Using period instruments, Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov breathe new life into these sonatas for keyboard with violin accompaniment, a tradition Mozart renewed from within, blazing the trail for Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann.

Beethoven's five piano concertos relate, in a sense, part of the composers life: some twenty years during which a young musician from Bonn made several revised versions of the first concerto he wrote (a springboard to Viennese success that ended up being called no.2), before becoming the familiar Emperor of music embodied by the brilliant inspiration of no.5. Two hundred and fifty years after his birth, it is with these two extremes that Kristian Bezuidenhout, Pablo Heras-Casado and the Freiburger Barockorchester have chosen to start an exciting period-instrument trilogy of the concertos that bids fair to be a landmark!

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REVIEW:

Bezuidenhout’s performance of the Emperor concerto is scintillatingly dramatic, heroic, deftly articulated and, above all, fresh; and the instrument he plays seems to possess plenty of power. The Second Concerto is given equally enticingly. Both readings are enhanced by the brilliantly coloured playing of the Freiburgers under Pablo Heras-Casado.

– Sunday Times (UK)

When he moved away from serial techniques at the end of the 1960s, having undergone something of a spiritual and artistic transformation, Arvo Pärt turned to the choral tradition of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance for inspiration. From this period of intense study emerged the masterpieces inaugurating his now unmistakable style: the refined, timeless soundworld of "tintinnabulation." On this release Graham Ross and the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge perform a selection of music by Pärt, James MacMillan & Peteris Vasks.

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REVIEW:

Recordings of Arvo Pärt’s music continue to flourish, and no one seems to tire of hearing (or performing) Magnificat or The Woman with the Alabaster Box, Nunc dimittis, or Da pacem, Domine–all of which are included here and stand among the most frequently represented on disc (a couple of dozen instances for Magnificat). Yet, it’s no surprise as to why these works are so popular, their uniquely appealing qualities–of sound, of melody, of harmonic architecture and movement–effecting a sense of timelessness that confers on them a remarkable immunity from wear.

Pärt and his music also benefit from the fact that most of the recordings offer excellent performances, and this one is no exception. In fact, these are among the very best in the catalog: these young, exceptionally well-trained, expert choral musicians, recorded primarily in the special ambiance, tempered by stone, glass, and light, of Ely Cathedral’s Lady Chapel, leave nothing to be desired in their expression of Pärt’s unique, sensuous realizations of sound and silence. This was the venue for so many of the acclaimed recordings by John Rutter and his Cambridge Singers–and, guess who happens to be producer, engineer, and editor of this project: yes, none other than Rutter himself, and the sonic excellence on display here is the result of someone in command who knows the strengths and foibles of that large acoustic space (stand here, place the microphone there). And so, we need not worry at all about the recorded sound of the singing.

But while Pärt may be the “draw” (he gets top billing on the disc cover), it’s actually James MacMillan who likely will leave listeners with the more lasting impression–and induce many repeated hearings–with his Miserere, for mixed a cappella choir. Every now and then a modern choral work does a rare thing: it sets the listener on a path and–voilá–takes him or her just where it promises to take them. No set-up for sudden expectation-be-damned surprise. When you get to the end of this 12-minute-plus piece, you feel you’ve been respected, as an intelligent listener, with both knowledge and feeling, one who is aware of both the conventions and perversions of musical style, who loves beauty and truth in the expression, in whatever form, language, or context it may be presented.

In this case, MacMillan exploits his available musical material with free references to Pärtian style and in his inclusion of the famous Miserere of Allegri, quoting directly and indirectly, while creating a wholly original work that sticks to the path, occasionally goes off on its own seemingly diversionary trail, but always comes back, the “diversion” now realized as an integral bridge to the very satisfying conclusion. And, I have to say that rather than hear the zillionth performance of the Allegri–endless, often vocally tedious, difficult to stage–I am happier to hear MacMillan’s canny referential episodes in this extraordinary work. The excellent performance is marred only by one brief passage of faulty intonation from a soloist.

The usual pairing of MacMillan’s Miserere on recordings is, no surprise, with Allegri’s setting–which of course isn’t just his, but also the work of subsequent elaborators. Here, besides the Pärt works, we get a 15-minute piece by Latvian composer Peteris Vasks: Plainscapes, for mixed choir, violin, and cello. While this work is undoubtedly worthy for its craft and effective use of “wordless” vocal techniques, a “tapestry of abstract sound” (as described in the liner notes) to depict a “sonic journey across [Vasks’] native country”, it’s an odd choice for inclusion on this program. The completely different style, the sound-effects, the secular context–it doesn’t fit. It’s a disruption, although a very well-performed one. Fortunately you have the choice to skip it–and even if you don’t, the rest of the music will soon convince you that you did.

