The edition brings together Berliner Philharmoniker recordings from the last ten years. It includes the nine completed symphonies and the Adagio of the Tenth, whose performance under the direction of Claudio Abbado on the 100th anniversary of Mahler’s death is one of the highlights. In addition to chief conductor Kirill Petrenko and his predecessor Sir Simon Rattle, the edition features other outstanding Mahler interpreters closely associated with the orchestra: Gustavo Dudamel, Bernard Haitink, Daniel Harding, Andris Nelsons and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

By its title and its twelve violin concertos, Vivaldi’s L’estro armonico immediately captures the imagination. Rinaldo Alessandrini and his Concerto Italiano, with the addition of high-calibre keyboardists, present the full collection with the six additional adaptations for keyboard by Bach. This Opus 3 published by Vivaldi in 1711 vibrates with the virtues of a poetic energy taken to the highest level of expressivity, embodied in the subtle and virtuosic exchanges between a string orchestra and four, two, then one solo violins. The stylistic principles developed in each piece were completely new and inspired for the time, the virtuosity intense, and the success considerable, rapidly reaching beyond the frontiers of La Serenissima. Which is how Bach, seven years younger than Vivaldi and drawn to the polyphonic dimension of these “multi-voiced” pieces, adapted several of them for organ and harpsichord.

On this new release from the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare’s classic tale is reimagined especially for the screen. King Leontes rips his family apart but grief opens his heart. Will he find the child he abandoned before it is too late? This production of Shakespeare’s play is staged for the screen by the RSC. Directed by Erica Whyman, the play is set across a 16-year span, from the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II to the moon landings. “The first ever televised Royal Shakespeare Company world premiere is solid.” (The Independent) “Autolycus can be a touchstone for personal taste and Anne Odeke was delicious here across the whole gamut, from singing voice through to cream-cake comedy.” (The Arts Desk)

Reviews

“Enchanting” – The Times ★★★★

“Engaging and high-spirited” – The Stage ★★★★

The National Brass Ensemble with James Sommerville and Gail Williams, French Horn.

The National Brass Ensemble is comprised of twenty-six of the finest brass players in major orchestras across the US. “Gabrieli”, featuring the NBE, includes 15 pieces from the Italian composer’s highly influential Sacrae Symphoniae (1597), arranged for this ensemble by San Francisco Symphony trombonist Tim Higgins, and the debut of Music for Brass, a new work by celebrated film composer John Williams. The inspiration for this recording comes from a historic, Grammy Award-winning recording, The Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli, featuring the legendary brass ensembles of the Chicago Symphony and the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras. It has been long admired as the definitive modern performance of Giovanni Gabrieli’s works.

"A pulsation marks time, it infuses its rhythm in it and also evokes the heart. Just like those composers whose music calls out to me and who, with their unique signatures, mark time, our time; Olafur Arnalds, Jean-Michel Blais, Ludovico Einaudi, Alex Baranowski, Craig Armstrong, Peter Gregson, Yann Tiersen, Abel Korzeniowski, Johan Johannsson, Max Richter, Dalal..." (Angèle Dubeau) One of the most prominent violin virtuosos of her generation, Angele Dubeau has been leading an exceptional career for over 40 years in the great concert halls of the world. While her virtuosity and musicality have seduced critics, the public has adopted Angele Dubeau for her captivating music, her uncommon gift as a communicator, her generosity and her outstanding ability to connect with her audience. She has garnered many awards over the years, and she is one of the rare classical violinists in the world to have been awarded gold records. She has sold over 600,000 albums in her career and the works from the violinist’s discography have been streamed over 75 million times across more than 100 countries.

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REVIEWS:

The rhythmic cycles and the melodic-harmonic motifs of many of these compositions are now part of the musical imagination, the characteristics of which are found in several film scores ... and in this album perfectly representative of the trend, interpreted with inspiration, accuracy and virtuosity by Angèle Dubeau and her ensemble.

– LaPresse.ca (Alain Brunet)

Pulsations brings together works that evoke strong images and possess a profound emotional intensity. She has a flair for finding and recording the works of remarkable composers, thus placing her at the center of the post-minimalist movement, one of the most relevant musical genres of our time.

– LaScena Musicale

The Seattle Symphony releases powerful live performances of works by two brilliant American composers, William L. Dawson and Pulitzer Prize winner George Walker. These deeply expressive scores — recorded in the stunning acoustics of Benaroya Hall — take inspiration from a variety of sources, including Negro spirituals, jazz harmonies and modernist traditions.

