The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and its Associate Guest Conductor John Wilson record for the first time together on Chandos, embarking on a new series devoted to the brilliant orchestral works of Sir Richard Rodney Benentt. While internationally famous for his dances, jazz creations, and film and TV scores, Bennett wrote sumptuous works of ‘concert music’ as he called it. This first volume reveals him as one fo the most brilliant natural talents to emerge in post-war British music. Influenced by both the American Songbook and his teacher Pierre Boulez, he also always strove to place melody- and emotional honesty- at the center of his music. These traits are coupled in the epic Marimba Concerto, an innovative piece for the composer, moving from a colorful and lyrical first movement to highly virtuosic passages and strikingly athletic cadenzas. The demanding solo part is tackled here by the multi-award winning Colin Currie, nowadays seen as the world’s finest and most daring percussionist, as well as a champion of contemporary music.

Following a highly praised recording of Symphony No. 1 last year, Edward Gardner and the BBC Symphony present here an electrifying interpretation of Elgar’s Symphony No. 2, with the addition of one of his most performed works: the Serenade for Strings. Having now become experts in British repertoire with highly lauded series of Walton and Britten, they reveal all the aspects of Elgar’s masterpiece in this surround sound recording. Symphony No. 2 is richly orchestrated and skillfully constructed, drawing on hugely varied resources of harmony, rhythm and melody, and making considerable use of thematic transformation as a unifying technique. While the Symphony No. 2 is one of the greatest products of Elgar’s maturity, the Serenade in E minor for Strings is perhaps the most charming product of his youth. In this three-movement piece dominated by a deeply passionate Larghetto, the strings of the BBC Symphony superbly encapsulate all the emotions offered by this graceful work: tender lyrical and intense.

Katharina Treutler's new release offers devilish pleasure alongside intimate worship of God. For example, Ligeti's tricky, demonic 'Treppenwitz' stands opposite the glistening piano work of the faithful Catholic Messiaen. Enlivened by variations of the Holy Spirit, his music seems to sparkle through the windows of an important French cathedral. Katharina Treutler has given numerous recitals around the world, performing in Europe, Asia and in the United States. As a soloist she has played with leading orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Armenian Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, the San Diego Symphony, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. In February 2015, the album Final Symphony was released worldwide with Katharina performing works by composer Nobuo Uematsu. Featuring pieces performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, as well as solo performances, the album was recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios and reached number one in the iTunes Classical Music Charts in more than ten countries, as well as the Classical Album top 5 of the Billboard Charts and the Official Charts UK. Her other albums include a recording of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1.

Anyone familiar with Bruckner, his symphonic architectures reaching for the stars as well as his later Missas from the 1860s, may well be amazed at how deep his Missa Solemnis is still rooted in the solid tradition of Viennese Classicism. In this recording, this rarely heard and recently re-edited and newly published gem is put into the context of the inauguration service of collegiate provost Friedrich Mayr on 14 September 1854 in St. Florian, for which it was written. It is interspersed with the original Proper settings by Robert Fuhrer, Joseph Eybler, and Johann Baptist Gansbacher. This brilliantly mastered album was recorded at the Konzerthaus Berlin in June 2017 as a coproduction with Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

The 24 preludes for cello solo by Mieczyslaw Weinberg have a particular history. Composed in the late sixties for Mstislav Rostropovich, he never actually played them. Their musical language is aphoristic, often brutal, provocative in it's inner conflict. It contains many different gestures and is very intense. To perform these preludes might have been problematic in the Soviet Union back then. Gidon Kremer has adapted the Preludes for solo violin and this is the world premiere recording of his adaptation. In his concerts, Kremer often plays them to projections of works by the Lithuanian photographer Antanas Sutkus in the background. This album was recorded at Paliesiaus Dvaras in Lithuania in December 2017.

Pianist Sophie-Mayuko Vetter presents the world premiere recording of a reconstruction of around 70 pages of sketches for Beethoven’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 6 in D major (fragment) by Nicholas Cook and Hermann Dechant. Another special feature of this release is that the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 0 in E flat major, WoO 4 is heard in period style, performed on a fortepiano made by the London piano manufacturer John Broadwood in 1806. The expressive and harmonically rich vocabulary of the Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19 clearly demonstrates the young Beethoven’s development as an autonomous Viennese classicist. Sophie-Mayuko Vetter has been praised as an artist of extraordinary expressivity and versatility by press and colleagues alike. Her previous recording on OehmsClassics received an ICMA nomination and was awarded a Supersonic rating by Pizzicato: ‘Deeply felt performances of two Mozart concertos, where Sophie-Mayuko Vetter’s playing can be compared with that of Clara Haskil, Geza Anda or the young Barenboim.’