– ClassicsToday.com (David Vernier)

Given the paucity of C�sar Franck's piano music on disc, Nikolai Lugansky's focus on this composer is to be commended. On his third release for harmonia mundi, the Russian pianist reveals an organ master strongly attached to the musical forms inherited from J.S. Bach: the prelude, the fugue, and the chorale. Translated to the piano keyboard, Franck's music, with it's expansively conceived structures, requires a completely fresh approach that puts the greatest performers to the test: here, Lugansky took on an additional challenge by preparing his own transcription (a brilliant one, at that!) of Franck's celebrated Choral pour grand orgue No.2.

This release, part of harmonia mundi's series celebrating the Beethoven year, pairs the composer's iconic and much-loved Symphony No.5 with the far less well-known Symphony In 17 Parts by Francois-Joseph Gossec. The dramatic power and intensity of Beethoven stands in sharp contrast to to the cheerful and gallant music of Gossec. Les Siècles, led by François-Xavier Roth, apply their usual virtuosity and keen insight to both works in performances that are sure to delight.

 

REVIEW:

 

It is hard to recall a more relentlessly driven performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony than this newcomer...especially in the outer movements. It is not that it sets any new land-speed records, though it is certainly brisk. Rather, Roth elicits a consistent and persistent sense of forward momentum that, allied to a willingness to accentuate the coarser aspects of the period instruments, places this symphony as an irruption of the Classical era rather than a blueprint for musical Romanticism.

 

– BBC Music Magazine

 

 

A fantasy that turned into a symphony? First and foremost, this double album enshrines the exemplary work of an ensemble whose designation 'Baroque Orchestra' by no means limits it's excursions into later repertories: under the watchful eye of a gifted conductor, the 'Freiburgers' (and co.) offer us a profoundly renewed vision of the Ninth, that myth among myths, that touchstone of a genre in quest of the absolute - and the direct descendant of a much earlier 'Choral Fantasy'. The latter work showcased one of Beethoven's most extraordinary talents: improvisation. Kristian Bezuidenhout has joined forces again with his concerto partners to let us experience this little-known score as if it had just been premiered... then transcribed by Beethoven himself! 2020 release.

The original colors of two "tubes" from the repertoire. Toscanini considered this orchestration of the Tables of a exhibition as an instrumentation treaty. Les couleurs originales de deux "tubes" du r�pertoire. Toscanini consid�rait cette orchestration des Tableaux d'une exposition comme un trait� d'instrumentation, au m�me titre que celui de Berlioz : la partition de Ravel s'est rapidement impos�e devant ses nombreuses concurrentes ! Dans l'esprit de Fran�ois- Xavier Roth, Valse et Tableaux se rejoignent au sommet de ce que le compositeur a pu destiner � l'orchestre de son temps... c'est-�dire, tel que nous le restituent aujourd'hui Les Si�cles. Quel bonheur de retourner aux couleurs d'origine ! 2020 CD release.

The figure of prodigiously gifted violinist Nicola Matteis looms large in this program featuring composers active in Restoration England. Transplanted from his native Italy to London, he was one of a host of artists and performers from across Europe who flocked to the city and made a crucial impact on the country's musical culture. The artistry of Alice Julien-Laferrière and the members of the ensemble Ground Floor, demonstrates that this sumptuous and sonically seductive repertoire from the middle of the 17th century can truly hold it's own against the work of later masters.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) : Messe A 4 Choeurs - Ensemble Correspondances - S�bastien Dauc� - Composer: Charpentier, Marc-Antoine (1643-1704) Works: Charpentier, M-A: Carnets de voyage d'Italie. Charpentier, M-A: Messe � Quatre Choeurs. Conductors: S�bastien Dauc�. Groups & Artists: Ensemble Correspondances. Label: Harmonia Mundi. Contents: Charpentier, M-A: Messe � Quatre Choeurs - Ensemble Correspondances (early music ensemble) S�bastien Dauc� Charpentier, M-A: Carnets de voyage d'Italie - Ensemble Correspondances (early music ensemble) S�bastien Dauc�

This boxed set collects all 9 discs in fortepianist Kristian Bezuidenhout universally acclaimed Mozart Keyboard Music cycle. Praised by Gramophone as "interpretations of today" and BBC Music Magazine for bringing "out all the drama and intensity," this survey is now the benchmark standard for these works.

Written between 1818 and 1823, Beethoven's Missa solemnis was the result of intensive theological and musical research in the library of it's dedicatee, Archduke Rudolph of Austria. It is, in Beethoven's own view, his most ambitious composition. On this recording, Ren� Jacobs shows us that it is also his loftiest. This is the work of a composer with deeply held religious sentiments and profound tenderness for humanity, so confident in his artistry that he could create that which goes beyond liturgical form and expresses in musical terms the universality of divine transcendence.

Édouard Herriot once said, "In Beethoven, everything comes from within. His model is not the rule of the schoolroom." This is particularly true of the late sonatas, which contain elements of both an intimate journal (Romain Rolland saw in Op.101 "a day in the inner life" of Beethoven) and total experimentation (the variations of Op.109) before attaining the mystical serenity of the very last sonata, Op.111. Here is Nikolai Lugansky's powerful vision of this pianistic Everest.

