful dynamic impulse.” The HiFi Stereo Review’s critic rhapsodized over their Late Quartets: “If I had to make the choice of a very few records to take with me to a desert island, I’d choose recordings of the last five Beethoven string quartets. Now, with the arrival of this new album (complete with the Grosse Fuge) by the Guarneri Quartet, I’ve got my island package. All I need is the island. The Guarneri is, without a doubt, one of the most extraordinary string quartets before the public these days: the group has an absolutely stunning sense of both soloistic and ensemble color. Indeed, I can’t think of another string quartet that can match them for sheer sensuous appeal.”

SUMMARY:

• With the first release of the Guarneri Quartet’ recording of Mendelssohn’s Quartet No. 3, transferred and edited from the session reels using 24 bit / 192 kHz technology

• 9 quartet recordings for the first time on CD, transferred and mastered from the original analog tapes, 3 quartets remastered, using 24 bit / 192 kHz technology

• Includes collaborations with Arthur Rubinstein, Leonard Rose, Mischa Schneider, Pinchas Zukerman, Walter Trampler, Ida Kavafian, and more

• Original LP sleeves and labels, booklet with full discographical notes

Vaughan Williams, Mathias / Bebbington, Ulster Orchestra

SOMM Recordings

Available as CD

$20.99

Mar 01, 2011

These three very different works have been dealt with admirably. A huge sympathy and understanding is evident.

3612260.az_MATHIAS_Piano_Concertos_1.html

MATHIAS Piano Concertos: No. 1; No. 2. VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasy • Mark Bebbington (pn); George Vass, cond; Ulster O • SOMM SOMMCD 246 (70:42)

An English online reviewer wrote that it is always interesting to hear early works by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Interesting yes, because of what came later, but this Fantasy—begun in 1896 and finally completed in 1904—does not hold a great deal of interest for its own sake. Vaughan Williams did not find his true voice as a composer until he incorporated the modality of British folk song into his music. Here we have second-hand Brahms. Additionally, the piano was not Vaughan Williams’s instrument, and the keyboard writing in the Fantasy speaks of application rather than fluency. Even in the highly individual and much more successful Piano Concerto of 1931, the soloist is given full chords and double-octave passages that sound heavy and cumbersome. Much of this Fantasy strives for grandeur, a quality Vaughan Williams achieved in spades in works like the Sea Symphony and Job , but in this case the result seems empty, partly due to an absence of memorable thematic material and the lack of a personal voice. The composer suppressed this piece, along with a good deal of his other early work, and it remained unknown until after his death.

By contrast, the Welsh composer William Mathias (1934–92) seemed to find his voice early: a Celtic lyricism sitting alongside a hard-edged rhythmic vitality that is clearly Stravinskian. Mathias also had an identifiable sound as an orchestrator, often pointing rhythmic passages and climaxes with tuned percussion. His Piano Concerto No. 1 was written in 1955 when the composer was a 20-year-old student. The work greatly impressed Edmund Rubbra, among others. It is a three-movement concerto with buoyant outer movements but a rather stern (perhaps self-consciously modern) central Largo. After several performances Mathias withdrew the concerto, but was reconsidering editing it for publication when he died.

The standout on this disc is Mathias’s Second Piano Concerto of 1961. Clearly influenced by Tippett’s Piano Concerto, but none the worse for that, it combines strength with fluidity. The work is in four movements: a lyrical prelude, a tough allegro molto vivace , a brief lento leading into a multifaceted finale marked allegro alla danza . Tippett is recalled in the glittering high figuration of the piano part, and stentorian brass fanfares making use of the interval of the major second to harden their harmonies—but these are also fingerprints we associate with the mature Mathias. For the record, both these concertos precede other recorded concertos by the composer: those for harp, clarinet, and the third for piano (Lyrita), and the Oboe Concerto (Nimbus).

Mark Bebbington has made several fine discs of little-known English music and this is one of the best. He is sensitive to all the technical and interpretive demands of these highly contrasting composers. George Vass and the Ulster Orchestra provide immaculate support, and the recording is clear and well balanced. Highly recommended.

FANFARE: Phillip Scott

---------

I first came across Ralph Vaughan Williams ‘Fantasia’ for piano and orchestra whilst carefully studying the 1996 imprint of Michael Kennedy’s invaluable ‘A Catalogue of the Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams’. It was one of many pieces that were hidden from view and were likely to remain so due to an embargo on works that the composer had withdrawn or laid aside around the end of the Great War. These included The Garden of Prosperine, the Heroic Elegy, the Bucolic Suite and the present Fantasia (Fantasy). They were works that I imagined I would never hear. Fortunately Ursula Vaughan Williams lifted the embargo and in recent years a number of these compositions have been recorded. Each time I have listened to one of these re-discovered pieces I have felt that the musical world has been cheated of a great piece of music for such a long time. This is the case with the present Fantasy. It may not be one of the composer’s masterpieces, but it is certainly a work with which the listener can do business.