For the first time in their history, the Wiener Symphoniker will release a complete Beethoven symphonies cycle. The Wiener Symphoniker wrote music history with the first performances of works by Bruckner, Ravel and Schoenberg. And under the baton of such illustrious music directors as Wilhelm Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan, Carlo Maria Giulini or Georges Prêtre they acquired worldwide fame for their unique Viennese sound. Considering its rich, more than a century long history, it comes as a surprise that the orchestra has never before recorded a full cycle of the nine symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven which are widely considered to constitute the apex of the symphonic repertoire. This shortcoming is about to be remedied: Starting in autumn 2017, the Wiener Symphoniker will release the full cycle on 5 albums. With a new release of the series to be issued every 6 months, the full cycle will be completed just in time for the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven in 2020. The symphonies were recorded live during a critically acclaimed concert cycle in Spring/Summer 2017 in the Great Hall of the Musikverein Wien. At these concerts, the international press specifically praised Jordan’s approach to combining a traditional Viennese sound with a more contemporary, slimmed down interpretation of the material, original tempi and insights from the historically informed performance practice. Through a close reading of the score and by focusing on the content of the works, Jordan aimed to create – in his words – a “more natural, direct, humanised“ image of the famous composer.

The winner of Gramophone's 2021 Voice & Ensemble Award!

Hear the album that set a new standard for Verdi baritones, with excerpts from La forza del destino, Don Carlo, Ernani, Falstaff, La Traviata, Il Trovatore, Macbeth, Nabucco, Otello, Rigoletto, and Un Ballo in maschera.

"Ludovic Tézier has arguably been the leading Verdi baritone on the global stage for the best part of a decade now. As such, the Frenchman’s first solo album is less a calling card of a singer setting out on a career than a consolidation, a demonstration of mature artistry. As anyone familiar with Tézier in the theatre or from his few forays on disc...will know, his is a true Verdi voice. It’s big, generously phrased and both forceful and grand, with a broad colouristic range running from knotty torment to aristocratic elegance...

"The album benefits greatly from programming that puts an emphasis on substantial extracts, several featuring roles that Tézier has made his own...with idiomatic support from Frédéric Chaslin and the Bologna orchestra, and engineering that captures the voice handsomely, this is surely the finest Verdi recital – from any voice type – to have appeared for several years, if not a decade." -Gramophone

On this new recording, an exceptional duo of musicians from the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Hélène Collerette (1st violin) and Anne Le Bozec perform a program of three sonatas. The three works - spanning barely forty-three years, Florent Schmitt's op. 68 (1918-19), Albert Roussel's op. 28 (1924-25) and an early work of André Prévost form 1960-61, conceived when this Ontario-born composer of old Quebec descent was attending classes in Paris with Olivier Messiaen and Henri Dutilleux - epitomize a vibrant period for French chamber music and its sphere of influence. Rhythmic energy galvanizes this Franco-Canadian programme from start to finish, innervating passages of expressive intimacy with the same intensity as wilder pages bristling with vigor.

Fumito Nunoya is considered the custodian of the marimba. In the preface to this album, the Japanese musician explains why the marimba is still not a main instrument in the classical music scene. But with an exciting programme ranging from the Baroque to Modernism, he impressively proves the opposite, at least for the inclined listener of this recording. Marimbist Fumito Nunoya is gaining international recognition as one of today’s leading marimbists. Born in Odate, Japan, he currently lives in Kreis Herford, Germany. He has taught marimba at the Hochschule fur Musik Detmold in Germany since 2009. In addition to performances in Germany and around Europe, he regularly travels to perform in Japan and the United States.

V8: KAKHIDZE LEGACY

Dmitri Kitayenko has been Music Advisor of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra since the 2011/12 season. And if there is something with which Maestro Kitayenko has a special affinity, it is the Russian repertoire. It was not surprising, therefore, that he decided on Stravinsky for the first recording of this cooperation between the Orchestra and the Oehms Classics label. This recording includes Stravinsky's very first work, the Symphony in E-flat major, as well as the rarely performed Suites 1 &2 orchestrated by Stravinsky during the years 1921 and 1925. These works for chamber orchestra, however, were originally composed from 1914 to 1920 during the composer's years of exile in Switzerland. The Zagreb Philharmonic is an orchestra boasting a 147-year-old tradition of distinguished performing in Zagreb and Croatia. It has been a promoter of the art of music across Croatia as well as the country's cultural ambassacdor in the world. As one of the trademarks of the city it operates in, the music institution that boasts a long and notable tradition embodies the image of Zagreb as a Central European urban center of music, art, and culture.

