Engage, Exchange, Connect. That is what this young American piano trio is all about, on stage as well as on this album, it's very first. Experience the group at it's revelatory best in these idiomatic and fresh interpretations of early-twentieth-century American piano trios, by Foote, Korngold and Bernstein. As reported by WXQR radio, "Neave is actually a Gaelic name meaning 'bright' and 'radiant', both of which certainly apply to this trio's music making." Praised for their "heart-on-sleeve performances" (Classical New Jersey), the Neave Trio has been described as "A consummate ensemble" (Palm Beach Daily News), "A revelation" (San Diego Story), and "A brilliant trio..." (MusicWeb International), one that has "exceeded the gold standard and moved on to platinum" (Fanfare).

Elena Urioste and Michael Brown formed a recital duo in 2009 and have performed together extensively ever since. For their first recording together they have selected four works which have formed part of their repertoire from the very beginning, resonating throughout their entire musical partnership. All four are early works, written by composers in their twenties or younger- Michael Brown was only eighteen when he composed his own contribution. As the performers put it in their liner notes, the pieces they have chosen are “imbued with an ardour that is unapologetically, deliciously youthful.” The disc opens with the only multi-movement work of the program- Richard Strauss’s expansively melodic Sonata in E flat major, written around the time when the composer met and fell in love with his future wife. A few years later, in Paris, Ravel made a first attempt at composing a violin sonata while still a student at the Conservatoire. The resulting piece, in one movement, had a single performance during Ravel’s lifetime and was only published in 1975, as Sonate posthume. Between these two works we hear Michael Brown’s Echoes of Byzantium, inspired by William Butler Yeats’s Sailing to Byzantium, and an attempt to portray the meaning of the poem through music alone. The disc closes with a piece by another American composer and pianist, Amy Beach (1867-1944) The first American woman to compose and publish a symphony (first performed in 1896), she was best known for her songs, and her gift for melody is evident in the 1893 Romance for violin and piano.

Grammy Award-winning clarinetist Todd Levy, who holds the principal chairs with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Santa Fe Opera, presents Rhapsodie, an astonishing array of classic 20th century works for his instrument. The rich palette of colors and immense versatility of the clarinet is on full display in impressionistic Debussy and Ravel, Cubanisto-style Bernstein, pastoral Finzi, the folk idioms of Bartok, klezmer inspiration by Bela Kovacs, blues-infected Libby Larsen and genre-bending Paquito D’Rivera. Todd’s technical wizardry is flawless throughout and is matched by his collaborators, pianists Jeannie Wu and Elena Abend, and guitarist Rene Izquierd. Todd Levy has received critical acclaim throughout his career. “It takes but a single solo at a Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concert to fall under the spell of principal clarinetist Todd Levy’s fluid tone and expressive phrasing. In his new CD, Brahms/Schumannn… the Avie label has given the classical music world compelling evidence of an artistic treasure that belongs to Milwaukee.” (Milwaukee Magazine)

Experience the transcendent glory of Messiah in Sir Andrew Davis’s majestic, must-hear edition of Handel’s beloved classic. Recorded live on SACD, this unique version makes use of all the colours available from the modern symphony orchestra to underline the mood and meaning of the individual movements. Without detracting from the innate power of the original, the conductor’s score calls for moments of drama, pathos, and even, sometimes, whimsicality. It is supported by substantial brass and woodwind forces, and several percussion instruments (including marimba!).

REVIEW:

The performance is lightly cut, mainly toward the ends of Parts II and III, and both da capo arias (‘He was despised’ and ‘The trumpet shall sound’) have only the A section. Most of the ornamentation, including simple appoggiaturas, is omitted, as well as most occasions for what I call justified rhythms, where, say, upbeat eighth notes are taken as sixteenths to match other parts. Where choices are available, the common ones prevail, as in the 4/4 ‘Rejoice’ and the duet version of ‘He shall feed his flock’.

Tempos are crisp and modern, and the performers are all very good. The four soloists (with mezzo, not countertenor) are first rate; and the choir, which must number around 150, sings with the agility of much smaller groups. This is a “big” Messiah with none of the problems we normally associate with such endeavors. I guess we could call it “historically informed” because tempos are brisk and the spirit is not at all romantic. It also struck me as a gentle repudiation of Musicological Correctness—and that is no doubt a good thing. I dare say that if you had a contest lining up all the approaches to Messiah and had a review panel consisting of people with no musicological prejudices, this would be the winner.

