Trio di Trieste was founded in 1933 when the members, Dario De Rosa, Renato Zanettovich, and Libero Lana, were only twelve years old. Later, Libero Lana was replaced by Amadeo Baldovino. Lana is heard on the Mozart recording, and Baldovino is heard on the Dvorak. The group has performed uninterrupted concert performances all across the world for more than sixty years- that’s more than 3,000 concerts. The Trio are members of the Roman Academy of St. Cecilia, and were awarded the prize of the President of the Italian Republic by the Grand Officer of Merit. They have regularly been invited to all of the major international festivals. This release focuses on radio recordings that the trio made in 1956 and 1964. The first work is Antonin Dvorak’s Trio in F minor for violin, cello and piano op. 65, followed by Mozart’s Trio in E major for violin, cello and piano.

This new release is the debut album of soprano Maureen Batt, and features a rare recording of Schubert’s “Op. 52 Lady of the Lake” song cycle and a newly commissioned work on the same epic Walter Scott poem by Nova Scotian composer Fiona Ryan. Sir Walter Scott’s Lady of the Lake is set during an uprising of the Highland clans against the Lowland Scots who are loyal to King James V. The story focuses on Ellen Douglas, a young woman who lives in exile with her father, an outlaw who has fallen out of favor with the royal court and fled to an island in Loch Katrine with his daughter. Today, the work is not that widely known but in the nineteenth century it was a bestselling book throughout Europe. It was translated into several languages, including German which Schubert used for his song texts. Fiona Ryan writes about her contributions to this album: “I draw upon Scottish (and Nova Scotian) folk music traditions in my songs. Some movements are very obviously influenced by Scottish folksongs…and others draw inspiration from rhythmic patterns, ornamentation, and droning sounds found in Scottish bagpipe music. In a way, this project is about bringing people and ideas together… Although this is a story of a different and dangerous time, it gives an affirmative answer to the eternal question of whether people who are enemies can eventually reconcile.”

Ivan Fischer makes his DNO debut. He conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Pierre Audi, artistic director of DNO and the Holland Festival, directs his firest new DNO production since Saint Francois d'Assise (2008). For Parsifal Audi once again joins forces with the British scultpr Anish Kapoor. Alejandro Marco-Buhrmester previously sang the role of Amfortas at the Opera National de Paris and the Bayreuther Festpiele. Kurt Rhdl made previous DNO appearances as Hagen/Hunding in Der Ring de sNibelungen and as Heinrich in Lohengrin. Kurt Rydl has been an honorary member of the Wiener Staatsoper since 1999. Falk Struckmann has frequently sung the role of Amfortas, but now makes his first DNO appearance in his role debut as Gurnemanz. The title role is sung by Christopher Ventris, who previously appeared at DNO as Steuermann in Der fliegende Hollander. Petra Lang previously sang Brangane in Tristan und Isolde and Venus in Tannhauser at DNO. ''There were no weak links in teh cast. Amfortas sounded suitably pained, very wobbly vibrato for it, but this very much worked. Gurnemanz was stoic and powerful. Klingsor was a rounded and full bass. Kundry has a truly bewitching voice, very powerful. Parsifal was definitely the stand out, always rising above the orchestra, his voice conveyed each emotion perfectly but was always perfectly clear and pure. Ivan Fischer's interpretation is calm, subdued, crystal clear, chamber-like. It is generally brisk, but extremely flexible, and follows Wagner's tempo changes to the letter. Nonetheless, one cannot help but be carried along with the waves of music, so that the final chords are absolutely overwhelming. The Concertgebouw, characteristically played stupendously. Beautiful phrasing, incredibly unity, and they just sound so incredibly beautiful. (Operalively.com)

