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DIE RÄUBER
Die Theateredition Nov 2009
DVD
$32.99

Dyck, Sternberg, Youferov: History of the Russian Piano Trio, Vol. 5 / The Brahms Trio

Naxos

$9.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 50% Jul 09, 2021

This album concludes The Brahms Trio’s five-volume survey of the piano trio in Russia with remarkable works by composers whose names have all but disappeared from the musical world’s collective memory. Vladimir Dyck, a student of Widor at the Paris Conservatoire, took French nationality in 1910 but his life came to a tragic end when he and his family were arrested in 1943 and sent to Auschwitz. His Piano Trio, Op. 25 contrasts Russian soulfulness with the lightness and deft scoring he brought to his film compositions. Constantin von Sternberg’s genial Op.104 reflects his career as a virtuoso pianist, while Sergey Youferov’s expansive and nostalgic Op.52 is a farewell to the Russian ‘Silver Age’, a world about to be destroyed by revolution.

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Dyck, Sternberg, Youferov: History of the Russian Piano Trio, Vol. 5 / The Brahms Trio
Naxos Jul 2021
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

Jean-Pierre Rampal – The Complete CBS Masterworks Recordings

Sony Masterworks

$99.94 ~~$199.98~~ Save 50% Dec 03, 2021

Before Jean-Pierre Rampal appeared on the music scene in the 1950s, wind players were rarely hired as soloists with orchestras. This legendary French flute virtuoso broke through that barrier with his astonishing talent, flair, and commanding stage presence, attaining the kind of visibility previously enjoyed only by pianists and violinists. He regularly filled the world’s largest concert halls for his recitals and chamber performances. Rampal was the father figure of the flute renaissance in the 20th century which restored the instrument to the exalted position it held during the 18th century.

He also became one the world’s most recorded artists, commanding all the essential repertoire of his instrument but equally embracing previously unknown works, his own discoveries, jazz, pop, folk and contemporary works. Virtually anything written for the flute or plausibly adapted for it was grist for his mill. In his autobiography Rampal referred to the discography that brought him numerous prizes and awards as being so enormous that not even he could keep track of it. In 1969, he began recording for CBS, and in 1979 he signed an exclusive contract with the label.

To mark his 100th birthday, Sony Classical released in a 56-CD box set the first complete edition of Jean-Pierre Rampal’s recordings for CBS, RCA, and Sony Classical.

SET CONTENTS:

DISC 1: Mozart: Flute Quartets
DISC 2: Bach Family
DISC 3: Bolling: Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano
DISC 4/5: Rampal and Lagoya in Concert
DISC 6: Vivaldi/Telemann
DISC 7: Bolling: "Picnic Suite"
DISC 8: Mozart: Flute Quartets K. 285 & K. 298/Divertimento K. 334
DISC 9: Carnaval de Rampal (Showpieces)
DISC 10: Schubert: Sonata In A Minor/Moscheles: Sonata concertante
DISC 11: Pastorales De Noel
DISC 12: Dvořák, Feld, Martinů: From Prague With Love
DISC 13: Japanese Melodies, Vol. III
DISC 14: Haydn: Divertimentos
DISC 15: Sonatas of J.S. Bach and sons
DISC 16: Jean-Pierre Rampal plays Scott Joplin
DISC 17: Weber: Sonatas for Violin and Piano
DISC 18: Bach: Concerto for Flute, Strings and Basso Continuo
DISC 19: Vivaldi: Six Concertos for Flute
DISC 20: Fascinatin' Rampal: Jean-Pierre Rampal plays Gershwin
DISC 21/22: Bach: Sonatas and Partita for Flute
DISC 23/24: Haydn: Concertos
DISC 25: The Flute at The Court of Frederick The Great
DISC 26: Night at The Opera: The Magic Flute
DISC 27: Chants de Noel / Children’s Songs
DISC 28: Mozart: Sonatas
DISC 29: Bolling: Suite No. 2 For Flute and Jazz Piano Trio
DISC 30: Mozart: The Flute Quartets
DISC 31: Telemann: Overture/Concertos
DISC 32: Telemann, Kuhlau, Bach, Mozart, Doppler
DISC 33: Kuhlau: Flute Quintets
DISC 34: Mozart: Concerto for Flute and Harp/Sinfonia concertante
DISC 35: Carulli: Flute Concerto and more
DISC 36: Concertos for Two Flutes
DISC 37/38: C.P.E. Bach: The Complete Flute Concertos
DISC 39: Mozart: Flute Concertos
DISC 40: Music for Flute and Harp
DISC 41: Mozart,Telemann, J.C. Bach, Reicha
DISC 42: Vivaldi: 6 Double Concertos
DISC 43: Rameau: Pièces de clavecin en Concerts
DISC 44: Italian Flute Concertos
DISC 45: Mozart: Divertimento, K.334/Adagio And Rondo, K.617/Andante, K.616/Quintet, K.557
DISC 46: Haydn: London Trios
DISC 47: Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
DISC 48: Kathleen Battle and Jean-Pierre Rampal in Concert
DISC 49: Pla: Catalan Flute Music of the 18th Century
DISC 50: Boccherini: Flute Quintets
DISC 51: Collaborations
DISC 52: Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 36 & 38 – Jean Pierre Rampal, conductor
DISC 53: Carulli/Haydn: Guitar Concertos – Jean Pierre Rampal, conductor
DISC 54: Bolling: Suite for Chamber Orchestra and Jazz Piano Trio – J.P. Rampal, conductor
DISC 55: Romantic Harp Concertos – J.P. Rampal, conductor
DISC 56: Mozart: March/Serenade K. 250 “Haffner” – J.P. Rampal, conductor