The music of George Walker and William Levi Dawson is a microcosm of Black classical composers’ stylistic diversity. Each draw upon African American music idioms for different settings, characters and functions. And yet, the works connect through the importance of programmatic and emotive narratives within the Black classical practice. Whether quoting or arranging spirituals, or using blues notes or serialism, the music of both Walker and Dawson tells a story, be it enormous internal journeys or a massive historical epic.

REVIEW:

The performances are universally excellent. The sound quality is full and clear. My criticisms of the music are generally minor. But all of the music is worth knowing and rewards repeated listening. This disc warrants a hearty recommendation.

-- Fanfare

George Walker is one of the few leading American composers of the 20th century to produce as many as five piano sonatas. Taken together, they securely chart a lifetime of stylistic change. Walker managed many other feats, a number of them connected to being the first Black person to break through various glass ceilings: the first to be accepted at the Curtis Institute of Music, the first to study with Nadia Boulanger, and the first to win the Pulitzer Prize in Music. Walker is also one of the only major composer-pianists to have recorded worthy performances of virtuoso standard repertoire including Beethoven’s “Emperor Concerto” and the Brahms second piano concerto.

REVIEW:

"This beautifully played (and beautifully recorded) set of George Walker's piano sonatas by pianist Steven Beck is especially valuable. The sonatas trace Walker's development as a composer, from a sort of post-Copland style through an approach to serialism (he only rarely adopted it wholesale, but the mark of Webernian economy is all over the second and third sonatas here), back to a broader free atonality deepened by rigor."

Walker generally resisted the use of African American vernacular material in his essentially modernist style, but he might then introduce it when it is least expected, in entirely original ways. Anyone interested in this giant of African American classical music but not knowing where to start could easily choose this release."

--AllMusicGuide.com (James Manheim)

There is a strong tradition of American piano sonatas. Off the top of my head I can think of examples by Ives, Copland, Barber, Sessions and Carter and there are, no doubt, others. To these we can add the five sonatas of George Walker, an impressive contribution to the medium, which fit neatly onto one disc.

I had not heard of George Walker until a few months ago, when he was composer of the week in the BBC Radio 3 series. I was impressed by what I heard and so was glad of this opporunity to hear these sonatas. He had a long and successful career in the USA, despite the difficulties caused by his being African-American. He always intended a life in classical music, which I note as some African-American musicians, despite being classically trained, gravitate towards jazz. There are occasional jazz references and references to spirituals and folk songs in his works, but no more than one might expect in any other American composer, Copland for example.

Despite these sonatas being composed over a period of fifty years, they have more in common than what sets any of them apart. Walker has a fondness for sinewy counterpoint and somewhat angular harmonies, rather in the Hindemith way. He also likes strong single lines and chord sequences. His idiom is clearly twentieth century but is not particularly dissonant, and he likes a good deal of rhythmic vitality.

The first two sonatas, the closest together in time, have much in common. The fondness for counterpoint and for variation form is common to them. However, the first is consistently more playful, even jaunty, while the second conveys a sense of disaster being just round the corner. The second is also the more compact, despite being in four movements rather than three, and its Scherzo is only one minute and twelve seconds long.

The third sonata has two brief movements before a longer one and here we find a new riuchness of harmonic vocabulary, even suggesting Scriabin at one point. The second movement, titled Bell, is simply a succession of slow chords. The finale features constant changes of mood and texture.

The fourth sonata, in two movements only, is more angular than the earlier works. there are many ideas, among which leaping single lines, bell-like chorales and a fugal toccata are noteworthy.

The fifth sonata is in one movement only and is a formidable work, tightly wrought and intense. Perhaps it is the finest of the five.

Steven Beck is a contemporary music specialist and offers committed performances. The recording is excellent. Walker’s music is well worth getting to know.

--MusicWeb International (Stephen Barber)

 

The world’s great conductors are not the only important artistic companions of the Berliner Philharmoniker. It is also always exceptional soloists who perform regularly with the orchestra, providing individual inspiration in their collaboration and opening up stimulating perspectives on the music. The Berliner Philharmoniker enjoy a productive partnership with many of these esteemed companions – with some, even a friendship. One such friend is Frank Peter Zimmermann. He and the Berliner Philharmoniker have been closely connected ever since their first concert together at the Waldbühne in 1985. His performances have created a common thread between generations of musicians, and hardly any of the conductors who have shaped the orchestra over the years have not worked with this exceptional violinist.

