SATIE: THE PIANO WORKS / VARIOUS

SCRIABIN - SCARLATTI

ECHOES OF LIFE

PHILIP GLASS/COCTEAU TRILOGY

SAINT-SAENS: THE DEFINITE WORKS / VARIOUS

MENDELSSOHN

2024 release. Danny Elfman, known the world over for his scores to over 115 movies, including numerous collaborations with directors Tim Burton, Gus van Sant and Sam Raimi, not to mention the classic theme for The Simpsons, adds two major orchestral works to his recorded catalogue. The dynamic American conductor JoAnn Falletta directs the forces of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in this new studio recording. The Percussion Concerto was written for the Scottish virtuoso Colin Currie and was co-commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Wunderkammer, a concerto for orchestra, was written for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. The album is completed with a short choral piece in French, 'Are you lost?', from Elfman's song-cycle Trio. Scored for women's voices, piano, strings and various percussion instruments.

The album comprises three works by Andres: the composer's third piano concerto, The Blind Banister, with Andres as soloist, and Upstate Obscura for chamber orchestra and cello, with soloist Inbal Segev both of which feature Metropolis Ensemble and conductor Andrew Cyr and the solo piano piece Colorful History, also performed by the composer. The Blind Banister was written for pianist Jonathan Biss to be performed alongside Beethoven's second concerto. Andres says, My piece is not a pastiche or an exercise in palimpsest. It doesn't quote or reference Beethoven. There are some surface similarities to his concerto (a three-movement structure, a B-flat tonal center) but these are mostly red herrings. The best way I can describe my approach to writing the piece is: I started writing my own cadenza to Beethoven's concerto, and ended up devouring it from the inside out. The piece was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2016. Upstate Obscura takes it's inspiration from American painter John Vanderlyn's Panoramic View of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles. Andres says, In taking on a quintessentially French subject, Vanderlyn somehow came up with something that feels American; it seems to regard Versailles at a bemused distance, with that characteristically American distrust of anything unnecessarily fanciful. My plan was to start with fragments of musical ornament from the French Baroque tradition like loose chunks of masonry and stretch them out until they no longer felt like ornaments... The solo cello moves just as a viewer might explore a virtual world at times wandering, at times with purpose. Andres describes the album's solo piano work: Colorful History is a chaconne, stemming from a single augmented triad, and following the course of various directions it suggests. I think of this as a kind of extended metaphor for historical events, and how they echo each other without literally repeating.

IN A LANDSCAPE

MY PEACE I GIVE YOU

CHOPIN ETUDES

MICHAEL NYMAN SONGBOOK

HOLST: THE PLANETS (THE DECCA COLLECTION)

Gershwin Rhapsody - Jean-Yves Thibaudet & Michael Feinstein / Commemorating the 1924 premiere of Rhapsody in Blue, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet collabs with Michael Feinstein, the 'one-man encyclopaedia of the Great American Songbook' to celebrate the magic of Gershwin. Gershwin Rhapsody sees best-loved Gershwin melodies sit alongside world premiere recordings of 4 rediscovered Gershwin songs: 'Graceful and Elegant', 'Dance of the Waves', 'Sutton Place' and 'Under the Cinnamon Tree'. The album also includes a medley based on Rhapsody in Blue comprising a selection of piano duos, solos and Feinstein vocals featuring the music of George & Ira Gershwin. The two also perform a Gershwin-esque setting of Vincent Youman's classic tune, 'Tea for Two' and the programme rounds off with 'Jasbo Brown Blues' from Porgy & Bess. Michael Feinstein and Jean-Yves Thibaudet extensively toured this programme around the US under the title 'Who Could Ask For Anything More?' including a date at Carnegie Hall on December 13th.

1001

360

LIFE

Verve Label Group - Marriner Conducts Beethoven - Sir Neville Marriner - 15 April 2024 marks the centenary of the birth of Sir Neville Marriner, widely considered to have the most extensive discography of any single musician. He recorded for most of Decca's imprints - L'Oiseau-Lyre, Decca, Argo, and by acquisition, Philips Classics. He also recorded extensively for EMI and, in the final chapter of his discographical history, Hanssler Classics. - Known and celebrated for his recordings of Baroque music and of Mozart, Marriner also made highly-desired recordings of Beethoven with 'his' Academy of St. Martin in the Fields - a chapter in his recorded history being gathered together for the first time. - In September 1970 he set down recordings of Beethoven's first two symphonies for Philips. These were first included in a 4-LP set entitled 'The Rise of the Symphony' (6707 013). One more symphony, No. 4, coupled with a string-orchestra transcription of the 'Grosse Fuge' was set down in December 1974. Perhaps a complete Beethoven symphony cycle was never envisaged at the time, for it wasn't until the 1980s that recordings of Beethoven symphonies gathered momentum, starting with the 'Eroica' in 1982 and concluding with the Ninth in April 1989. - Two recordings of the Violin Concerto were also made: with long-standing leader of the Academy, Iona Brown (herself also a conductor) in January 1980 for Argo, and quite surprisingly, again in December that year with Gidon Kremer for Philips, who incorporated two of the Schnittke cadenzas into his performance. These were rounded out with a disc of a selection of charming Minuets, German Dances and Contredanses, also for Philips, in 1978.

SUMMER PORTRAITS

SUMMER PORTRAITS

Katia Labèque/Marielle Labèque/David Chalmin/Bryce Dessner -"Sonic Wires"

Founded in 2018, the Dream House Quartet is bringing classical and contemporary music into completely new forms as a matter of course. The members draw on decades of expertise: the two piano sisters, Katia and Marielle Labèque, are joined by Bryce Dessner (Grammy-winning guitarist, composer and founding member of The National), and composer, musician and producer David Chalmin. Together they perform radical commissions from visionary composers and key contemporary works from the past half century.

60 years after Luciano Pavarotti's first recording for Decca, the legendary label is re-releasing one of his most popular albums on CD and coloured vinyl: 'O Sole Mio'. 'O Sole Mio' shows a completely different side of the Italian tenor: Pavarotti sings a series of Neapolitan songs, lovingly arranged for voice and orchestra. The album was honoured with the Grammy Award for the best classical solo vocal album in 1980. The impressive range of emotions expressed in the songs - from the passionate 'O Sole Mio' to the exuberant 'Funicul�, Funicul�' - is a delight for listeners new and old. The turquoise vinyl of the new edition reflects the colours of the original LP cover.

LONGER SHADOWS, SOFTER STONES

FRANS BRUGGEN PROJECT

Double 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Originally released in 2018, Englaborn & Variations by J?hann J?hannson is a reissue of his 2002 debut album, Englaborn, in remixed sound together with a collection of completely new reworkings. It is a touching posthumous testimony to his haunting musical language and expressiveness. Featuring a piano version of the title track played by DG colleague V?kingur Olafsson and poignant choral pieces with the Theatre of Voices ensemble. Other internationally renowned musicians whom J?hannsson admired have also added their interpretations. Among them, Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, ambient duo A Winged Victory for the Sullen, and composer/producer Paul Corley.