This twenty-one minute score was originally begun in October 1896 and was finally completed on 9 February 1902. It was subsequently revised in 1904. Since then it has lain in the British Library. This Fantasy (Kennedy refers to Fantasia) is regarded as a ‘student’ piece by critics, however it must be realised that RVW continued studying until relatively late in life. His sojourn with Ravel was during 1907/08 when the composer was thirty-five years old! The present work was begun when he was 24 years old and finished when he was 32. So it is hardly a neophyte’s ’prentice piece.

For many listeners RVW is not normally associated with the pianoforte. To be true he made use of it in his Double Piano Concerto and in Fantasia on the Old 104 ^th Psalm Tune. Both of these works have their enthusiasts and have been reappraised in recent years. However, there are only a handful of solo piano works, not a few of which are arrangements of other works or are teaching pieces.

The form of the Fantasy is in one movement of six sections with an overall structure of slow-fast-slow. Without perusing the score it is hard to say how idiomatic the solo part is: how well it fits under the pianist’s hands. However the impression is that it has all the hallmarks of a ‘romantic concerto’.

Many listeners will play ‘spot the influence’. And it is not hard to hear all sorts of things going on in this work. Certainly Brahms and Grieg are never too far from the second section. Rob Barnett at MusicWeb International has identified a mood of orthodox chant: I felt that Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition was recalled. Liszt is amongst the exemplars. However, this is no stitching together of other composer’s music. Vaughan Williams has created a valid work that reflects the times in which it was written and possibly the fact that he had studied with Stanford and latterly Max Bruch. Finally, there are moments when the ‘real’ RVW stands revealed and we hear intimations of Job (is it my imagination?) and the later symphonies. It is this, more than anything that makes the Fantasy such an important work to have on disc.

William Mathias has been reasonably well-served with recordings. Just a quick glance at the Arkiv catalogue reveals some 77 discs dedicated to, or featuring music by, the composer. However there are a number of critical works missing from these listings. For example I believe that there is no recording of the Concerto for Orchestra, Litanies and the Holiday Overture. The present CD fills in an important gap with the early Piano Concerto No.1 which dates from 1955 and the Second Concerto from some five years later. Lyrita have already presented the Third Concerto on SRCD325.
Dr Rhiannon Mathias has noted that her father ‘always held a fascination’ for the concerto form. Apart from the piano concertos, there are ‘one each for flute, oboe, clarinet, violin, horn, organ, harp and harpsichord’ in the composer’s catalogue as well as a couple of early concertos written when in his teens.

The Piano Concerto No.1 seems to me a very confident and well-wrought work for a nineteen year old student at Aberystwyth University, although it is in no way precocious. Apparently, the work seriously impressed Edmund Rubbra, who was the external examiner. The work was premiered in London on 19 May 1957. After a few more performances it was withdrawn.

The concerto is written three well-balanced movements. The Guardian critic of this present CD rightly points out that this work is ‘angular’ in its effect. However this is not the whole story: the slow movement contains ‘nocturnal’ music that is particularly reflective and beautiful. However, much of the concerto does nod to Bartók and Prokofiev although this is presented with many of the fingerprints that were to dominate much of Mathias music over the next thirty-five years. For example, we hear sharp harmonies and syncopated rhythmic figures and the playing of the main themes together rather than separately. The piano part has been described as ‘exhilarating’ and this mood is well reflected in Mark Bebbington’s interpretation of the work. The score for this recording was prepared and edited by Dr Rhiannon Mathias.

From the ‘cool’ opening bars of the Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 13 we are in a different world to the earlier piece. This is a lyrical work that is suffused with poetry. Much of the opening movement is reflective and perhaps even tentative in its exploration of the two main themes. However there are moments of tension and even angst in these pages.

Mathias has added a ‘scherzo’ in all but name. In fact, it is presented as a ‘danse infernale’ which promotes music of ‘ferocious energy’ that utilises ‘brittle and rhythmically alert’ themes and harmonies. This is in complete contrast to the typically gentle first movement.

The ‘lento’ is the heart of the work and has an improvisatory feel to much of the proceedings. That said there is a structure to this movement that references a theme from the first movement, and gradually leads the music to a ‘nobilmente’ climax before a brief link passage leads to the concluding ‘rondo.’ This is Mathias dance-music at its best: from the initial solo piano statement of the main theme to the concluding riot of sound this music impresses. The composer makes use of themes from earlier movements and this gives the ‘rondo’ a sense of unity and purpose.

This is a work that is difficult to tie down for influences: I have detected Malcolm Arnold and Michael Tippett, but the truth is that this is William Mathias’s own unique sound-world at its best. It is hard to see why this concerto is not so much more popular and regularly played.

The work was commissioned by the Welsh Committee of the Arts Council of Great Britain, and was duly given its first performance at the 1961 Llandaff Festival.

