“The Glière Symphony No 3 has always been a piece that shimmered on my horizon—a cult piece, in a way, renowned as the composer’s towering masterpiece but rarely played in concert. As long as a Mahler symphony and enormous in its instrumental requirements, it was a work that people spoke about reverently but almost never heard live. The recording was an adventure that changed our orchestra, strengthened us, and became an artistic benchmark for our musicians. We revelled in the gorgeous landscape of the Symphony—from mysterious bass murmurings to crushing walls of brass fortissimo to breathtaking impressionistic renderings of forests and birds. We performed and recorded this massive work uncut to preserve Glière’s extraordinary architecture. This work is a cathedral in sound that unfolds in breathtaking swashes of colour, poetry and monumental climaxes.” – JoAnn Falletta

Pre-order your copy today! This release is scheduled to ship on or about Friday, October 8.

Also available: 20th Century Foxtrots, Vol. 1 and 20th Century Foxtrots, Vol. 2

Gramophones and radios brought the voice of America, its fashion, its carelessness and joie de vivre into every corner of Europe during the Roaring Twenties, and no composer could remain immune to the hot jazz influences of the Foxtrot, Shimmy and Charleston. This third volume of jazzy piano dances features composers from nine Central and Eastern European countries, from Misha Spoliansky’s hypnotizing Valse Boston ‘Morphium’ to Leonid Polovinkin’s extremely entertaining and refreshingly futuristic approach to the genre. Gottlieb Wallisch continues his ‘most surprising and consistently charming recording project’ (The New York Times on Volume 2, GP814).

The Glière Quartet was founded in 2017 in Vienna. It consists of excellent musicians who are passion-ate about chamber music, especially about quartet works: Polish-Austrian violinist Dominika Falger (leader of the 2nd violin section of the Wiener Symphoniker), German violist Martin Edelmann, since 2018 (Wiener Symphoniker), Hungarian cellist Endre F. Stankowsky (Solocello Budapest Opera), and Ukrainian-Austrian first violinist and founder of the ensemble Wladislaw Winokurow specializing in the interpretation of pieces by Ukrainian and Russian composers from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. On this release, the Glière Quartet showcases their namesake’s String Quartets, Nos 1 and 2.

...Ricci's performance of the Adagio [from the Spohr Concertante] could not be bettered and he has a worthy partner in Susanna Mildonian... Louis de Froment is an admirable accompanist and the recording...is admirably clear and well balanced.

-- Gramophone [6/1979, reviewing an LP release of the Spohr]

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The chromatic harp is an idiosyncratic and, outside certain simple formulae, difficult instrument to write for; it has also been hard for it to escape from its 'romantic' image. Think of the harp, think of arpeggios (isn't that what the word signifies?), and those traversed with a sweep of the hand are inevitably colourful because you can't do it with a simple triad. Harp concertos have never been numerous and, other than Mozart and Handel, have come and gone like recorded ships in the night. Glière's has survived but Zabaleta's account of Reinecke's has long gone (DG 138 853, 11/63). Hard to realize the Glihre was written as late as 1939 —broad but fairly commonplace tunes, ultraconservative structure and language, arpeggios galore are its lot, music to relax and dream to. Michel is a fine harpist and her Glibre fully matches Ellis's older and less crisply recorded version on Decca, but neither can transmute the music's pewter to gold. The Reinecke is a more demonstrative and developed work, not written 'Out of its time', exploiting the resources of the harp in both solo and subsidiary roles, the flanking movements with cyclic connections.

The slow movement is exceptionally beautiful, the opening theme given by harp and trombone in hushed unison, and later, in ethereal harmonies on the harp with quiet responses from the strings. Michel presses a little ahead of her colleagues at times (notably the unisoni trombone) but generally benefits from skilful orchestration, sensitive support and well balanced recording. Written for a 'commoner' instrument the Reinecke might have become an oft-heard standard in the repertoire- it may still find favour with anyone following my advice to buy this recording.

-- Gramophone [4/1980, reviewing the LP release of the Gliere and Reinecke concertos]

