Classical Music

An album of dramatic and passionate Preludes and Intermezzos from some of the most popular Italian operas, from Domingo Hindoyan and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Translations of works by early French and Russian realists, Stendahl, Pushkin and Balzac among them, crossed international borders to inspire new homegrown styles of literary realism. The trend took hold in Italy in the 1870s where it was promoted by the authors Luigi Capuana and Giovanni Verga under the banner of verismo, the Italian word for realism, and drew inspiration from the naturalism of �mile Zola and his disciples. Verga's short story Cavalleria rusticana ('Rustic chivalry') and the play that arose from it set the foundations for a new wave of Italian operas, with Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana serving as the genre's enduring model.

Following on from their critically acclaimed albums of Stravinsky, Elgar and Tchaikovsky, the award winning team of Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra turn to Zemlinsky and Schreker. Premiered in 1905, Zemlinsky's Die Seejungfrau (after Hans Christian Andersen) was almost ignored by the reviewers. Considered too conservative for the progressives, and too progressive for the conservatives, Zemlinsky struggled to overcome the negative reviews of this masterpiece and withdrew it in the immediate aftermath of the premiere. Vasily Petrenko for this recording uses the original version of the score which restores the "bei der Meerhexe" episode to the 2nd movement. One of the most progressive of the Viennese composers of this period, Schreker's dance pantomime Der Guburtstag der Infantine (story by Oscar Wilde) was given it's premiere in 1908 and was his first big success.

Joseph Moog has an enviable reputation as a Liszt interpreter with two earlier albums devoted to the composer being praised by the critics: “these recordings shine with an overall mastery and insight… rival discs by Brendel and Zimmerman in particular may thrill and delight the most discerning Lisztian, but even in this company Joseph Moog holds his head high” - Gramophone

On his new Onyx album, ‘From Heaven To Hell,’ Moog programmes works that traverse a wide range of emotions, from the divine and heavenly to the demonic.

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REVIEW:

Moog has one of those techniques that most pianists only dream about. His passagework fairly shimmers with prodigious effortlessness and his octaves are nothing short of dazzling. His fortissimo is mighty, his pianissimo hushed yet resonant. If the elucidation of the Sonata’s deeper musical value eludes his grasp, on a purely technical level, Moog’s interpretation is bound to amaze.

– Gramophone

This recording of Bruckner's 4th Symphony, lead by Domingo Hindoyan, was taken from live performances in the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. The excitement and drama of the concerts is superbly captured on this album. The symphony was completed in 1874 and underwent substantial revisions (including a new scherzo) in 1878 and 1880. The title 'Romantic' was applied after the composer added an informal programme for the pleasure of his friends.

The final volume of Andrew Manze's Vaughan Williams symphony cycle with the the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra features Symphonies Nos.7 and 9. The seventh drew it's inspiration from music Vaughan Williams had composed for the film Scott of the Antarctic. The composer headed each movement with a literary quotation. They are narrated on this recording by distinguished actor Timothy West. Existing manuscripts of the ninth symphony support the idea that Vaughan Williams originally thought to compose a programmatic work based on Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbevilles. This work, dating from the composer's final years, bares no trace of creative decline.

1801 saw Beethoven's development of the piano sonata take a dramatic turn, testing the sonata's limits with a set of slow variations in lieu of a sonata allegro in Op.26, a multi-movement work played without pause in Op.27 No.1, and the remarkable opening movement of the Moonlight, Op.27 No.2. Operatic recitatives are incorporated into the Tempest Op.31 No.2. These features are without precedent. Volume three of Jonathan Biss's acclaimed cycle of the sonatas contains two works from this year of experiment and innovation, though the innovations are less brazen - the Op.28 Pastorale and the somewhat overlooked Op.31 No.1. The third sonata on this disc is one of the most famous of the 32 - the Wildstein, composed in 1803, is a work of life affirming spirit and energy.

Dejan Lazic has long been interested in the art of the transcription, and here his programme is built around the piano concerto that Beethoven fashioned from his own Violin Concerto. Lazic gives a fine performance: Trim and punchy, it sits well under his fingers. It was created for London-based Muzio Clementi, pianist and publisher, whose imposing B-minor Sonata makes an apt companion. As does the third panel of this triptych, the Sonata written by Johann Baptiste Cramer, a musician admired by Beethoven and who also settled in London. His dramatic sonata "Le Retour � Londres" is thrillingly played here.