Search results: Search results
98 results
Products
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Beethoven: Symphonies No 5 & 7 / Bernstein, New York Philharmonic
Sony Masterworks · Apr 2011CD$11.98 -
-
-
-
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 5 - Ravel: Piano Concerto in
Idil Biret Archive · Sep 2009CD$14.99 -
-
-
Mozart: 45 Symphonies / Adam Fischer, Danish National Chamber Orchestra
Dacapo Classical · Jan 2014CD$53.99 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Rosetti: Oboe Concertos; Symphonies / Moesus, Meier, Zurich Chamber Orchestra
CPO · Jun 2011CD$18.99 -
-
-
-
PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2
Bella Musica
CD
$10.49
$20.99
Save 50%
Nov 11, 2014
This Bella Musica release of two historical recordings captured nearly a quarter-century apart features the conductor Carl August Bünte (b. 1925), a pupil of Sergiu Celibidache who for 24 years led the Berlin Symphony, the Kansai Philharmonic, one of the two major orchestras resident in Osaka, Japan, pianist Hiroko Miyamoto and the aforementioned Berlin Symphony in performances of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in c, op. 18 and Schumann’s Symphony No. 4 in d, op. 120. + Ms. Miyamoto is currently a professor at the Osaka University of Education.
Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 / Mallon, Aradia Ensemble
Naxos
CD
$35.99
Mar 26, 2013
Review:
Mallon's new recordings with his Canadian period instrument ensemble offers honest, unfussy readings...while the Aradia Ensemble rarely wants for urbanity, warmth and clarity, a certain under-characterisation can merge one concerto into another.
– BBC Music Magazine
-----
Handel’s Concerti Grossi contain some of the finest orchestral music of the eighteenth century. The Op 6 collection brims with a wealth of variety, colour, and dance rhythms—Polish and Pastoral dances, courtly and fast ones—and Handel’s customary self-borrowings and indeed borrowings from other composers. The combination of full orchestra with a concertino solo group of two violins and cello allows both breadth and intimacy, producing concertos in the fullest sense. On this recording Kevin Mallon incorporates the later oboe parts for Concertos Nos 1, 2, 5 and 6, using them as a model for most of the other concertos. When the oboes are silent, flutes or recorders are added, in line with eighteenth-century practice.
Mallon's new recordings with his Canadian period instrument ensemble offers honest, unfussy readings...while the Aradia Ensemble rarely wants for urbanity, warmth and clarity, a certain under-characterisation can merge one concerto into another.
– BBC Music Magazine
-----
Handel’s Concerti Grossi contain some of the finest orchestral music of the eighteenth century. The Op 6 collection brims with a wealth of variety, colour, and dance rhythms—Polish and Pastoral dances, courtly and fast ones—and Handel’s customary self-borrowings and indeed borrowings from other composers. The combination of full orchestra with a concertino solo group of two violins and cello allows both breadth and intimacy, producing concertos in the fullest sense. On this recording Kevin Mallon incorporates the later oboe parts for Concertos Nos 1, 2, 5 and 6, using them as a model for most of the other concertos. When the oboes are silent, flutes or recorders are added, in line with eighteenth-century practice.
Corelli: Concerti grossi, Op. 6, 1-6
PENTATONE
CD
$19.99
Jun 20, 2025
Having completed the entire trilogy of Handel's Concerti grossi, the Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin presents a recording of the first six Concerti grossi, Op. 6 by the composer, ensemble leader and violin virtuoso Arcangelo Corelli, who received the almost cult-like reverence during his lifetime. The composer had been experimenting with this one of the most distinctive forms of instrumental music of the Baroque era since the late 1670s, but it was only towards the end of his life that he sought to publish these compositions and selected only twelve exemplary pieces from what was probably a much larger collection. He laid the foundations of this instrumental form for future composers such as the aforementioned Georg Frederic Handel, who paid tribute to the Italian Baroque master with his two opuses. The Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin and it's two concertmasters, Mayumi Hirasaki and Georg Kallweit, who demonstrate their extraordinary virtuosity, only prove why they are regarded as one of the most influential period-instrument ensembles of today. The Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin has a substantial PENTATONE discography, including the Diapason d'Or awarded CANTATA with Bejun Mehta (2018), Handel's Concerti grossi Op. 3 and 6 (released in 2019 and 2020), Telemann's Miriways (2020), Handel's Messiah (2020), Haydn's L'isola disabitata (2021), La Passione with Christina Landshamer (2022), a recording of Mozart's Paris and Haffner symphonies and the Oboe Concerto with Xenia Loffler (2023), Telemann's Ino (2024), and a recording with Mozart's symphonies Nos. 29 & 33 and the Clarinet Concerto with Ernst Schlader (2024).
