This deluxe, 21st anniversary reissue of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's legendary recording of the character Irene's arias from George Frideric Handel's Theodora - plus the composer's cantata La Lucrezia and the evergreen aria "Ombra Mai Fu" from Serse - evokes vivid memories of the mezzo-soprano's galvanizing musicianship and opens the ears of a new generation of music lovers to appreciate the timelessness of Lorraine's poignant interpretations. Specially remastered for this CD and newly available digitally in Dolby Atmos, the longevity of these performances is a testament to Lorraine's unique voice and soul. Conductor and leading Baroque specialist Harry Bicket recalls the immediate musical connection he and Lorraine shared from the time they first met in 1996 during rehearsals for Theodora at Glyndebourne. When Peter Seller's staging of the cantata was revived in 2003, it seemed obvious to go into the studio to record Lorraine's Theodora arias. A maverick musician and a riveting performer, Lorraine died in 2006 due to complications from cancer at the far-too-young age of 52. This recording, one of her last, preserves her consummate musical persona for posterity. The New Yorker's classical columnist Alex Ross characterised the album as "pull-down-the-blinds, unplug-the-telephone, can't-talk-right-now beautiful. She's singing it again; I have to go."

Peijun Xu, born in Shanghai, is one of the leading violists of her generation. As a soloist, Peijun Xu has performed in renowned venues such as the Shanghai Concert Hall, the Laeiszhalle Hamburg or the Alte Oper Frankfurt. Her chamber music partners include Paul Rivinius, Evgenia Rubinova, Alexander Sitkovetsky and Veit Hertenstein. German violist Veit Hertenstein plays with “brigthly ringing, luminous and finly finessed sound (The Strad Magazine 2022).

Veit Hertenstein is Professor for Viola at the Musikhochschule Detmold, Germany since 2015.

The Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra enjoyed a long and intensive artistic collaboration, which came to an abrupt end with Haitink's death in October 2021. BRKLASSIK now presents outstanding and previously unreleased live recordings of their concerts from past years. This recording of Dvorak's Seventh Symphony documents a concert given in March 1981 in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz. The "Scherzo capriccioso" is a studio recording, also from March 1981. Following the success of Antonin Dvorak's first visit to London in 1884, the London Philharmonic Society asked him to return the following year and to compose a new symphony for the occasion. It was an honourable request - after all, the London Philharmonic Society had commissioned Beethoven's Ninth Symphony six decades earlier! When Dvorak began sketching out the symphony on December 13, 1884, he was well aware of the high expectations involved - both his own and those of others. Most music critics and Dvorak biographers, however, have struggled with the interpretation of this exceptional piece. For example, it has been interpreted "politically" against the background of the growing German-Czech tensions of those years. But the existential power of the D minor Symphony - it's anger, it's expansive pessimism, i.e. it's confessional character - may also derive from the biography and personality of it's composer, which were probably far more complex, painful and problematic than any "Bohemian idyll" we might assume. Even in Dvorak's Eighth Symphony, which is considered to be more cheerful, and in his last symphony, "From the New World", one can still detect a more or less latent tendency towards tragic longing. The world premiere of the Seventh Symphony took place on April 22, 1885 in London, with the composer conducting. It became one of Dvorak's greatest successes. Dvorak's Scherzo capriccioso of 1883 is certainly more than just a filler on this CD. The fact that it is more dramatic and passionate than it's playful title suggests is probably due to the fact that it was written at a time of crisis in the composer's life. The work is an elaborate composition of convincing craftsmanship

Saxophonist Pat Posey goes to extremes for his solo debut album, they/beast. Introducing the tubax – a German-invented, modified version of the contrabass saxophone – Pat plays deep, dark renditions of J.S. Bach’s Cello Suite No. 3, Melodies for Saxophone by Philip Glass, Bach-inspired Mo’ingus by Brooklyn-based composer-saxophonist Shelley Washington, and Pat’s own Hymn.

REVIEWS:

Pat Posey’s solo album they/beast displays the Tubax›s incredible sound with a wide variety of materials, from Bach cello suites to Philip Glass› Melodies for Saxophone. If listening to Paul Desmond’s alto sax is like sipping a fine white wine, Posey’s Tubax is like drinking a delicious porter. Its lows are glorious and Posey dexterously wrestles it through some very complex material. they/beast is a unique and sonically adventurous treat.

-- The Whole Note

The growling, guttural timbre and harmonic timbre and harmonic overtones are perfectly showcased…Posey displays colossal lung power and technique…fiendishly virtuosic…a dazzling, unsettling spectacle by a musician pushing the creative envelope.