-- American Record Guide

Pepe Romero, head of an outstanding family of folk musicians has been playing the bagpipe since he was twelve years old. He is known today, as one of the best bagpipers in Galicia. The repertoire on this album, based on self-composed themes with clear, unmistakable and genuine roots in the Galician usical tradition, is another aspect that gives a very special character to this group. (ARC Music)

Eclipse encompasses world-premiere recordings of inventive, virtuosic, and impassioned chamber works, written in a present-day musical language by the strikingly original American composer and pianist Mischa Zupko. Joining him are two close friends and accomplished colleagues, the sublime violinist Sang Mee Lee, who chairs the string department at the Music Institute of Chicago, and internationally renowned cellist Wendy Warner, a protégé of Mstislav Rostropovich. Eclipse explores themes of separation, contrast, and convergence on cosmic as well as intimate levels. In the album’s centerpiece and title track, Eclipse, violin and cello approach like two celestial bodies, their musical lines merging and becoming one luminous entity. Mischa Zupko is currently the composer-in-residence at the Music Institute of Chicago. He has received plaudits from The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, and he has been featured in the Chicago Reader and New Music USA’s New Music Box, which called him “a humble, energetic, and constantly searching artist.”

This release features the most beautiful songs from the Andean regions of Colombia, presented by Niyireth Alarcon who is widely known for her warm, velvety voice. Niyireth is accompanied here on traditional instruments such as the tiple, bandola, guitars, bombo, and percussion. Born in Garzon, Niyireth Alarcon is a mezzoprano with a first class singing technique. In over twenty years of continuously working with Colombian music of the Andes, Niyireth has made her contribution to theis genre by taking its singing to new levels seeking to bring the genre close to the Latin American singing movement.

Encapsulating the voluptuous sound of the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s strings, Tasmin Little is both the soloist and conductor in this unique coupling: Vivaldi’s ever-popular ‘Four Seasons’ meets Roxanna Panufnik’s ‘Four World Seasons,’ the premiere recording of a set of highly inspirational pieces. As a complete cycle, ‘The Four Seasons’ offers a set of vivid tableaux, imaginative, enticing, and wonderfully contrasted, with ample chance for the violin soloist to display technique, sensitivity, and color. These are qualities that the British composer Roxanna Panufnik also sought for her own Seasons tribute, Four World Seasons, written for the violinist. Three of the pieces are dedicated to her, while the fourth, ‘Autum in Albania,’ is dedicated to the memory of Panufnik’s father, Polish composer Sir Andrzej Panufnik, who, his daughter says, was born, loved, and died in autumn.

This fun release features both old and new songs and dances from Israel, presented with energy and enthusiasm by Gevatron and by Effi Netzer and Yonathan Gabay. The music is from modern Israel, from the Kibbutz and with Eastern European, Mediterranean and Arabic influence. The Gevatron are representatives of Israeli folk music and songs of the good and lovely Israel. The group was established in 1948, and has since been composed of members of the Kibbutz and its surrounding area. Effi Netzer is a musician, composer, and music director. Choreographer Yonathan Gabay was one of the pillars of Israeli dancing, who passed away in 2011. He left us with a legacy of unforgettable Israeli dances.

This third volume of our Michael Gielen Edition is devoted to music by Johannes Brahms, with all the recordigns taken from the archives of the Southwest German Radio. These recordings were made between April 1989 and January 2005. Michael Gielen enjoyed a felicitous involvement with Brahms' chamber music, particularly the late piano works where, in Schoenberg's words, the "progressive Brahms" is most evident. Maybe that's why Brahms' first piano quartet, orchestrated by Arnold Shcoenberg, sounds so ravishingly sharp under Gielen's direction. The solemnity of Schicksaslied calls for sincere commitment on the part of the conductor. Working as one, the Symphony Orchestra of Baden-Baden and Freiburg and Michael Gielen achieve an interpretation of this work that is both balanced and comforting.

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REVIEW:

Gielen proposes we listen to Brahms for the sake of his musical arguments rather than for the lustrous sounds that he's capable of conjuring, an approach that seems eminently sensible, and a valid alternative to various fleshier interpretive options.