REVIEW:

Flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal brought the instrument to new prominence, proving its enormous potential in a wide range of repertoire. Sony’s new collection, ‘The Complete CBS Masterworks Recordings’, opens to a benchmark 1969 recording of the Mozart flute quartets where Rampal joins forces with Isaac Stern, Alexander Schneider, and Leonard Rose, and ends with more Mozart – and more Stern – for a keenly played 1994 version of Mozart’s Haffner Serenade. Especially noteworthy are three Kuhlau flute quintets where Rampal joins forces with the Juilliard Quartet: this is superior music, beautifully performed and recorded.

Contemporary repertoire is represented in the first instance by a colorfully inventive and well-performed Penderecki Concerto under the composer’s own direction, surely the best ‘modern’ piece in the set. Rampal enjoyed a fruitful musical relationship with the French jazz pianist, composer and arranger Claude Bolling. Of those pieces included in the set, I’d gravitate first to the Suite for chamber orchestra and jazz piano trio, with its classical resonances; on the other hand, programs devoted to Scott Joplin rags and Gershwin (including a musically pointless abbreviation of An American in Paris) are best left in the box. I’m all for creative crossover but the Gershwin in particular misfires, musically. Still, to be landed with just two ‘duffs’ in a collection of 56 CDs is pretty good going.

As you can imagine, some of the featured repertoire appears more than once but there are sufficient differences in approach between alternative recordings to justify spending time comparing. What’s most interesting is the typically wide range of music on offer, some of it of exceptional quality.

Overall, this is a most enjoyable set, sturdily boxed, with original jacket sleeves that include readable spines, and a hardcover 220-page accompanying book that will give you informative annotations and all the discographical information you need. As diverting collections go, this is certainly one to consider.

-- Gramophone (Rob Cowan)

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Jean-Pierre Rampal – The Complete CBS Masterworks Recordings
Sony Masterworks Dec 2021
CD
~~$199.98~~ $99.94

Masterworks of Modern Classics
Musicaphon Nov 2002
CD
$16.99

Cesti: L'Orontea / Bolton, Frankfurter Opern- und Museumorchester

Oehms Classics

$37.99 Mar 17, 2017

The premiere von L'Orontea took place in 1656 in Innsbruck at the court of Archduke Ferdinand Karl, grandson of Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany, who at that time was the patron of the first attempts of the art form of opera in Florence. Alongside Francesco Cavalli's opera "La Giasone", "L'Orontea" went down in history as the most successful opera of the late 17th century. On the occasion of the premiere in Frankfurt, the following could be read in Deutschlandradio Kultur: "It is a scenic production that will remain in one's memory - not because the production in Frankfurt is so shameless and trashy. Instead, it reminds us of why Antonio Cesti's opera "L'Orontea" once belonged to the most beloved of all stage works. And it is well worth taking a look into the orchestra pit at this performance."

