Classical Music

Vocal Recital: Grummer, Elisabeth - MOZART, W.A. / SCHUBERT,

MASS IN B MINOR

Art and Music: Masters of the Modern Age, Vol. 1 Description CD with full-color, illustrated, explanatory booklet. Edgar Degas (1834-1917) is remembered as the painter of ballet dancers, but the scope of his genius ranged widely. An acute and witty observer, he depicted his native Paris in it's many diverse aspects, often hinting at a social isolation and unease hidden beneath the colorful surface. On this CD, the world of Degas is given a musical perspective with a carefully chosen selection of pieces by the finest composers of his time. Inside, Hugh Griffith provides explanatory notes on his life and musical environment Disc Two Description Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) received almost no recognition until the last years of his life, but is now widely regarded as one of the key figures in the development of modern art. His structural use of color was the starting point for the Fauve painters; his strongly geometric approach to composition led directly to Cubism. On this CD, the world of Cézanne is given a musical perspective with a carefully chosen selection of pieces by the finest composers of his time. Inside, Hugh Griffith provides explanatory notes on his life and musical environment. Disk Three Description During the past 20 years, Arvo Pärt has consolidated his reputation as one of the most significant contemporary composers with a sequence of magnificent sacred choral works. Dating from between 1990 and 2001, the works on this recording exemplify Pärt's mature idiom at it's most harmonically expressive. If Triodion represents his music at it's starkest and most unadorned, Kanon Pokajanen, the composer's largest work after the 1982 St John Passion (Naxos 8.555860), is music of a dark-hued and intensely felt contemplation. Pärt's emotionally-charged Bogoróditse Djévo, is a vibrant tribute to the Virgin Mary. The Elora Festival Singers' recording of Pärt's Berliner Messe can be heard on Naxos 8.557299.

Edvard Grieg and his librettist Bjurnstjerne Bjurnson were both fascinated by a great period in Norway's past: The Viking Age, whose sagas, and fierce conflicts between Christianity and the old Norse religion, inspired all three of Grieg's works recorded here. Landkjenning depicts the moment when Olav Trygvason (960s-1000) and his men sight the Norwegian coast for the first time on their voyage from England to Norway. As King from 995 to 1000, Olav worked single-mindedly to Christianize Norway. Conceived as a true Norwegian national opera, but left unfinished, the three scenes from Olav Trygvason explore pagan rituals and tributes to the Norse gods in anticipation of King Olav's entrance into the pagan temple. Includes the world premiere recording of Edmund Neupert's Resignation orchestrated by Grieg.

Dutch pianist and composer Joep Beving is a leading neo-classical artist, garnering fans worldwide with his warm, contemplative music, which is evident on his 2017 album, Prehension. Pressed on EcoRecord, a sustainable record made from PET instead of PVC and, thanks to an innovative production process, saves up to 85% energy compared to conventional vinyl production, without compromising on sound and product quality. 2-LP set.

Solipsism is the 2015 debut album by contemporary Dutch pianist and composer, Joep Beving. Inspired by the philosophical idea that reality only exists in one's mind, Beving composed these introspective and often filmic piano pieces and recorded them at home in the still of night. Rejecting the often over-produced and layered music styles of today, Beving keeps the music of Solipsism stripped back to it's essence: simple sounds to express complex emotions. Pressed on EcoRecord, a sustainable record made from PET instead of PVC and, thanks to an innovative production process, saves up to 85% energy compared to conventional vinyl production, without compromising on sound and product quality.

Sir Charles Mackerras was a towering figure in the world of classical music - renowned for his versatility, meticulous scholarship, and electrifying performances as principal conductor of the English National Opera and a frequent guest conductor with leading orchestras and opera companies worldwide. Mackerras was particularly celebrated for bringing a revelatory freshness to familiar scores through his deep understanding of period performance practices and original manuscripts. This set covers a substantial part of his recorded legacy, ranging over half a century, from his debut on record in 1951 to his finest later recordings.

Conductor Sir Thomas Beecham was one of the two most influential pioneers of early orchestral recording history, alongside Leopold Stokowski, both artists strikingly displaying a new potential in the gramophone's capacity for quality orchestra reproduction through the brilliant sonorities and dynamic shadings of their discs. When Sir Thomas formed his handpicked London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1932, it is not an exaggeration to say that a new era of the very highest artistic and virtuosic orchestral quality was born, and he quickly discovered how to seize the kaleidoscopic colours, rhythmic panache and tight discipline of his LPO performances for the gramophone. He repeated the procedure again when he created his Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1946, and his prolific recording operations with both orchestras set legendary standards of artistry, virtuosity and sonority in gramophone history. All his mono recordings made for Columbia Graphophone and His Master Voice have been collected in this box set as a companion to Warner Classics' box of all his EMI stereo discs, revealing more vividly than ever before their luminous and exhilarating qualities. A lot of the recordings in this boxset have been specially remastered in HD from the original sources, many of them previously unreleased on CD.