Classical Music

In 2016 the Witold Lutoslawski Chamber Philharmonic in Lomza organized the educational campaign “Colors of Music” for the second time. It has been realized under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The campaign is interdisciplinary; as it combines visual arts and music of representatives of various periods. By developing musical-plastic imagination, the organizers wanted to make young receivers of art sensitive to its multidimensionality. The artists of the Philharmonic unraveled the mystery of the musical world, performing concerts enriched with a lecture, presentation of musical instruments, and recordings. An art competition addressed to the oldest kindergarten groups and pupils up to 11 years of age, educational centers in Lomza and its surroundings concluded those activities. The current album constitutes an integral element in the campaign Colors of Music. Its founders and organizers assume that appropriately presented classical music is a great tool for developing imagination, creativity, and sensitivity. The campaign pursues a continual objective of promoting culture in its universal character, particularly among young listeners, by means of experiencing music with many senses, as well as by the influence of music on aesthetic and emotional tones. This release in the campaign presents music for two flutes, performed by flutists Lukasz Dlugosz and Agata Kielar-Dlugosz.

Ian Watson and Susanna Ogata's acclaimed series on Coro Connections continues with the third album in their exploration of Beethoven's Sonatas for fortepiano and violin. Written at a time when the composer was struggling to accept his growing deafness, the three sonatas on this volume were published together in 1803 as his Opus 30 and provide a remarkable trilogy - a collection of incredible variety and sophistication. The wide compositional range of this set demonstrates Beethoven's prowess in creating bucolic, even humorous moments, contrasted with deep intensity, pathos and the truly sublime. Susanna Ogata has been praised for her ''totally convincing, spontaneous and free-flowing playing'' (The Berkshire Review) and is a tenured member of the Handel and Haydn Society where she was appointed Assistant Concertmaster of the orchestra in 2014. Ian Watson has been described by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as ''a conductor of formidable ability'', and by The Times in London as a keyboard performer with ''virtuosic panache and brilliantly articulated playing'' and ''a world-class soloist.'' He was appointed Associate Conductor of Boston's Handel and Haydn Society in 2016.

Before moving into the Elbphilharmonie, chief conductor Thomas Hengelbrock and his NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester performed a “Brahms Marathon” with all four symphonies of the Hamburg-born composer in the historic Laeiszhalle. Brahms’ music has always played an important role in the history of the orchestra, whose defining interpretations of the symphonies by Brahms and Bruckner have become the ensemble’s artistic hallmark. The orchestra, founded in 1945, was led by outstanding conductors such as Günter Wand, Christoph Eschenbach and Christoph von Dohnanyi. Since 2011, chief conductor Thomas Hengelbrock is in charge of continuing the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester’s history. In the bonus program ''Discovering Brahms'', Thomas Hengelbrock offers interesting background information on all four symphonies. “The evening was more than worth it” (Hamburger Abendblatt).

The title of this double album, Bel Canto Paganini, is the key to Rachel Barton Pine’s unaccompanied violin artistry. Of course one cannot play unaccompanied Paganini without all-encompassing virtuoso equipment, and Pine’s technique is beyond cavil; just sample her deft and supple alternating pizzicato and arco articulation in the “Nel cor più non mi sento” Variations, or her extraordinary textural juggling in Duo merveille (“Duet for One”). However, throughout the Op. 1 Caprices, Pine clearly mines these showpieces for musical values, first and foremost.

For example, she observes all of the repeats. That might prove deadly in the lengthy No. 4 C minor Maestoso caprice or the No. 6 G minor trill study, yet Pine’s wide expressive and coloristic palette keeps the music alive and meaningful. What is more, she does this without resorting to exaggerated phrasings or dynamic swells.

Her slow and serious No. 13 bypasses the surface humor of the descending “laughing” chromatic thirds while emphasizing the composer’s dolce marking in figurative red ink. The fanfare-like gestures that open the E-flat Caprices Nos. 19 and 23 become provocatively wistful themes, while No. 18’s arpeggiated C major proclamations become softer, more questioning than usual, followed by descending scales that sound more like music than exercises. However, don’t expect scintillation and surface bravura, which James Ehnes serves up in tandem with sound musical values.

