This is the eagerly awaited LP release of an already highly successful SACD, ''Album of the Week'' on Classic FM, praised by BBC Music for its ''zest and freshness'', by The Guardian for its ''warmth and intensity'', and by Gramophone for its ''combustible power, enormous physical impact and technical accomplishment''. For its very first album on Chandos, the National Youth Orchestra of Grea tBritain devotes its characteristic energy and musical mastery to an explosive programme that transcends daily life and eathly experience. It is helped by the enthusiastic, encouraging, and experienced baton of Edward Gardner as well as by teh sumptuous yet detailed acoustic of Symphony Hall, Birmingham, all fully revealed in this recording. Their performance of Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra and Holst's The planets is already a point of reference in the UK after the immensely successful Prom concert that preceded the recording. The concert's five-star review in The Daily Telegraph praised in particular the orchestra's ''great attack and complete absence of anything routine'', while The Guardian emphasized the great performance of the orchestra in this ''graceful and evocative programme'', especially the ''depth and richness of sound that belied their youth''.

Selections recorded at the St Sophia's Cathedral, Polotsk and Dormition Cathedral, Smolensk, Russia.
Dmitri Stepanovic Bortnyansky was among the first generation of native Russian composers who emerged in the late 18th century. Like many of his colleagues he studied in Italy and wrote operas in both Italian and French. He is best remembered, though, for the large output of sacred choral music he wrote for the court of Catherine the Great, much of it gathered into three movement suites called concertos. Not intended as part of the Orthodox service but as recessional pieces, the concertos are pleasant works of a generally uplifting nature, displaying classical balance and grace rather than spiritual fervor. The performances by Valeri Polansky and the Russian State Symphonic Cappella are rich and euphonious, and well captured by Chandos in an ample cathedral acoustic.
REVIEWS:
American Record Guide (7-8/00, p.97) - "...Few choral composers have terraced their harmonies and dynamic changes more expertly...These seven 'Sacred Concertos' are three-movement affairs that vary in duration... [u]tterly glorious things happen in all of them..."
International Record Review (4/00, p.27) - "...Borynyansky's choral writing is of the first rank, and perfectly caught by the superb Russian State Symphonic Cappella. Listen, for example, to the spine-tingling dramatic hush of the opening movements of concertos Nos. 10 and 11..."

MUSIC FOR STRINGS

Includes work(s) by Richard Addinsell. Ensemble: B. B. C. Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Rumon Gamba.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Recorded in: Danish Radio Concert Hall, Copenhagen 10 April 2001 (Echoes of Ossian), 17 & 18 August 2001 (Symphony No. 3, incl. discarded first movement), 14 & 19 Novemer 2001 (Symphony No. 6) Producer(s) Preben Iwan (Symphony No. 3, incl. discarded first movement) Chris Hazell (other works) Sound Engineer(s) Jørn Jacobsen

Chandos presents its second LP re-release, the distinguished recording of Vaughan William’s original 1913 version of A London Symphony. This recording, featuring Richard Hickox and the London Symphony Orchestra, was met with universal critical acclaim upon initial release, being ‘destined for classic status’, according to Gramophone. This is the first and only recording of the original 1913 version of the symphony, containing about twenty minutes of music edited out of the familiar final version.

With this sixth volume, the Arcadia Quartet completes it's series of recordings of Weinberg's string quartets. The ensemble comments: 'Although from time to time we encounter music that we have never heard before, rarely is that music something we would listen to or play again. In our times, with our technology of information, it is rather difficult to discover something meaningful and valuable that had been overlooked in the past, but when it does happen it is a really special moment. For us it happened when we first encountered the string quartets of Mieczyslaw Weinberg. We felt instantly captivated by the wonderful music, the deeply inspired melodies, and perfectly shaped structures. The joy of playing his music has only proved equalled by the enthusiastic response of the public every time we present these quartets in concert, so the obvious question arises: "How can it be that we never heard about Weinberg earlier?" His music is like a glow of light surrounded by the darkness of the unknown, and it quickly became a goal of ours to attempt to dilute these shadows. With every recording and every live performance of his music, we intend to shine some light on this wide-ranging, profound phenomenon, which has remained overlooked for so long.'

Mel (Melanie Helène) Bonis was born in Paris in 1858, and showed a prodigious talent for music from an early age, attending the Paris Conservatoire from the age of sixteen, studying alongside Debussy and Pierne under Cesar Franck. Her passionate relationship with the singer Amedee-Louis Hettich was frowned upon by her parents, who pressured her to marry edouard Domange, a twice-widowed industrialist with five children. Bonis threw herself into her role as wife and stepmother, until a reunion with Hettich in the 1890s reignited her serious interest in composition. She composed more than 300 works, including pieces for solo piano, chamber music, and over forty melodies for voice and piano. As Bonis was too modest for self-promotion, and a victim of gender-bias, her music fell into obscurity after the First World War, and she became bedridden from arthritis. She continued to compose until her death, in 1937. Her orchestral output dates from two decades, between 1891 and 1912, and is well represented on this album.

