Tenebrae return to recording on Signum in performances exploring the Psalms in Music. With trumpets and well-tuned cymbals, the musical and prayerful richness of The Book of Psalms inspires vastly differing offerings from composers with a myriad of approaches to combining the two worlds of the symphonic and the choral. The results are works which defy categorisation and stand the test of time with audiences and performers alike. Joined by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the choirs director Nigel Short, they perform iconic works by Stravinsky (Symphony of Psalms), Bernstein (Chichester Psalms), Zemlinsky (Psalm 23), as well as Schoenberg’s final significant tonal work Freide auf Erden. Described as “phenomenal” (The Times) and “devastatingly beautiful” (Gramophone Magazine), award-winning choir Tenebrae, under the direction of Nigel Short, is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles renowned for its passion and precision.

Piotr Slopecki - one of the most interesting Polish pianists, accustomed us to his outstanding interpretations of Bach's music (The Goldberg Variations or the cycle Die Kunst der Fuge). The present album is a kind of phonographic opening of this versatile artist - pianist, organist, composer and arranger, who is familiar with jazz - to other worlds of the music he practices. This is a very discrete opening, as the album dedicated to three outstanding composers who seem to only slightly differ from the atmosphere of Bach's works. The amazing Partita in E minor BWV 830 - the first Bach composition published during the composer's lifetime - is accompanied by the Fantasia No. 3 by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, whose compositional technique was one of the inspirations for the works of the Master of the Fugue. Ludwig van Beethoven returns to the counterpoint technique in the Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106, which allows for discovery of this absolutely innovative work in the mainstream of music directly referring to the output of the Cantor of Leipzig.

Poland had three contestants left in the Third Stage of the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, and only one went through to the Grand Final concerto round. So the country's hopes were resting on Szymon Nehring, and although few would have tipped him as a winner he enjoyed understandable support in the hall and countrywide, winning the Audience Prize in the final analysis. The Krakow-born pianist, who had just turned 20 when the competition opened, certianly aroused interest with his playing. Reviewing his Second Stage appearance in the Chopin Courier, Kacper Miklaszewski said, ''The search for subtlety took away a bit of clarity from the interpretations of Szymon Nehring, who nevertheless built a convincing dramaturgy in the Polonaise in F sharp minor.'' Getting across all the hurdles in this most demanding of competitions, Nehring certainly proved his worth by the time he stepped out to play the Piano Concerto in E minor in a performance that mixed muscularity and gracefulness. Showing qualities that in retrospect can also be found here in performances recorded earlier in the competition, he found the sweep of the concerto's first movement and the dreaminess of the second, before dispatching the rhythms of the ifnale with a natural, native flexibility. It was a well-rounded performance that justified his place as a laureate.

Chouchane Siranossian is a rising star of the baroque and classical violin, Jakob Lehmann a virtuoso violinist and orchestral director who frequently conducts Anima Eterna. Together, they embody what the Bruges orchestra and its founder, Jos van Immerseel, have decided to call the ‘Next Generation Anima Eterna’… Today they are presenting Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in its original version. "We wanted to take a look into Mendelssohn’s workshop. He struggled with his self-diagnosed ‘revision disease’ and always strove to work hard on himself and his creations" says Jakob Lehmann. Chouchane Siranossian continues, "It was a fascinating experience for me to discover historical research and its implementation on period instruments in collaboration with Anima Eterna Brugge. In my interpretation, I used exclusively the fingerings, bowings and other performance markings of Ferdinand David and Joseph Joachim, both of whom rehearsed the work with the composer." This recording is rounded off with the Octet, also in its original version, which is longer and has many alterations in instrumentation, harmony and articulation.