The China Horn Ensemble was first conceived in Beijing in 2015 by Yi Man, horn professor at the Central Conservatory of Music, with the aim of developing and popularizing horn music in China. This idea soon attracted much attention and support from outstanding Chinese horn players all over the world. Finally, the China Horn Ensemble was officially founded in the fall 2015 in Beijing and has since become one of the nation's top chamber ensembles. The group has also enjoyed an international reputation since its founding.

Contents of Blu-ray Discs

High Definition Concert Recordings: Harmonielehre, Short Ride in a Fast Machine, City Noir, Lollapalooza, Scheherazade.2, The Wound-Dresser, and The Gospel According to the Other Mary.
Bonus: John Adams in Conversation with Sarah Willis and John Adams in Conversation with Peter Sellars
Documentary: A Portrait of John Adams as the Berliner Philharmoniker's "Composer in Residence"
John Adams is considered the musical voice of America. His tonal language is at once unmistakable and of infinite variety. Minimalism mixes with imaginative orchestration and a jazz-inflected spirit to create a cosmos full of energy and colour that constantly reveals new facets. In a unique transatlantic partnership, John Adams has accompanied the Berliner Philharmoniker for a whole season as composer in residence. The orchestra performed a wide variety of his works, from the oratorio “The Gospel According to the Other Mary” and the famous “Harmonielehre” to more unfamiliar treasures. The concerts were conducted by chief conductor Sir Simon Rattle and outstanding guests: Gustavo Dudamel, Alan Gilbert and Kirill Petrenko. In the course of this partnership, John Adams himself also made his debut as conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker.

This recording was made at the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, famous as the venue for the International Chopin Piano Competitions. The wonderful richness of the sound evokes the rich tradition and history of both the orchestra and the hall. You can enjoy the immense dynamic range of the orchestra, from the smallest sounds to the loudest, hall-shaking fortissimos. In silence, one can hear things like the chirping and birds and the quiet of night, which cannot be heard in other recordings. The excitement of the final stage, building up from "dawn" to the "chorale," is simply astounding. "Romeo and Juliet" is performed in a way that brings the scenes to life in front of your eyes. The depth of love between two people expressed here evokes feelings of sympathy in the audience. The polonaise played by a Polish orchestra is full of animation indeed. The phrasing and harmony there has a unique something, conveying the unique accents of music by Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky in a tasteful manner. Especially in "Romeo and Juliet," treatment of the minor harmonies reminds one of the Polish orchestral tradition, making one feel a painfully nostalgic mood. The veteran conducting of Noriaki Kitamura (born 1949) let's the orchestra play around freely, while at the same time, bringing them together at key points.

Harpsichordist Elisabeth Wright has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and continuo improviser at numerous festivals and concert series around the world. She has been a member of Duo Geminiani with violinist Stanley Ritchie since 1974, and has performed solo recitals and made guest appearances with Tafelmusik, Seattle, Vancouver and Portland Baroque. She frequently collaborates with artists of international renown, including performances with Les Sonatistes and as a guest artist with Ye Olde Friends and Musica Ficta. She has served as artistic director of projects devoted to musical settings of Italian baroque poetry. Her “Marino and Music: a Marriage of Expressive Rhetorical Gesture” was published in The Sense of Marino: Literature, Fine Arts and Music; she has also published reviews for Early Keyboard Journal. Ms. Wright is a founding member of the Seattle Early Music Guild and Bloomington Early Music Associates. She serves as a board member of the Early Music America and a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts. Here, she tackles an early keyboard staple: the harpsichord works of J. S. Bach.

The young Austrian harpist Elisabeth Plank has already won several awards at international competitions - the latest one, a Primo Premio Assoluto, in April, 2016 at the international competition ''Musica Insieme''. For her debut album, she has selected a varied program that is intended to give an insight into the variety of the harp repertoire - even away from typical sounds.

The 12th Musica Sacromontana Festival (2017) saw the contemporary premiere of another work by J�zef Zeidler, the spiritual patron of this event. The Mass in D major (just like the monumental Mass ex D) has been preserved in the collections of Die Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich. The Mass in D major seems to be a more personal and natural work, where simplicity gains the features of conscious artistry. The music is maximally organized, both in the construction of individual phrases and larger formal entities. The MUSICA SACROMONTANA Festival is meant to continue the intentions of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, who wanted to evangelize through the broadly understood propagation of culture. It is thanks to their efforts that in the 17th century a great ensemble was created there, and the greatest composers, including Palestrina, came to Gostyn. Many of them wrote pieces on commission of the Congregation; fathers also filled the library with copies of works of the greatest masters.

