is is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

‘Chopin’s music presents us with a strange paradox' writes Yevgeny Sudbin in his liner notes to this recording. In Sudbin’s own experience, the music’s direct emotional appeal makes it instantly accessible to most listeners, but to the interpreter ‘it becomes a tough balancing act: on the one side, naïvety and blandness threaten, while, on the other side, a laboured and contrived approach could potentially damage the music'. Sudbin's own approach has been influenced by Chopin's own words regarding interpretation: 'Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties.' But, as he recounts, he is also fascinated by historic recordings by legends such as Ignaz Friedman and Benno Moiseiwitch – performances which have made an impact on him on account of the highly personal playing: 'the beguiling rhythmic swings, freedom in phrasing, articulation that tickles you all over…' Sudbin opens his own Chopin recital with the expansive Fantaisie in F minor – sometimes described as the composer's 'grandest work' – continuing with a selection of pieces from three genres that are strongly associated with Chopin: Mazurkas, Nocturnes and the Ballades Nos 3 and 4. Following the 2005 release of his second disc, Piano Magazine described Yevgeny Sudbin in lyrical terms as 'a fearless technician with an all-encompassing command of his instrument; a musical dramatist of exceptional acumen and sophistication; a poet who moves seamlessly between unbridled rhetoric and extreme intimacy; a stylist who catches the particular spirit of everything he plays' – all qualities which would seem to be conducive to a memorable Chopin recital, and which Sudbin certainly brings to the fore in the encore À la minute, his own paraphrase on the composer's 'Minute Waltz'.

Having received numerous awards and distinctions, this series is by now self-recommending. As anyone who has encountered previous volumes knows, Miklós Spányi's combination of musicianship and expertise and the wonderful qualities of this unjustly ignored music is a guarantee for an unusually satisfying listening experience. For this volume a change in recording venue has taken place. Previous instalments were recorded in Hungary with the Hungarian period orchestra Concerto Armonico, whereas the present recording was made in Finland, Spányi's country of residence, with Opus X, a young Finnish band. This means a slightly new, and fresh, approach to the performance of the three works included on this disc. Composed between 1750-1765, they are examples of how Emanuel Bach adapted to the market, in terms of making different versions for different circumstances. In the words of C. P. E. Bach expert Jane R. Stevens, author of the liner notes, "they are all evidence of the practical side of Emanuel's prolific musical production." For this release, the cover has been slightly adapted, reflecting the new departure in this series.

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Includes work(s) by William Lawes, Alfonso Ferrabosco (II), Maurice Greene, John Weldon, William Boyce, various composers. Soloist: Emma Kirkby.

Between 2003 and 2015, Ronald Brautigam recorded all of Beethoven’s music for solo piano – a huge undertaking resulting in a grand total of 15 highly acclaimed albums. Choosing to perform the works on the fortepiano, Brautigam began with a sonata cycle which caused one reviewer to talk of a challenge to ‘the very notion of playing this music on modern instruments, a stylistic paradigm shift.’ In 2010, after nine albums of sonatas, he went on to record the composer’s variations, bagatelles and other piano pieces – a staggering array of works ranging from a Bagatelle lasting 11 seconds to the monumental Diabelli Variations, and from a charming Rondo in C major composed by a 13-year old Beethoven, to what is often referred to as the composer's ‘Last Musical Thought’, an Andante maestoso dated 1826. Brautigam’s sonata recordings were released in a box set in 2014, and they are now followed by this 6-album set of the remaining works for solo piano, in the original hybrid format, and with full documentation in the form of the original booklets. Composed over the course of more than 40 years, the music is performed on three different instruments, all by the master builder Paul McNulty, demonstrating the rapid development that the fortepiano underwent during Beethoven’s lifetime.

REVIEWS:

This is a wonderful set, in which Ronald Brautigam excels in his conclusion to his survey of the complete solo piano music of Beethoven. I appreciate that some people do not like the sound of the fortepiano, but the instruments chosen for this set and edition as a whole, show the breadth of sound that was available at the time, and some people will be surprised by just how full a sound it is. Brautigam’s choice of tempos is well-measured and thoughtful, and his playing is nuanced throughout, resulting in this set being one that I have found difficult to take off my CD player. The performances certainly mark Brautigam out as a leading interpreter of Beethoven’s music regardless of the style and type of piano used.

– MusicWeb International

Brautigam’s fortepiano survey is magnificent, comprising four full discs of variations (including Eroica and Diabelli), the complete bagatelles, rondos and other miscellaneous pieces. Disc 1 begins with a charming rendition of the Op 33 set followed by a tranche of pieces dating mainly from the 1790s; the late sets Opp 119 and 126 are delivered with a sense of simplicity that can only come from depth of knowledge.

– International Piano

These are superb performances of two underestimated concertos… [T]his is unquestionably an engaging account, Sudbin's glistening and expressive virtuosity matched by Andrew Litton and the Bergen Philharmonic's idiomatic playing… Even more revelatory is their performance of Medtner's Third… [Sudbin] seems alert to its every note and creates a compelling journey.