After two earlier Dvorák releases, the Trios nos.3 and 4 (Dumky) and the two Piano Quartets, Omri Epstein, Mathieu van Bellen and Ori Epstein are joined by one of their teachers at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, the violist Miguel da Silva (founder member of the famous Quatuor Ysaÿe) and the violinist Maria Milstein, who was also an artist in residence at the Music Chapel from 2011 to 2014. Together they continue this recording of the Czech composer’s complete chamber music with keyboard, this time in the two Piano Quintets and the Bagatelles. There is an obvious close rapport between these musicians, who share with us their passion for this repertory and their enjoyment of playing together. A gap of fifteen years separates Dvorák’s two Piano Quintets, which have few features in common except a shared home key: the First marks the debut of a youthful composer, while the Second shows him at the peak of his art. The Bagatelles, originally scored for two violins, cello and harmonium, are among his best-known short pieces.

The Flanders Recorder Quartet is going to finish its career in 2018. While this news has spread quickly among the recorder aficionados and created a huge interest in their final world tour, this famous ensemble again released a unique record. This release is an anthology of five hundred years of music history in a nutshell, combining the intimate sonority of old masterpieces with a touch of jazz by contemporary composers. But in contrast to previous recordings, the quartet has chosen from the substantial pile of five-voice music that music literature has been spoiled with and invited a revered colleague to join its ranks: Saskia Coolen. This is not only a masterful overview of music history, but a fitting overview of an impressive and influential career.

This tremendous, heady disc is provocative stuff; its emotional - at times emotive - impact immeasurably heightened by very careful programming. Gens and Niquet throw themselves into all this with an engrossing mix of abandon and restraint. Her trademark of purity of utterance and smoky tone speaks volumes.

At 56 minutes, the disc is on the short side, but any more would, I suspect, feel like overkill.

It's a spectacular achievement; whatever you do, don't hold back.

– Gramophone

This album sketches a portrait of the musical reality of the British Isles during the first half of the 18th century. The huge success of the Italian concerto grosso was a response to the necessity of freeing music from a secondary role to which it found itself confined, notably in France with ballet music. Unaffected by the rivalry between French and Italian music, the British seemed to be attracted by purely instrumental music; the concerto grosso consequently afforded them a freshness, a boldness, and a hint of unique maestria that held an immediate appeal. Thus it was that the concerto grosso emigrated, as did a number of Italian composers who responded to the emotional needs and the demands of an English 'market' that encouraged artistic initiative, promised financial satisfaction, and offered the opportunity of achieving fame. This was the case with Francesco Scarlatti, the brother of the celebrated Alessandro, who made almost his whole career in London and Dublin. Few of his works have survived beyond the six concerti grossi featured on this programme. You are invited by the young Polish ensemble {oh!} Orkiestra Historyczna, conducted by it's first violin Martyna Pastuszka, to journey from Italy to the United Kingdom. Warm, varied sonorities highlight the splendor and expressivity of music that is now lively or dancelike, now gentle, melancholic or meditative. To be discovered!

A new string quartet's debut recording is always a memorable occasion. And muso is particularly proud to welcome into it's catalogue the David Oistrakh String Quartet, a young ensemble founded in 2012 by violinist Andrey Baranov, who won first prize at the Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition 75 years after the triumph of fellow Russian David Oistrakh. A case of history coming full circle! For their first album, these young soloists boldly launched head first into the vast repertoire of two of the greatest Russian composers: Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. The two quartets performed here were composed almost a century apart. Tchaikovsky was at the height of his powers and had yet to write his most famous works when he composed his String Quartet No. 2. Throughout his life he was to refer to it as one of his best works, the music having "poured effortlessly and joyfully, being written practically at one sitting." Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8 was written in Dresden in 1960 and was dedicated "to the victims of fascism and war." At the time he composed the piece, Shostakovich was going through a troubled period both in his personal life and in his relations with the Soviet authorities. The composer was so satisfied with this clearly autobiographical piece that he subsequently dedicated it to himself. The musicians of the David Oistrakh Quartet throw themselves body and soul into this incredibly poignant and intense music.

