Classical Music

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Andrei Serban’s spectacular and thrilling 1984 production of Puccini’s final and grandest opera has long been a classic at the Royal Opera House. First filmed for BBC TV in the 80s, this new recording – of its 15th revival – is in stunning HD and makes this famous production available for the first time on DVD and Bluray. The release will rightfully take its place alongside the outstanding Royal Opera Puccini DVDs of La bohème, Tosca (on EMI) and Il Trittico. American Lise Lindstrom is one of the very few contemporary Turandots who can genuinely sing this “killer” role, and is supported by a touching Liù from Japanese soprano Eri Nakamura and an unashamedly Italianite Calaf from Marco Berti. The young Hungarian conductor Henrik Nánási directs the large orchestra and all-important chorus. Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, September 2013. Giacomo Puccini
TURANDOT
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Turandot – Lise Lindstrom
Calaf – Marco Berti
Liu – Eri Nakamura
Ping – Dionysios Sourbis
Pong – Doug Jones
Pang – David Butt Philip
Altoum – Alasdair Elliott
Timur – Raymond Aceto

Royal Opera House Chorus
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Henrik Nánási, conductor

Andrei Serban, stage director

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, September 2013

Bonus:
- Turandot – an introduction
- Behind the Masks
- Cast gallery

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM Stereo 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Korean
Running time: 125 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

The fortunes of the viola as a solo instrument enjoyed a remarkable upsurge during the first half of the 20th Century. Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata ranks among her finest compositions while Frank Bridge’s Four Pieces convey both melodic charm and elegiac warmth. Theodore Holland’s appealing Suite exploits the viola’s tender tones and jaunty potential. Arthur Bliss’s Intermezzo, transcribed from his Piano Quartet and William Walton’s Canzonetta and Scherzetto, originally for violin, complement Arnold Bax’s haunting Legend and Vaughan Williams’s posthumously performed Romance. Matthew Jones has been hailed by The Strad magazine as ‘a worthy successor to Lionel Tertis’. A major prize-winner from the Royal College of Music, Michael Hampton performs on major stages around the world.

Classical Music

REVIEWS:

“Although seventy-five years old, these mono recordings have been digitally remastered to reveal a thrilling performance of this great dramatic work.” – John Pitt, New Classics

“Full marks... Baillie is superb... Parry Jones makes a real impression. Williams is a magnificent colossus of an Elijah. I’d recommend this retrieval with pleasure.” – Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb

“First rate standards of production and repertoire... Astoundingly good quality.” – David Patmore, Classic Record Collector

“Williams is a magnificent prophet... Histrionically exciting and technically accomplished. Baillie is as always fresh-toned with pinpoint attack. The well trained choir is vital and dramatic, as is Robinson’s conducting. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to hear this set.” – John T. Hughes, International Record Review

"Martin Jones’s recordings of Percy Grainger have been gathered together into a 5-CD box set of the Complete Works, NI1767, in which form they were reviewed by Jonathan Woolf in March 2011 but we don’t seem to have reviewed this generous selection. It’s all that many potential listeners will want and I see that it’s advertised as available again. My copy of the CD dates from 1994. It’s not a reissue of a single CD from the set but a compendium of Grainger’s best-known works.

Let me deal with the least attractive part first: as Jonathan Woolf noted, the recording is not to everyone’s taste – it’s certainly too reverberant for my liking, but it didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment too much. Subscribers to the Naxos Music Library might wish to try it there first but give it a chance: after a few tracks you’ll hardly notice any problem.

Just about all the likely suspects are included in the programme, together with several pieces that I would hardly have described as well-known: track 4, for example, offers Grainger’s take on Dowland’s Now, O now, I needs must part. It’s in a style far removed from the madly dancing Percy Grainger that viewers of a certain age will retain from Ken Russell’s film about Delius – that’s Grainger, that was – and, though I hardly recognised Dowland’s original tune from Grainger’s treatment, he does retain the gravity and melancholy spirit of the original.

Much the same is true of My Robin is to the Greenwood gone (track 7) – the original tune is submerged in Grainger’s arrangement of what emerges as a fine piece in its own right. Nor is a folk tune such as Near Woodstock Town (track 15) quite the same after Grainger’s treatment. Mock Morris on the following track makes no pretentions to be other than Grainger’s own take on folk music – it only sounds as if it were based on a folk tune. In many respects it’s more quintessentially Grainger than anything else and it’s brought off to perfection here.