It almost goes without saying that Mark Bebbington’s playing is superb throughout the entire disc. Bebbington has done so much for British music in recent years, with his cycles of music by John Ireland and Frank Bridge, the Dale and Hurlstone Sonatas and the Ferguson and Bax piano concertos. In the present disc the playing of these three very different works call for a wide range of interpretation and technical styles. These have been dealt with admirably and suggest a huge sympathy towards, and understanding of, these works.

As usual with SOMM recordings, everything is ‘done decently and in order’: the sound reproduction is first, the cover painting by James Hamilton Hay (1874-1916), the sleeve-notes, the background preparation of the scores by Dr Graham Parlett and Dr Rhiannon Mathias. It all adds up to an excellent production.

It seems redundant to say that I recommend this CD! Every RVW enthusiast will demand a copy for the World Premiere Recording of the Fantasy. I guess that fewer listeners will be Mathias fans - however, they ought to be! - but these two works, again premiere recordings, are important additions to the catalogue of British (Welsh) piano concertos. For fans of William Mathias they are essential: for newcomers to his music they are a fine introduction to a great composer who has a style that is largely all his own.

-- John France, MusicWeb International

Idil Biret Beethoven Edition: 32 Piano Sonatas

Idil Biret Archive

Available as CD

~~$74.99~~ $52.99

Oct 25, 2011

Love of Beethoven' works threads through Biret' life like a red ribbon. Her studio recordings and live concerts show this in an unequivocal language... Next to the Piano Concertos, the Triple Concerto and the Choral Fantasy she has also recorded and perfo. 747313306930 IBRA8503069.2 16093249 .00 25.99 .69 IDIL BIRET ARCHIVE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/6/5/0/1900568.jpg 2 3 N STOLZ / LEHAR / WEBER / POPP / EICHHORN / GARDELLI GREAT SINGERS LIVE: LUCIA POPP 4035719003062 BRKK900306.2 16075368 .00 19.99 .22 BR KLASSIKS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/2/6/0/1900620.jpg 6 1 N HANDEL / PALLADIAN ENSEMBLE / THORBY / HEINRICH TRIOS FOR 4 When Trios For 4 was first released the Palladian Ensemble was riding high following a sell-out 'Rising Stars' concert series in Europe with performances at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Konzerthaus Wien, Frankfurt Alte Oper, and London's South Bank Centre. Together Rachel Podger, Pamela Thorby, Susanne Heinrich and William Carter formed a quartet of the highest calibre; confirmed by the solo successes each went on to enjoy in their respective careers. In a cleverly chosen programme the Palladian Ensemble perform works by Handel, Telemann, Leclair and Quantz which perfectly demonstrate the diversity of styles typical of the eighteenth century. The works have been uniquely adapted to suit the Palladian Ensemble's scoring of recorder, violin, viola da gamba and guitar / archlute. This joyful recording is full of Palladian Ensemble characteristics - namely their ability to present baroque chamber music infused with style, uninhibited virtuosity and intelligent musicianship. Originally released in 1997, Trios For 4 has been re-issued as part of Linn's ECHO series which offers a second chance to enjoy the best of the label's award-winning catalogue. In a career spanning more than fifteen years, the Palladian Ensemble was renowned on the international stage with a reputation synonymous with excellence in baroque performance. Constant critical acclaim, a reputation for stylish playing full of verve and vitality alongside a warm, spontaneous on-stage manner led this virtuoso ensemble to give numerous concert performances. The Palladian Ensemble won the prestigious Diapason d'Or Award on five occasions, (1993, 1994, 1998, 1999 and 2000) and has twice had albums named Gramophone 'Critics' Choice'. Gramophone also described the Palladian Ensemble as 'one of the best chamber ensembles currently in business.' 5020305600502 LINN50.2 03137178 .00 20.99 .25 LINN RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 09/16/1997 04/05/2024 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/6/3/0/1860363.jpg 5 1 N LOZANO,FRANK COLOUR FIELDS 690579007823 EFFC78.2 23226791 .00 16.99 .24 EFFENDI COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 06/21/2011 01/12/2021 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/0/4/2/1862402.jpg 3 1 N WEVERBERG VLAD'S BIG BITE 8717775550112 ALDL19.2 16209527 .00 18.99 .22 ALIUD ALIUD COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 11/29/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/2/4/2/1862425.jpg 8 1 N GIOTTOLI /DANIELLO DEDICATORIA 8011570338853 STU33885.2 15657626 .00 18.99 .22 STRADIVARIUS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/10/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/9/6/7/1827692.jpg 33 1 N REUTER,TRAVIS ROTATIONAL TEMPLATES 884501474023 NFOC117.2 15736741 .00 20.99 .24 NEW FOCUS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/10/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/3/6/0/1830631.jpg 10 1 N SPIRIT OF POLYNESIA / VARIOUS SPIRIT OF POLYNESIA / VARIOUS 5013133440327 