Ignacy Jan Paderewski is today commonly known as a great pianist, a statesman to whom great credit is due for Poland’s regained independence, and a composer. However, Paderewski’s pianistic career began in an unusual manner and relatively late. After graduating from the Warsaw Institute of Music in 1878, the famous pianist spent ten years teaching, composing and honing his pianistic skills, only giving concerts from time to time. His real career began only in 1888. Before that happened, Paderewski was involved in various forms of music-making (during his student days, he even played trombone in an orchestra). He often engaged in chamber music. Together with friends from his student days, he founded a piano trio with which he concertized all over Russia (which resulted in the overly entrepreneurial students’ expulsion from the Institute). His first composition for violin and piano comes from 1878 – when Paderewski had just finished his musical studies. This work was entitled Song, and was published among other compositions dedicated to Ignacy Kraszewski for the 50th jubilee of his artistic career. It is a typical salon miniature. At that time, Paderewski wrote this type of works mainly for the piano; but in 1882, he wrote Romance for violinist Wladyslaw Górski, with whom he often concertized at the time. The present release features not only this work, but all of the composer’s violin and piano pieces, performed by Slawomir Tomasik and Robert Morawski.

The German soprano Juliane Banse has sung the Lieder of Brahms, Schubert, Wolf, Ullmann, Strauss, Schumann, Loewe and Berg, earning a reputation for both the quality of her interpretations and the warmth of her timbre. She and her regular partner Martin Helmchen, who has just joined Alpha, have chosen to record Paul Hindemith’s song cycle Das Marienleben, composed in 1923 and revised by the composer in 1948. The piece is a bewitching, sometimes disturbing cycle whose texts, taken from the great poet Rainer Maria Rilke, retrace the life of the Virgin Mary. Fifteen poems, fifteen episodes tinged with mysticism and lyricism. They proved to be the ideal inspiration for Hindemith, whose compositional style here draws on both the power of Wagner’s operas and the subtle nuances of Debussy.

Founded in 1980 to perform the instrumental music of Shakespeare’s time, The Baltimore Consort has explored early English, Scottish, and French popular music, focusing on the relationship between folk and courtly art song, and dance. Their interest in early music of English/Scottish heritage has also led them to delve into the rich trove of traditional music preserved in North America.

There are hundreds of references to music in the works of Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s music can be placed into three general categories: Incidental Music- The individual titles of incidental music in Shakespeare’s works are never named but the directions “music here,” “music begins,” “music for dancing,” etc. are provided. Literary References- Shakespeare refers to the music, music theory, and instruments of the time within the text of his works. A humorous example is found in the names of the musicians Peter confronts in Romeo and Juliet: Hugh Rebec, Simon Catling and James Soundpost. Songs- Specific songs are included for performance in the text of Shakespeare’s plays. Shakespeare authored the lyrics to some of these songs but also incorporated popular songs known to his contemporary audiences. The plays did not include notation of the tunes of these songs. However, we are certain that Robert Johnson’s settings for “Full Fathom Five” and “Where the Bee Sucks” are the same as when originally performed in The Tempest. Johnson is well documented as Shakespeare’s composer.

For the other songs on the recording we are using the earliest surviving versions – both published and from manuscript – which are contemporary with Shakespeare’s productions. These include, “It Was a Lover and his Lasse,” “Farewell, Dear Love,” “When Griping Grief,” “Gravedigger’s Song,” and “Willow Song.”

REVIEWS:

A very pleasurable late-evening hour can be spent in the company of these musicians.

– MusicWeb International

This gem of an album played with historical performance accuracy and 21st century pizzazz is a revealing and often toe-tapping thing to treasure.

– Rafael's Music Notes (Rafael de Acha)

With most of the songs in the one- to three-minute range (only three exceed four minutes), changes happen fast, the recording never staying in one place for long. As enjoyable as the songs are, the album’s foremost pleasures derive from the interactions between the players and the rich timbral contrasts between their instruments. Often the full ensemble performs, but arrangements vary, with instruments combined in different combinations and number (e.g., “Cuckolds All a-Row” played by cittern alone; voice accompanied by lute for “Willow Song”); the album also benefits from the inclusion of both vocal and instrumental tracks, with a satisfying balance achieved between them.

