With it's combination of three instrumental movements, followed by a cantata with three soloists and chorus, Mendelssohn's Second Symphony "Lobgesang [Hymn of Praise]" is highly original from a conceptual point of view. The piece is a milestone in the history of the symphonic form, stretching the seams of the symphony genre even further than Beethoven had dared with his "Choral" Ninth. In his Lobgesang, Mendelssohn achieved nothing less than the artistic destruction of the conceptual opposition of vocal and instrumental music. Here they enter into a relationship of constructive, mutual support in the service of music. Moreover, the Biblical lyrics express Mendelssohn's deeply-felt religiosity. This album completes Pentatone's Mendelssohn Symphonies series with the NDR Radiophilharmonie and conductor Andrew Manze. After winning the Jahrespreis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2017 for their recording of Symphonies 1 & 3 and the positive reception of Symphonies 4 & 5, expectations are high for this final piece of the puzzle. On this album, the NDR Radiophilharmonie and Andrew Manze join forces with the NDR Chor and WDR Rundfunkchor, as well as with an excellent cast of soloists: sopranos Anna Lucia Richter and Esther Dierkes and tenor Robin Tritschler.

The spirit of Gustav Mahler looms over the pages of Shostakovich’s turbulent, sprawling and enigmatic Symphony No. 4, a work so uncompromising that for many years he suppressed its performance, fearing public censure. Mixing bombast with banality, savagery with sarcasm, this baffling yet profound work is also one of his most startlingly original. It’s paired with his ever popular Symphony No. 10, a brooding and lyrical masterpiece which is said to contain a musical portrait of Joseph Stalin in the impetuous second movement and in whose third and fourth movements Shostakovich artfully weaves a musical motif based on his own name which emerges resplendent in the spirited finale. This triumphant release is the latest in a series of recordings for Pentatone by the Russian National Orchestra. Their Shostakovich cycle was widely acclaimed as “the most exciting cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies to be put down…and easily the best recorded.” (SACD.net). The Symphony No. 7, conducted by Paavo Järvi, won the Diapason d’Or de l’annee 2015 and was nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award for Best Suurpund Sound recording.

In the words of composer Joël Bons, ‘Nomaden is like a journey during which the protagonist – cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras – “meets” musicians from different traditions and enters into dialogue with them. It is not a cello concerto as such, but rather a concertante work for cello and soloists from other cultures.’ With a playing time of roughly an hour, Nomaden (‘Nomads’) is made up of 38 brief sections, most of which run into each other without any pause. Two types of musical material run like a thread through the work: the ‘Nomad-music’ which return eight times but always presented each time in a different light, and the so called ‘Passages’: static episodes on one or two tones (or a chord) that explore the various instrumental timbres. These lead into the various ‘main’ episodes featuring encounters between the cello and the instruments from other cultures. Bons composed the work for Queyras and the Atlas Ensemble – a group he himself founded in 2002, made up of 18 eminent musicians from China, Japan, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe. From the Japanese shakuhachi and Chinese erhu to the Armenian duduk and the Persian setar, the scoring offers an untold number of combinations and an unheard spectrum of timbres. Nomaden was premièred by these performers in 2016, under the baton of Ed Spanjaard, and has been awarded the prestigious 2019 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition.

�mile Jaques-Dalcroze composed in almost all genres except religious music. His style and aesthetic approach were characterized above all by his exceptional melodic gift and the originality of his feeling for rhythm. Though close to the French school, he also felt the influence of German post-romanticism. In this respect he was representative of the young French-speaking Swiss composers of the late nineteenth century, alternating between the Latin and Germanic extremes in their country and often receiving a double education in Berlin or Leipzig, and Vienna or Paris. Jaques-Dalcroze's orchestral music languished in total oblivion until the beginning of the 21st century, but has since then been the subject of a significant rehabilitation attempt by means of the recordings made possible through the talent and musicological work of the conductor Adriano.