Handel: Concerti Grossi Op. 3 / Mortensen, Concerto Copenhagen
CPO
CD
$18.99
Feb 28, 2012
Concerto Copenhagen’s performances ooze abundantly with charm, wisdom and warmth. Passages for recorders, oboes and bassoon during the Largo of Concerto No 1 in B flat are played exquisitely. Courtly rhythms spring disarmingly in the Vivace of Concerto No 2 in B flat…Lars Ulrik Mortensen’s harpsichord continuo is imaginative in its support for the intimate dialogue between two cellos and Frank de Bruine’s beautifully judged oboe solo. The Minuet that concludes Concerto No 4 in F major is correctly an elegant dance…Mortensen’s fluent playing of the tricky quick organ solos in the concluding Allegro are articulated flawlessly. Such classy moments make this one of the most endearing artistic interpretations of Op 3 in recent years...
-- David Vickers, Gramophone [6/2012]
-----
Handel’s op. 3 concerti grossi have long been viewed unfavorably in some critical circles thanks to the reflection cast by the composer’s superior op. 6 collection. Yet the earlier works are thematically attractive, rhythmically varied, and expertly sequenced, despite being constructed piecemeal out of music composed over a long period of time. They’ve proven popular as well with modern listeners as a whole, and there’s no danger of their falling out of circulation—not with more than 15 recordings available in the current catalog.
Lars Ulrik Mortensen’s approach is straightforward, and inclining a bit to the decorous side. He phrases elastically in the adagio of the Third Concerto (the alternative solo flute version, rather than the usual oboe), but not as freely as Egarr/Academy of Ancient Music (Harmonia Mundi 2908292). Again, the opening vivace of the Sixth Concerto moves along with stately pride, but it misses the snap of Egarr’s trills that give it a swaggering air, or the delicacy and fleet pacing of Creswick/Northern Sinfonia (Naxos 8.553457). Next to these two versions, there’s a slight facelessness to this album, despite the virtuosic performances of Concerto Copenhagen.
Which isn’t to discount it; those listeners who find the likes of Egarr or Creswick too characterful will probably prefer these readings. There’s a fine sense of energy, movement and balance to timbres from Mortensen in the Fourth Concerto’s Ouverture, and as in the fugal allegro of the Fifth Concerto, all lines are clearly exposed, easy to follow. Then, too, if he doesn’t accent as sharply as several others, Mortensen does use longer-held notes as one among several methods of accenting—a period-accurate point, and providing a subtle variation to the standard phrasing heard on most other discs.
My own preferences still lie with Egarr in a period-instrument mood, and with Iona Brown/Academy of St. Martin (Hänssler 98.918) when not: unsentimental, brightly articulated, dance-like where required, but capable of great flexibility. But there’s much to be said in favor of this expertly performed recording.
FANFARE: Barry Brenesal
J.S. BACH
WARNER CLASSICS
CD
$17.28
Dec 27, 2024
Following his critically acclaimed Beethoven album, Nemanja Radulovic returns this fall with a terrific J.S. Bach album. Featuring the well-known Baderie as you have never heard it before, a brilliant transcription of la Sicilienne, Erbarme Dich, from Matthaus Passion, with Philippe Jaroussky, the Double concerto for oboe & violin BWV 1060, Concerto for violin in E Major BWV 1042,. Infused by a very personal and chamber music style approach, Nemanja's Bach sparkles. Gramophone about Beethoven: "For me, though, it's the Violin Concerto that's the prize on this disc. It's a dazzling, profoundly personal interpretation, and I'm already completely obsessed with it."