The Warsaw Philharmonic lives up to a program that expects much from it's sophisticated performance techniques, resulting in a great performance. Conductor Noriaki Kitamura writes: "The sound has a sense of transparency, and the detailed ensemble work is superb. The Faun dream drifting within the silence is beautiful, just like an impressionist painting. The force and freshness of the sound, which is inspired by Hokusai prints, reflects the expressions of the real sea itself. Pomp and envy in the Viennese court is recounted in "La Valse." The "Coppelia," one of the classic songs of French ballet, features Polish mazurkas rendered by a true Polish orchestra. The music making by Kitamura and the Warsaw Philharmonic is solid, without any kind of deception. It can be used as a reference for evaluation of acoustics."

For decades now, the U.S.-born pianist and composer Chris Jarrett has been living in Germany. Jazz, classical, avant-garde and ethnic styles merge stunningly in his music. For this reason, he is often referred to by music journalists as a "rebel" against the "piano-establishment". The music of Chris Jarrett is vital and impulsive, full of breaks and surprises and rarely fits into the usual categories of the music industry. For Chris Jarrett, Frank Zappa is an equally valuable model as are the masters of the Baroque or the Renaissance. No wonder his repertoire ranges from atonal miniatures, to sonatas, film scores, ballet and opera. "When pressing the keys with such energy, such pianistic fury, but also with such brilliance and subtlety of attack, while virtually incorporating the bulky instrument ... [he awakens] associations to the mythical Centaur - half human, half piano ... full of fantasy, original, bursting with energy and technically perfect." (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) This new release is a truly remarkable album of his original compositions for piano.

A recital by Piero Scarpini, the pianist who put his art at the service of 20th Century music, is always a source of stimulating modernity, even when he sits at the piano and plays masterpieces of the past. Those who are familiar with Scarpini and his personal conflict with contemporary music, know in fact, that his Bach, his Mozart, and his Beethoven can not be solely "some works" selected at random from any pianist's repertoire, but they will always be "that" Bach, "that" Mozart, and "that" Beethoven, which for their interpreter are the most innovative and in some way "contemporary." These live recordings were taken from Scarpini recitals dated 1953, 1961, and 1974.

MusicWeb writes of this album: “The value of this release lies in the rarity of these captivating scores, performed by a violinist with a close affinity to both- This interesting release focuses on the Italian violinist Alfonso Mosesti (b. 1924). The recordings have scrubbed up well for their age and provenance thanks to the expert remastering of Emilio Pessina. The documentation is second-to-none, written by Gianluca La Villa, who sets the music in some sort of historical context. The beautifully reproduced black and white photographs are the icing on the cake.” The two pieces featured on this release were recorded at the Auditorium Foro Italico, Rome, November 1959, and the Teatro Comunale Comunale Giuseppe Verdi, Trieste, 1953.

Charles-Valentin Alkan is fairly unknown. A contemporary of Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt and Fr�d�ric Chopin in the 19th century but mostly living in Paris and enjoying the life in the salons. From Nosrati's notes: Alkan's music is at times so unconventional and sarcastic that audiences may have experienced more irritation than enthusiasm. His style feeds on abrupt contrast; it features a great deal of counterpoint and is thus more akin to the so-called "German School" than to French salon music. Anyone who dares to explore Alkan's music more closely will be richly rewarded: these are works capable of displaying the utter extremes of the human condition: alongside one another: seriousness and humor, intellect and emotion, tradition and modernity.

Aldo Ferraresi was one of the most celebrated Italian concert violinists of all time, who has recently, unfortunately, fallen into relative obscurity. Born in Ferrara to a mandolin player, he began his studies at the age of five at the Frescobaldi Institute of Music in Ferrara. When he was twelve, he was admitted to the Parma Conservatory. Later, he would receive a degree in violin from the Accademia di Santa Cecilia. His recording heritage is presented here for the first time. The recordings on this album span a period of time from 1960-1973, during Ferraresi’s later life. Several world-renowned conductors are featured on the release, including Aram Khachaturian, William Walton, and Carlo Zecchi. The presented repertoire is mostly romantic, but also includes classics from Mozart as well as newer concertos from Benjamin, Khachaturian, and Shostakovich.

Ruggiero Ricci is recognized to have greatly contributed to the world's renewed appreciation and affection for the great 19th century composers, though he maintained a broad repertoire including over 50 concertos with orchestra. Ricci has performed the world premieres of several contemporary composers including Gottfried von Einem, Richard Flury, Urs Joseph Flury, Vittorio Giannini, Alberto Ginastera, Alexander Goehr, Gail Kubik, Benjamin Lees, Gerard Shurmann and Carlos Veerhoff. His official discography encompasses the widest repertoire of any violinist. This six-album set presents live and studio recordings, ranging from 1951 to 1978, including some rarities, never recorded commercially, like the Ginastera Violin Concerto, Emile Jaques-Dalcroze Violin Concerto, and Paganini Violin Concerto No. 6.