It is striking that two of the true classics in English orchestral music were composed within the short space of some fifteen years around the turn of the previous century. Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations have charmed as well as fascinated listeners since the first performance in 1899. In 14 remarkably diverse variations Elgar demonstrates his compositional mastery while creating miniature portraits of his closest friends, as well as of his wife and himself. By turns gentle, idyllic, tempestuous and boisterous, the pieces – which often run seamlessly into each other – nevertheless make up a coherent whole, like a group portrait taken during a country weekend. As for the enigma of the title, Elgar – who loved puzzles – maintained that another melody ‘went with’ the theme, and musicologists have searched for the answer ever since, without success.

In 1916 Gustav Holst completed another set of musical character sketches – his suite The Planets, in seven movements. These have little to do with astronomy and even less with the Roman deities whose names they carry. Holst was rather inspired by astrology and the suite actually concerns human character as influenced by the planets. The concept – like that of Elgar's variations – provides for a variety of moods and expressions, and in his score Holst took full advantage of these possibilities. To achieve this he made use of a large orchestra including much percussion, two harps, celesta, organ, two sets of timpani. He also included parts for certain unusual instruments such as bass flute, bass oboe and tenor tuba, and – in the final movement – a female chorus. Performing the programme in the warm acoustics of Bergen's Grieg Hall, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Andrew Litton give it their all in this sonic spectacular.

REVIEW:

Established collectors will probably have multiple performances of these works in their collection. They may not have them coupled together, however, and that is a bonus, especially for those lucky youngsters coming new to these works and for whom this disc is the perfect choice. Superbly recorded and with an excellent insert note by Philip Borg-Wheeler, it carries a most convincing performance of The Planets and a revelatory one of the ‘Enigma’ Variations.

– MusicWeb International

John Philip Sousa personified turn-of-the-century America –the comparative innocence and brash energy of an advancing nation. His ever-touring band represented America across the globe and brought lively and entertaining music to hundreds of American towns. Sousa’s name is eternally connected with famous marches such as The Stars and Stripes Forever, but his exceptional inventiveness also saw the creation of popular operettas such as El Capitan. This program also includes Sousa’s adaptations of humorous songs and popular ballads as well as his Good-Bye, based on the idea of Haydn’s ‘Farewell’ Symphony but with a modern twist.

Geijer was one of the prominent figures in the formation of G�tiska f�rbundet (The Geatish Society), who took the task of promoting archaeology, but also Swedish patriotism. As editor of the society's magazine, he published his own poems in the spirit of the time and also his music settings of his poetry. Geijer showed a great talent for music early on. Although he seems to have considered a career in music, it remained for him simply an activity for spare time. His mind was for chamber music and the smaller format, as well as songs. In 1816 his first piano trio was composed and in 1822 the first two string quartets in F Minor and B flat Major, and during the rest of the decade, among other things, a piano quintet, a piano quartet and two violin Sonatas. Randel was a Swedish musician and composer. As concertmaster at the Royal Opera Orchestra he arranged and composed music for some 20 plays. Especially famous is his composition and arrangement of F A Dahlgren's play V�rml�nningarna (1846), which for many years was a beloved and recurrent feature of the repertoire of the Stockholm Opera. He also composed four violin concertos, overtures and chamber works. The violin concertos are written in a French virtuoso style while the chamber music is influenced by the late style of Haydn and the early of Beethoven. Among the chamber works there are three string quartets and several solo pieces for violin. This new release explores the chamber works of these two largely unknown composers.

Edmea (1886) is Catalani’s third theatrical opera. After the success of Dejanice (1883), Catalani started to look for a new libretto. Unable to convince Boito, attracted into Verdi’s orbit, he made do with Antonio Ghislanzoni, who had been resting for at least fifteen years on the laurels from the triumph of Aida. The poet gave the maestro the ready-made libretto of Edmea, which had bene written already for Salvatore Auteri Mazocchi and not set to the music. The libretto, drawn from a drama by Alexandre Dumas Jr., The Danicheff, is an unlikely story conceived in function of a prima donna in a state of lunacy, according to an operatic tradition revived in those years by Thomas heroine of Ophelia in Hamlet. Edmea is undoubtedly an attempt of the musician to please his audience with a relatively easy listening product, with emphasizing the vocal score, pushing it toward the extreme notes; in particular the tenor’s part is not only sharp but also kept more than due in the theatrical zone of the register passage. The main interest of the opera is in the orchestra, often splendidly used with very subtle sensibility for aims that exceed by far a mere elaborated support to singing. The orchestra language is always careful, present, alive and consistent, elegant and varied with languors and succen excitements. The musician from Lucca show his unmistakable expressive signature and succeeds to make himself unforgettable.