Beethoven: Symphonies No 5 & 7 / Bernstein, New York Philharmonic
Sony Masterworks
CD
$11.98
Apr 05, 2011
This release combines a pair of Beethoven performances by conductor Leonard Bernstein, in his prime, with the New York Philharmonic; the Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, was recorded in 1961, and the Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, in 1958. Both have been digitally remastered, and the earlier recording actually comes out a bit better; by 1961 Columbia's engineers had figured out how to use the backdrop of LP sound to accent orchestral strings, an effect difficult to reproduce on CD. Charismatic, gifted, and genre-crossing, Bernstein was on top of the American musical world during this period, and these recordings remained strong sellers for some years. Hearing them half a century on reminds listeners (or apprises them anew) of several things. The first is that the New York Philharmonic, though certainly more than competent, did not have a trademark strength like its chief competitors in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, and Boston. You hope for brilliance that is not there. But you're also reminded that Bernstein was a subtler conductor than he is sometimes given credit for being. His histrionic style on the podium belied a well-considered, detailed approach to these works, for which he was confronted by decades (or more) of established tradition. The Symphony No. 5 is broad rather than exceptionally violent, with a lovely free space for the oboe cadenza in the first movement; Bernstein has it expand beyond its structural significance into a moment of sudden and profound personal reflection in the midst of societal tumult. In the Symphony No. 7 Bernstein is deliberate and persistent in the first movement's slow introduction and never really turns up the voltage until the finale, which thus acquires its proper bacchanalian mood. As with other albums in this Sony reissue series, the CD version includes both photographic reproductions of the original artwork and booklet reprints of the jacket text, with added French and German translations.
-- James Manheim, AllMusic.com
-- James Manheim, AllMusic.com
The Secret Of Dvorak's Cello Concerto / Vogler, Et Al
Sony Masterworks
CD
$11.98
Nov 15, 2005
These head notes take some explaining. Leave Me Alone is presented twice: the original song, sung by Angelika Kirchschlager, plus a version for cello and piano played by Jan Vogler. In the op. 55 Gypsy Songs, she sings Nos. 2, 5, and 6, while he plays the other four. Ms Kirchschlager sings both Stephen Foster ballads; Wilt Thou Be Gone, Love? includes a cello solo, as well. Pianist Helmut Deutsch accompanies it all. This is all appropriate filler material, as these songs supposedly influenced the composition of the concerto, but the oddities of presentation are not explained. Let’s just say that these recordings, made in a Viennese Casino on May 18, 2005, were Vogler’s party, at which Kirchschlager was merely an invited guest. Standing in a corner, the composer was heard to mutter “Lasst meine Lieder allein.”
Jan Vogler is a young cellist from Berlin who studied with Peter Vogler, Josef Schwab, and Heinrich Schiff. He became principal cellist of the Dresden Staastkapelle at the age of 20, leaving in 1997 to pursue a solo career. His instrument is a 1712 Joseph filius Andrea Guarneri. He has a major reputation in Europe—he won the German equivalent of a Grammy Award as Best Instrumentalist of 2002—and several recent appearances in New York have drawn favorable reviews. He appears as soloist on 15 Berlin Classics CDs; his 2003 Korngold and Barber concertos, with Thomas Sanderling and the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony, cut much of the saccharine and raise those works well above mere respectability. This is his third recording for Sony, following a disc of works by Richard Strauss (Don Quixote and Romance for Cello and Orchestra with Staastkapelle Dresden, plus the Cello Sonata) and one of the Fauré and Schumann piano quintets with Louis Lortie. Neither has ever been available in America.
Angelica Kirchschlager is the latest in the series of great mezzo-sopranos of our era. She has a seamless, easily produced voice, faultless technique that never draws attention to itself, and great feeling for many musical styles. It speaks well of her confidence that she agreed to play second fiddle on this disc. Her Gypsy Songs (sung in German) are so fine that I wish she had sung all seven, but Mr. Vogler’s playing is equally wonderful. Mr. Deutsch gets to show his stuff in the brilliant, complex accompaniments, Foster not having offered him much of a challenge.
