Signed copies of our October release COLCD 141. Choral settings of Shakespeare, Wordsworth, James Weldon Johnson, Charles Causley and others, by John Rutter

The world famous conductor offers a special reissue of his 1971 RCA double-LP.

Another classic from the John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers, whose recordings have become a tradition of Christmas around the world.

REVIEW:

Christmas Star is an entertaining collection of familiar holiday tunes and carols, all professionally performed by the Cambridge Singers. This is good, straight a cappella holiday mus­ic and should satisfy fans of that style[.]

­– All Music Guide (Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

The Copland Collection: Orchestral Works 1948-1971

Classical Music

Old ragtime piano player music at it’s best. Featuring classics like: Hello, My Baby! • Tiger Rag • Chattanooga Choo Choo • Satin Doll • Pretty Baby • Yes Sir, That’s My Baby • Bumble Boogie • Me and My Shadow • Yes! We Have No Bananas • Charleston Rag- Varsity Rag • Alexander’s Ragtime Band, and more. All passionately played on the Steinway player piano. (Klavier)

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Christmas Eve / Night on Mount Triglav

Benno Moiseiwitsch was one of the many great Russian pianists born in Odessa. He recorded prolifically from 1916 until just before his death and was particularly highly regarded for his Chopin, Schumann and Rachmaninov. Moiseiwitsch met Rachmaninov at his American debut in 1919 and the composer praised Moiseiwitsch's interpretations of his works and even claimed the recording of the Piano Concerto No.2 presented here was superior to his own. All these recordings present Moiseiwitsch at the height of his powers.

Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra present a gripping new recording of Samuel Barber's Vanessa, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American opera of love, longing, and illusion. In Barber's atmospheric, emotionally charged score, echoes of Verdi, Puccini, and Hitchcock-era Hollywood intertwine with a distinctly modern American voice. This performance brings together an exceptional cast, including Nicole Heaston, J'Nai Bridges, Matthew Polenzani, Susan Graham, and Thomas Hampson, who illuminate Gian Carlo Menotti's haunting tale of desire across generations. Recorded live in concert, this release captures Vanessa's sweeping romanticism and psychological depth with vivid orchestral color and extraordinary vocal artistry. A landmark addition to the contemporary operatic discography, it reveals why Vanessa remains one of the 20th century's most compelling operas.

This is the first recording of pianist Igor Levit, conductor Christian Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic with Brahms' two Piano Concertos. The release is a triple-CD album with Levit's recording of Brahm's late solo piano works opp 116-119. As a special encore Levit and Thielemann also play the four-hand Brahms Waltz op. 39/15 together.

REVIEW:

Levit’s utterly compelling accounts of the late sets are the more impressive element in this collection. He does not put a foot wrong in any of them; each piece is perfectly shaped, its subtly varied emotional charge instantly identified. It’s hard to think of many better recordings of these 20 gems, and certainly not of all four opus numbers together.

— The Guardian

Recorded in: Orchestra Hall, Chicago 27, 28 November 1989 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Mitchell Heller (assistant)

REVIEW:

It's the marvelous singing of Lilli Paasikivi, with her intelligence, penetrating insight, and richly rounded tone that fully captures the spirit of these works and makes them little gems that no Lieder enthusiast can afford to overlook. Ondine's warmly resonant, naturally balanced recording makes this important disc even more welcome. It's a "must-have".

It's not long into this disc before it becomes evident that Alma Mahler was a very different composer from her famous husband Gustav. Alma studied with Zemlinsky, whose influence (along with that of Hugo Wolf) shows most readily in her work--yet this is Alma's music through and through. Even before Mahler forbade her from composing once they were married, Alma displayed a distinctive voice, one steeped in 19th-century Romanticism (her father often sang Schumann lieder) as well as the musical currents of the new century. The first set of Five Songs comes from this early period, and right from the opening "Die stille Stadt" Alma's skill at word setting captivates, as does her ability to recreate in music each poem's unique emotional state. Of the five, "Bei dir ist es traut", with its recurring falling major second, is the only one that sounds remotely close to her husband's style.