Interestingly, Pine lets loose and catches fire in her own Paganini-inspired Variations on “God Defend New Zealand”, proving that she could very well match Perlman, Rabin, Ricci, and Midori at their ebullient peaks. Whether or not Pine’s Paganini will suit all tastes, she unquestionably commands the ways and means to make the best possible case for her conceptions.

– ClassicsToday (Jed Distler)

Pine is principally interested in the musical qualities of these extraordinary, endlessly inventive miniatures, and there’s hardly a moment here where you get any sense of technique taking precedence over expression.

She finds a wonderfully rich range of colors. Double-stopped octaves can almost vanish into the melody (as in No 7), give a fanfare figure a heroic echo (Nos 19 and 23) or throw an eerie shadow like some operatic mad scene (No 15)—as the music demands. Her characterisation is beguiling: Pine lets minor-key melodies droop to a finish, plays teasingly with the rhythmic sideslips of No 13 and makes the famous left-hand pizzicato in No 24 burst like popping candy.

– Gramophone

Over a period of some twenty years, from the late 1720s, Handel composed a series of virtuoso arias using only the words ''Allelujah'' and ''Amen'' as his texts. They were probably for use in private worship, and take their place in the tradition of ''Divine Song'' established by Purcell and other compoesrs. Here they receive their first recordings, set in a context of contemporary sacred song and instrumental music, with the accompaniment provided by the beguiling soun dof two theorbos and chamber organ. They are heard here in the extraordinarily dramatic timbres of a male-soprano voice - perhaps as close as modern listeners can come to the vocal acrobatics of the castrati who so amazed their own audiences. Robert Crowe has worked for over 25 years as a male soprano, was a 1995 National Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Competition and has sung over 70 leading roles in operas and dramatic oratorios in the United States and across Europe.

Time, place and mood are explored in this unusual programme that reveals the inventive curiosity of the Arabella Quartet, lauded by the Boston Musical Intelligencer for its "freedom, drive, and risk-taking". The geographical span is wide, from Spain to Russia, and traditional staples by Schubert sit alongside meditative statements on human themes by Puccini, Turina, Webern and Nielsen. Shostakovich's Two Pieces for String Quartet were rediscovered in the 1980s and broaden the expressive range of this fascinating disc.

The Dresdner Philharmonie is one of Germany's major orchestras and has laid, together with his Principal Conductor Michael Sanderling, its focus on recording the complete cycle of symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) und Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975). After having released Beethoven's and Shostakovich's symphonies nos. 6 in 2015, for which the orchestra has received positive reviews, this recording is the second album from the cycle. Michael Sanderling decided to pair Beethoven's symphony no. 3 and Shostakovich's symphony no. 10 because of the similar motivation of both composers: to display the current political situation, i.e. Napoleon's reign and Stalin's dictatorial regime.

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The Eighth Book of Madrigals, subdivided into a substantial series of vocal and instrumental partbooks, contains some of Monteverdi's greatest music. In this sumptuous collection the material is carefully arranged by category into madrigals of war, love and those for the stage, with a wide array of human passions and compositional styles. This is the first recording to present Book Eight in its original, uncut form, also incorporating instrumental sinfonias and dances by Biagio Marini to round off Monteverdi's design. In keeping with seventeenth-century practice, the madrigals are performed entirely by male voices, including a boy soprano in the role of Cupid.

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REVIEWS:

The quality of the performances is extremely high. Technical prowess is always in the service of the music, and Marco Longhini is not averse to pushing his all-male ensemble to extremes of slow or fast tempos or to special vocal effects. Another strength of this excellent interpretation is the size and scope of the instrumental forces. There are 9 players in the continuo group, a further 9 in a mostly string ensemble (including 2 recorders), and a viola da gamba quartet. This gives Marco Longhini a very wide palette to draw on for dramatic power, theatrical variety, and evocative effect.