There's very little competition for this music, which is a shame because these are excellent quartets. It's really very remarkable how Korngold uses timbre to keep the busy textures clear and prevent his often chromatic harmony from turning into sludge. The main competition comes from the Flesch Quartet on ASV, so-so performances spread over two discs because they include the string Sextet as well. In general, the Doric Quartet offers livelier, more colorful, more accurate performances. To give just one example: the score of the Second quartet lists the work's duration at an optimistically fast 18 minutes. Flesch takes 25, while the Doric clocks in at an ideal 21 minutes.

These quartets are quite difficult to play, the first especially, which features frequent changes of tempo, often within a few bars. The Doric players handle all of these with astonishing ease and naturalness. There are a couple of points, as at figure 3 in the Second quartet's first movement, where the group slows down a bit in anticipation of Korngold's marking (his "Un poco più tranquillo" doesn't arrive until seven bars later), but if this is a fault, it's a vanishingly minor one.

Otherwise, you can only applaud the group's tonal richness, immaculate intonation, and a stylishness that never turns tacky (excellent application of portamento). First violinist Alex Redington deserves particular mention for handling his vibrato-less "ohne Ausdruck" moments (figure 7 in the First quartet's first movement, for example) with the right expressive point while never letting his tone turn just plain ugly ("period" performers take note). Violist Simon Tandree also features a particularly attractive timbre in his many solo licks. Korngold asks for many "special effects", including harmonics, col legno, open strings, muting, and lots of pizzicato; all of these are rendered with consistent musicality and are beautifully integrated into the ensemble texture.

Excellent sonics complement this obvious first choice for this music. If you don't know these pieces, you should. There's much more to Korngold than you might think--check out the wonderfully spiky scherzo in the Third quartet for a particularly bracing "fact check" on his theoretically unabashedly late-Romantic style. One final note for score collectors: all three works are available from Schott, the first two quartets in convenient study format, the Third only as a score and parts. An important release for chamber music devotees, and a terrific example of first-rate quartet playing.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Alongside their respective solo careers, Hélène Mercier and Louis Lortie regularly meet to perform as a highly sought-after piano duo. Both born and raised in Montreal, they have formed a musical partnership that goes back to the 1980s, developing a musical intimacy present throughout their wide-ranging repertoire. Their complicity has been strengthened over decades of playing concerts and recording together. This, their ninth album for Chandos, continues their exploration of works by Debussy. The programme features transcriptions by Ravel, Dutilleux, Woollett, Durand, Roques, and the composer of some of his best-known orchestral works (Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, Nocturnes) and solo piano pieces (Clair de lune, La Soirée dans Grenade, La plus que lente, Rêverie). These sit alongside Lindaraja and en blanc et noir, original compositions for two pianos. Mercier and Lortie alternate the first- and second-player responsibilities in this mixture of works for two pianos and piano duet.

This is an imaginative coupling of two major figures in Black American music. A modern recording of the Still is a real discovery which ought to bring this first Afro-American symphony to a wide audience. The style is accessible, the scoring sophisticated and colourful and, although there are blue notes and syncopated rhythms, the work is not under the shadow of Gershwin even though the symphony's construction is similarly episodic rather than developmental. Each of the four movements is related to fragments of poetry by Paul Laurence Dunbar, quoted in the score, and the whole work is inscribed by the composer "with humble thanks to God, the source of inspiration".

The orchestra is a large one, with a prominent part, right at the start of the first movement, for cor anglais and later on bass clarinet. The slow movement, which comes second, evokes Mahler with added blue notes, although the harp in places supports impressionist harmony, used more like Delius than Debussy. The snappy scherzo, a kind of hallelujah, even has a part for tenor banjo and the finale is introduced by a slow spiritual with characteristic dignity. A bassoon solo in the middle gets lost in an otherwise faithfully balanced recording. The ending is nobly cast, reflecting Afro-American idealism of the 1920s. Altogether there is no reason why this symphony should not become as popular as Gershwin's concert works.

Ellington wrote his ballet score, The River, for American Ballet Theatre in 1970—long after his prime, as many would say. Ron Collier's orchestration is mostly Hollywood with occasional glimpses of better things which suggest the arrangements of Nelson Riddle. But fragments of the Duke survive, which is surely justification enough.

-- Gramophone [4/1993]

Classical Music

Recorded in: All Saints' Church, Tooting, London 21-22 October 1992 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Richard Smoker (Assistant)

Recorded in: All Saints' Church, Tooting, London 21,22 January 1985 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Bill Todd [Assistant]

Classical Music

Recorded in: Liverpool Cathedral 26-27 October 1993 Producer(s) Ralph Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Don Hartridge

Recorded in: Glasgow City Hall 7 January 1985 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Philip Couzens (Assistant)

Classical Music

Recorded in: St Jude on the Hill, Hampstead, London 26-28 November 1990 Producer(s) Tim Oldham Sound Engineer(s) Richard Lee Richard Smoker (Assistant)

Recorded in: Caird Hall, Dundee 22-23 February 1988 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Janet Middlebrook (Assistant)

Recorded in: All Saints' Church, Tooting, London 18 & 19 February 1985 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Philip Couzens [Assistant]

Classical Music

Classical Music