SAD403.2 04592662 .00 20.99 .25 SAYDISC COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC V/A COMPILATIONS 12/12/1995 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/5/4/6/1846451.jpg 1 N VARIOUS ARTISTS GOLDEN TREASURY OF HISTORIC PIANO 5013133306425 SAD64.2 15805935 .00 20.99 .22 SAYDISC COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS V/A COMPILATIONS 01/11/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/8/4/6/1846480.jpg 4 1 N WINDSONGS / VARIOUS WINDSONGS / VARIOUS 5013133439420 SAD394.2 04592570 .00 20.99 .21 SAYDISC COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC V/A COMPILATIONS 12/12/1995 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/3/5/6/1846538.jpg 4 N BRISTOL BACH CHOIR / JENKINS WELCOME YULE: CHORAL MUSIC FOR SEASON OF CHRISTMAS 5013133437525 SAD375.2 04592396 .00 20.99 .24 SAYDISC COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS / CHANUKKAH 09/15/1999 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/6/5/6/1846569.jpg 28 N TOURNEMIRE / BUNDY / SEATON / CRAYFORD SAGESSE / POEME Regrettably, much of the prolific output of Charles Tournemire remains unknown and unpublished, his association with the organ overshadowing his chamber music, operas, oratorios and songs. 747313234776 NXS8572347.2 15373205 .00 19.99 .19 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 12/14/2010 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/6/9/5/1775960.jpg 9 1 N CHERUBINI / KAMMERCHOR STUTTGART / BERNIUS REQUIEM IN C 409350832277 CARU83227SACD 15380401 .00 21.99 .16 CARUS SUPER-AUDIO CD CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 12/14/2010 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/7/5/9/1779574.jpg 0 1 N HOVHANESS / BUTLER / YORK / SESO / SCHWARZ AMERICAN MYSTIC: MUSIC OF ALAN HOVHANESS 013491342122 DLS3421.2 16075955 .00 18.99 .21 DELOS RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/3/5/0/1900537.jpg 0 1 N MOLTER / HANDEL / WERNER / ERXLEBEN / ZIMMERMANN CHRISTMAS CONCERTOS 845221051086 CIO5108.2 16075665 .00 21.99 .21 CAPRICCIO COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS / CHANUKKAH 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/6/5/0/1900560.jpg 29 1 N SHOSTAKOVICH / USSR STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA LEGACY: EVGENY SVETLANOV 5060244550360 ICAS5036.2 16093287 .00 14.99 .21 ICA CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/1/6/0/1900616.jpg 146 1 N PROKOFIEV / POLUNIN / ROYAL BALLET SINFONIA / HART PETER & THE WOLF In 1995 the young choreographer Matthew Hart created a witty choreographed version for the Royal Ballet School with designs by Ian Sparling. 809478070917 BOPU7091BR 16032439 .00 26.99 .20 BBC / OPUS ARTE BLU-RAY CLASSICAL BALLET 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/5/7/0/1900758.jpg 0 1 N CALVISIUS / CORNELIUS / ECCARD / COCKLE / BURGLER FREUT EUCH UND JUBILIERT 4009350831292 CARU83129.2 10221426 .00 20.99 .25 CARUS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS / CHANUKKAH 08/05/2004 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/6/7/0/1900766.jpg 9 1 N STENHAMMAR / FRESK QUARTET / BODIN / SKYTT / CSQ STRING QUARTETS 1 & 2 7391782213379 CRE21337.2 15759559 .00 20.99 .21 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/24/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/6/8/8/1848869.jpg 6 1 N BINCHOIS / DISCANTUS / LESNE ARGUMENT OF BEAUTY 3760058360965 AEON1096.2 15395405 .00 20.99 .25 AEON COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 01/11/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/6/9/8/1788960.jpg 3 1 N HAYDN / FEY / HEIDELBERGER SINFONIKER COMPLETE SYMPHONIES - SYMPHONIES 53 & 54 V.15 4010276024460 HAC98626.2 15757869 .00 20.99 .23 SWRMUSIC COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 05/31/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/1/7/4/1844710.jpg 1 1 N BRAHMS / CORNELIUS / ELSNER / JOSWIG / KAUFMANN WIEGENLIEDER 2 4009350830028 CARU83002.2 15754004 .00 20.99 .45 CARUS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 05/31/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/1/7/4/1844713.jpg 5 1 N KAUFMANN / SCHULTZE / MAUCH / RUF / BUSCH / WADER VOLKSLIEDER (GERMAN FOLK SONGS) 2 4009350830042 CARU83004.2 15754028 .00 20.99 .45 CARUS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 05/31/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/1/7/4/1844714.jpg 4 1 N BEETHOVEN / OAE / JUROWSKI SYMPHONIES 4 & 7 / CORIOLAN OVERTURE Vladimir Jurowski conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment live at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris. 880242792983 IDAN3079298DVD 15757944 .00 24.99 .23 IDEALE AUDIENCE INTL DIGITAL VIDEO DISC CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 05/31/2011 04/05/2024 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/2/7/4/1844724.jpg 6 1 N TELEMANN / WINTER / BIERWIRTH / PODGER / HEIDRICH LUKAS PASSION 1748 761203760121 CPO777601-2.2 15757401 .00 36.99 .44 CPO RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/31/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/3/7/4/1844735.jpg 1 2 N MAHLER / BOULEZ / CVO / KOZENA / GERHAHER DAS KNABEN WUNDERHORN / ADAGIO FROM SYMPHONY 10 Pierre Boulez conducts the Cleveland Orchestra in works by Mahler with soloists Magdalena Kozena and Christian Gerhaher. 