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Cesti: L'Orontea / Bolton, Frankfurter Opern- und Museumorchester
Oehms Classics Mar 2017
CD
$37.99

Bernhard Lang: The Anatomy of Disaster (Monadologie IX)
Winter & Winter Apr 2014
CD
$20.99

Bach: Easter Oratorio, Magnificat / Ormandy, Bernstein
Sony Masterworks Jul 2007
CD
$17.99

Schubert: Symphony No. 7 Reconstructed / Venzago, Berner Symphonieorchester

Prospero Classical

$15.99 ~~$20.99~~ Save 25% Feb 04, 2022

The Symphony in E major (D 729) from the summer of 1821 is one of five unfinished symphonies by Franz Schubert. Recently it has often been counted as Schubert's 7th symphony. Unlike his other symphonic fragments, the symphony in E major exists in a complete draft from the first to the last bar in all four movements. More recently, the symphony became accessible to a wider public again in the completed version by Brian Newbould (1982). Now the Austrian composer Richard Dünser, together with the conductor Mario Venzago, has presented a new version of the symphony fragment. The thin middle movements have been replaced by supplemented drafts from the year of Schubert's death. The result: a "new" great symphony by Schubert with a playing time of over 40 minutes; an original and gripping work that immediately convinces with its idiomatic and formal unity.

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Schubert: Symphony No. 7 Reconstructed / Venzago, Berner Symphonieorchester
Prospero Classical Feb 2022
CD
~~$20.99~~ $15.99

TAVERNER, J.: Missa Mater Christi (Boughton)
Nimbus Oct 1996
CD
$20.99

Steffani: La lotta d'Hercole con Acheloo / Greco, Italian International Orchestra Baroque Ensemble

Bongiovanni

$34.99 Mar 15, 2019

Musically active in his home region and subsequently in Munich, Rome, Paris, Turin Hanover and Düsseldorf, Steffani also enjoyed considerable success with opera in Hamburg and garnered academic esteem in London. At the court of the Elector of Mu-nich, he was a chamber musician and principal organist from his early youth until 1688. In Hanover at the court of Duke Ernest Augustus of Brunswick-Lüneburg he was then kapellmeister until 1710. Dubbed a “dramatic entertainment”, La lotta d’Ercole con Acheloo was about a third shorter as was the music, there was no subdivision into acts, the subject was mythologi-cal and the four characters were treated with almost equal importance. The precision-oriented recitatives and markedly confident arias – often in dance time- conform to the rhetoric and patterns governing the Italian style, although the instrumen-tal sections are also French in character – indeed, most of the Duke's orchestra were of French origin. This is readily apparent in the ouverture and especially in the three balli: in keeping with the structure of a divertissement, they are located between the drama sections which in turn recall the acts of the then-contemporary tragédie lyrique.

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Steffani: La lotta d'Hercole con Acheloo / Greco, Italian International Orchestra Baroque Ensemble
Bongiovanni Mar 2019
CD
$34.99

Howells, Taverner et al.: Eastertide Evensong / Nethsingha, Choir of St. John's College

Signum Classics

$19.99 Apr 15, 2022

Following from Ash Wednesday, this album is the second live Evensong album from the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge and marks the next great season of the Church’s Year, Eastertide. This celebration of Jesus’s resurrection also initially spans forty days, taking us up to Ascension Day, and culminates on the fiftieth day with the Feast of Pentecost. Where the previous album reflected the tradition of using no organ from Ash Wednesday until the Gloria of the Easter Vigil, the instrument is fully utilized here by the Chapel’s organ scholars Glen Dempsey and James Anderson Besant. The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge is one of the finest collegiate choirs in the world, known and loved by millions from its broadcasts, concert tours and recordings. Founded in the 1670s, the Choir is known for its distinctive rich, warm sound, its expressive interpretations and its breadth of repertoire. Alongside these musical characteristics, the Choir is particularly proud of its happy, relaxed and mutually supportive atmosphere.

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Howells, Taverner et al.: Eastertide Evensong / Nethsingha, Choir of St. John's College
Signum Classics Apr 2022
CD
$19.99

Alle Menschen werden Schwestern

Berlin Classics

$19.99 Nov 15, 2024

The sister duo Anouchka & Katharina Hack are set to release their new album "Alle Menschen werden Schwestern," a heartfelt exploration of the deep bond between sisters. Through compositions by the Boulanger sisters, Fanny Hensel, and Felix Mendelssohn, as well as their own spontaneous improvisations, the duo creates a musical dialogue that captures their inseparable connection. The album also features a specially (re)composed track by Marina Baranova, inspired by Beethoven's "Alle Menschen werden Bruder," which serves as the album's title piece. This release promises to make the unique, intuitive understanding between siblings both audible and profoundly moving.