Rachmaninoff’s tone poem The Isle of the Dead was composed in Dresden in 1908 – 09, inspired by the 1880 painting of that name by the Swiss symbolist Arnold Böcklin. The painting depicts a ferryman rowing a coffin towards the Isle of the Dead, and Rachmaninoff, unusually setting the piece in five beats to the bar, captures the atmosphere and the motion of oars in the water in the most extraordinary detail. Dedicated to the outstanding Ukrainian-born coloratura soprano Antonina Vasilyevna Nezhdanova, the ‘Vocalise’ was first performed, by her with the composer, in January 1916. After creating a version with orchestral accompaniment, Rachmaninoff then produced the version heard here, for orchestra alone.

Following the Russian revolution and his exile to the USA, the compositional output of Rachmaninoff declined dramatically. In great demand both as a virtuoso performer and as a conductor, he toured extensively, but struggled to incorporate ‘modern music’ into his compositional style. In the mid 1930’s he acquired a holiday villa in Lucerne, and surprised the world with his ‘Paganini’ Rhapsody, quickly followed by the Third Symphony. Sinfonia of London and John Wilson demonstrate exceptional ensemble playing throughout, and their glowing string sound suits this repertoire perfectly.

REVIEW:

John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London here deliver an authoritative version of Rachmaninoff’s Third Symphony, in impressive SACD surround sound. For those who want an SACD take on the work, this will become the gold standard.

-- Classical CD Choice

To mark the centenary of the death of Camille Saint-Saëns, the Palazzetto Bru Zane offers a chance to discover one of his most performed and admired operas in his lifetime, presented here in a rare version. Completed in 1893 and premiered the same year at the Opéra-Comique, the piece amusingly recounts the love affair between Nicias and Phryné, who dupes the old archon Dicephilus in order to avenge his cruelty. Its witty melodies and delightful orchestration made the opera an immediate success in Paris and then throughout France. It was enriched with recitatives composed by André Messager in 1896 to promote its career in theatres abroad.

Hervé Niquet’s dashing interpretation brings out to the full the qualities of the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen Normandie and the Chœur du Concert Spirituel, thus providing a sparkling backdrop for the virtuosic soprano voice of Florie Valiquette, the refined lyricism of the tenor Cyrille Dubois and the vocal authority of Thomas Dolié’s baritone.

REVIEWS:

Undoubtedly, Saint-Saëns’ lesser-known operas have featured heavily in Bru Zane’s CD-book series with releases of La princesse jaune, Le Timbre d’argent, Proserpine, Les Barbares and his Cantatas of the Prix de Rome. Bru Zane’s interest in neglected Saint-Saëns opera continues with this new release of Phryné, an hour-long opéra-comique in two acts. This is the world premiere recording of the André Messager version of 1896.

Bru Zane has assembled a talented cast of mainly first-language French speakers. Young soprano Florie Valiquette has had success as Barberine (Le nozze di Figaro), Madeleine/Madame de Latour (Le Postillon de Lonjumeau) and Gabrielle (La Vie Parisienne) this year. She sings the eponymous role here with fresh voice and no shortage of enthusiasm. In Phryné’s Act Two air Un soir, j’errais sur le rivage where she implores Aphrodite the goddess of love to safeguard her love for Nicias, she characterises well and is in splendid voice, light and attractive with a pleasing tenderness and purity.

Hervé Niquet conducts the Orchestre de l'Opéra de Rouen Normandie and the combination is a successful one. I’ve not encountered this Rouen orchestra too often; its playing has commitment, energy and, when required, a pleasing level of sensitivity. The well trained Choeur du Concert Spirituel makes a valuable contribution.

This world premiere recording was satisfyingly recorded in 2021 under studio conditions in the Opéra de Rouen Normandie. A high-end product, Bru Zane’s CD-book series of bilingual editions in French and English maintains its high standards with Phryné and contains a synopsis, five helpful essays and, most importantly the full libretto.

-- MusicWeb International

How to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ensemble La Pietà? The answer came naturally to Angèle Dubeau: through music! For the occasion, she proposed an album entirely conceived, performed, and composed by women. The result is an album filled with the joy of exchanging through the medium of creation with the women composers gathered here. This album witnesses Angèle Dubeau's virtuosity and confirms her immense talent for creating programs that are off the beaten path, while being as innovative as they are accessible.

REVIEW:

This Canadian group, led by Dubeau, always delivers the goods, with accessible and wide-ranging programmes. Marking 25 years, Elle brings together works by women composers both familiar and unsung, from Hildegard to Isobel Waller-Bridge. Very fine playing.