4260234830125 ACCT10231BR 15753434 .00 37.99 .21 ACCENTUS BLU-RAY CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 05/31/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/3/7/4/1844738.jpg 3 1 N GHYS,FLORENT BAROQUE TARDIF: SOLI 713746305123 CNLP21051.2 15754141 .00 10.99 .24 CANTALOUPE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/31/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/8/7/4/1844780.jpg 6 1 N LOVE / DEBUSSY / STRANVISKY / BRTOK / SATIE LE TOMBEAU DE DEBUSSY 044747300726 CAV3007.2 15702036 .00 18.99 .19 CENTAUR COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 04/26/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/4/4/6/1826441.jpg 8 1 N SINFONIETTA / VALCOUR / NEVSKY DINOS CONSTANTINIDES STRING QUARTERS 044747303727 CAV3037.2 15702074 .00 18.99 .19 CENTAUR COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 04/26/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/4/4/6/1826444.jpg 9 1 N PLAYFORD / BROADSIDE BAND POPULAR TUNES 5013133302823 SAD28.2 15805515 .00 20.99 .20 SAYDISC COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/11/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/7/5/6/1846571.jpg 0 1 N BROADSIDE BAND / ROBERTS / POTTER SONGS & DANCES FROM SHAKESPEARE 5013133440921 SAD409.2 04592723 .00 20.99 .25 SAYDISC COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/23/1995 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/7/5/6/1846572.jpg 4 N CAMBRIDGE BAROQUE CAMERA RARE BAROQUE FLUTE CONCERTOS 5013133305220 SAD52.2 15805805 .00 20.99 .21 SAYDISC COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/11/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/8/5/6/1846589.jpg 1 1 N CANTERBURY CLERKES COME FILL YOUR GLASS 5013133436122 SAD361.2 04592266 .00 20.99 .24 SAYDISC COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC 12/12/1995 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/9/5/6/1846593.jpg 6 N FAURE / DESHAYES / ENSEMBLE CONTRASTE BONNE CHANSON OP 61 3760009292437 ZIG110302.2 15788467 .00 20.99 .16 ZIG ZAG TERRITORIES COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 06/14/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/2/6/6/1846620.jpg 8 1 N TOSTI / MASCAGNI / DONAUDY / SECCO / ABRAMOWITZ ITALIAN SONGS & BALLADS The late 19th Century was the heyday of the drawing-room ballad, when families and friends entertained each other with a wide range of songs. 747313247172 NXS8572471.2 15429506 .00 19.99 .21 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 01/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/2/7/6/1796728.jpg 7 1 N SIBELIUS / NZSO / INKINEN SYMPHONIES 4 & 5 On this second volume of Sibelius Symphonies, the acclaimed young Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen interprets two of his compatriot' most contrasting symphonies. 747313222773 NXS8572227.2 15429438 .00 19.99 .18 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 01/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/2/7/6/1796721.jpg 9 1 N SCHUBERT / IMMORTAL BACH ENS / SCHULDT-JENSEN MASS IN A FLAT MAJOR / MAGNIFICAT Composed and revised over a seven-year period Schubert' fifth Mass setting is arguably his most songful and inventive. His integration of the soloists and chorus, mastery of fluid harmonies, and idiomatic treatment of the orchestra' woodwind section give life to the genre. 747313211470 NXS8572114.2 15429391 .00 19.99 .19 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/1/7/6/1796717.jpg 0 1 N SUPPE / LORDS OF THE CHORDS / WOLLENSCHLAEGER MISSA DALMATICA / MISSA FOR MALE VOICES & ORGAN 4009350834552 CARU83455.2 15754073 .00 20.99 .23 CARUS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/31/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/0/7/4/1844704.jpg 7 1 N BOULEZ,PIERRE NOTATIONS & PIANO SONATAS 752156016229 HAHT162.2 22629234 .00 20.99 .25 HATHUT RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 04/05/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/5/9/4/1814959.jpg 0 1 N CELLA,LISA THIS ISLE IS FULL OF NOISES 044747309125 CAV3091.2 15831590 .00 18.99 .19 CENTAUR COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 06/28/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/7/1/5/1855174.jpg 18 1 N KOSENKO / SHKODA PIANO MUSIC 2: COMPLETE PIANO SONATAS 044747310923 CAV3109.2 15831613 .00 18.99 .20 CENTAUR COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 06/28/2011 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/99/1683499.jpg 5 1 N CIMAROSA / GIULIANI 30 SONATAS: ARRANGEMENTS FOR GUITAR Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) was one of the most famous and successful Italian composers of the late 18th century. Renowned for his operas, of which one Il matrimonio segreto (The Secret Marriage) was rivaled in popularity only by Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), and is still in the repertoire today. Cimarosa was a fine composer, with a fluent melodic gift, and this is apparent in other areas of his output. He composed some 88 keyboard sonatas during the years he spent at the court of Catherine the Great in St Petersburg (1787-91), and were probably intended as study pieces for wealthy female students at court. These short, 'Scarlatti-proportioned' sonatas reveal the melodic vein and rhythmic vitality that made Cimarosa's operas so popular. This music is not in any way influenced by Haydn's or Clementi's sonatas of the period. Cimarosa chose a simpler Neapolitan style of writing. This makes them ideally suited to the guitar as these transcription by Claudio Giuliani reveal. 