-- BBC Music Magazine

The tubax has an amazing low register, and in the hands of a player like Pat Posey, it can be nimble and produce astonishing multiphonics … Posey’s own Hymn (2022), a real tour-de-force of inspiration, beauty, quirkiness, and earblowing sounds. Fantastic album.

-- American Record Guide

Among Simon Rattle's first concert programs as the new chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra was Gustav Mahler's Sixth Symphony. The performances marked the beginning of a new chapter in Mahler interpretation, for Rattle, like his predecessors Jansons, Maazel and Kubelík, is an ardent admirer of the composer. BR-KLASSIK has now released the live recording of the concerts.

Gustav Mahler's Sixth Symphony is perhaps the darkest work he ever wrote – its nickname is "The Tragic". And there is something almost destructive about the final movement. "But strangely enough," says Simon Rattle, "it is also a very classical symphony. Yes, it is extreme, but for long stretches it is less wild than other works of his – although of course it does convey a harrowing message. But it's like a lot of great works: there are always different ways of reading them. I've been conducting the Sixth for forty years now, and over time I’ve come to realise that it also contains hope."

Anton Bruckner 200 (1824-2024)

Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra were linked by a long and intensive artistic collaboration, brought to an abrupt end by his death in October 2021. BR-KLASSIK now presents outstanding and as yet unreleased live recordings of concerts from the past years.

This recording of Bruckner's "Te Deum" and his Eighth Symphony (version by Robert Haas, 1939) documents concerts performed in the Philharmonie im Gasteig in November 2010, and in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz in December 1993.

Bridge Records is pleased to present this previously unissued performance by the Stuyvesant Quartet. The recording is the only known "in concert" recording by this stellar quartet of players associated with Toscanini's legendary NBC Symphony Orchestra, and was made at the Library of Congress's Coolidge Auditorium in 1946. This release is part of Bridge's ongoing series devoted to the Stuyvesant Quartet's historic recordings.

REVIEW:

It is fitting that Prokofiev’s First Quartet is performed here, as this work was first performed at the LoC itself. The inclusion of Dohnányi’s Second Quartet is certainly cause for celebration. Their Dvořák cuts deep emotionally. This disc of historic performances is a little miracle and recommended without hesitation.

— Fanfare

This CD recording with flutist Anne Pustlauk is an experiment: For about 15 years, she has been researching flute performance practices in the early and late 19th centuries, which differ greatly from our performance practices today. It is not only the historical instruments that make the difference; the playing style of that time is also extremely rare today. Together with L'arpa festante under Korneel Bernolet, Anne Pustlauk searches for new forms of expression without copying a specific playing style of that time. The artists demonstrate this impressively with the famous Flute Concerto, Op. 283, by Carl Reinicke and Peter Benoit's Symphonic Poem, Op. 43A, from 1865. The program also includes Ferdinand Langer's Flute Concerto in G minor, which he composed for his friend and colleague at the Mannheim Court Theater, Franz Neuhofer (a student of the famous flute maker Theobald Boehm), who held the position of principal flutist in the orchestra there.

Behzod Abduraimov's performances combine great musical depth with phenomenal technique: 'He has a magical touch,' wrote The Times. This recital is yet another illustration of his many talents: it begins with variations by Carl Czerny, a pupil of Beethoven and a teacher of Liszt. Next, the famous Après une lecture de Dante (whose title is borrowed from a poem by Victor Hugo) represents Liszt's Année de pèlerinage en Italie (1846-1849). The title is borrowed from a poem by Victor Hugo... Another era, another poetic inspiration (Verlaine), with the Suite Bergamasque, an allusion to the festivals of the Lombard commedia dell'arte, which Debussy composed between 1890 and 1905... Still celebrating, this time in Saint Petersburg, with 'it's crowds, it's shacks and it's small traditional theatre, the character of the magician and conjurer... and the animation of the dolls, Petrushka, his rival, and the ballerina', notes Stravinsky, who in 1921 wrote a piano transcription of his ballet Petrushka, composed ten years earlier. Brahms and a peaceful Intermezzo from his Klavierstücke Op. 119 conclude this infernal programme.