Described by the Halifax Chronicle-Herald as "one of the most radiant a capella choir CDs of this or any previous Christmas," Halifax Camerata's recording 'Songs of the Stable' has continued to be a treasure among classical music fans since it's initial release more than 10 years ago. The album was recently featured on CBC's nationally broadcast choral concert program and features a collection of Christmas music by Canadian composers. The Halifax Camerata Singers is Atlantic Canada’s premier chamber choir. Founded in 1986 by Artistic Director Jeff Joudrey, the Nova Scotia ensemble has distinguished itself by performing exciting choral repertoire that covers all periods and styles, with special attention to Canadian music. The auditioned choir is known for its high performance standards, claiming national recognition and the Healy Willan Grand Prize in the 2010 National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs.

Classical Music

This is not simply a recording of Norma as staged in January 2018 at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. Its real value is that it is the superb conclusion to the career of Mariella Devia, one of the finest Belcanto singers of our time, which makes the present recording an ideal artistic testament that pinpoints Mariella Devia's total eminence at the end of a long, hard-won career. That career began officially 45 years earlier as Lucia di Lammermoor at the Toti Dal Monte Competition in Treviso in 1973- a role in which Devia would become the standard by which others would by judged. At the beginning of her career, Devia had to emigrate to the USA. Thrown in at the deep end, Mariella Devia’s professionalism proved that this emerging young Italian was a force to be reckoned with. She got her Italian break in 1984 with Rossini’s Adelaide di Borgogna. Mariella Devia took the step toward Norma in 2013 in Bologna. She proved not only that she could carry the role from start to finish with no hint of loss in consistency but that her class was intact throughout. Her one-of-a-kind Norma achieved impact mainly through her singing, and her approach to expression prized the intimate and the subtly incisive over all-out hyperbole. Over the next five years, she consolidated the role even as she cut back on public appearances, performing it more than any other part. The results heard on the present recording speak for themselves.

To understand La leggenda di Sakuntala means remembering that it is more of a mysterium than an ordinary opera, which is why, after seeing a performance in Bologna, Fritz Reiner pronounced it "the Italian Parsifal". Of course, the religious atmosphere pervading Sakuntala is pagan - which is hardly surprising, given it's setting - and it's subject is not redemption but the power of love. Alfano used the poem by Kalidasa (5th century BC), also admired by Goethe and Wagner. Those musicologists who claim it is only of modest quality cannot even begin to appreciate the genius it required to combine conciseness with first-rate words and music in a score for orchestra and choir that is a model of it's kind. The most impressive aspect of this masterpiece is the way it employs motifs and themes with the same profundity and refinement found in Wagner's own approach and in it's development by Strauss. The melodies which the characters sing are almost always slow, somewhere between the ecstatic and the dreamlike, while the atmosphere varies from the solemnly oriental to the ethereal. This release is the first official recording of the work.

The great Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar can be heard as accompanist on recordings with John Forsell, and as soloist on a few piano rolls, but never as conductor. However, his successor, Tor Mann was recorded while rehearsing and performing the famous 2nd symphony, and the Serenade, works he himself experienced under the composer's baton as an orchestral cellist. Sixten Eckerberg succeeded Tor Mann, and together with the Gothenburg Symphony and pianist Hans Leygraf, he made the world premiere gramophone records of Stenhammar's important orchestral works. This release explores Stenhammer's heritage through these historical recordings.