UNDER ONE SKY

Eccentric and dilettante, the quintessential English grand bourgeois, Sir Thomas Beecham was a self-taught conductor with a highly personal style and taste, brimming with elegance and charm. Beyond his tireless activity on stages around the world, he championed an eclectic repertoire ranging from Handel to Stravinsky, encompassing great classics as well as French composers such as Debussy, Saint-Saens, and Bizet -his Carmen remains a landmark recording. A passionate advocate for the music of his compatriot Frederick Delius, Beecham also played a pivotal role in 20th-century English musical life, founding both the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1932) and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1946). This box set brings together all the stereo recordings from his rich discography for Columbia and HMV, including the very first experimental stereo recording of Mozart's Symphony No. 41 first movement from April 1934.

Jonas Kaufmann - "The Decca Recordings" [15 CD Boxset] The first boxset anthology chronicling a major chapter in the recording life of supreme tenor Jonas Kaufmann. Encompassing an entire decade of glorious music making from 2002-2012, the collection provides a rounded portrait of Kaufmann as opera star and Lieder recitalist, heard here at the height of his vocal prowess. All recordings unfailingly received rave reviews at the time of release; many of them are standard-setting and are now returned to physical circulation as part of this set. All additional material recorded in sessions for respective albums are included with those albums. Featured among the operatic repertoire is a rare recording of Humperdinck's fairytale opera Konigskinder with the late Armin Jordan. Also included, is a disc devoted to Kaufmann speaking about Wagner's music and the roles he portrays on his Decca recital disc (audio only, in German and English). Presented on 15 CDs with their original jackets. Limited Edition.

Gabriel Olafs / POLAR - Icelandic composer Gabr?el Olafs' new album Polar is a work of speculative fiction in musical form. Polar provides the soundtrack to a frozen world. A world of towering mountain ranges, desolate tundra, forbidding oceans, and the monolithic remnants of a lost civilization.

Cellist and composer Peter Gregson presents his long-awaited self-titled album: a collection of contemporary songs without words for cello and synthesizer. Described by Gregson as "the closest to what I hear in my head that I've reached," the album reveals a confident self-portrait of a musician at the peak of his imaginative powers. During the recording sessions at Real World Studios, Gregson achieved his ideal sound by running his cello through his self-built synthesizer. The result is a collection of lyrical, atmospheric vignettes that together form the definitive representation of Peter Gregson's artistry.

Luciano Pavarotti - "Mamma" [LP] Originally released in 1984, Mamma is a collection of popular Italian songs, arranged and conducted by Henry Mancini. In his note on the record, Pavarotti exclaimed "I grew up with these songs as did many others of my generation and they now evoke the sound of my childhood." The album is being reissued with newly remastered HD audio for the very first time. These were taken from the pre-master tapes in the Decca vaults and bring a fresh and beautiful perspective to these historic recordings. Verve Label Group; Decca; Classical Crossover; Catalog.

Sensitive and talented, Marc Andre is one of the few classical musicians to have chosen the double bass as a solo instrument, bringing it out of the orchestral ranks and into the spotlight. Playing a modified double bass - with a sound closer to that of a cello - for this debut album, Marc has chosen an eclectic program spanning eras and styles. From well-known melodies by Gluck to Piazzolla, with Tchaikovsky in between, the repertoire showcases the instruments full expressive range in arrangements for piano and double bass. Marc is also accompanied on two tracks by the guitarist Gabriel Bianco.

Harpist Ashley Jackson fuses music and storytelling in Take Me To The Water, a soulful exploration of spirituals, iconic works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Alice Coltrane, and an exhilarating interpretation of Debussy's "Danse Sacree." Take Me To The Water celebrates the transportive nature of water, and of the rivers that unite us.

Luciano Pavarotti - "The World's Favourite Tenor Arias" Originally released in 1975, Pavarotti's esteemed album, The World's Favourite Tenor Arias, is a collection of popular tenor arias from operas Carmen, La Boheme, Turdandot and many more. To celebrate it's 50th anniversary, the album is reissued with newly remastered HD audio for the very first time. These were taken from the pre-master tapes in the Decca vaults and bring a fresh and beautiful perspective to these historic recordings. Verve Label Group; Decca; Classical Crossover; Catalog.