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Alle Menschen werden Schwestern
Berlin Classics Nov 2024
CD
$19.99

American Classics - Bernstein: Chichester Psalms, Etc

Naxos

$19.99 Sep 01, 2003

"Marin Alsop follows up her excellent Samuel Barber series for Naxos with works by her one-time mentor, Leonard Bernstein. For the most part, she and the Bournemouth Symphony deliver the goods. The suite Bernstein fashioned from his lone film score, On the Waterfront, contains some of this composer's most vibrant and involving music, where no section of the orchestra goes under-utilized. Everything in the score clearly stands out under Alsop's eagle eyes and ears, with syncopated rhythms and canonic passages securely aligned and the Bournemouth brass at their assertive best (especially in the final Allegro non troppo section)...The Bournemouth strings come into their own in Chichester Psalms, notably in the third-movement prelude. Alsop's brisk tempos serve the first movement's insouciant asymmetry well, and she makes the third movement's lyrical points through strict dynamic gradations and steady tempos (it's so tempting to milk this music to death!). The chorus is expertly prepared, and the small solo parts are handled as well as they can be. Boy soprano Thomas Kelly's centered pitch and clear diction deserves more than honorable mention. My only complaint about Naxos' wide-ranging sonics is that you can barely understand the words at loud moments--but listeners will find texts and translations are provided. Yes, no one conducts Bernstein like Lenny, but Marin Alsop manages to make this music her own. And that's no small feat."

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

-----

Bernstein the composer has a champion in Marin Alsop, who decided to become a conductor after hearing him lead the New York Philharmonic when she was 9. On a Naxos disc, she conducts an uplifting performance of his colorful "Chichester Psalms" with the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Orchestra (of which she was principal conductor from 2002 to 2008). Bernstein described the "Psalms," for which he set Hebrew texts, as the "most B flat majorish tonal piece I’ve ever written." The recording also includes lively renditions of his Three Dance Episodes from "On the Town" (a musical theater piece) and the Symphonic Suite from "On the Waterfront," which uses material (including some that was cut) from his 1954 film score.

--Vivien Schweitzer, New York Times

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American Classics - Bernstein: Chichester Psalms, Etc
Naxos Sep 2003
CD
$19.99

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 5; Rimsky-korsakov: Scheherazade / Nelsons, Bronfman [blu-ray]

C Major Entertainment

Blu-Ray

$45.99 May 29, 2012

Still reeling from the previous night’s concert I was eager to hear Nelsons and the Concertgebouw in this mix of Classical and Romantic pieces. They are joined by the Israeli-American pianist Yefim Bronfman, who I’ve not heard in a very long time. I tend to associate him with the Russians – notably Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Shostakovich – but he has recorded a fine version of the Beethoven concerto with David Zinman and his Zurich band (Arte Nova). As for the Rimsky, it’s one of those showpieces that seldom fails to please; and if the sonics of that earlier Blu-ray are anything to go by it should be a knock-out.

The Ruins of Athens, written to accompany August von Kotzebue’s play of the same name, is hardly a Beethovenian staple, but when it’s played with such affection it’s hard to understand why. Right from those opening figures on the double basses it’s clear this is going to be a performance of spontaneity and spirit, the camera cutting to key players when they get the chance to shine. And shine they do, the Concertgebouw as animated as they were the night before. On the podium Nelsons is equally alert, his boyish grin a sign that he’s having fun.

And who wouldn’t, with such thoroughbreds between the shafts? As for the concerto, a warhorse that seldom gets the performance it deserves, it’s played with tremendous brio. Bronfman fingerwork is clear and unmannered, and the orchestra responds with alacrity to Nelsons’ firm tug of the reins. Balances are generally fine, although the brass and woodwinds tend to leap out in the tuttis – some unnecessary knob-twiddling, perhaps – and the bass is not as firm as I’d like. Otherwise the Allegro is both passionate and elegant, and tempi are well judged; there’s plenty of thrust too, although at times momentum does flag.

Such lapses are rare though, Nelsons’ whipping his wayward steeds into line quickly enough. That said, the Adagio and Rondo-Allegro are more problematic. In the former the flute passage before the piano’s first entry is absurdly out of proportion – more intervention, perhaps – and Nelsons moulds the music far too much for my tastes. Yes it is beautiful, but it’s cloying and comes close to limpidity overload; as for Bronfman, his phrasing at the start of the Rondo is less easeful than usual. Even more distracting is the fitful progress, the music lacking the cumulative weight and growing tension one hears in other – more compelling – performances. It seems the audience have no such qualms though, demanding an encore. Bronfman duly obliges with a coruscating rendition of Chopin’s Etude in F major.