– American Record Guide

As Longhini has pointed out in previous releases, the instruments to be used is largely left to the performers, and in the composer’s day would probably have depended on those available. In this series of discs he has opted for a ‘middle-of-the-road’ approach, so as not to become ornate, yet providing more that an obliging backdrop. In the vocal group there are, of course, no female voices in music of that period, so that much rests on the shoulders of the outstanding countertenor, Alessandro Carmignani. Yet again I will heap praise on the sonorous bass voice of Walter Testolin, his deep voice is an earthy delight. Solos permeate all of the madrigals, and when numerous voices are used, the Delitiae’s blend is pure joy. Longhini's approach throughout this series has that feel of dedication and authenticity, the music continually intriguing, immediately likeable, and, in every way, it has been a wonderful experience with this as its crowning glory. The engineers have once again played their part in the clarity of texture they have created. It is terribly sad that it is coming to an end, but there remains just one more book, the unfinished Ninth, that was published after the composers death.

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

In the course of this highly original programme, Terje Tønnesen and his Camerata Nordica tell us tales of madness and love, of battles and delusions. Building on imaginative scores by Biber, Telemann and Purcell, Tønnesen himself and Mikhel Kerem has fashioned even more colorful arrangements that bring human follies and passions to the fore. In the course of the disc we are treated to rousing drum solos, a trio of Hungarian folk musicians makes a guest appearance in Biber's "joking sonata" and a Swedish nyckelharpa adds color to the plaintive Aria in Battalia, before the listener is telescoped into the famous battle scene itself. Featured soloist soprano Karin Dahlberg gives us memorable portraits of madness in three English "Mad Songs", and throughout the programme the members ofthe ensemble with equal conviction play their instruments, bay as a pack of hounds and groan as wounded musketeers. The result is a pageant fit for a street performance during a carnival - at turns absurd, burlesque, frightening and moving.

From grand spectacles to poignant close-ups, experience Helgi Tomasson's bravura interpretation of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet like you've never seen it before. With passionate choreography, spine-tingling swordsmansip, and a celebrated score by Sergei Prokofiev, San Francisco Ballet's passionate retelling of the Bard's greatest tragedy has packed houses around the world. Romeo & Juliet is one of the Company's most popular and widely toured ballets and has been seen by more than 200,000 people since it premiered in 1994. Choreographed by Helgi Tomasson, with sets and costumes by Jens-Jacob Worsaae, this visually stunning production and the brilliant dancers of San Francisco Ballet bring this powerful and touching tragedy - and Renaissance-era Verona - vivdly to life. "Tomasson lifts Shakespeare's complex and familiar language off the gilded pages and translates it into lucid classical choreography that is visceral, fresh, and ultimately sublime" (Huffington Post).

For this release, OehmsClassics was able to convince the House of Hessen to engage in a small cooperation because the works heard on this album were personally dedicated to Princess Anna von Hessen. Rainer von Hessen has written the following in his preface to this production: "To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that both chamber works Op. 34 by Johannes Brahms have been united on the same album: his only Piano Quintet and the Sonata for Two Pianos. Previously, both works could be heard at a concert with the duo pianists Lucia Huang and Sebastian Euler as well as the Haba Quartet of the hr Symphony Orchestra at the baroqu eFasanerie Palace near Fulda. With this rather unusual programme combination, a long harbored wish came true for me, namely to hear both works dedicated by Brahms to Princess Anna von Hessen performed on the same evening: the Sonata for Two Pianos in F minor and the Piano Quintet, that resulted from it. This enabled us to sense how the composer increased the sonic attractiveness of his composition by means of refined instrumentation, hardly changing anything else."

Percy Grainger was an extraordinary human being and musician- a precocious pianist, colorful composer and world traveller, a peculiarly passionate and emotive eccentric whose fertile mind produced an expansive oeuvre of original and inventive works. Above all Grainger is best known for his most enduring musical endeavor- his exploration and dissemination of folk music. With this release, soprano Claire Booth and pianist Christopher Glynn, who have spent decades delving into Grainger’s folk music output, document their fascination with the multifaceted firebrand, and bring his alluring music to a wider audience. Grainger’s success resulted in multiple versions of his folk song settings, for orchestra, wind band, chamber ensemble and choir. But it’s perhaps his versions for voice and piano that are the most characteristic, bringing out Grainger’s own highly individual style at the keyboard. Claire’s and Christopher’s survey, one of the most comprehensive available on the market today, offers a variety of transcriptions of songs found in collections from the British Isles as well as discoveries Grainger heard as he roamed throughout the field. The album concludes with Grainger’s most celebrated piece, English Country Gardens, in which Claire makes a cameo appearance on piano, joining Christopher in a rousing duet.