Stravinsky / Stravinsky: Spring Festival, E�tv�s: Alhambra Pablo Heras-Casad & Paris Orchestra, Isabelle Faust Import - Isabelle Faust (violin), Orchestre de Paris, Pablo Heras-Casado 2021 release.

Two of Bach's finest cantatas, both for solo alto, composed in Weimar (1714) and Leipzig (1726) respectively, are here coupled with Pergolesi's Stabat Mater of 1736, the eighteenth century's favourite sacred work. The gap between austere Lutheran piety and searing Mediterranean emotionalism might seem unbridgeable. Yet Bach so admired the composition of his Neapolitan colleague that he made his own 'parody' of it to a German text. On this recording, La Nuova Musica and it's two eminent soloists display equal mastery of both idioms.

Beethoven: Sym 3 / Mihul: Les Amazones - Overture - Les Siecles / Francois Roth -Xavier - HARMONIA MUNDI 2021 release.

After Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Prokofiev, Vadym Kholodenko continues his exploration of the Russian repertory with a pair of rarely recorded works: Tchaikovsky's two solo piano sonatas. Imaginative, colorful and dreamy, capable of an infinite range of emotions, he reveals both the masterly architecture and the subtleties of the writing that are often sacrificed to mere demonstration of virtuosity.

This electrifying performance gives vivid testimony to the multifaceted partnership of James Gaffigan and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and invites us to explore the conductor's American roots. The program features Leonard Bernstein's mischievous dances from West Side Story, Charles Ives's spiritual Symphony No.3, the dramatically potent dissonance of Ruth Crawford's Andante for strings and Samuel Barber's boldly athletic Toccata for organ and orchestra.

KRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT - BEETHOVEN: PIANO CONCERTOS NOS. 1 & 3 Kristian Bezuidenhout, Pablo Heras-Casado and the Freiburger Barockorchester close their Beethoven trilogy with the classical, yet eminently personal, Concerto No.1, and that masterpiece of intensity and drama, Concerto No.3. Once again, period instruments and historically informed performance practice reveal the astonishing modernity that early listeners found in these works.

Delving into black magic and folk culture, Weber created with Der Freisch�tz a new aesthetic that was to nourish the imaginative world of a whole generation of composers. Ren� Jacobs has gone back to the sources of the initial project and here offers us a completely new reading of the very first German Romantic opera. The prologue initially conceived by the librettist is restored to it's original place, giving due symbolic and structural weight to the character of the Hermit. This is a fascinating rediscovery.

Timothy Ridout gives us the opportunity to discover the splendid viola version of Elgar's famous Cello Concerto - an arrangement approved by the composer, who conducted it's premiere in 1930. In addition to this deeply moving work, he gives us a powerful, poetic reading of Bloch's all too rarely performed Suite for Viola and Orchestra, in which the Swiss composer indulged his fascination with the Orient.

These two works represent the alpha and omega of Mozart. With these performances of Die Entf�hrung aus dem Serail (1782), probably the composer's first absolute masterpiece, and Die Zauberfl�te (1791 - the year of his death), Ren� Jacobs penetrates to the heart of Mozartian singspiel. Featuring singers, a chorus and an orchestra ideally suited to the works, these two complete recordings are now among the benchmarks of the discography.

After a period-instrument reading of the Symphony No.1 that received unanimous acclaim from the critics, Fran�ois-Xavier Roth and Les Si�cles return to Mahler. Joined by the luminous voice of Sabine Devieilhe for the famous finale, they offer us their vision of the Fourth Symphony, which in it's own way marks the composer's transition to modernity, and reveal unsuspected colors and instrumental balances. We still have much to learn about the polyphonic transparency possible within Mahler's big orchestra.

Following an acclaimed disc of cello concertos and symphonies by C. P. E. Bach, the musicians of the Ensemble Resonanz continue their exploration of eighteenth-century orchestral music. For several years now, under the direction of its inspired conductor Maestro Riccardo Minasi, the ensemble has taken up the challenge of playing contemporary instruments with complete mastery of historically informed performance practice. Forty years after what has been called 'the Baroque revolution', what a pleasure to rediscover these nine orchestral movements literally inhabited by the last words of Christ on the cross - and displaying that rhetorical skill of which Joseph Haydn was a peerless exponent.

This collections celebrated Akademie f�r Alte Musik Berlins' forty years of excellence with and around the Bach family. In addition to such famous works as the Brandenburg Concertos and Orchestral Suites, this anniversary set invites you to explore the golden age of a veritable dynasty, from Johann Sebastian's distant cousin Johann Ludwig to his sons Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christian - from the finest works of the Baroque era to the first examples of the Classical style: simply breathtaking.