I so wanted to wallow in this concerto but alas I’m not likely to return to it in a hurry. At least there’s a consolation prize in the form of Scheherazade, whose terrifying start nearly blew me out of my seat. Having set the volume to a comfortable level for the Beethoven I was not prepared for such an assault on my senses; goodness, this really is Rimsky for the IMAX age, the brass- and timp-drenched climaxes simply crushing. The quieter moments are just as arresting, the Sultana’s beguiling narrative superbly evoked by the violin and harp.

As for ‘The Story of the Kalender Prince’ it’s packed with incident and colour, the many close-ups a reminder of just how virtuosic this piece is, and how exposed players are at times. There’s firm. characterful playing from the woodwinds, and the formidable battery of trombones sounds especially baleful. The big, bold recording handles these dynamic swings with aplomb, although anyone of a nervous disposition – or with unsympathetic neighbours – might want to reduce the volume by a couple of notches. As always, Nelsons is engrossed in the music, and it’s impossible not to succumb to his obvious and infectious enthusiasm.

That’s one of the unexpected joys of this concert; everyone is clearly having fun. What a change from those stiff-backed performers, stern of countenance, we see all too often. The tender music of ‘The Young Prince and the Young Princess’ is most eloquently done, and Nelsons shapes the dance-like episodes very persuasively. It’s the final movement, with its festival and shipwreck, that will take your breath away. The intimidating roar of this orchestra in full spate really confirms the sonic potential of Blu-ray; indeed, I’ve never heard that dash of spray, crack of sail and final cataclysm as powerfully realised as it is here. Those final, sinuous bars – as if enclosing these tales in parentheses – are simply overwhelming in their simplicity and charm.

Not surprisingly the audience demands – and gets – an encore in the shape of one of the Slavonic Dances from Dvor(ák’s Op. 46. It’s a polka, now winsome now trenchant, its storming conclusion a thrilling coda to an exhilarating concert. That said, Nelsons still looks as fresh as a daisy, and his players don’t seem to have wilted either. Despite the rather disappointing concerto I’m very impressed by this multi-talented Latvian; he can certainly batter one’s ear drums – the Rimsky is indeed a knock-out – but as the previous night’s Shostakovich Eighth and his 50th anniversary War Requiem so eloquently demonstrate, he can batter one’s heart as well.

A delightful overture, a competent concerto, and a Scheherazade to die for.

-- Dan Morgan, MusicWeb International

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Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 5; Rimsky-korsakov: Scheherazade / Nelsons, Bronfman [blu-ray]
C Major Entertainment May 2012
Blu-Ray
$45.99

William Sterndale Bennett: Complete Piano Concertos

Lyrita

$42.99 Jan 02, 2026

Bennett's first three piano concertos were composed at a rate of one a year, in 1832, 1833, and 1834, each one being started during his summer vacation and completed during the autumn term at the Royal Academy of Music. The First Concerto made such an impact that Bennett was invited to perform it before King William IV and Queen Adelaide at Windsor Castle. Following his habit of beginning the composition of a new piano concerto during the quieter months of the summer, the Piano Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 19, was composed during the summer of 1838. In July, Bennett wrote to both Mendelssohn and the concert director at the Gewandhaus that he had composed a new concerto expressly for performance at the Gewandhaus when he next visited Germany. The first performance took place in London on 26 September before a small audience at the RAM, with the slow movement a revised version of A Stroll through the Meadows, which had originally been composed for his earlier F minor Concerto (numbered in modern times No. 5). © Rosemary Firman

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William Sterndale Bennett: Complete Piano Concertos
Lyrita Jan 2026
CD
$42.99

COMPLETE STEREO RECORDINGS ON WARNER CLASSICS

WARNER CLASSICS

$240.49 Mar 20, 2026

Dedicated to the STEREO recordings of Sir Adrian Boult, this edition forms an essential counterpart to the previously issued Mono Recordings 1920-1957. Few conductors embraced the transition from mono to stereo with such sensitivity and imagination: Boult drew on a new generation of producers and engineers to achieve a remarkable balance of clarity, depth, and power. Covering the years 1956 to 1978, this collection captures his "Indian summer" in the studio and includes his landmark Schumann and Brahms cycles, alongside authoritative interpretations of fellow composers Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Britten, and Holst. Celebrated for their vitality and architectural grandeur, these recordings confirm Boult's central place in the history of orchestral performance on record.