842977041729 BRLT94172.2 15483096 .00 13.99 .21 BRILLIANT CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 03/22/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/5/6/3/1803657.jpg 0 1 N PROKOFIEV / POLUNIN / ROYAL BALLET SINFONIA / HART PETER & THE WOLF In 1995 the young choreographer Matthew Hart created a witty choreographed version for the Royal Ballet School with designs by Ian Sparling. 809478010579 BOPU1057DVD 16032422 .00 24.99 .21 BBC / OPUS ARTE DIGITAL VIDEO DISC CLASSICAL BALLET 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/4/7/0/1900744.jpg 9 1 N STIMMT AN DIE SALTEN: MUSIC 19TH CENTURY / VARIOUS STIMMT AN DIE SALTEN: MUSIC 19TH CENTURY / VARIOUS 885470001500 BLN300150.2 15392336 .00 18.99 .18 BERLIN CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS V/A COMPILATIONS 01/11/2011 03/29/2022 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/8/9/8/1788980.jpg 5 1 N LEMMA / PAGANINI / TURINA / PONCE / GINASTERA GUITAR SONATAS 9003643988941 GRMA98894.2 15395313 .00 20.99 .26 GRAMOLA COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/11/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/0/0/9/1789009.jpg 99 1 N HARRISON / BROOKLYN PHILHARMONIC ORCH / SI BETTY MUSIC FOR ORCHESTRA ENSEMBLE & GAMELAN 710357257124 NIM2571.2 15395269 .00 32.99 .45 NIMBUS RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/11/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/1/0/9/1789019.jpg 0 4 Y SAWYERS / GRAND RAPIDS SYM / LOCKINGTON SYMPHONIC MUSIC FOR STRINGS & BRASS 710357612923 NIM6129.2 15395214 .00 32.99 .20 NIMBUS RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 01/11/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/2/0/9/1789027.jpg 6 1 N PLEYEL / TRIO 1790 PIANO TRIOS 761203754427 CPO777544-2.2 15757371 .00 18.99 .21 CPO RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/31/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/9/6/4/1844691.jpg 0 1 N BELL,JOSHUA / ORAMO / RSPO NOBEL PRIZE CONCERT: JOSHUA BELL Joshua Bell is featured in this performance of works by Tchaikosky, Beethoven, and Sibelius in honor of the 2010 Nobel Laureates. Sakari Oramo conducts the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. 4260234830101 ACCT10215BR 15753427 .00 41.99 .21 ACCENTUS BLU-RAY CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 05/31/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/4/7/4/1844740.jpg 0 1 N HIDALGO / MARIN / DE NAVAS / GALAN / MONAR / VILAS GUERRA MANUSCRIPT 1 The recently discovered Guerra Manuscript is an anthology of the finest pieces heard in Madrid during the second half of the 17th Century and was probably prepared for a high-ranking noble or member of the Spanish royal family. It contains a hundred vocal pieces by leading composers including Juan Hidalgo, José Marín, Juan de Navas, Cristóbal Galán, Juan Del Vado and Matías Ruiz, as well as others whose authors remain anonymous. Isabel Monar has been acclaimed worldwide for her concert and operatic performances. Manuel Vilas has collaborated with numerous groups, including Les Musiciens du Louvre, Al Ayre Español and Musica Ficta. 747313013579 NXS8570135.2 15429346 .00 19.99 .19 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/1/7/6/1796713.jpg 7 1 N JADIN / BRAULT / HOULE / PLOUFFE / SAINT-CYR QUATUORS A CORDES OEUVRE 1ER 722056261029 ATAS2610.2 15753748 .00 15.99 .21 ATMA CLASSIQUE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/31/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/9/6/4/1844693.jpg 0 1 N LAGAMELLA / NONKEN / PRISM SAX QUARTET / ENS CMN CALLS OF GRAVITY: WORKS BY DAVID LAGANELLA 884501425537 NFOC114.2 15459190 .00 20.99 .14 NEW FOCUS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 02/08/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/2/9/2/1802922.jpg 9 1 N ZELENKA / PLASCHKA / MARBURGER BACHCHOR / SOKOLI MAGNIFICAT & MISSA NATIVITATIS DOMINI & DIXIT 4260036252132 GENN11213.2 16093133 .00 20.99 .27 GENUIN COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/2/6/0/1900622.jpg 2 1 N CHOPIN / SCHUBERT / RIAS-SYMPHONIE-ORCHESTER PIANO CONCERTO NO 2 & SYMPHONY NO 9 THE GREAT 4022143956408 AUDT95640.2 16075337 .00 14.99 .16 AUDITE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/4/6/0/1900647.jpg 12 1 N GAVILAN,ALDO SOUNDBITES 053479214522 SONL92145.2 16077751 .00 18.99 .22 SONO LUMINUS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/8/6/0/1900684.jpg 1 1 N KANDER / RODGERS / BBC CONCERT ORCHESTRA / DAVIS UP IN LIGHTS 845458000130 CDVC13.2 16075511 .00 18.99 .24 CARL DAVIS COLLECT COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/0/7/0/1900703.jpg 8 1 N BIZET / SCHROTT / POPLAVSKAYA / BIEITO CARMEN Beatrice Uria-Monzon, Roberto Alagna, Erwin Schrott, Marina Poplavskaya, Eliana Bayon, and Itxaro Mentxaka star in this Gran Teatre de Licieu production of the Bizet opera conducted by Marc Piollet and staged by Calixto Bieito. 