This is the follow up Retrospect’s debut recording, released to celebrate the 350th birthday of Henry Purcell, and reunites four Baroque instrumentalist superstars. Continuing the composer’s trio sonata texture found in Ten Sonatas in Four Parts, Purcell’s later set is much more forward-looking to the later Baroque rather than taking inspiration from the old style contrapuntal models found in the earlier set. These sonatas display the composer’s innate ability at blending influences from French, Italian and English music; exotic dissonances can be heard alongside the unique use of counterpoint. This recording was nominated for a BBC Music Magazine Award and an International Classical Music Award and was named a ‘Choice’ recording by Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine and International Record Review. Recorded at St George’s, Chesterton, the recording beautifully captures the timeless beauty of Purcell’s most highly regarded instrumental works.

“Everything That Rises” is a uniquely beautiful and magical hour of music for string quartet, performed by the celebrated, award-winning JACK Quartet. The composer writes about the piece: “Each musician is a soloist, playing throughout. Time floats and the lines spin out, always rising, in acoustically perfect intervals that grow progressively smaller as they spiral upward…until the music dissolves into the soft noise of the bows, sighing.” “‘Everything That Rises’ is art without artifice, and its beauty transports the listener.” (New York Classical Review) “‘Everything That Rises” finds Mr. Adams exploring dissonance and just-intonation tuning, in the gentlest of ways.” (The New York Times) "JACK Quartet, superheroes of the new music world.” (Boston Globe) John Luther Adams, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Music and the 2015 Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition, has been described by The New Yorker’s Alex Ross as “one of the most original musical thinkers of the new century.” Adams, whose music is deeply rooted in the natural world, has worked with many prominent performers and venues.

Rory Macdonald conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in the premiere recording of three orchestral works by 'the father of Scottish music,' composer Thomas Wilson. Wilsonw as an important figure in Scotland's musical renaissance, whose exceptional output established him as a composer of particular significance. Wilson completed five symphonies of which two are recorded here: Symphony No. 3 and Symphony No. 4 'Passeleth Tapestry,' both of which were premiered by the RSNO. The Third Symphony, a RSNO commission, was described in The Guardian as "one of the most impressive works written by a Scottish composer in recent years." The Fourth Symphony, written to mark Paisley's 500th anniversary, features masterly orchestration throughout and Wilson's treatment of the strings is especially fresh and inventive. Carillon was commissioned by Glasgow city council in 1990 as part of it's European City of Culture celebrations, as the inaugural work to celebrate the opening of the city's new Royal Concert Hall, where the RSNO is now based. This recording is a fitting tribute to the leading Scottish composer of his generation by an orchestra who inspired and premiered his work.

Love is a rollercoaster, and so is this swinging new take on Virgil’s classical tragedy. Dido & Aeneazz is a recomposition of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas by Raaf Hekkema, combined with newly-composed music arranged by Eric Vloeimans. The album showcases the congenial collaboration between the versatile reed players of Calefax and renowned trumpet player Eric Vloeimans. Dido & Aeneazz invites the listener to join a musical journey that virtuously flows from the baroque original to jazz, calypso and klezmer, and back. Acclaimed in the Netherlands and abroad, the members of Calefax arguably invented a completely new genre: the reed quintet. After their successful PENTATONE debut with Hidden Gems, these gentlemen add yet another treasure to their discography.

With this recording Sofya Melikyan introduces us to composers who seem marked by some historical design in which the momentous events of their countries of origin, and the magic of figures, have somehow crisscrossed and interwoven. As such, these three women represent countries that underwent tremendous upheavals a century ago. Kaija Saariaho’s native Finland gained its independence in 1917, which was the same year and with almost the same historic circumstances that shattered the social foundations of Russia, Sofia Gubaidulina’s country of origin (although she was actually a Tatar), in that case resulting in the October Revolution of 1917. The third composer, Geghuni Chitchyan’s country is Armenia, which achieved its first period of modern independence in early 1918, also as a result of the dramatic events that shook that part of the world in 1917. These three women are joined by a young Venezuelan, Raquel Quiaro, who settled in Spain over twenty years ago, and is one of Kaija Saariaho ‘s most outstanding pupils.