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COMPLETE STEREO RECORDINGS ON WARNER CLASSICS
WARNER CLASSICS Mar 2026
CD
$240.49

Warner: Easter in Ireland / Newman Vocare Ensemble

GIA

$18.99 Apr 02, 2021

GIA Publications, Inc. is pleased to offer Easter in Ireland, our first recording by Steve Warner and The Newman Vocare Ensemble, music ministers at the Notre Dame-Newman Centre for Faith and Reason in Dublin, Ireland. This album offers a taste of the rich fabric of sounds found in Ireland. It is a merging of traditions: four-part choral singing; Uilleann pipes, low whistle, harp and harmonium; strings, organ and guitar. All of the selections are directed toward the joy of Easter. The available octavos and downloads include choral anthems, hymns, refrain songs, psalmody and liturgical items for use in any parish. This recording also honors one of the newest and most celebrated saints, St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, who commissioned the building of University Church, home to the Newman Vocare Ensemble and site of this recording.

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Warner: Easter in Ireland / Newman Vocare Ensemble
GIA Apr 2021
CD
$18.99

Monde es Mystere - Duparc & Faure: Mélodies / Christina Baader

Gramola Records

$24.99 Jul 26, 2024

Stuttgart-born mezzo-soprano Christina Baader has been a much sought-after musician for many years, not only as an opera singer and soloist, but is also an internationally successful visual artist. To mark the 100th anniversary of Gabriel Faure's death, Christina Baader and Gert Hecher, piano, are presenting an album by the title MONDE ET MYSTeRE with a selection of his songs as well as those by Henri Duparc, who also played a significant role in establishing an independent French art of song. The expressive songs are based on poems by famous French poets such as Paul Verlaine, Charles Baudelaire, Armand Silvestre, Theophile Gautier, Rene-François Sully-Prudhomme and Jean Lahor. Together with Gert Hecher, a specialist in the restoration of historical keyboard instruments, two grand pianos from 1868 and 1879, respectively, from the famous erard piano manufactory in Paris, which at the time had a similar status to Steinway & Sons today, were chosen to best emphasize the different tonal and stylistic elements of the works of the two composers.

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Monde es Mystere - Duparc & Faure: Mélodies / Christina Baader
Gramola Records Jul 2024
CD
$24.99

Elinor Armer: To the Western Sea - Remembering Ursula K. Le Guin

Centaur Records

$17.99 Oct 07, 2022

This is an album of music set to poems of Ursula K. Le Guin, the great fantasy writer of books and poems. The composer, Elinor, had a nearly 40-year friendship with the great writer. Widely performed throughout the U.S. and abroad, Elinor Armer’s music reflects her persona in its high-hearted originality. It includes solo, chamber, orchestral, vocal and choral works, and is marked by harmonic beauty, strong narrative line, rhythmic energy, sensitivity to language, emotional expressiveness, and humor.

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Elinor Armer: To the Western Sea - Remembering Ursula K. Le Guin
Centaur Records Oct 2022
CD
$17.99

COMPLETE STEREO RECORDINGS ON WARNER CLASSICS

WARNER CLASSICS

$120.49 Aug 01, 2025

Eccentric and dilettante, the quintessential English grand bourgeois, Sir Thomas Beecham was a self-taught conductor with a highly personal style and taste, brimming with elegance and charm. Beyond his tireless activity on stages around the world, he championed an eclectic repertoire ranging from Handel to Stravinsky, encompassing great classics as well as French composers such as Debussy, Saint-Saens, and Bizet -his Carmen remains a landmark recording. A passionate advocate for the music of his compatriot Frederick Delius, Beecham also played a pivotal role in 20th-century English musical life, founding both the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1932) and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1946). This box set brings together all the stereo recordings from his rich discography for Columbia and HMV, including the very first experimental stereo recording of Mozart's Symphony No. 41 first movement from April 1934.

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COMPLETE STEREO RECORDINGS ON WARNER CLASSICS
WARNER CLASSICS Aug 2025
CD
$120.49

Nordic Journey, Vol. 4: Modern Masters
Pro Organo Sep 2019
CD
$19.99

Faure: Cello Sonatas / Ben-Sasson, Sternfield

Naxos

$19.99 Feb 23, 2010

FAURÉ Music for Cello and Piano • Ina-Esther Joost Ben-Sasson (vc); Allan Sternfield (pn) • NAXOS 8570545 (70:06)

Sicilienne, op. 78. Sonata No. 2, op. 117. Après un rêve, op. 7/1. Elégie, op. 24. Romance, op. 69. Berceuse, op. 16. Papillon, op. 77. Sérénade, op. 98. Sonata No. 1, op. 109. Pavane, op. 50