-- BBC Music Magazine

The ‘Best Loved’ series of albums covers a wide range of popular instruments, each bringing together a substantial selection of works from the vast Naxos catalogue. Each compilation includes an extensive booklet which provides a full introduction to the instrument, an explanation of how its sound is produced, and descriptions of the pieces. Each album will serve as an introduction to a specific instrument, with musical examples from the Baroque to the present, and with a mixture of solo, chamber and orchestral works. The series is aimed at listeners who do not have extensive knowledge of classical music, but who are interested to find out more about the instrument featured and about popular repertoire written for it. The focus in these releases is a light and relaxed approach, rather than academic and theoretical: a joyful exploration and celebration of individual instrumental sounds. This series will be accompanied by supplementary online playlists that will have additional best loved tracks for each instrument beyond what can be included on a physical album. This carefully selected programme represents the key Romantic-era composer/players alongside more traditional pieces.

Brad Mehldau presents The Folly of Desire, a song cycle inquiring the limits of sexual freedom in a post-#MeToo political age, together with tenor Ian Bostridge, one of the greatest song interpreters of our times. Setting poetry by Blake, Yeats, Shakespeare, Brecht, Goethe, Auden and Cummings, Mehldau’s music shifts seamlessly between a jazz idiom and Classical art song, and the work explores a theme as timeless as it is topical. The stylistic diversity of this project is underlined by adding a selection of jazz standards, as well as a Schubert lied.

Grammy®Award winning jazz pianist Brad Mehldau has recorded and performed extensively since the early 1990s, and makes his Pentatone debut with The Folly of Desire. His performances and compositions convey a wide range of expression. Ian Bostridge is one of the most celebrated tenors and lied interpreters of his generation. His Pentatone recording of Schubert’s Winterreise (2019) was crowned with the ICMA Vocal Music Award 2020. Bostridge has also released Die schöne Müllerin (2020), Schwanengesang (2022) and Respighi Songs (2021) with the label.

In tribute to her longtime mentor and friend Frederic Rzewski, the intrepid, iconoclastic and politically active pianist-composer who passed away in 2021, pianist Lisa Moore presents five poignant performances of his most lyrical work. Taking its title from the vibrant, lush and melody-rich ‘no place to go but around’ (composed in 1974), the recording is of a piece with Moore's wide-ranging 2016 Cantaloupe release The Stone People, and finds her once again embracing an adventurist streak as she digs deep into the nuances of Rzewski’s timeless music. “He was blunt, matter-of-fact, frustrating, and brilliant,” Moore recalls in her revealing liner notes for the album. “Yet deep down, he was a real mensch who cared deeply for humanity. His works had strong underlying, or overlying, messages of social justice. He was a bohemian family man, giving most of his meager income to his children and grandchildren. Personally, when I once thought of quitting piano, he encouraged me to keep going — he said, ‘Why stop playing? Don’t waste your investment. Just do other things, too.’ We always got along. I worked with him closely on De Profundis and To His Coy Mistress. ‘The playing’s always fine, Lisa,’ he said, ‘but go further, to exaggerate the words. You have to be the crazy woman in the attic.’”

REVIEW:

Pianist Lisa Moore has recorded the music of Frederic Rzewski in the past, but this 2022 release, recorded not long after Rzewski's too-little-remarked death, makes a fine memorial to the composer. In general, Moore's playing is beautifully attuned to Rzewski's music, which has a kinship to minimalism in its use of repeated material but deploys it in such a way as to produce tension. She has the chops to handle Rzewski's eruptions of virtuosity as well. These are somewhat neglected Rzewski pieces; the substantial title work is probably the best known, but Moore makes a strong connection with each one, and this shows signs of being a Rzewski recording that will last.

-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)

Women composers had great difficulty in making their voices heard and gaining recognition during their lifetimes. Even today, they are all too rarely heard in the concert hall or the opera house. That situation obviously cries out for a change in attitude, but then come the questions: all right, let’s programme women composers, but which ones, and which of their works? In this eight-CD set featuring several hundred performers, the Palazzetto Bru Zane offers its initial answer as far as nineteenth-century France is concerned. The selections range over chamber music, orchestral works, piano pieces and songs. They highlight twenty-one female creators, from already identified personalities like Hélène de Montgeroult, Louise Farrenc, Pauline Viardot, Marie Jaëll and Mel Bonis to such completely unknown figures as Charlotte Sohy, Madeleine Jaeger, Marthe Grumbach, Jeanne Danglas, Hedwige Chrétien and Madeleine Lemariey. From now on, there will be no excuse for ignoring Romantic women composers.