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The novelty for me—and I daresay it may be for others too—was Roussel's Serenade of 1925, refreshing music that while keeping well clear of profundities, is yet most elegantly fashioned, urbane and full of wry charm. Here you will find the Melos Ensemble more smiling and certainly more kaleidescopic in colour. The Turnabout team are a bit more serious about the musical argument, a bit less bemused by effects of tone colouring. The flautist, Wilhelm Schwegler, also unfortunately has to breathe, whereas Richard Adeney's instrument (I presume it is Adeney) miraculously seems to play itself without audible intakes of air. It is Adeney's tonal bloom, his wider range of dynamics and colour and more malleable phrasing that in the first place succeeds in making Debussy's sonata sound more beguiling than the cheaper version, and especially in the opening Pastorale—considered by many critics no less seductive than the famous L'apres-midi. In this movement the Turnabout team do not react subtly and sensitively enough to detail, whereas the Melos are constantly reading between the lines and yielding rhythmically to this and that. But perhaps you could argue that the graver pulse chosen by the Germans for the Minuetto emphasizes its archaic, hieratic quality. I also thought they manage to define individual notes a bit more precisely in the finale than the Melos, who are sometimes a bit too impressionistic in their fluidity for this movement, where Debussy, "Musicien Francais", is very definitely looking back to seventeenth-and eighteenthcentury French classicism.

The performance I enjoyed most was the old, familiar Ravel from the Endres Quartet with Helga Storck, Konrad Hampe and Gerd Starke. The music, of course, is much less equivocal than the Debussy, and these players respond to its sensuous languor and tingling darts with more immediacy than I detected anywhere else on this record.

-- Joan Chissell, Gramophone [2/1969, reviewing the LP release of the Debussy, Ravel, and Roussel works]

The Glière Harp Concerto has always been a favorite among harp enthusiasts, though being written in the 1930’s the work’s stylistic features are redolent of both the Viennese classical style united with Russian romantic nationalism. This disc highlights the extraordinary talent of the young Official Harpist to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, Claire Jones.

Claire has performed for members of the Royal Family on more then 70 occasions and has recently performed a brand new Royal Commission by Patrick Hawes at Highgrove House with the Philharmonia Orchestra.

She is joined by renowned flautist William Bennet OBE, and the English Chamber Orchestra to complete the release with Mozart’s Concerto for flute, harp and orchestra and Debussy’s Danses pour Harpe Chromatique.

Includes work(s) by various composers. Soloists: Ivan Paisov, Natalia Shcherbakova.

RUSSIAN BALLET FAVOURITES

This collection of romantic classics is so potent, it's guaranteed to disrobe your date/partner/significant other within the first three songs. Well, maybe it's not that potent, but it does include Schumann's "Adagio," Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in E-Flat," Debussy's "Reverie," Grieg's "Nocturne," Saint-Saens' "Trio, Andante," Chopin's "Nocturne in E-Flat," Strauss' "Reverie By the Fireside" and Prokofiev's "Romeo And Juliet, Balcony Scene." This release features "paperback book" packaging.

1995 release. Reinhold Gliere (1875-1956) the Red Poppy Complete Ballet performed by the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andre Anichanov. Recorded at the Concert Hall of St. Petersburg Radio in June 1994. "From the Russian orchestra comes everything you'd expect: crisp string playing, shimmering brass and a slight seediness to middle voices, which is an integral part of the picture. Andre Anichanov keeps rhythms fresh and gives his players the freedom to enjoy themselves"- Classic CD.

After her critically acclaimed CD debut in October 2020, ARD music competition 2018 winner Selina Ott (trumpet) presents her second album together with her duo partner En-Chia Lin (piano). The album presents works composed around 1950 that are hardly found in concerts and on CDs: Arthur Honegger’s Intrada, the chamber music version of Alfred Desenclos’ Incantation, Thrène et Danse – whose orchestral version appeared on her debut album with the ORF RSO – Swiss composer Heinrich Sutermeister’s Gavotte de Concert, Sergei Vasilenko’s Concert Poème and Reinhold Glière’s Concerto (in the original version for coloratura soprano and orchestra).

After the successful release of "Odyssey," pianist Danae Dörken presents her second album on Berlin Classics. Together with her sister - Kiveli Dörken - she invites the listener to embark on an emotional and psychological journey through a very personal selection of music that characterizes the Greek gods Apollo and Dionysus. This unique journey aims to become aware of the characteristics represented in each of us and create a balance between them. The technical brilliance present in their playing and the insightful, sensitive interpretations already make this album a highlight. Their deep personal connection and the decades of playing together at the piano are audible in every moment of these recordings and set this album apart.

When Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his first two sonatas for piano and violoncello (op. 5) in 1796, he was entering new compositional territory. Violin sonatas already existed; Mozart had already written several, but the cello had not yet established itself as a solo instrument equal to the violin in chamber music. During this period, i.e. the second half of the 1790s, another composer emerged into the public sphere who was also on a par with Beethoven, if only as a pianist.

A common genre on the piano since Franz Schubert, there are far fewer impromptus for the harp than one might think. Sarah O'Brien, longtime principal harpist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam and the Munich Philharmonic, presents here a compendium of all impromptus for harp. She has collected both well-known works and surprising rarities, which she supplements with 20th-century compositions and spices up with a few 18th-century gems that are also ideally suited as arrangements for her instrument.