After Gustav's death Alma again took up composition, and the following Four Songs reveal a new richness and poignancy in her writing as well as an expanded harmonic palette. "Licht in der Nacht"'s haunting atmosphere lingers after the song has ended, while "Anstrum"'s tonal waywardness displays Alma's awareness of modern musical developments. Alma's last set of Five Songs, published in 1924, is based on spiritual texts, emphasizing both their reverential (Hymne) and mystical (Hymne an die Nacht) themes.

The program concludes with two unpublished songs, "Leise Weht ein erstes Bluhn" and "Kennst du meine Nachte", both composed in a cultivated Romantic style that would indicate their belonging to Alma's earlier period. The impact of the music is no doubt enhanced by Jorma Panula's idiomatic and imaginative orchestrations, beautifully rendered by the Tampere Philharmonic.

--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

Long overshadowed by her towering legacy as one of the 20th century's most influential music teachers, Nadia Boulanger's creative voice as a composer is rediscovered in La ville morte (The Dead City) - a haunting opera of passion, loss, and psychological intensity. Composed in collaboration with Raoul Pugno and based on a libretto by Gabriele D'Annunzio, the work was originally slated for it's world premiere in Paris in 1914, but the outbreak of World War I silenced it before it could be heard. More than a century later, this long-buried score rises from obscurity, where forgotten desires return to life against the backdrop of ancient ruins. Set in the crumbling city of Mycenae, the opera explores obsession, betrayal, and blurred boundaries, it's emotional landscape shaped by impressionistic orchestral textures and arioso-style intimacy reminiscent of both Debussy and Wagner. Here, Boulanger reveals a daring and expressive side that transcends her image as the stern guardian of musical tradition. This landmark recording marks the PENTATONE debut of soprano Melissa Harvey, mezzo-soprano Laurie Rubin, tenor Joshua Dennis, baritone Jorell Williams, the Talea Ensemble, and conductor Neal Goren. The orchestration-by Joseph Stillwell and Stephan Cwik under the supervision of David Conte-breathes new life into the long-silent score. A co-production between Catapult Opera and the Greek National Opera, La ville morte not only resurrects Boulanger's compositional brilliance but also secures her place in the modern operatic repertoire.

David Temple conducts the Crouch End Festival Chorus and London Mozart Players with a formidable group of soloists on this album celebrating the works of the siblings Felix Mendelssohn and Fanny Hensel (nee Mendelssohn). Fanny’s cantata Hiob, based on the Book of Job, is the second of three cantatas composed between February and November 1831, although it remained unpublished until 1992. Later in her short career, encouraged by her brother and her friend Robert von Keudell, Fanny did begin to publish her works. The Gartenlieder, Op. 3 for unaccompanied choir were composed in 1846, and inspired by the gardens and summerhouse at the family’s Leipzigerstraße residence, in Berlin, where she held her choir rehearsals. Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht is a secular cantata, a setting of the poem by Goethe, originally performed in 1831. Mendelssohn revised the work extensively in 1843, and it is this later version that is performed here. His Christmas cantata Vom Himmel hoch, based on a Lutheran chorale, was completed in 1831.

Classical Music

Kip Winger is a genre-bridging composer with a long and successful career in rock music. His celebrated ballet score Conversations with Nijinsky led conductor Giancarlo Guerrero to commission the two works on this album. Weaving four floriographical meanings into the musical arc, In the Language of Flowers is a violin concerto that celebrates a love story "no words could adequately express." Symphony of the Returning Light sits in the tradition of autobiographical fantasies stretching back to Berlioz. The symphony incorporates the use of Morse code rhythms and is centered around the theme of atonement.