REVIEWS:

They beautifully manage the contrasts between simplicity and immense sophistication that all these songs regularly provide; it makes a really engaging sequence.

– Guardian (UK)

This disc affords tremendous pleasure; it’s well recorded and intelligently annotated, too. Warmly recommended.

– Fanfare

In the 1860s Johannes Brahms composed one of the most beautiful song cycles of the romantic era: Die schöne Magelone. Now baritone Christian Gerhaher, a lied singer of international renown, has joined forces with his longstanding accompanist Gerold Huber to record Brahms’s masterpiece. For Gerhaher, named singer of the year in 2016 by the German trade journal Opernwelt and awarded the coveted Wigmore Medal in England for “outstanding musicianship in opera, oratorio and song”, the project is a dream come true.

The 15 poems that Brahms fashioned into “romances” are taken from Ludwig Tieck’s novella The Wondrous Romance of Magelone the Fair and Peter Count of Provence (1797). Inspired by a medieval legend, it tells of the love of the valiant knight Peter of Provence for Magelone, the daughter of the King of Naples.

In 2011 Christian Gerhaher commissioned the well-known German writer Martin Walser to produce a new version of the text, which he then premièred in Coburg together with Gerold Huber and Walser himself.

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REVIEWS:

It is quite clear that the singer and his longstanding accompanist are absolutely at one—they have been performing together since the beginning. Sound is good and all is clear and well defined. For those seeking a commanding and modern German singer in Brahms—no quibbles, this is for you.

– Fanfare

Gerhaher is more compelling in this music even than Fischer-Dieskau is in his classic recording with Sviatoslav Richter. Gerhaher and Gerold Huber sound more athletic in the vigorous songs, and the baritone is more rapt and spiritual in the famous Ruhe.

– Sunday Times (UK)

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Now here’s a novelty that fans of Ravel and Rimsky-Korsakov will want to hear. In 1910, the story of Antar reached the stage in Paris as a play, with incidental music by Ravel arranged out of Rimsky’s eponymous symphony/tone poem (with a bit of Mlada thrown in for good measure). There is very little original music by Ravel–just a couple of minutes in all–but the arrangements involve some telling reorchestration and the creation of numerous short interludes. The cinematic conclusion (sound clip) sums things up nicely. All told, you get almost the complete original work: the first three movements, plus a good bit of the finale, albeit in a different order.

Unfortunately, for this premiere recording a long, pretentious, self-consciously “poetic” narration has been added, with words by Amin Maalouf. His main musical distinction lies in the fact that he has furnished several opera librettos for Kaija Saariaho, as if that’s a recommendation. My annoyance grew with every word. I mean, the only reason anyone wants to hear this piece is to find out what Ravel did with Rimsky’s original. Why put narrator André Dussolier in what sounds like an empty aircraft hangar and superimpose his histrionic reading of the text on top of the music? You’ll get through it, but it was a bad decision.

That said, Slatkin’s conducting is excellent, as it almost always is when he’s interpreting Russian music, and the sonics are very good when the narrator isn’t narrating. The coupling is a fine performance of Shéhérazade. Isabelle Druet’s voice is, arguably, a bit too small for the work, but she only sounds strained at the climax of Asie. Otherwise, she sings with intelligence, excellent diction, and characterful attention to the text. A sometimes frustrating release, then, but a collector’s item all the same.