– Textura

'The senses reign, and Reason now is dead' (Petrarch). Giovanni Antonini, flautist and founder of the legendary Italian ensemble Il Giardino Armonico, enjoys musical voyages, the discursiveness of music. He begins with an anonymous 16th century pavane, La Morte della Ragione (The Death of Reason), which he believes refers to In Praise of Folly, in which it's author Erasmus distinguishes between two forms of madness: 'a sweet illusion of the spirit,' and a negative form, 'one that the vengeful Furies conjure up from hell... ' This succession of 'musical pictures' leads us to the threshold of the baroque era, starting out with the Puzzle Canon by John Dunstable (1390- ca.1453), whose manuscript is an enigma, via the 'bizarre' style of Alexander Agricola (1446- ca.1506) and his obsessive, ostinato rhythm - almost an anticipation of minimalist music... to the improvisatory freedom of the Galliard Battaglia de Scheidt (1587-1654), a battle piece involving a great many diminutions or 'divisions', a common technique of improvisation in the Renaissance... This grand instrumental musical fresco of time and space is a kind of self-portrait of Giovanni Antonini and his longstanding musical colleagues.

Boyd Meets Girl pairs Australian classical guitarist Rupert Boyd with American cellist Laura Metcalf. Acclaimed soloists in their own right, as a duo they perform an eclectic and engaging range of repertoire, from the baroque through modern day, including many of their own arrangements. Boyd has been described as “truly evocative” by The Washington Post, and as “a player who deserves to be heard” by Classical Guitar Magazine, while Metcalf, also a member of the ensembles Sybarite5 and Break of Reality, has been called “brilliant” by Gramophone. Boyd Meets Girl has toured throughout the USA, Australia, India and Nepal, including appearances at the Newport Music Festival (Rhode Island), the Gharana Music Festival (Kathmandu, Nepal) and the Monsoon Music Festival (Kolkata, India). The duo writes of this release: “Our debut album is a lovingly curated musical journey, encompassing both our shared perspective on beloved works and relatively unknown repertoire we believe is equally deserving of attention. This album features our own arrangements, including a reduction of Faure's adored Pavane from its orchestral original, and Bach's solo keyboard inventions re-imagined on cello and guitar. These are presented alongside contemporary works, including a colorful three-movement piece by Bolivian composer Jaime Zenamon, and the debut recording of Arafura Arioso by esteemed Australian composer Ross Edwards. The entire album is designed to highlight the range and of timbral possibilities of this under-explored instrumental pairing. Our collaboration began as a romantic relationship in 2012. We are now happily married and live in New York City.”

Read full review from earlier release of this complete set of the Shostakovich Complete String Quartets below.

When it comes to this music, how the quartet plays technically is just as important as what it does interpretively, and I very much like the way that the Rubio Quartet plays. Unlike so many groups in this music, they never hack or slash their way through the more violent moments, always maintaining excellent balances, smooth legato, and a warm tone. Combine this with lively tempos throughout, and the result achieves all of the necessary intensity without ugliness or distortion, realizing the composer’s intentions far more effectively than many a more rough and edgy approach. The result may well appeal to Shostakovich fans who respect rather than love these pieces (and I know that there are many), finding concentrated listening to four strings perpetually in extremis something of an ordeal (at least as compared to the symphonies, with their wider range of contrasts).

This emphasis on the classical virtues of fine chamber music playing means that those famous “crazy” moments, such as the second movement of the Eighth Quartet, erupt naturally and sound well-placed in their context with no loss of excitement, while the gentler passages in the First and Seventh Quartets, or the opening of the Fourth, are notably lovely and full of feeling. In the late quartets (Nos. 12-15) the Rubio’s emphasis on lyricism goes far toward making the music’s bleakness and dark emotional demeanor more palatable (and consequently more expressively direct) than many less ingratiating interpretations. Very natural recorded sound, happily not too close to the players, ideally complements the ensemble’s approach. You can find more gut-wrenching versions of these works (the Borodin Quartet, for example), but this set does the music full justice while also placing it within the great quartet tradition to which Shostakovich so often pays homage. An excellent achievement and a tremendous bargain.