A blurb on the back cover of this album states that “Fauré’s musical language bridged a gap between 19th-century Romanticism and the music that appeared with the new century.” Sounds like something I’ve said before, even having gone so far as to say that Fauré is the missing link between Brahms and Debussy. Whether one chooses to accept that argument or not, it cannot be denied that Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924), a disciple of Saint-Saëns and an admirer of Schumann, Liszt, and Wagner, had, by the turn of the 20th century, largely fashioned a personal style based on the teachings of Gustave Lefèvre, as set forth in his book Traité d’harmonie , published in 1889. In it Lefèvre advances the idea that chords of the seventh and ninth are not dissonant, ergo, they do not require resolution; and that the third of the scale may freely alternate between major and minor within a “composite” scale that incorporates both modes. These ideas were of course embraced by the likes of Walter Piston and Roger Sessions in their own updated 20th-century treatises on harmony. And one hasn’t far to travel from the unresolved sevenths and ninths of Lefèvre and Fauré to the chromatically altered seventh, ninth, 11th, and bi-tonal chords, and the whole-tone and pentatonic scales of Debussy.

Most of the works on this disc are early to middle Fauré, and thus closer in content and style to the romantic aesthetic than they are to the composer’s later efforts. And three of the pieces are arrangements of works originally written for other media. The famous Après un rêve of 1870, presented here in a transcription by Pablo Casals, was conceived as a mélodie for voice and piano. The 1878–79 Berceuse was a violin and piano piece. And the ubiquitous 1887 Pavane , given here in an arrangement by Henri Büsser, was an orchestral work with choral parts later added.

Placing the remaining numbers, originally for cello, in chronological order, we have the Elégie (1883), the Romance (1894), Papillon (1894), Sicilienne (1898), the Sérénade (1908), the First Sonata (1917), and the Second Sonata (1921). While Fauré’s output did not cease in the decade between the 1898 Sicilienne and the 1908 Sérénade , it’s interesting to note that his 1898 incidental music to Pelléas et Mélisande was quite possibly his final doffing of his 19th-century Romantic hat. There’s no questioning that the next few years were a time of reexamination for Fauré. Surely, he must have heard Debussy’s opera based on the same play that was premiered in 1902, and possibly even Schoenberg’s exactly contemporaneous tone poem on the subject. And though I doubt that Sibelius would have been known in France at this early date, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Fauré may even have heard the Finnish composer’s 1905 incidental music of the same title. Whatever the extent of Fauré’s exposure to these various stimuli may have been, changes in his compositional style and technique become evident with his 1906 song cycle La Chanson d’Eve , op. 95.

Both of the cello sonatas belong to Fauré’s late period, the second of the two being among his last works. While still conforming to a Classical three-movement fast-slow-fast pattern, the harmonic language is now freer and the melodic treatment more fluid, giving a sense that the music is “through-composed.” With the exception of an 1888 Petite pièce in G Major, op. 49, which has been lost, the current Naxos disc, as far as I know, gives us all of Fauré’s original works for cello, plus the three aforementioned arrangements.

German-born, prize-winning cellist Ina-Esther Joost Ben-Sasson studied with Pierre Fournier and Sergiu Celibidache. She is today an Israeli citizen, and principal cellist and frequent soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Her discography, at least according to Naxos’s brief bio, includes the Bach suites for solo cello, but I was not able to find it, or any other of her recordings, listed. Allan Sternfield is a “made in the U.S.A.” product, having studied at Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory of Music. He was subsequently coached by Leon Fleisher and Wilhelm Kempff.

Naxos has here entered into competition with itself, for another fine release on the same label with Maria Kliegel and Nina Tichman, minus the Pavane , contains exactly the same program. Such duplication seems odd, especially since both discs seem to have been recorded only a year and a half apart. The current Joost/Sternfield CD, just released, was recorded mid 2007; the Kliegel/Tichman, released in 2008, was recorded late in 2005. It’s a head-scratcher to be sure. Be that as it may, a comparison between the two reveals little difference, certainly not enough to warrant purchasing Joost/Sternfield if you already have Kliegel/Tichman. J&S offer an extra with the inclusion of the Pavane , a piece you’re already bound to have in its original orchestral version. In general, though not in every single case, J&S are a bit slower in their tempo choices than K&T in the short pieces, and considerably so in the two sonatas. This may impart a somewhat more nostalgic feeling to J&S’s readings, which can, at times, suggest a salon atmosphere. But in terms of technical execution, tone production, and intonation, I would be happy with either recording.

FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

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Faure: Cello Sonatas / Ben-Sasson, Sternfield
Naxos Feb 2010
CD
$19.99

Fantasies, Rhapsodies & Daydreams / Steinbacher, Foster, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic

PENTATONE

SACD

$21.99 Sep 09, 2016

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Thrilling flights of fancy abound from violinist Arabella Steinbacher in Fantasies, Rhapsodies and Daydreams Spectacular virtuoso playing, bravura passagework and show-stopping melodies are balanced with wistful lyricism and sublime tone painting in this irresistible programme of perennial favourites, played with elan by the violinist Arabella Steinbacher with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, conducted by Lawrence Foster in this new release from Pentatone.

From the high jinks and outrageous showmanship of Franz Waxman's Carmen Fantasie and Pablo de Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen, to the fearsome technical demands of Ravel's Tzigane and the exquisite refinement of Saint-Saens' Havanaise and Introduction et Rondo capriccioso, this album harks back to an earlier era of violin playing.

REVIEW:

Were someone to ask me to suggest a disc to introduce them to the violin, I might well steer them in the direction of this one. I rather like the way she pushes on in the central section of The Lark Ascending, and it cleverly elides into the beginning of Saint-Saens's Havanaise. This, the Introduction and Rondo capriccio, and Ravel's Tzigane are given excellent performances. The standout performance comes with the Meditation from Massanet's Thais, done with breathtaking beauty, a turn-on for any newcomer to the violin.

– Gramophone

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Fantasies, Rhapsodies & Daydreams / Steinbacher, Foster, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic
PENTATONE Sep 2016
SACD
$21.99

Roma Eterna - A Journey Back in Time

Arcana

$20.99 May 23, 2025

The aim of this musical tour - an expedition that travels backwards, from today to the Renaissance - is to reconstruct the overarching strands that comprise and unite five centuries of music of a "Roman school" famed for it's contrapuntal rigour, melodic flair and popular roots. The label "romano", which many a musician of bygone eras proudly displayed after their name, is a sure sign of belonging to a school, to a special style. The backdrop for this excursion back in time is Rome, which in this same Jubilee Year of 2025 is the destination for millions of pilgrims on the march from every part of the world, each with their own history and culture. And the various stops on the journey present the music of the eternal city, a music that - no matter whether sacred or secular or whatever the type of work - is as capable today as then of moving, delighting and nourishing the soul of any human being. After exploring the personality of Giovanni Zamboni (L'ultimo romano, 2016) and the refinements of the French repertoire (Meditation, 2022), in this, his third solo album for Arcana, Simone Vallerotonda engages with contemporary and ancient music, broadening the horizons of the lute with a confidence and sense of novelty that fascinate and surprise

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Roma Eterna - A Journey Back in Time
Arcana May 2025
CD
$20.99

Art and Music: Masters of the Modern Age, Vol. 1 (3-CD Box S

Naxos

$29.99 Apr 30, 2013

Art and Music: Masters of the Modern Age, Vol. 1 Description CD with full-color, illustrated, explanatory booklet. Edgar Degas (1834-1917) is remembered as the painter of ballet dancers, but the scope of his genius ranged widely. An acute and witty observer, he depicted his native Paris in it's many diverse aspects, often hinting at a social isolation and unease hidden beneath the colorful surface. On this CD, the world of Degas is given a musical perspective with a carefully chosen selection of pieces by the finest composers of his time. Inside, Hugh Griffith provides explanatory notes on his life and musical environment Disc Two Description Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) received almost no recognition until the last years of his life, but is now widely regarded as one of the key figures in the development of modern art. His structural use of color was the starting point for the Fauve painters; his strongly geometric approach to composition led directly to Cubism. On this CD, the world of Cézanne is given a musical perspective with a carefully chosen selection of pieces by the finest composers of his time. Inside, Hugh Griffith provides explanatory notes on his life and musical environment. Disk Three Description During the past 20 years, Arvo Pärt has consolidated his reputation as one of the most significant contemporary composers with a sequence of magnificent sacred choral works. Dating from between 1990 and 2001, the works on this recording exemplify Pärt's mature idiom at it's most harmonically expressive. If Triodion represents his music at it's starkest and most unadorned, Kanon Pokajanen, the composer's largest work after the 1982 St John Passion (Naxos 8.555860), is music of a dark-hued and intensely felt contemplation. Pärt's emotionally-charged Bogoróditse Djévo, is a vibrant tribute to the Virgin Mary. The Elora Festival Singers' recording of Pärt's Berliner Messe can be heard on Naxos 8.557299.

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Art and Music: Masters of the Modern Age, Vol. 1 (3-CD Box S
Naxos Apr 2013
CD
$29.99