– Gramophone

Among various dance forms cultivated by Frederic Chopin, the polonaises appear to be the most significant. They are the beginning of his creative journey and are not only proof of his geniues but they are also the unique genre that shows the pianistic and stylistic evolution of Chopin's work. Andrzej Pikul has many awards and accolades under his musical belt, having given many performances throughout his time as a pianist. He is a Laureate of the Polish Piano Festival, the International Competition Foundation Dziffra and the European Broadcasting Competition.

This unique work by Alessandro Cazzato gives us a glimpse of interesting contemporary authors whose work for solo violin have roots that lie deep in musical tradition. A past that leaves it's traces in new sounds, a revisited past with new signs and gestures, a new type of music, deeply influenced by the past; this is the theme of this project, forcused on "rewriting."

Eugene Ysaÿe was considered to be one of the world's best violinists and was mentioned in one breath alongside such celebrities as Paganini, Vieuxtemps and Wieniawski. In the 1920's was when Ysaÿe wrote his best-known violin masterworks, the echoes of his fascination with impressionism and symbolism. "I allowed free improvisation to reign. Each sonata constitutes a kind of little poeme where I abandoned the violin to it's fantasies. I wanted to associate musical interest with grand qualities of true virtuosity". - Ysaÿe

The musical content of this album presents a cross-section of the typical aesthetic features and diversified representative expressions that were most appreciated by the public during the late Renaissance and early Baroque. The style of In Tabernae Musica's performance stems chiefly from the study of the iconographic sources, from which there emerges an artistic production that is targeted not exclusively at the educated class, but also, at the people.

Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen has made a name for himself as one of the most prolific northern European composers in the past half century. He was known for his unique personality and was established as a major figure in Danish musical life. Gundmundsen-Holmgreen wrote of his compositional style: “I often write music that cannot make up its mind, and that is deliberate.” This is an accurate description, as much of his music is ambiguous and provocative. He repeats motifs and sound elements without mercy, and the violent clashes of expression within the pieces are memorable. This release presents the world premiere recording of Green Ground, a unique set of pieces which were written for and dedicated to the Kronos Quartet and Theatre of Voices with conductor Paul Hillier. The works use text from Henry VIII’s Songbook and take inspiration from Baroque canons.

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REVIEWS:

Some of the most unique and hilariously raucous new music we heard all year.

– Time Out Chicago

Trying to describe the opening quartet in words—or any of his music in words—is inevitably going to fail because the music takes so many unexpected turns and practically none of them fit a verbal narrative. This is a wonderfully imaginative recording, albeit one that’s pretty far off from center.

– The Art Music Lounge (Lynn René Bayley)

Under any circumstances, a new record by the Kronos Quartet or Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices is worth attending to. Put the two together and that’s even more true. And now, for a couple of pieces by Danish composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, base a half hour of it on “a famous old ground that (was) used by Johan Pachelbel in his well-known canon.”

In the words of notater Andrew Mellor, on top of that ground, the resultant “discourse becomes ever more complicated and outlandish and, in this case, fractious, flailing, scared and animalistic.” And, as outrageous as it is to put old Pachelbel on the run this way, it’s also exhilarating and crazily compelling. This is why it is ALWAYS necessary to keep up with what the Kronos Quartet and Hillier’s Theater of Voices do.

– Buffalo News

Alexandra Dariescu makes her concerto debut with Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Alexandra Dariescu has garnered an impressive reputation for her outstanding solo recordings and concert performances and was recently named as one of 30 pianists under 30 destined for a spectacular career in the International Piano Magazine.

The project entitled In the Sphere of Sound as Crossroad of Cultures wants to draw a semantic and aesthetic musical path based on the investigation of timbres carried out by the Italian comporary composers from Giacinto Scelsi to Biagio Putignano. The program on this recording shows the interweaving of different musical perspectives in order to interpret the idea of sound as "a crossroad of cultures".

The tracks that make up this release are songs that were made famous by the Queen of Fado herself, Amalia Rodrigues. Up and coming fado starlet Matilde Larguinho sings these traditional songs, accompanied by Antonio Carvalho on the Portuguese lute and Alfredo Pena on the guitar. Included in the booklet are the original Portuguese lyrics, as well as descriptions of the songs in English and biographies of the musicians.