– ClassicsToday (David Hurwitz)

Along with sonatas by Rachmaninov, Shostakovich and Prokofiev, the Second Sonata Op.81 is a repertoire work for cellists, Russian or otherwise, for its vein of melancholy Romanticism that is yet not so dark and introverted as most of the 27 symphonies for which Myaskovsky is best known. Meanwhile the First Sonata has been almost entirely neglected, even by performers so committed to the promotion of their musical heritage as Rostropovich, Gutman and Geringas. However, as this new recording reveals, it too belongs to the distinctively Russian tradition of soulful and affecting music for the cello; an early example (written in 1911, when Myaskovsky was 30 years of age and yet to graduate; he was a late developer as a composer) of the special empathy for the instrument that would also produce a wonderfully moody and atmospheric cello concerto: the Russian Elgar, perhaps. The Op.12 Sonata is unusually structured as two movements linked by a tempestuous recitative section. The perfect relationship between the simplicity of the themes and the intensity of the dialogue between soloist and accompaniment is such that the two instruments seem locked in a flurry of warmth and passion. In the finale there is a return to the opening material, culminating in a serene D major conclusion. Though this is an early work, it reveals on various occasions a remarkable degree of maturity. While the Sonata Op.12 emanates all the captivating freshness of an important work dating from the dawn of the composer’s output, his second sonata is entirely different in mood. It was written between 1948 and 1949, when Myaskovsky was 69, and in the throes of the health problems that were to bring him to his grave the following year. This is Luca Magariello’s second album for Brilliant Classics, after his participation in the album of complete piano trios by Hummel (BC94898).

'Domenico Codispoti plays with a warmth and fervor worthy of Cortot himself,' according to the veteran Gramophone piano critic Bryce Morrison. 'His sonority, too, has an Arrau-like fullness and richness.' Born in 1975, Codispoti has a growing discography of Romantic-era music including the piano works of Cesar Franck on Piano Classics (PCL0052): a 'most distinguished and enterprising recital' according to Gramophone, in which 'Codispoti gives us an impetus and virtuosity to set pulses racing.' Now he turns his attention to music from the other end of the Romantic era, composed by a figure even more significant in the history of the piano and pianists, Clara Wieck Schumann. A leading pianist of her day, the wife of one great composer and the intimate friend of another, Clara was also mother to eight children, a serious composer and a hugely influential teacher during the course of a career in the public eye spanning over 60 years. We may view Clara now as a strikingly independent woman, a woman of her time yet one who worked tirelessly against the grain of assumption and prejudice. It is right, therefore, that her art should be so celebrated 200 years after her birth in Leipzig. Her gifts as a creator that were much admired at the time, not only by her husband but by Franz Liszt, the greatest virtuoso of his day. It was Liszt who had created the modern concept of the solo piano recital in 1840, but he retired from performance soon afterwards, and Clara was the one who created the image of the modern pianist. On this new album, Codispoti performs a prodigiously accomplished set of Soirees Musicales, Op.6, published while Clara was still a teenager; the strikingly mature trio of Romances written before she turned 20; a G minor Sonata dating from the time just before and after her marriage to Robert; and finally the Variations on a theme by Robert which she composed to celebrate her husband's 42nd birthday in 1853. Thus, unlike many previous compilations of her music, Codispoti surveys her output in the round, and allows us to hear it mature even as she found herself given fewer and fewer opportunities to exercise her own creative gifts. With performances of tremendous sweep and conviction it makes for a highly persuasive introduction to Clara's music.