After recordings of Beethoven’s complete symphonies; two Ravel albums; one Rautavaara album; and the award-winning album ‘Americascapes’; Robert Treviño now turns his focus on the symphonic poems by Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936).Together with the Orchestra Nazionale Sinfonica della RAI; Robert Treviño presents the composer’s famous Roman Trilogy; an exciting orchestral masterpiece culminating in the triumphant Pines of Rome.

Respighi's fascination with the Eternal City is nowhere better expressed than in the three symphonic poems that make up the so-called Roman Trilogy. He had rarely taken on works of such proportions and his most recent large-scale orchestral work, the Sinfonia Drammatica, dating from 1914, still reveals the lasting influence of Brahms and Franck. But just one year later, he finally shook off the shackles of late 19th-century Romanticism, and offered a first glimpse of the remarkable use of color that would soon become a hallmark of his orchestral writing.

REVIEW:

Respighi’s three tone poems, collectively known as the “Roman Trilogy,” have been popular since their premieres, and there is no shortage of recordings. However, here is one that is worth consideration from a rising conductor and a major orchestra that is not recorded as often as it ought to be. This is absolutely infectious fun, and the performances are fully in the spirit of these evergreen favorites. Here is a release that will make one remember what it was they loved about this music in the first place.

-- AllMusic,com (James Manheim)

The expressive immediacy of Aram Khachaturian's music, with its sensuous melodic writing, vibrant orchestration and rhythmic drive, resulted in a popularity equaled by few composers of his generation. Composed in 1936, the Piano Concerto was the work that established Khachaturian’s name. Cast in the customary three movements, it is scored for a sizable orchestra, with notable contributions from both side-drum and military drum in the percussion section. In the second movement there is also an extensive solo for a so-called ‘flexatone’; it is often put forward that Khachaturian in fact intended the part to be played on the musical saw, as it is on the present recording. Thirty years after the Concerto, the composer returned to the genre with his Concerto-Rhapsody for piano and orchestra. This time the score offers prominent roles for the xylophone, marimba and vibraphone, which contribute towards making this one of the composer’s most colorful works. The demanding solo parts are here performed by the young Jordanian-Palestinian pianist Iyad Sughayer, with spirited support from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Andrew Litton. Sughayer made his acclaimed début as a recording artist with an album of Khachaturian's piano works and sandwiched between the two works with orchestra he here presents the piano version of one of the composer's best loved pieces, the Masquerade Suite with its yearning opening Waltz and closing Galop.

Featuring 4 works receiving their world premiere recording, Signum Classics are proud to annouce the new album 'Dorothy Howell: Orchestral Works' conducted by Rebecca Miller with the BBC Concert Orchestra. Until now these works have rarely been performed, and the majority of works are unpublished and only exist in manuscript form. "I hope this album can help to revive Dorothy’s music, to help her live on, to finally have the recognition she deserved and never received, and to secure this music’s rightful place in the centre of the classical music repertoire" - Rebecca Miller