The release of this 61-disc box (58CDs and 3 DVDs) coincides with the 50th anniversary of the death of David Oistrakh, one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century - and indeed of all time. Born in Odesa (now in Ukraine) in 1908, he died while on tour, in Amsterdam, on 24th October 1974. The box contains - On 27 CDs: the entirety of David Oistrakh's Warner Classics studio catalogue (originally recorded for Columbia & HMV), newly remastered in HD from the original tapes and in packaging that uses the original LP artwork. On 31 CDs: live recordings and studio recordings from the early period of Oistrakh's career and from his post-War years of international celebrity. One-third of these items are world premieres and a number of them are CD premiere releases. All the recordings have been remastered from the best available sources. On 3 DVDs: DVDs 1 & 2: Performances (in the concert hall and radio/television studio), filmed in Moscow, of concertos and recital repertoire; presented for DVD by film/TV director and Oistrakh expert Bruno Monsaingeon. DVD 3: David Oistrakh - Artist of the People? A 1996 documentary, directed by Bruno Monsaingeon, examining Oistrakh's life. It includes interviews with his son Igor Oistrakh, Yehudi Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich and Gennady Rozhdestvensky.

Classical Music

These selections were recorded in November 1995 and June 1996.

Ingrid Matthews plays a baroque violin on this recording.
REVIEWS:
American Record Guide (7-8/00, pp. 83-84 - "...Matthews...has excellent taste, does a wonderful job of characterizing each movement, and is very good at bringing out all the voices in the fugues....This superb recording
is...my top recommendation....A very auspicious debut...a major talent..."

"The opening and closing choruses of the Ascension oratiorio contain some of Bach’s most irresistible, catchy music, and this chorus and orchestra really give it their all, from the brilliant trumpets and insistent syncopated rhythms to the invigorating choral singing...once you get into this Bethlehem Bach Choir production, it’s impossible not to like it."

-- David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Live at Carnegie Hall

SERENADE

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7, WAB 107

Brahms: 25 Variations & Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24,

This selection is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording.
This selection contains a track featuring excerpts from Tim Page's 1982 audio interview with Glenn Gould about the 'Goldberg Variations.'

This is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 - Capriccio Italien: Classic Lib

SYMPHONY 9 SACD

"These six overtures were recorded in a single day, November 22, 1958, at Orchestra Hall in Chicago. Intended originally by RCA Victor to be the stereophonic successor to Toscanini's recordings of five of the six, Reiner in this recording held to tempos in many cases a few seconds faster than Toscanini's; yet, notwithstanding, he managed to inject an element of geniality into the music absent in Toscanini's vivid thrust and forward drive. No one, however, could make The Barber of Seville Overture scintillate the way Toscanini did, be it with the New York Philharmonic or the NBC Symphony , but Reiner does bring a liquidity to the score that is quite refreshing. Reiner's The Thieving Magpie Overture and II Signor Bruschino Overture are even more successful, with sharp detail, bravura, and panache, totally exhilarating in their sparkling frothiness. Conversely, there is a decided lushness in the opening of The Silken Ladder Overture and in Reiner's approach to the Cinderella Overture that may not appeal to those who want the refined polish Karajan brought to the former or the tauter rhythms and dry finesse Abbado brought to the latter; but Reiner could, for all his discipline and precision, be a musical sybarite at times and he obviously relished this music. As if to make up for it, his opening to the William Tell Overture is more reserved, lacking the immediate plunge into darkness and mystery that characterized Toscanini's way with this music or the dramatic intensity of Leonard Bernstein in what is my preferred recording of it (but, actually, Reiner is only toying with the listener, holding back so he can finish in a flourish of brass that generates terrific excitement. The original recordings were magnificent sonically and that warmth, lushness, clarity, and vigor have been quite successfully transferred to the new format."

-- Jon Tuska, Fanfare [9/1990] Reviewing RCA 60387

After his highly variable Mahler cycle, it's very good to be able to report that David Zinman is back in top form for Brahms. For the most part, these are splendid performances, beautifully played and recorded. The very opening of the First symphony sets the tone: rich, emphatic, but not exaggerated. Textures are clear, bass lines unusually audible. Zinman handles some of Brahms' most intransigent bits of orchestration, such as the opening of the Third symphony, with its perpetually syncopated accompaniment, with effortless mastery. The inner movements of all four symphonies are without exception perfectly paced, including the slow movements of the Second and Fourth symphonies.

Are there a few quibbles? Naturally. The introduction to the First symphony's finale lacks mystery, while the coda of the Second symphony's finale would have benefited from slightly more prominent brass and a surge of additional energy from the podium. On the other hand, the finale of the Third never has sounded better, the coda tremendously fulfilling, while the Fourth's passacaglia is really imposing, but also energetic. Here the trombones truly make their presence felt. In short, this set stands with the best, and I suspect its stature will only grow over time.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Brahms had a special connection with Zurich. He attended the opening of the Tonhalle, the city’s famous concert hall, in 1895 and was the only living composer to be featured on the ceiling painting; it’s reproduced in the booklet for this set, part of the altogether splendid packaging. The latter-day descendants of the orchestra for that opening concert have here given us a cycle of symphonies with which I am sure the composer would have been very pleased.