Classical Music

The present release is a recording from the performance of the first modern revival at Drottningholm Palace Theatre, Stockholm, June 7th, 1973 of the dramatic opera in three acts composed in 1787 by Georg Joseph (Abbe) Vogler. The year is 1613. The war between Sweden and Denmark is drawing to a crucial point. The young and rather new King Gustaf II Adolf is in the field while Ebba Brahe, whom he adored ever since he was a child, is a lady-in-waiting to the Dowager Queen Kristina. Ebba and Gustaf Adolf intend marrying as soon as he got home, but the Dowager Queen disapprove their plans, and instead wants the King to find a royal bride. To prevent the marriage, she tries to get Ebba to doubt his love and fidelity, and intrigues. Eventually she gets Ebba marrying Admiral Jacob de la Gardie instead, and when the King shortly after return from the decisive battle against Denmark, he stands before the fait accompli. In his despair, he is considering to seek death, but is persuaded by his people continuing to lead them as a fatherly, wise and diligent King. The King realizes that duty and people's love is greater and more important than his own personal happiness. Gustaf Adolf reconciled with Ebba and congratulate the bride and groom.

Classical Music

Telemann was a musician and composer who lived and worked in Leipzig, Sorau, Eisenach, Frankfurt/Main, and Hamburg. He is considered the most important German composer of the late baroque era, and an extraordinarily productive musician with an oeuvre of over 3,600 works which cover all genres, including opera. He was one of the few artists of his era who was well respected during his lifetime, and he was able to live comfortably from his work as a musician. He was entirely self-taught, playing a variety of instruments, including the recorder, the violin, and the harpsichord. He was also a great proponent of the recorder, which is why he is often described as the greatest recorder composer. His work for the ‘flauto dolce’ includes solo concerts, suites, sonatas, trio sonatas, as well as extended recorder parts in oratorios, passions, and cantatas. Of special significance are the “12 Fantasias for Solo Flute,” published in Hamburg in 1733, which, along with the “36 Fantasias for Harpsichord,” the “12 Fantasias for Solo Violin,” and the “12 Fantasias for Viola da Gamba,” complement Telemann’s oeuvre for solo instruments without bass accompaniment. The “12 Fantasias” recorded on this album are based on a transposition for treble recorder which is stored in the library of the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Brussels.

Crist�bal de Morales' fame and influence were enormous in his own time. More than 70 prints before 1600 included some of his compositions. The works of the musician from Seville were not merely an essential part of the repertoires of the most important churches and cathedrals of Spain and America until the end of the Modern Age, but they also enjoyed extraordinary prestige among theoreticians and historians. He only worked for short periods in posts in Spain and his name remains associated with the decade he spent at the papal chapel of Pope Paul III, from 1535 to 1545. In Rome he carried out his responsibilities as cantor alongside colleagues the likes of Costanzo Festa, Jacques Arcadelt and Juan Escribano. Morales was especially interested in texts for Lent, which include the celebration of Ash Wednesday and the Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima Sundays. La Grande Chapelle takes full advantage of the extensive number of these motets on liturgical texts for the Lenten season to pay homage to one of the great composers of all time.

Classical Music

My Soul’s Repose is a collection of choral works from the twentieth century (except for the Faure) sung beautifully by the Orpheus Chamber Singers. Featured composers include Stephen Paulus, Rene Clausen, Franz Biehl, Eric Whitacre, and more. The Orpheus Chamber Singers is a professional chamber choir of 25 mixed voices in Dallas, Texas. Artistic Director Donald Krehbiel’s reputation for producing stellar performances of a wide variety of choral repertoire is unmatched in North Texas. Orpheus Chamber Singers has offered exceptional choral music experience to audiences for sixteen years, performing repertoire from across the centuries and around the world. As a pillar of the Dallas arts community, Orpheus is committed to the success of Dallas’ expanded Arts District and also brings performances to Plano, Richardson, Allen and beyond.