814337010737 CMAJ707308DVD 16075740 .00 51.99 .32 C MAJOR DIGITAL VIDEO DISC CLASSICAL OPERA / OPERETTA / ORATORIO 10/25/2011 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/47/1664247.jpg 4 2 N CAVALLI / NICOTRA / BERTAGNOLLI VIRTU DE STRALI DAMORE La Virtu de' Strali d'Amore was the first of 10 operas Cavalli wrote with librettist Giovanni Faustini. A follower of Monteverdi, Cavalli reveals the influence of the older man but also his own pronounced independence. 747313561452 NXS2110614DVD 16093652 .00 37.99 .29 NAXOS DIGITAL VIDEO DISC MOVIE OPERA / OPERETTA / ORATORIO 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/3/7/0/1900734.jpg 11 2 N BEETHOVEN / WILSON / DESHONG / CORE MISSA SOLEMNIS Tamara Wilson, Elizabeth Deshong, Nikolai Schukoff, and Brindley Sherratt perform with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Gulbenkian Choir conducted by John Nelson with first violinist Marieke Blankestijn. 880242793584 IDAN3079358DVD 16093348 .00 24.99 .26 IDEALE AUDIENCE INTL DIGITAL VIDEO DISC MOVIE CLASSICAL VOCALS 10/25/2011 04/05/2024 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/4/7/0/1900741.jpg 7 1 N WAGNER / LISZT / STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN THIELEMANN CONDUCTS FAUST Christian Thielemann conducts the Sachsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden and Staatskapelle Dresden in works by Wagner and Liszt with tenor Endrik Wottrich. 814337010775 CMAJ707708DVD 16075764 .00 26.99 .25 C MAJOR DIGITAL VIDEO DISC CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/4/7/0/1900749.jpg 44 1 N GIORDANO / HENDRICKS / PRAGUE PHILHARMONIC CHOIR ANDREA CHENIER Hector Sandoval, Norma Fantini, Scott Hendricks, Tania Kross, and Rosalind Plowright star in this production of the Giordano opera performed by the Vienna Symphony, Bregenz Festival Chorus, and Prague Philharmonic Choir conducted by Ulf Schirmer. 814337010805 CMAJ708004BR 16075795 .00 37.99 .22 C MAJOR BLU-RAY CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/5/7/0/1900752.jpg 2 1 N WAGNER / LISZT / STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN THIELEMANN CONDUCTS FAUST Christian Thielemann conducts the Sachsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden and Staatskapelle Dresden in works by Wagner and Liszt with tenor Endrik Wottrich. 814337010782 CMAJ707804BR 16075771 .00 66.99 .24 C MAJOR BLU-RAY CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/6/7/0/1900762.jpg 5 1 N GRIEG / GROOP / VIGNOLES / RANTA / DERWINGER COMPLETE SONGS 7318591607090 BIS1607/9.2 15049247 .00 72.99 .65 BIS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/25/2010 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/8/0/7/1787084.jpg 13 7 N CAGE,JOHN WORKS FOR PERCUSSION 1 The First volume in a series of the complete percussion works of composer JOHN CAGE. This is the first recording of 'Imaginary Landscape No. 1' (from 1939) to use the actual vintage variable-speed turntables. 764593022992 MOD229DVD 15470133 .00 32.99 .23 MODE DIGITAL VIDEO DISC CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 04/26/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/2/0/6/1806028.jpg 7 1 N LEUPOLD TRIO / STEGEMAN / MIJNDERS / LEUPOLD CON CHITARRONE: ITALIAN SONATAS FROM EARLY 608917236927 CHLL72369.2 15389077 .00 18.99 .24 CHALLENGE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/11/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/9/9/8/1788991.jpg 3 1 N BERG / ROGALAND CHAMBER CHOIR / OSKAMP FANTASIA BREVE / CANTUS / CLARINET CONCERTO 7025560492228 AUO4922.2 15524171 .00 20.99 .26 AURORA COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/10/1992 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/1/6/9/1849617.jpg 0 1 N MOZART / PECKOVA / BELOHLAVEK ARIAS 099925221720 SPP112217.2 04990758 .00 21.99 .24 SUPRAPHON COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL OPERA / OPERETTA / ORATORIO 04/18/1995 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/3/0/4/1784037.jpg 5 N WUORINEN / FINES ARTS QUARTET MUSIC OF 2 DECADES VOLUME 3 017685993220 MUA932.2 03512234 .00 19.99 .24 MUSIC & ARTS PROGRAM COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 08/20/1996 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/6/8/2/3892862.jpg 1 1 N RAUTAVAARA / STOLTZMAN / HPHO / ASHKENAZY APOTHEOSIS: BEST OF EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA 761195108123 OND1081.2 16094079 .00 13.99 .21 ONDINE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/25/2011 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/44/1663844.jpg 1 1 N COOTS / GANNON / US COAST GUARD BAND JAZZ TRIO BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE 754422634229 ALTS63422.2 16075122 .00 18.99 .20 ALTISSIMO RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP CHRISTMAS / CHANUKKAH 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/4/5/0/1900543.jpg 51 1 N BEETHOVEN / BIRET COMPLETE PNO Love of Beethoven' works threads through Biret' life like a red ribbon. Her studio recordings and live concerts show this in an unequivocal language... Next to the Piano Concertos, the Triple Concerto and the Choral Fantasy she has also recorded and perfo.