This substantial set dedicated to the vocal music of Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) features the great cycle undertaken (to date) by Krijn Koetsveld and the singers of Le Nuove Musiche: all nine books of madrigals, the music in Monteverdi collections such as the Selva Morale e Spirituale (1641) and the posthumous Messa a quattro voci ed salmi (1650), and the individual works by Monteverdi that were compiled in the collections of others, the so-called Fragments. To this is joined the cycle of operas directed by Sergio Vartolo and sung by casts of Italian early music specialists, including the first recording of the five-act version of Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. These thoroughly researched, historically informed interpretations demonstrate Monteverdi’s pioneering and transformative role in the emergence and development of staged, dramatic vocal music. Also featured are the grand Vespers – sacred music in the Gregorian plainchant tradition but on an operatic scale – in a fantastic recording with fine Italian soloists and authentic period instruments including the early brass of La Pifarescha. Federico Bardazzi and Ensemble Felice make scrupulous interpretative decisions about the order of movements, interpolating the choral motets within the prescribed sequence of psalms to great effect. Finally, there are Monteverdi’s youthful three-part canzonettas, written when the composer was 17. They are rather simpler than the madrigals, both to sing and to appreciate, but their musical worth is amply demonstrated by the largely female voices of Armoniosoincanto joined by a mixed period-instrument ensemble of flutes, violas, theorbo and harpsichord. They impart just the right light-hearted mood and dramatic impact to the playful, folkloric secular strophic poetry. Genius innovator - inspiring past and present! Claudio Monteverdi lived in Italy during a very turbulent time and was one of the great designers of the new style in music. As a young man, he learned the ancient laws of composing, especially from Marcantonio Ingegneri. Under his inspiration, he wrote his first book of madrigals. We can follow his life closely through the final 9 books of madrigals. Each book is a new moment in his development as a composer. Ultimately, he gets his dream job in Venice as maestro di cappella, but he writes operas and other musical spectacles for other courts, including Mantua, Milan, Turin, and Parma. He enjoyed the recognition that finally came for that little boy from insignificant Cremona. The book consists of 9 chapters, one per madrigal book, and has 128 pages in total. Looking from Monteverdi’s perspective, and also from the perspective of the performer, the contemporary enthusiast. Mesmerized by the beautiful courtly poetry, but also intrigued by the innovator Monteverdi, who is always looking for other ways to express emotion in music in a special way. Each chapter focuses on one characteristic madrigal. The book comes with a CD so you can listen to all the wonderful works.

This stunning collection features acclaimed pianist Gabriel Tacchino performing the complete piano and orchestra compositions of Camille Saint-Saëns. Enjoy the masterful musicianship of Tacchino, accompanied by the Luxembourg Radio Orchestra. Immerse yourself in the rich and diverse soundscapes crafted by one of the greatest composers of the late Romantic era. Experience the full range of Saint-Saëns' genius with this comprehensive set.

REVIEWS:

It’s good to see this collection of Saint-Saëns piano concertos coming back in tandem with such rarities as Cyprès et Lauriers for Organ and Orchestra, the Fantaisie for Violin and Harp, La muse et le poète (for violin, cello, and orchestra), and the two small works for horn and orchestra. All are well performed and acceptably recorded, though the main attraction remains Gabrielle Tacchino’s charming way with the piano concertos. An excellent pianist in a lighter vein, his artistry might have been tailor-made for these works.

Tacchino is particularly adept at tossing off the less familiar works–Concertos Nos. 1, 3, and 5–and he understands that elegance and ease count for more than raw power in this music...if you love these works, you should have this. Froment provides decent accompaniments, and while the sonics remain a touch “tight” and dry, the overall quality is perfectly listenable and very well balanced.

-- MusicWeb International (David Hurwitz)

1. Adeste fidelis (O Come All Ye Faithful) (arr. D. Willcocks)
2. What Child is This?
3. Ding Dong Merrily on High
4. Sing we to this merry company
5. The Sussex Mummers' Christmas Carol (arr. M. Allen)
6. The Little Road to Bethlehem
7. The Holly and the Ivy (arr. J. Rutter): The holy and the ivy
8. Carol of the Bells (arr. P. Wilhousky)
9. God rest you merry, gentlemen
10. The First Nowell
11. The Carol of the Angels
12. I saw three ships
13. Come, love we God
14. Torches, Op. 7a
15. Wexford Carol
16. Angels we have heard on high
17. Away in a manger (arr. J. Van)
18. Good King Wenceslas
19. Sussex Carol
20. A Merry Christmas
21. O Holy Night (Cantique de Noel) (arr. J. Rutter)
22. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Regular duet and two-piano partners Hélène Mercier and Louis Lortie have returned to the studio for this all-Debussy program. The album features duets written by the composer himself -such as the Petite Suite, the Six Épigraphes antiques and the Marche écossaise sur un thème Populaire; as well as a number of arrangements of his solo piano pieces (the Première Arabesque, La Fille aux cheveux de lin and the "Slavic" Ballade). The album ends with André Caplet’s monumental arrangement of Debussy’s best known orchestral work, La Mer. Stripped of its orchestration, this two-piano version allows the listener to more easily appreciate Debussy’s ground-breaking harmonic innovation. The album was recorded in the concert hall at Snape Maltings in Suffolk, using a pair of Bösendorfer 280 VC grand pianos.