RUSSIAN FESTIVAL

Classical Music

MOZART Clarinet Concerto in A 1. GLIÈRE Harp Concerto in E? 2. KORNGOLD Violin Concerto in D 2 • 1 Cornelius Meister, 2 Lawrence Renes, cond; Sebastian Manz (cl); Emmanuel Ceysson (hp); Hyeyoon Park (vn); Bavarian RSO • BR (76:07) Live: Munich 1 9/19/2008; 2 9/18/2009


If you guessed that these performances were presented for the benefit of three young and very talented contest winners, you’d be right. Each of these prize-winning soloists at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich was given the opportunity to launch his or her career in a concert appearance with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The CD at hand documents those concerts.


For his solo appearance Sebastian Manz chose perhaps not the most difficult clarinet concerto in the literature, but certainly the most widely known and loved, Mozart’s A-Major Concerto, K 622. Playing a basset clarinet, and properly so, Manz navigates his part with exceptional agility, gorgeous tone, exquisite phrasing, and highly cultivated musical taste, quite an accomplishment for a 22-year-old. The influence of his teacher, celebrated clarinetist Sabine Meyer, is manifest.


The double-action pedal harp was patented by Sebastien Érard in 1801. Its modern descendant has 46 or 47 strings and weighs around 80 pounds. Suddenly, one doesn’t feel so sorry for double-bass players anymore. This was the instrument that Reinhold Glière was writing for when he wrote his Harp Concerto in 1938, and in doing so he sought the help of harpist Ksenia Erdeli. In fact, so extensive was her advice that Glière proposed to credit her as co-composer, but she refused the honor, preferring to be acknowledged as the editor. The result was a piece as idiomatically written for the harp as any ever has been; though judging by the number of currently listed recordings, it doesn’t seem to be quite as popular as I believe it once was. Emmanuel Ceysson is really superb. He plays with fluent ease in the most difficult passages and spins the score’s enchanting Russian lyricism with color and character.


Seventeen-year-old Korean violinist Hyeyoon Park is obviously very talented. She would have to be to tackle Korngold’s technically taxing Violin Concerto. The difficulty she faces is that there have been at least three quite recent recordings of the piece, by Renaud Capuçon, Vadim Gluzman, and Nikolai Znaider, on top of which there are classic versions by Heifetz and Perlman, as well as fine accounts by Mutter, Hahn, and Ehnes. Park is very good, but she is not yet in the same class as those named, though she comes pretty darn close, which is an amazing achievement for one so young. She plays with solid technique, tonal vibrancy, and strong emotional commitment.


It wouldn’t be fair really to compare any of these three soloists to much older and more seasoned artists who have performed these concertos many times in concert under various conductors and with different orchestras. These are firsts for all three of them, and exceptional firsts they are. This is a beautiful recording—most enjoyable and highly recommended.


FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

GLIERE: Symphony No. 1 / The Sirens

Recorded in: All Saints' Church, Tooting, London 10-11 February 1992 Producer(s) Ralph Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Richard Lee Jonathan Cooper (Assistant)

This selection is also available on Walking Frog (distribution) 267.
This selection is a High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) recording.

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both SACD and standard stereo players.

Katsuya Watanabe was born in Japan in 1966. He began learning the piano at the age of three and the oboe at thirteen. From 1985 to 1989 he studied at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, where he won first prize and the grand prix in the Oboe Competition in 1991. In 1988, whilst still studying, he became deputy solo oboist in the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa and remained in that post until 1992. He held the position of solo oboist first in the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra from 1992 to 1996, then in Karlsruhe for a year and from 1997 to 2008 in the Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. At present he is solo oboist in the Solistes Européens in Luxembourg and increasingly devotes himself to solo activities, giving frequent recitals and performing in concerts with the Philharmonic Orchestras in Bratislava and Zagreb, the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo and other ensembles. In 2011, he was chair of the jury at the very oboe competition where he had once won first prize. Katsuya Watanabe is visiting professor at the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music in Tokyo.

The Trio Then-Bergh (violin), Wen-Sinn Yang (cello), and Michael Schäfer (piano) provide a cross-section of the golden age of Russian music in their new GENUIN album. These three exceptional musicians play masterpieces compiled and arranged by the composer Alexander Krein in the first half of the 20th century. Krein is a masterful arranger who makes the soul of each piece shine in the trio version. Works by Tchaikovsky (for example, from his "String Serenade" and "The Seasons") and Rimsky-Korsakov (from "The Golden Cockerel") are presented here, as well as wonderfully sentimental salon music from Gliere to Tcherepnin.