One of our day’s most legendary performers, pianist Rudolph Buchbinder has been appearing on stages all over the globe for the last fifty years. Later this year, in celebration of his 70th birthday, he will be honored in numerous concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, and the Berliner Philharmonie. The Kurier newspaper described this performance with rave reviews. “It is not every day that Brahms sounds so perfect as this.” (Kurier) They also praised Buchbinder as a “phenomenal piano virtuoso.” In the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein, under the baton of Maestro Zubin Mehta, Buchbinder performs for this release the First and Second Piano Concertos of Johannes Brahms. These works demand a soloist with a wide range of both interpretal refinement and technical skill, both of which Buchbinder brings to the table. “What Rudolph Buchbinder, the Vienna Philharmonic and conductor Zubin Mehta delivered at the Musikverein easily deserves the accolade ‘milestone’.” (Kurier)

Picture Format: 1080i, 16;9
Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DTS-HD MA 5.0
Region Code: 0 (Worldwide)
Running Time: 96 mins

This fascinating release of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 stands apart from any other recording of the work. This is the first time that the magnificent piece has been recorded in HD and 5.0 surround sound, offering the most outstanding sound quality available today. Christian Thielemann leads the Wiener Philharmoniker in this moving interpretation. “Thielemann’s reading of the Beethoven symphonies stands heads and shoulders above the countless and mostly undistinguishable versions on offer.” (Die Presse) This performance is accompanied by an hour-long documentary featuring the conductor and Germany’s foremost music critic, Professor Joachim Kaiser. The film provides insights into Beethoven’s thinking, as well as interpretal comparisons from conductors like Karajan, Bernstein, and Jarvi.

This beautiful collection of Sufi music comes from Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, Pakistan, and Egypt. This eclectic mix of songs consists of raw field recordings, and modern renditions of traditional songs, performed on both traditional and modern instruments. This devotional music is largely inspired by Sufi poets such as Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah, and Khwaja Ghulam Farid.

Vincenzo Bellini is widely regarded as the last and greatest composer of bel canto opera, and his most famous operas, Norma, is one of the leading works in the genre. Even Richard Wagner said of Norma: "If we weep from emotion on hearing it, it's nothing to be ashamed of. " This release is a new production of the opera, directed by Grammy Award-nominated director of opera, theatre, and film, Kevin Newbury. Sondra Radvan stars as a captivating Norma in a performance in which the New York Times described as "powerful, elegant. " Gregory Kunde performs as Pollione. Operatraveller. com wrote of his performance: "something very special. The word 'historic' is used perhaps a little too often but tonight there really is no other adjective to describe the sensational performances offered to us by Sondra Radvanovsky and Gregory Kunde. "

AllMusic praised The Benvenue Fortepiano Trio’s “intensity, commitment, and unfettered navigation of Schumann’s scores.” This release is the third in the ensemble’s series dedicated to the works of Robert Schumann (1810-1856). This volume features Schumann’s most influential chamber work, the Piano Quintet in E flat Op. 44. The piece, which was premiered in 1843, is remembered for it’s “extroverted, exuberant” character. It is considered one of Schumann’s finest works. The ensemble performs here on period instruments, which enhances the recording by creating the intimate atmosphere for which this chamber music was written. Fanfare Magazine writes that the atmosphere creates “an enlightened view of the music.” The Benvenue Fortepiano Trio is pianist Eric Zivian, performing here on a Franz Rousch 1841 fortepiano, violinist Monica Hugget, performing on a 1770 Dutch, and cellist Tanya Tomkins, playing on an 1811 Joseph Panormo.

The distinctive sound of Israeli folk music has charmed listeners across the globe for centuries. With this album, you can bring the music right into your living room, regardless of what country you call home. These popular songs come from the best-known Israeli composers, such as Effi Netzer, Nurit Hirsh, HaGevatron, and more. The booklet includes transcribed Hebrew lyrics, as well as English translations.

Polish pianist Ignaz Friedman was one of the leading virtuosos of his day as well as a composer and a master transcriber. Friedman's transcriptions are both a delight for the listener and a challenge for the performer, and his creative imagination gives these delicious, charming and moving works a life of their own. The pianistic effects are both breathtakingly bravura and disarmingly subtle while remaining faithful to the originals.