There are several arrangements here: the next track after Dowland (tr.5) contains Blithe Bells, Grainger’s arrangement of Schafe können sicher weiden (Sheep may safely graze), though, again, Bach’s original is almost lost in the latter part of the arrangement – it’s much more Grainger’s ‘own’ than Walton’s take on the same piece in The Wise Virgins. Other tracks contain arrangements of Stanford, Tchaikovsky and Richard Strauss – a characteristic Ramble on the final love-duet of Rosenkavalier.

The pop items are skilfully interwoven in the programme, starting with Handel in the Strand (track 1). Memories of George Malcolm playing this on the harpsichord are not erased but Martin Jones offers idiomatic and dextrous performances of the well-known and lesser-known works alike. Getting your fingers around the notes in a piece like the Stanford March-jig (track 9) is only half the story; the other half, which Jones contrives beautifully, is summoning an image of Grainger himself dancing to it around Delius’s garden.

On the following track we’re on Irish territory again in very different mood for the Tune from County Derry (alias Danny Boy). Does Jones milk the sentiment here slightly too much in the manner of those Irish tenors such as Josef Locke whom my father and grandfather worshipped? I think so, but perhaps my great-grandfather’s Irish blood was simply running a little too thin by the time it reached my generation. In any case, Marc-André Hamelin on Hyperion is faster and less sentimental here (see below). John Pickard’s observation in the booklet that ‘Grainger’s music shares with Bach’s the fact that, no matter how slowly one plays it, it always sounds satisfying’ looks as if it might have been written in defence of Jones’s tempo for this piece.

On track 11 Grainger and Jones take on the opening of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto single-handed, and do so surprisingly effectively. No question of too slow a tempo here.

Only if you are likely to be put off by the recording should you need to look elsewhere. If you do, you are likely to find a 1996 recording by Marc-André Hamelin on Hyperion your best choice – a very similar selection to that on Nimbus, on CDA66884 (CD or download in mp3 or lossless). If anything, Hamelin is even more fleet-fingered than Jones, but there’s not much to choose between them. If it’s the orchestral arrangements that you’re looking for, look no further than the inexpensive Introduction to Percy Grainger (Chandos CHAN2029: Bargain of the Month – see review), a sampler for their excellent complete series (see review), or another budget-price Chandos selection (CHAN6542, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Kenneth Montgomery).

With first-class performances and excellent notes there’s a lot to be said in favour of this single-CD selection. Don’t blame me if it leads you to purchase the complete box, or if the Chandos sampler tempts you to buy some of the recordings in that series."

-- Brian Wilson, MusicWeb International

This set is offered at a special price: 2 CDs for the price of 1.

BRUCKNER: Motets

This new album is yet another sensational piano release from the North German Husum Festival of Rarities featuring some of the leading pianists of today performing many rare works for solo piano. Founded in 1987, the annual Rarities of Piano Music Festival in the North German town of Husum is a major event. Danacord is proud to release the recording from the 2015 Festival. Lovers of all Romantic piano music will appreciate this live recording featuring Jonathan Plowright, Jonathan Powell, Yuri Favorin, Martin Jones, and more. As an additional note- Danacord releases live recordings of this festival each year, and all previous recordings are available as well.

Classical Music

Classical Music

One of Boston's premier choirs, The Copley Singers draw from British and American traditions with both unusual and familiar arrangements of holiday favorites.

I Wander as I Wander' was recorded at Harvard Memorial Church with the Copley Singers, a professional choir under the direction of Brian Jones (who for many years was the Music Director at Trinity Church, Copley Square in Boston). It includes a number of first recordings and unusual arrangements which utilizes the newly installed but vintage 1932 Aeoline-Skinner organ. The version of 'We Three Kings' alone is worth listening to this biannual recording from Gothic.

$ - O.S.T.

Snell, D.: Chamber Music for Harp

2017 release. A rolling juggernaut of hard-edged northeastern funk and rock, punctuated by a tight horn section, this disc highlights the full throated voice and cocky attitude of lead singer, Miss Velvet. Coming straight out of a Janis Joplin/Chi Coltrane bag, Miss Velvet and the Blue Wolf have been blowing away audiences in the Northeast US for the past few years. Recorded at Detroit's legendary United Sound studios and produced by Constance Hauman, Bad Get Some at once gives a nod to hard-driving blues and rock bands of the past while forging a red-hot sound all it's own. This is gut bucket, funky rock and roll... total body music.