800 liters of water, two sails, thirty pulleys, sixty hammocks : for the Bicentenary of the Teatro Real of Madrid, Deborah Warner coined a colossal production of Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd. "Oh, what have I done?" Captain Edward Fairfax Vere, former commander of the H.M.S. Indomitable asks himself with horror at the beginning of the opera, before recounting the tragic events that took place aboard his ship in 1797. The story revolves around a young model sailor, Billy Budd, and John Claggart, the unscrupulous master-at-arms obsessed and crazed by Billy's angelic beauty; and follows the characters in their fall down to the most infernal depths of perversion and psychosis, exploring the themes of innocence, culpability, individual responsibility and justice. In this ambiguous and symbolic tale, drawn from Herman Melville's last masterpiece, the composer Benjamin Britten, who returns for the occasion to symphonic opera and it's infinite possibilities, unsettles and disturbs us by revealing the complexity and universality of human experience. Far from writing the characters as allegories of Good and Evil, the opera shows us instead the remorseless logic followed by the surge of one's darkest desires. But in this opera dominated by masculinity, Deborah Warner goes beyond the story of violence, jealousy and hatred and chooses to focus instead on the collateral beauty produced by comradeship, friendship and forgiveness. Tenor Jacques Imbrailo, who knows the title role perfectly, delivers a stunning rendition of the young sailor's part, while British singers Toby Spence and Brindley Sherratt provide solid interpretations of Captain "Starry" Vere and of John Claggart. In the pit, Ivor Bolton masterfully deploys, along with the Orchestra of the Teatro Real, all the energy and power of Britten's fifth opera.

A modern and visionary work, this ballet, set to music by Dmitri Shostakovich, was created in 1930. It's central theme was the highly moralized battle and triumph of the proletariat against the decadent bourgeoisie, set in europe during the roaring twenties. Surprisingly, the score by Shsotakovich raised political controversies, probably because it borrowed much to European dance forms and consequently, the ballet vanished from the theaters until 1982, when Yuri Grigorovich restaged it with sets by Sion Virsaladze and a completely new libretto mainly revolving around the love story between Rita, a cabaret dancer, and Boris, a young idealist. The conflict in teh original production was also recast as a clash between fishermen - the morally superior workers - and society's criminal elements. To bring back on stage The Golden Age in autumn 2016, a few months prior to Yuri Grigorovich's 90th birthday, was a highly symbolic choice for the Bolshoi Ballet: this work, teh last Grigorovich would ever choreograph for his company, hadn't been staged for almost 10 years. A rare and refined ballet, which ran the risk of falling into oblivion twice, is danced by the new generation of the Bolshoi Ballet, among which Nina Kaptsova et Mikhail Lobukhin.

David Matthews writes: “My Ninth Symphony began in a modest way in December 2015 when I wrote a little carol for the solstice for my wife Jenifer, with words about the coming of spring. One day in January I was playing it on the piano and, beginning to improvise, I thought “I can turn this into something bigger, and why not a symphony?” I felt a little uneasy about using such a simple tune for a symphony, particularly with this number, but I was reminded of Nielsen’s Sixth, whose almost naïve opening leads to much more serious events. So my tune, now in C major instead of its original G, began to explore more complex and darker regions as my sonata-form first movement progressed. The coda gently brings back the carol, which moves unexpectedly into A flat major and a solo violin melody at the end. I began the ‘Variations for Strings’ with two preliminary ideas. The first was that my chosen chorale theme should appear at the end rather than the beginning. Since the words of the chorale are a prayer for a peaceful night, it seemed appropriate that the chorale should be the culmination of the piece, while the variations might be seen as reflecting the activities of the day. The second idea was that the string writing should be as diverse as possible, and that all 24 players should on occasion be used as soloists. Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola is one of my favorite works of his. I have always loved the special relationship between the two soloists: rather than rivalry, there is a sense of coming together in friendship. I have tried to express the same harmonious qualities in my own Double Concerto.”

The great patriotic opera of the 17th century, recorded here in a lively new performing edition after two decades in the Gabrieli’s touring repertoire. Notoriously difficult to present on recording or in concert, this version presented by Gabrieli was created to allow an obvious musical narrative, despite Purcell’s music often being completely dislocated from much of the original theatre context. Gabrieli have been performing the music from King Arthur for nearly a quarter of a century, evolving their interpretation over time. With the score having to be pieced together using separate versions (due to Purcell’s originals being lost), and with Gabrieli’s evolved interpretation of the music, the end product of this recording is truly unique. Their next release on Signum will be with the semi-opera by Purcell, Fairy Queen, in April next year, which is an adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

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REVIEW:

The eight soloists with two additional singers form an excellent chorus that is adept in every context. Throughout the opera McCreesh’s speeds are relaxed rather than driven – no bad thing, to my mind, and it results in Dryden’s wonderful poetry being acted with personable clarity, and the lucidity of musical gestures ensures that affection and intimacy are the hallmarks of a performance that conveys a humane smile.