The first thing that strikes you is the beauty and colour of the playing. Both times I’ve heard them live, it’s the Tonhalle strings that have impressed me most, rich and rounded, oozing with character. This makes them ideal for Brahms. The mellow beauty of the Second’s first movement suits them perfectly, but they also develop a distinctive sheen, even a slight hard edge, for the more high energy moments, such as the opening movement of the First or the invigorating downward sweep that opens the Third. There is also some sensational wind playing and some first rate solos, such as the oboe in the First and the clarinet in the slow movements of the Third and Fourth. The playing alone would be worth the asking price, but it’s Zinman’s dynamic conducting that holds the set together. His reading of each symphony carries a clear sense of a transformational journey which, for me, went beyond the ordinary. The transition from darkness to light in the First is obvious, but Zinman breaks it down still further so that there is ebb and flow in each movement: in the first movement’s Allegro, for example, there is an almost tangible feeling of the drama and tension of the first subject being tamed by the gentler lyricism of the second. The Second carries a steady trajectory towards the celebration of the finale, but Zinman takes this movement just a touch slower than many so that the ebullience is contained within a certain set of rules. The Third also seems to go on a steady path from the exhilaration of the opening to an increasing sense of melancholy which is almost - but not quite - solved by the finale. Only in the first two movements of the Fourth was that sense of direction a little lacking. The tension and energy ups dramatically with the Scherzo and the final Passacaglia becomes so intense as to be almost unbearable.

It helps that these live recordings were all taped within two days, so we have here an unusually coherent reading of Brahms’ symphonic oeuvre. Sections of the press have damned this set with faint praise, calling it a safe middle-of-the-road Brahms cycle, but for me it’s much more than that: it’s an intelligent, well argued reading of this great cycle which stands comparison with any Brahms set that has come my way in recent years. Zinman is very much in the traditional mould of Brahms interpreters, eschewing the approaches of Harnoncourt or Gardiner, but he argues convincingly that there is still a place for this in our 21st century and he certainly carried me along with him. The sound, by the way, is excellent, rich and bloomy with plenty of clarity for the inner voices.

Incidentally, for those who are interested in such things, Zinman observes all the exposition repeats. Live as these recordings are, the audience is exceptionally well behaved and there is not a hint of a cough throughout. Applause, and there must have been much, is also absent. My only quibble is that the CDs give us barely any time to digest one movement before the next begins, surely an unnecessary compression of space when there is so much spare time on each disc.

-- Simon Thompson, MusicWeb International

Sony Classical is pleased to announce the second solo album by exceptional young American organist, Cameron Carpenter, All You Need is Bach. Bach’s great keyboard masterpieces provide an ideal platform for Carpenter’s formidable creative gifts and the seemingly limitless possibilities of his dream instrument – his signature International Touring Organ. The album takes is cue from The Beatles’ classic “All You Need is Love”, where Bach’s Invention No. 8 in F major proudly rises out of the coda’s collage-like texture. Works include Contrapunctus IX from The Art of Fugue, Organ Sonatas in D minor and E-flat major, Prelude and Fugue in B minor, Invention No. 8 and, as the centerpiece, the great Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor. The latter holds a special place in Carpenter’s affections. “It is undoubtedly one of the Top 10 masterworks of all music, no matter how you evaluate it.”

A virtuoso composer-performer unique among organists, Cameron Carpenter’s approach is to smash the stereotypes of organists and organ music. Described as “extravagantly talented” (New York Times), and “smasher of cultural and classical music taboos,” (The New Yorker), Cameron is the first organist ever nominated for a Grammy Award® for his debut album, Revolutionary. All You Need is Bach is the second recording made on Cameron’s new International Touring Organ. The organ, designed by Cameron himself, is a mobile digital organ that is artistically and sonically equal to any of the world’s great organs and will challenge the way the world thinks about organs.