The British composer Robin Stevens is a great talent waiting to be discovered by the global music community. His varied, stimulating and expressive work is exemplified by this collection of music for wind instruments, ranging from the jolly and accessible (yet very difficult to play) Concert Rondoto the darker, deeper and meaningful Grief’s Portrait. Stevens has a brilliant touch, and also is an excellent pianist, cellist and guitarist and plays all three instruments here, alongside some of the foremost instrumentalists from the musical hotspot of Manchester, England: John Bradbury (principal clarinet, BBC Philharmonic); John Turner (recorderist: Academy of Ancient Music etc.); Richard Simpson (principal oboe, BBC Symphony), Janet Simpson (former principal keyboardist, Hallé Orchestra); and freelance soloists Sarah Miller (flutes);Helen Peller (bassoon) and Lindsey Stoker (horn).

14.99

Includes concerto(s) for keyboard by J. C. F. Bach. Ensemble: The Music Collection. Conductor: Susan Alexander-Max. Soloist: Susan Alexander-Max.

This disc forms part of Chandos’ ongoing Richard Hickox legacy series. The re-release features Rossini's Stabat Mater, performed by Richard Hickox and the City of London Sinfonia. They are joined by the London Symphony Orchestra Chorus and four excellent soloists: Helen Field, Della Jones, Arthur Davies and Roderick Earle.

Founded in 1987 the annual Rarities of Piano Music Festival in the North German town of Husum is a major event. Danacord is proud to release the recording from the special 30th Anniversary Festival in 2016 featuring again rare piano music played by some of the leading pianists of today. Lovers of all Romantic piano music will appreciate this live recording featuring Johann Blanchard, Severin von Eckardstein, Ziata Chochieva, Martin Jones, Hubert Rukowski, Florian Noack, Joseph Moog, and more, including world-famous piano duos. As an additional note- Dacord releases live recordings of this spectacular festival each year, and all previous recordings are available as well.

Francis Shaw has become one of the most versatile British composers of this day, having written a wide range of music, most notably for film and television. As with many composers whose work has taken them into diverse musical fields, the range of his accomplishments has tended to draw attention away from what lies at the heart of his output - his serious music, less extensive than that of his more commercial work, but which - is of a quality and achievement manifestly deserving of far greater recognition than it has received hitherto.

The 4-album Richard Strauss set gathers together all of their early 1960s recordings of the famous tone poems along with Salome’s Dance, the Rosenkavalier and Bürger als Edelmann suites, the Burleske with soloist Rudolf Serkin and the First Horn Concerto, featuring Philadelphia principal Mason Jones. An early review in High Fidelity best summed up their powerful appeal in Strauss’s music: “There is no doubt that, for sheer gorgeousness, the Philadelphians have no peers.” More recent assessments in the Penguin Guide reaffirm that verdict: “Virtuoso orchestral playing … and many felicities of characterization” [Also sprach Zarathustra]; “Marvelous orchestral playing and the two soloists play splendidly with plenty of character” [Don Quixote]; “An extraordinarily voluptuous Philadelphia performance … Ormandy directs with licentious abandon, and the orchestra responds with tremendous virtuosity and ardor” [Salome’s Dance]; “Ormandy’s Ein Heldenleben is an engulfing performance, and the composite richness of tone and the fervor of the playing … bring the highest possible level of orchestral tension.”

Lutz-Werner Hesse studied School Music and Composition with Günter Fork and Jürg Baur at the Cologne Academy of Music as well as Musicology, Latin Philology and Ancient History at the University of Cologne. Since 1984 he has been a full-time lecturer, now Professor and Managing Director at the Wuppertal campus of the HfMT Cologne. From 1997 to 2011 he was chairman of the “Bergische Gesellschaft für Neue Musik“, and since 2004 he has been chairman of the “Konzertgesellschaft Wuppertal“, the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra sponsorship association. The main focus of Hesse‘s compositional work is on chamber music and orchestral works. Hesse has received numerous commissions for various orchestras in Germany and has worked for important soloists (including Marie-Luise Neunecker, horn and Ulrike-Anima Mathé, violin). His most successful work to date is the composition “Vita di San Francesco – eleven stations from the life of Saint Francis of Assisi” for organ and thirteen gongs, which has now been performed well over eighty times. Hesse‘s works have been performed in many European countries, but also in the United States of America and Japan. The WDR, SR and SWR radio stations produced his works or recorded them at concerts. Albums with works by the composer have been released on the labels “col legno“, EMG classical, Musicaphon and Ars Produktion.

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

Music from the original soundtrack 'Swan Lake,' presenting scores by Tchaikovsky. Performed by Oliver Award winning production nominee Matthew Bourne and The New London Orchestra under the direction of David Lloyd-Jones. An original BBC release is now available on the Teldec label.