The principal flautist of the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Toke Lund Christiansen together with the Orchestra’s solo pianist Per Salo launched on the French flute project a few months ago and found quite a few rarely performed repertoire. Many of the titles here are first recordings. Lund Christiansen/Salo duo’s earlier release of flute works by Joachim Andersen (Kontrapunkt 32079) was a critical and commercial success.

'A disc without flaws, a true marvel' is how Jean-Jacques Kantorow's previous recording of music by Édouard Lalo was described in the Spanish magazine Scherzo. The disc in question included three works composed for the great violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate: the violin concerto, Fantaisie norvégienne and the perennial favourite Symphonie espagnole. In a review in Gramophone, the soloist was compared to his great predecessor: 'Kantorow, one of today's most individual players, has the measure of Lalo's Sarasate-inspired violin-writing - he's able to toss off the virtuoso passagework in a seemingly effortless manner and his distinctive tone lends a sensuous allure to Lalo's melodies.' On the present disc, Kantorow plays two other works intended for Sarasate, the brief Fantaisie-ballet on themes from Lalo's ballet Namouna, and the large-scale Concerto russe. The latter piece, in four movements, borrows themes from two wedding songs included by Rimsky-Korsakov in his collection 100 Russian Folk Songs. A typically expressive and virtuosic composition, it is also one of the first important French works to draw upon Russian music - many others were to follow. Two shorter violin works are included here, but the disc closes with another concerto, the Piano Concerto from 1888. It was the composer's final major work, and in it he seems to depart from the pattern of his violin concertos, with their prominent solo parts. Lalo rather chooses to integrate the piano into the orchestral texture, and although the writing is redolent of the great Romantic concertos, it offers few opportunities for the soloist to show off - a possible reason for the work's absence from modern concert programmes and its rarity on disc. Championing this solo part is Pierre-Alain Volondat, and as in the other works orchestral support is provided by the eminent Tapiola Sinfonietta, conducted by Kees Bakels.

Lalo: Le Roi d'Ys

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Lalo Schifrin, the internationally renowned composer of classic film and TV scores such as Bullitt, Dirty Harry and Rush Hour, has collaborated with fellow Argentinian pianist Mirian Conti for this collection of his complete works for solo piano to date, including several world premières. A unique arrangement of the famous theme to Mission: Impossible is included, as well as his most recent compositions: the two richly sensuous tangos, and the powerful Jazz Sonata, composed especially for Conti.

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REVIEWS:

Conti’s performances connect well with the rhythmic vitality of Schifrin’s music, ably delivering the gorgeous melodic content and rich, extended jazz harmonies. The recording features a crisp, dry acoustic that allows for good clarity. Those listeners who love Schifrin’s film work but are less familiar with his other endeavors will likely find a lot to enjoy here as well.

– Film Score Monthly

Some of the music is extremely difficult to play but is played with panache and dexterity. I enjoyed most of the music; all of the pieces are engaging and interesting. For Schifrin’s fans this is a must. For the rest of us, it’s entertaining. The sound is excellent.

– American Record Guide

In the kingdom of Cornouaille on the Breton coast, the war between Prince Karnac and the inhabitants of the town of Ys is finally coming to an end. The condition of the peace treaty is that Karnac will marry Princess Margared. But her love for Mylio, who is betrothed to her sister Rozenn, will provoke a terrible tidal wave fomented by her thirst for revenge. Edouard Lalo found an inspiring libretto here, which he handled with a sense of theatrical urgency rarely achieved. The characters live out their passions, supported by vehement, colourful orchestration. The role of Margared, in particular, deserves to be numbered among the most successful in French Romantic opera. First performed in Paris in 1888, the work scored a triumph that was repeated at every revival in the provinces and abroad. Though barely two hours long, it teems with dramatic situations: Breton festivals, the supernatural appearance of Saint Corentin, a wedding accompanied by the organ, a tidal wave whose tumultuous billows are rendered to great effect. Le Roi d'Ys amply merited an ambitious staging at the Paris Opera, which it was unfortunately denied in Lalo's lifetime.

Pablo de Sarasate was born in Pamplona, Spain, and became an acclaimed virtuoso of the violin by the tender age of twelve. The child prodigy was sent away to study at the Paris Conservatoire, and Sarasate spent the rest of his life in Paris. In demand nationally and internationally as a soloist, he was the dedicatee of a large number of important concertos by composers ranging from Max Bruch to Henryk Wieniawski. Lalo's Symphonie espagnole was composed for Sarasate, who gave the Paris premiere, in 1875. The work is laid out in five movements and bristles with Spanish themes, rhythms, and influences, which were very much the vogue in France at that time. Also composed for Sarasate, Saint-Saens' Third Violin Concerto was composed in 1880. Written in his usual clear, refined, almost classical style, the work has endured as the most played of his three violin concertos. The album is completed with Sarasate's own fantasia on Bizet's Carmen - a virtuosic tour de force for the soloist, brilliantly played here by James Ehnes.

Lalo considered himself to be first and foremost an opera composer, even though Le Roi d’Ys was his only opera to be performed in his lifetime. He is now best known for his symphonic and chamber music, largely because of the highly political musical establishment in France in his time. The Overture to the opera (which opens this album) is now the best-known music from the piece, which proved a considerable success in France. His ballet Namouna was commissioned by the Paris Opéra and, remarkably, was completed in just four months following extensive delays in agreeing the subject – part of the tales of Casanova. After a successful run of fifteen performances, Lalo parcelled the music up into three ‘rhapsodies’ for orchestral performance. The first two of these were published as Suites Nos 1 and 2. The third was not published, but the ‘Valse de le Cigarette’ was later issued separately. Lalo’s only surviving Symphony was completed in 1886, but somewhat overshadowed by Saint-Saëns’s Organ Symphony (1886) and Franck’s Symphony in D minor (1888), but it is a strong work that showcases Lalo’s melodic gift and forward-looking harmonic palette.

The collaborative efforts, the mutual emulation and inspiration of Sir Antonio Pappano and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome have spanned 18 years, led to one of the world's greatest and most versatile virtuoso ensembles and to acclaimed live and studio recordings showcasing an eclectic selection of symphonic and choral music. Their repertoire features already legendary performances of Verdi's Requiem and Quattro pezzi sacri. In addition, their recording of Bruckner's 8th Symphony features here for the very first time! This box brings together all the recordings that the British conductor Sir Antonio Pappano (b.1959) made with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in the years from 2005 to 2022 for Warner Classics.

Recorded in: New Broadcasting House, Manchester 9-10 February 1998 Producer(s) Brian Pidgeon (Executive) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Stephen Rinker

Classical Music