Issued complete for the first time, including several albums new to CD, is the Philips catalogue of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble - an ensemble that made a defining contribution to Dutch musical life in the 1970s. The Netherlands Wind Ensemble began life in 1959 as a wind quintet, but soon expanded to play Classical-era serenades and divertimenti which were hardly known at the time but have since been recognised and enjoyed as masterpieces of entertainment music, notably the Gran Partita of Mozart, the late Octet by Beethoven and the wonderful Octet-Partitas by his Viennese contemporary, Franz Krommer. Starting to record for Philips in 1968, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble immediately won critical praise for the technical precision of it's playing as well as the brilliance and wit of it's interpretations, whether led by it's regular conductor Edo de Waart (himself a former oboist and member of the ensemble) or played as true chamber music. The ensemble made one of the first comprehensive recordings of Mozart's wind music, including miniatures, no less delightful for their brevity and rarity, and a precious but little-known collaboration with the much-loved Dutch soprano Elly Ameling. The youthful, funky vibe of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble was captured by Philips both in exceptionally vivid recordings as well as kooky cover designs, which are reproduced on the sleeves of the issues. A booklet essay by Peter Quantrill outlines the history and character of the ensemble, drawing on a new interview with Edo de Waart. The repertoire extends into the nineteenth century with a classic account of the Wind Serenade by Dvorak - the ensemble's debut on disc - as well as ingenious arrangements of overtures and arias by Rossini, and a unique collection of 'little marches by great masters'. The Netherland Wind Ensemble's long-standing commitment to modern music is represented by the wind music of Richard Strauss and Stravinsky, and the pioneering Jazz Symphony by the Franco-American 'bad boy' of classical music in the 1920s and 30s, Georges Antheil, recorded live at the 1976 Holland Festival.

This recording is the second of a highly-rated three-volume Stravinsky series recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with then Principal Conductor (now Conductor Emeritus) Vladimir Jurowski. This series documents Jurowski's year-long Stravinsky festival with the LPO in 2018, 'Changing Faces'. The festival surveyed Stravinsky's works, programed chronologically alongside his influences and those he influenced. The Fairy's Kiss is a work close to Jurowski's heart. The LPO had performed this work 17 times under his baton by the time of this recording, and the partnership between the conductor and the Orchestra culminates in this performance. It is rare to find a live performance recording of The Sleeping Beauty excerpts. The most recent commercial recording of the Pas de deux was 2012. Stravinsky was in the audience, as an 8-year old, for the premiere performance of Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty, a performance that was to have a profound effect on him as a composer. Stravinsky's music in the hands of Jurowski delivers live in concert a focus and clarity that is beautifully preserved and realised on these recordings.

CHOPIN ORBIT The eagerly anticipated second album by celebrated Japanese pianist and composer Hayato Sumino (aka 'Cateen') Available on CD & Vinyl. - Following the success of his acclaimed Sony debut Human Universe, Hayato Sumino-known globally as 'Cateen'-returns with Chopin Orbit, a conceptually rich and emotionally resonant album that places the music of Frederic Chopin at it's center. - Chopin, Sumino's favorite composer, has long been a gravitational force in his artistic life. That connection was first spotlighted during his standout performances at the 2021 International Chopin Competition and now takes full flight in Chopin Orbit. This unique collection features Sumino's original compositions inspired by Chopin's masterpieces, not as imitations but as creative echoes-melodies and motifs reimagined through the lens of a 21st century classical artist. - Included are pieces such as Chopin's Polonaise-Fantasie op. 61, Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Berceuse, and Raindrop Prelude, alongside Hayato's original works White Keys and Post Rain. Also featured are works by Thomas Ades, Leopold Godowsky, and Leos Janacek-highlighting Chopin's influence across generations

This fifth volume of the orchestral works of the late-Romantic Swiss composer Richard Flury (1896-1967) brings two works deeply bound up with his native Solothurn, in the north-west of the country. His Fastnachts-Sinfonie, or 'Carnival Symphony', is an expansive symphonic poem predicated on local legend and folk tradition, embracing both frolic and feeling. The Third Symphony - in which one can hear traces of Bruckner, and Richard Strauss - celebrates the rolling hills and endless skies of the Bucheggberg, where he loved to go walking, and where, the freewheeling music would suggest, his heart found freedom.

What happens when the illustrious brass sections of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic come together? The answer: The Philharmonic Brass Making it's debut in Vienna's Musikverein in April 2023 the group will come together for recording, tours and education work. Comprising some of the best-known faces in the brass world from Berlin, Vienna and their friends, the group includes Sarah Willis, horn and Paul Halwax, tuba. Their Debut album 'Overture!' was conducted by Tugan Sokhiev and released through Decca Classics. Now it's time for the following up album through the new label Supreme Classics: Italiana! Conducted by Maestro Riccardo Muti includes virtuoso arrangements of some of the best-known music including Verdi's Sinfonia di Nabucco, Rossini: Guillaume Tell - Overture and many more.