– Gramophone

Tamsin Waley Cohen is joined by pianist Huw Watkins for a new disc exploring folk-inspired Bohemia from before the First World War – featuring works by Antonin Dvorak, Josef Suk and Leoš Janacek. This release follows Tamsin’s recent critically-praised album of Roy Harris and John Adams’ Violin Concertos with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, as well as previous discs with Huw Watkins exploring some lesser-known gems of the violina and Piano repertoire. Born in London in 1986, Tamsin Waley-Cohen enjoys an adventurous and varied career. In addition to concerts with the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and BBC orchestras, amongst others, she has been associate artist with the Orchestra of the Swan and works with conductors including Andrew Litton and Tamás Vásáry. She enjoys a duo partnership with Huw Watkins, whose Concertino she premiered, and together they have recorded for Champs Hill and Signum Records, for whom she is a Signum Classics Artist.

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REVIEW:

Above all, it feels as though these performers have got the scale of this music just right: nothing forced, no obvious straining for effect, just fresh, thoughtful and committed interpretations shot through with poetry and alertness. This is real chamber music.

– Gramophone

Thanks to his unusually strong affinity with Haydn and grasp of classical structures, Josef Krips proves a near-ideal conductor for the Fourth Symphony. Noting Mahler's repeated 'nicht eilen' ('don't rush') markings, Krips never hurries the music or indulges in unnecessary point-making, least of all in the radiant variations of the poco adagio third movement. The score unfolds with natural charm and warmth, lovingly communicated by the LSO's string section - led by Hugh Maguire, whose 'Death the Fiddler' is gauged at just the right level of grotesquery. With Suzanne Danco a pristine soloist in the finale, childlike but never childish, this is a beautifully-judged performance of a work which can too easily sound overstated, faux-naif or both.

The Sacconi Quartet record the string quartets of British composer Graham Fitkin, The Composer writes in the introduction to this disc: “The string quartet medium seems to me to thrive in contexts of both poignant intimacy or extrovert forceful information overload. (And indeed all those delicate shades in between.) I feel it has a strength of purpose that I relish, an honest homogeneity to it, a good wide pitch range and quite frankly the ability to play decent long sustained notes or short pizzicati. It’s been all too tempting.” Composed between 1992 and 2007, this disc compiles Fitkin’s complete works for String Quartet, performed by one of the UK’s most dynamic and versatile string quartets.

Tatiana Nikolayeva was one of the most illustrious and respected pianists of the 20th century. Born in Bezhitz, Russia in 1924, she began to play the piano at age three. She soon became a student of Alexander Goldenweiser (1875–1961), the leading piano pedagogue in Russia. From 1947 she toured extensively in the USSR. Her recognition outside of the USSR was boosted as she became the 1st prize winner of the 1950 Leipzig Bach competition. There she met Shostakovich who served on the Jury. They became friends and associates. Shostakovich considered her the ideal interpreter of his piano works and wrote for her the 24 Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87 which she premiered in 1952. Nikolayeva frequently toured Europe, America, and Japan. She had an unusually large repertory including most of the keyboard works of Bach and Beethoven. She was also a highly esteemed composer with several symphonies, chamber music and a piano concerto to her credit. In 1959 she began teaching at the Moscow conservatory, becoming a professor in 1965. She suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at a concert she gave in San Francisco on November 13, 1993. Tatiana Nikolayeva, the great pianist, composer and teacher died on November 22, 1993. This album features Tatiana performing the Bach Piano Concertos, works for which she was widely known.