REVIEWS:

Regular duet and two-piano partners Hélène Mercier and Louis Lortie present this all-Debussy program, starting and ending on the water. The duo characterize Debussy’s impressionism well with playing that is sensitive and charming.

The album ends with André Caplet’s monumental arrangement of Debussy’s best known orchestral work, La Mer. Stripped of its orchestration, this two-piano version allows the listener to more easily appreciate Debussy’s ground-breaking harmonic innovation.

-- Cumbria Times (Andrew Palmer)

The playing by the two distinguished pianists is faultless, distinctly outlining the notes with a clarity of separation; the recording in the superb acoustic of the Snape Maltings captures the sound ideally; the presentation of the booklet, with extensive and informative notes in three languages by Roger Nichols, is excellent; and the music itself, I need hardly add, is marvelous.

Most frustratingly then, is that Debussy’s masterpiece for the two-piano repertoire, his late En blanc et noir, is missing. That, however, is not to say that the purchaser of this very full disc is under-compensated. Nevertheless, there might be something to be said for letting us hear Debussy’s music in two-piano and piano-duet arrangements, especially those published during his lifetime, even when we may suspect that reasons of commercial necessity may have prompted their original issue.

-- MusicWeb International

The three composers whose works appear on this album are interconnected: Ravel was a mentor to Lennox Berkeley, and Berkeley to Pounds. Le Tombeau de Couperin marks Ravel’s movement towards neoclassicism, its forms and style a re-invention of ones from the French baroque.

Originally written for solo piano, the movements of the suite were dedicated to friends whom Ravel had lost in the First World War. In 1919, he orchestrated four of the six movements (the version performed here). Berkeley met Ravel a number of times in the 1920s, working as an interpreter and tour-guide whilst Ravel was in London. Ravel advised him to study with Nadia Boulanger, which he did, between 1926 and 1932.

Commissioned by Sir Arthur Bliss for the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1942, the Divertimento initially received a mixed reception, but has since found many supporters (including Pounds). The critic Peter Dickinson felt it showed an ‘instinctive and unimpassioned creativeness associated with the French aesthetic, but by no means restricted to it’.

Adam Pounds studied privately with Berkeley in London during the late 1970s, and in his own music has perpetuated the firm commitment of the two earlier composers to clarity and accessibility in everything they wrote. His Third Symphony was written in 2021 and is a response to the national lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Pounds states that the piece captures the ‘sadness, humor, determination, and defiance’ which everyone faced at this time – not least musicians. Scored for relatively modest orchestral forces, the work is dedicated to Sinfonia of London and John Wilson who here give the work its world première recording.

With this open-air concert in Sch�nbrunn, the Vienna Philharmonic wishes to provide all Viennese, as well as visitors to the city, with a special musical experience in the impressive setting of Sch�nbrunn Palace and it's beautiful baroque gardens, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. - Since 2004 the Vienna Philharmonic has provided an outstanding experience for the audience. In the recent years the orchestra has been conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, Valery Gergiev, Franz Welser-M�st, Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Zubin Mehta and Andris Nelsons. Among the previous guest soloists were: Ren�e Fleming, Lang Lang, Rudolf Buchbinder, Katia and Marielle Lab�que, Yuja Wang, Jonas Kaufmann, Igor Levit, Gautier Capu�on and Elina Garanca. It is Sony Classical�s 12th release of the Summer Night Concert.