Luciano Pavarotti - "Mamma" Originally released in 1984, Mamma is a collection of popular Italian songs, arranged and conducted by Henry Mancini. In his note on the record, Pavarotti exclaimed "I grew up with these songs as did many others of my generation and they now evoke the sound of my childhood." The album is being reissued with newly remastered HD audio for the very first time. These were taken from the pre-master tapes in the Decca vaults and bring a fresh and beautiful perspective to these historic recordings. Verve Label Group; Decca; Classical Crossover; Catalog.

There is something wondrous in the music of Sergei Prokofiev, says Nemanja Radulovic, "as if it constantly moves between light and shadow, searching for truth through contrast, sarcasm, magic, love, irony, and beauty." Now the violinist - praised by The Times for both his "lyric delicacy" and "super-virtuosity" - has recorded an entire album devoted to Prokofiev. It embraces a variety of musical genres: the Violin Concerto No 2 (with the Philharmonia Orchestra under it's principal conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali); the Sonata for Solo Violin; the Sonata for Two Violins (with Johan Dalene), and (with pianist Laure Favre-Kahn), the Five Melodies Op.35bis and arrangements of excerpts from the ballets Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella, the opera The Love for Three Oranges, and the 'Classical' Symphony.

Recorded in Salzburg with the city's Mozarteumorchester and conductor Howard Griffiths, Bartlett performs Bach's Keyboard Concerto No 1 in D minor, Mozart's 'Jeunehomme' Piano Concerto and Britten's Young Apollo, which is scored for piano, string quartet and string orchestra. "When I began shaping this album, I started with Benjamin Britten," explains Bartlett. "He was a brilliant pianist, remarkable for his purity of intention, clarity of touch, and emotional honesty... When programming his own Aldeburgh Festival, Britten would often give the works of Bach and Mozart special attention. He also showed his deep admiration in the way he allowed them to influence his own compositions."

A profoundly personal and curated new recording of duets by violinist Daniel Lozakovich, joined by pianist Helene Mercier, inspired by his own reflections on childhood and the redemptive power of music. The album combines cornerstones of the Romantic repertoire (Vocalise, Apres un reve, Nocturne, La fille aux cheveux de lin) with rare incursions into chanson (La chanson d'Helene, Autumn Leaves, Youkali).

This album, which features both of Schumann's concertos with an exceptional cast of performers, has been among the best sellers in the Teldec catalog since it's release over thirty years ago. It will be released on vinyl for the very first time, shortly before Argerich's 85th birthday (on June 5th). "In her live recording Martha Argerich gives a vividly compelling, characteristically volatile reading of the Schumann Concerto, at once poetic and full of fancy, not to say powerful and often wildly individual. The performance, recorded live in July 1992, culminates in an account of the finale so daring one wants to cheer at the end" Gramophone

Nocturnal Blues, an ode to the night, is music for those who listen best when the world is silent. A collection of 15 contemplative, impressionistic nocturnes - music for moments of reflection, memory, and tenderness - illuminated by the soft luminosity of the night. 'For centuries, artists have turned to the night as their muse. My greatest hero Vincent van Gogh once wrote: "It often seems to me that the night is much more alive and richly colored than the day - as if the night were not black but blue, violet and green." That idea - that the night contains a deeper palette, a richer language - lies at the heart of this album.' Matteo Myderwyk

Fazil Say brings together two, highly contrasted Viennese piano sonatas, composed at either end of the Romantic era. Conceived on an epic scale in four movements, Schubert's Sonata in B flat major was written shortly before his death in 1828, while in 1909 Alban Berg ushered in Modernism with his opus 1, the compact, haunting Piano Sonata in B minor. "Schubert was only thirty when he died," writes Fazil Say. "There is unique depth of sorrow and melancholy here, the pain of parting from this world. At the same time, we feel Schubert's joy of life, his vitality, his attachment, his passion, even his defiance." While the Schubert sonata is a recent addition to Say's repertoire, he explains that "I first encountered Alban Berg's piano sonata at the age of 15, and I performed it as a student in Ankara... he became one of the main figures who opened the door for me to contemporary music... His opus 1, while anchored in B minor, sails boldly toward atonality and modern expression... The piano is used almost orchestrally, full of colour and intensity. It is a remarkably beautiful piece."