– BBC Music Magazine

Yevgeny Sudbin has already demonstrated his great affinity with the music of the composers united here: in 2007, his Scriabin solo recital (BIS-1568) garnered universal acclaim – ‘the most well-chosen, brilliantly played single-disc selection of Scriabin's piano music currently available’ wrote ClassicsToday.com – and his recordings of Nikolai Medtner’s first and second piano concertos (BIS-1588 and BIS-1728) were likewise widely admired, with the first disc receiving a Gramophone Award nomination and the second being dubbed an ‘Essential Recording’ in BBC Music Magazine. For the present disc, Sudbin has written his own liner notes, stating with conviction his opinion that both concertos are ‘absolute masterworks – unjustly underperformed and constantly underappreciated’. He goes on to make a fascinating comparison of the two ‘radically different’ works, composed by near contemporaries, but 45 years apart: Scriabin wrote his one piano concerto in 1896 at the age of 24, while Medtner began his Third Concerto in 1940, at a ripe 60. As Sudbin points out, it would be natural to expect the later concerto to be more ‘modern’, especially given the radical advances that took place during this period. Nothing could be further from the truth, however: ever the visionary, the young Scriabin wrote a concerto which may appear relatively conventional compared to his later works, but still sounds more experimental than Medtner’s Third. With great empathy for, and insights into each composer, Yevgeny Sudbin takes on the great challenges – musical as well as technical – posed by their two works, with the eminent support of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, which under chief conductor Andrew Litton has repeatedly proven itself in Russian repertoire by Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Stravinsky.

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Classical Music

Classical Music

The music of Snöfrid, a major work for orchestra, narrator, and chorus, strongly resembles that of The Wood-Nymph. Given its date of composition (1900) it comes straight out of Sibelius' early maturity, and much as I normally detest any music for narrator and orchestra, this is powerful stuff that does not deserve to be neglected. The same holds true of the cantata Oma Maa (My Country), though the Coronation Cantata of 1896, pleasant enough, is more of an occasional work. All three are very well performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä, as we have come to expect. The Jubilate Choir, while not as polished as some, has the right enthusiasm and the populist touch that the music ideally demands. It isn't a large body, and this actually seems to work to the music's advantage, allowing orchestral detail to register naturally and keeping each work from sounding over-inflated. On the other hand, there's certainly no question of timid or tepid performances. There have been other good recordings of Sibelius' works for chorus and orchestra, not least from Paavo Berglund, but these equal or surpass the competition in just about any area you care to name.


As for the orchestral works, the performances are just as fine. The Andante Festivo, not a major work in any case, sounds unusually gripping in this taut interpretation, while Rakastava ("The Lover") is tuneful and charming, if not much more. The real treat here is the Overture in A minor, another mature work (1902) full of arresting writing for the brass section and a central allegro that, in its pastoral freshness, could have come from the pen of no other composer. Fans of Sibelius who don't know this piece will find much to savor--and again, this is as fine a performance as it has ever received. Indeed, the entire package is unusually interesting and uniformly desirable, which is unusual given the wide-ranging variety of music on offer. Sonically this is as fine as anything BIS has given us from Lahti, which is to say that it's on par with the best the industry has to offer. If you are looking to extend your Sibelius collection beyond the best-known symphonies and tone poems, this extremely enjoyable disc should command your immediate attention. [12/1/2004]
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Classical Music

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Emma Kirkby always has been an excellent Handel singer, from her two 1985 recordings--Italian Cantatas with Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music (L'Oiseau Lyre) and German Arias with Charles Medlam and the London Baroque (EMI)--and 1987's Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, again with the London Baroque (Harmonia Mundi) to this new, exemplary program of Latin motets. Kirkby, now in her early 50s, retains a remarkably youthful sound, exhibiting all of her admired agility and intonational accuracy, but with more richness in the lower register than in her younger days. Her upper notes also have more body and warmth than ever--gone is the tendency to screech on the quickest, highest pitches. Interpretively she commands a range that includes graceful swinging dance (the first movement of the Laudate pueri), lyrical prayerfulness (Largo and Adagio opening of the Salve Regina), and just full-out, uncompromising virtuosity (the Alleluja ending of O qualis de caeli sonus; the recitative third section of Laudate pueri). Kirkby also offers some wonderfully subtle expressive effects that show off her full powers of vocal control (the first syllable of "seculum" at the end of the second section of Laudate pueri) while making the music and her performance even more memorable.


Of course, Handel gives Kirkby some lovely music to sing--some of his finest melodies and exciting vocal challenges--and she seems to relish every moment. The "orchestra"--two violins, cello (played by conductor Charles Medlam), and organ--adds some memorable moments of its own via a trio sonata (with one of Handel's more irresistible slow movements) that comes in the middle of the program, but these players really shine in their accompanying role, always in complete interpretive sync with the singer. The sound leaves nothing to be desired--ideally balanced, clear, natural voice and instruments in a well-mannered, complementary acoustic.
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music