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OPERETTE - WIEN BERLIN PARIS

OPERETTE - WIEN BERLIN PARIS

ERATO

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 1; Piano Sonata No. 2; Core

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 1; Piano Sonata No. 2; Core

Piano Classics

Nordic Violin Favourites / Kraggerud, Engeset, Dalasinfoniettan

Nordic Violin Favourites / Kraggerud, Engeset, Dalasinfoniettan

Naxos

Viktor Kosenko: Piano Music, Vol 1 - 11 Etudes / Shkoda

Viktor Kosenko: Piano Music, Vol 1 - 11 Etudes / Shkoda

Toccata

Sgambati: 6 Nocturnes, Etudes & Other Works

Sgambati: 6 Nocturnes, Etudes & Other Works

Piano Classics

Klami: Northern Lights, Cheremissian Fantasy / Peltonen, Storgards, Helsinki PO

Klami: Northern Lights, Cheremissian Fantasy / Peltonen, Storgards, Helsinki PO

Ondine

FAIREY BAND: Brass Favourites

FAIREY BAND: Brass Favourites

Chandos

Rheinberger: Complete Organ Concertos / Stefan Johannes Bleicher

Rheinberger: Complete Organ Concertos / Stefan Johannes Bleicher

MDG

Right Through The Bone - Rontgen / Arc Ensemble

Right Through The Bone - Rontgen / Arc Ensemble

Sony Masterworks

Martucci: Piano Concerto No 1, Etc / Coggi, La Vecchia

Martucci: Piano Concerto No 1, Etc / Coggi, La Vecchia

Naxos

Bull: Violin Concertos / Folleso, Ruud, Norwegian Radio Orchestra [Hybrd SACD + Blu-ray Audio]

Bull: Violin Concertos / Folleso, Ruud, Norwegian Radio Orchestra [Hybrd SACD + Blu-ray Audio]

2L

Reinecke: Complete Violoncello Sonatas / Manuel Fischer-dieskau, Connie Shih

Reinecke: Complete Violoncello Sonatas / Manuel Fischer-dieskau, Connie Shih

MDG

Delius: A Mass of Life, Idyll / Opie, Hill

Delius: A Mass of Life, Idyll / Opie, Hill

Naxos

Guarneri Quartet - The Complete RCA Victor Album Collection

Guarneri Quartet - The Complete RCA Victor Album Collection

Sony Masterworks

Vaughan Williams, Mathias / Bebbington, Ulster Orchestra

Vaughan Williams, Mathias / Bebbington, Ulster Orchestra

SOMM Recordings

Grieg: Works For Orchestra / Abravanel, Utah Symphony

Grieg: Works For Orchestra / Abravanel, Utah Symphony

Vox

Grieg: Songs / Bodil Arnesen, Erling Ragner Eriksen

Grieg: Songs / Bodil Arnesen, Erling Ragner Eriksen

Naxos

Idil Biret Beethoven Edition: 32 Piano Sonatas

Idil Biret Beethoven Edition: 32 Piano Sonatas

Idil Biret Archive

Grieg: Cello Sonata, Etc / Birkeland, Gimsen

Grieg: Cello Sonata, Etc / Birkeland, Gimsen

Naxos

Grieg: Piano Music Vol 9 / Einar Steen-nokleberg

Grieg: Piano Music Vol 9 / Einar Steen-nokleberg

Naxos