– ClassicsToday (David Hurwitz)

·         The first ever German album of Natalie Dessay (Her first Schubert album – Her first Lieder album)·         4 Lieder have never been sung by a woman before·         Recorded with Philipp Cassard (piano) in Berlin, Siemensvilla on November 28th – December 3rd, 2016·         From Schiller and Goethe to Heine, the Schubertian Lied, which is based on the best German poets, is a reflection of the intimate thoughts of the composer who realizes an outstanding fusion between the poetic verb and the musical lyricism.

Formed in Berlin as recently as 2007, the Notos Quartet presents the world-premiere recording of a work by Béla Bartók. For years the Hungarian composer’s Piano Quartet in C minor op. 20 was believed to be lost but was rediscovered following extensive research by the members of the ensemble, who prepared the present edition on the basis of the composer’s autograph score. In addition to this world-premiere recording, Hungarian Treasures also features works by two other Hungarian composers who were friendly with Bartók: the First Piano Quartet in F sharp minor by Ernst von Dohnányi (1877–1960) and the Intermezzo for string trio by Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967).

Joseph Haydn's The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross is one of the most unusual and remarkable compositions of the classical period. Performed here by the brilliant Callino Quartet, the piece exists in four different versions and the edition for string quartet, which has a particular purity and intimacy, is the form in which the music is most often heard today. Suffused with profound sorrow and grief but also with strength and hope. The Seven Last Words is a work so deeply moving and contemplative that it has impassioned listeners in all its forms for over 200 years and was considered by the composer himself to be one of his greatest masterpieces. The Callino Quartet was formed at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in 1999 and has been delighting audiences ever since with its fresh, enthusiastic interpretations and engaging programmes. The versatility of the quartet has enabled it to cultivate a diverse and challenging repertoire with a thoughtful and historically informed approach to the classical quartet literature as well as develop close collaborations. The quartet has worked with numerous contemporary composers and has received many awards including prizes at the Borciani and Tromp international string quartet competitions. The group has performed in many of the world's best concert halls including Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall.

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REVIEWS:

I have listened to this over and over, each time finding it more evocative of how the music sounds in my head. If you want to replace whatever quartet version you already own, this is the time to do it.

– Fanfare

If the quartet version of the Seven Last Words convinces you, this recording certainly offers a perspective worth hearing.

– Gramophone

Anna and Ines Walachowski have long been considered amongst the leading present-day piano duos. For the past two decades, the sisters have thrilled their audiences on international stages. They have received invitations to many renowned festivals, including the Rheingau Music Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Mecklenburg Vorpommern Festival, the Dresden Music Festival, the MDR Music Summer, the Lower Saxon Music Days, the Mosel Festival, the Ludwigsburg Castle Festival as well as the Harbin Music Festival and the Bangkok Music Festival. The present album is the third issued by OehmsClassics.

After a highly successful recordings of works by Brahms, the Schumanns, and Chopin, Imogen Cooper plunges into the world of another great romantic, Franz Liszt, and places him alongside that other giant, Richard Wagner. This is an evocative programme of original compositions and intimate transcriptions, ranging from poetic movements from the Années de Pèlerinage: Italie to dark and deeply elegiac pieces, including Liszt's La lugubre gondola I and Wagner's Elegie. It also features a transcription by Zoltán Kocsis of the intensely passionate prelude to Tristan und Isolde. The famous pianist and conductor died prematurely in November, 2016. It was his work that inspired this recording to begin with, and Imogen Cooper dedicates the album to his memory. Breathtaking music in unique interpretations: romanticism without melodrama, virtuosity without fuss.

Winner of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Music, Bernard Rands is well established as a major figure in contemporary music. His music has been described as 'plangent lyricism with dramatic intensity', qualities developed since his studies with Dallapiccola and Berio. Inspired in the 1970's by the then new Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, Rands researched and sketched Vincent for the next 40 years. Described by the Huffington Post as Rands' 'crowning achievement', Vincent represents much of the great painter's life and in particular the dramatic setbacks of his later years, contrasting the affection of his brother Theo with intese inner struggles, his vicious conflict with Gauguin, and his tragic and untimely death.