Having disposed of the hors d’oeuvres, we can now attack the main course. After the opening phrase, the Cello Concerto’s orchestral introduction is so high-spirited that one wonders if a cello will be able to match it. In the second theme, Philip Myers’s solo horn (the Philharmonic’s full roster appears in the booklet) could wring tears from a stone. The cello entrance is equally strong; Vogler’s lean, clean sonority shines through. Throughout the performance, the athletic side of the music is to the fore; emotion is not short-changed, but the work never falls prey to the over-ripe sentimentality common to most recordings. A best single word to describe this performance would be invigorating. The obvious comparison is with Yo-Yo Ma, playing with the same orchestra in the same hall, for the same label. It’s not that Vogler is a better cellist (only God and Feuermann?), but he has an exuberant personal style, as does conductor David Robertson; they throw themselves into the music wholeheartedly. Ma’s playing is more inhibited—no, that’s not quite the right word—more self contained. His conductor Kurt Masur fits the same mold, being a product of conservative German musical tradition.
The recorded sound is gorgeous. The recording took place in Avery Fisher Hall on December 6, 2004; the orchestra kindly allowed me to attend the morning session (the first movement), and the troublesome venue never sounded so rich and alive. With no audience (I was surrounded by 2,741 empty seats) nor any artificial damping materials, as were used at some Columbia sessions in the Bernstein era, the music surged through the hall, vibrant and forceful. On the recording, ff climaxes do turn slightly hard, a common fault of this hall, but that’s a minor blemish on an otherwise stunning achievement. Vogler’s lean, forward tone makes its presence felt at all times, as it did in the hall, so it does not depend on electronic assistance. Kudos to producer Andreas Neubronner! After 50 minutes of rehearsal and audio adjustments, the opening Allegro was set down in one complete take and another broken into three sections. One wishes Sony had issued an SACD recording here; why is it no longer supporting its own medium? Vogler’s aforementioned Don Quixote is a Sony surround-sound hybrid SCAD “only available outside the US market,” according to www.highfidelity.net.
This CD bears the title: “The Secrets of Dvo?ák’s Cello Concerto,” which relates to two interviews in the program notes between Michael Beckerman, chair of New York University’s Department of Music and a specialist in Czech music, and cellist Jan Vogler. They do explore some interesting areas and provide some valuable information, but I find most of it to be hype, pursuing the question of whether the death of Dvo?ák’s love Josefina Kounicová (whose sister Anna he married, à la Mozart) has relevance to our understanding of the Cello Concerto. Here’s a basic point on which I disagree: Beckerman writes “Telling musical stories in one way or another was Dvo?ák’s stock in trade at this time in his career” (the Cello Concerto followed the “New World” Symphony, was contemporary with his final two quartets, in G Major and AI Minor, and preceded the four tone poems after Erben ballads). The statement is too vague and too hedged to contradict, but I feel it misrepresents the composer, and the following 16 pages of argument are based on it. If we examine Dvo?ák’s œuvre, most observers agree that his best works are his instrumental and orchestral ones, not his operas, which, in spite of containing much wonderful music, fail just because he was not much of a story teller. His lovely songs depend primarily on their luscious melodies. The Cello Concerto speaks to me as an instrumental and orchestral masterpiece, and to hell with its composer’s love life. Those interviews form the entire program notes, their 17 pages denying us a single word of song texts. If Dvo?ák was such a story teller, why not let us read some of his stories? Texts would have been especially welcome for the songs played by the cello. Perhaps what I dislike most is Sony’s view that every disc these days must have an Album Concept, as if Dvo?ák, Jan Vogler, and the New York Philharmonic were not enough.
Arkivmusic.com lists 102 entries under Dvo?ák’s Cello Concerto, by 38 soloists; many are duplications and/or reissues, so the number of performances is probably about 50. I’ve heard perhaps half that many, and this new one is my favorite. It should not be a serious collector’s only recording, of course; I’ve kept at least seven others: Casals/Szell (pace Bernard Jacobson), Starker/Dorati, Rostropovich/Talich, Ma/Masur, and three Feuermanns.
FANFARE: James H. North
Jan Vogler is a young cellist from Berlin who studied with Peter Vogler, Josef Schwab, and Heinrich Schiff. He became principal cellist of the Dresden Staastkapelle at the age of 20, leaving in 1997 to pursue a solo career. His instrument is a 1712 Joseph filius Andrea Guarneri. He has a major reputation in Europe—he won the German equivalent of a Grammy Award as Best Instrumentalist of 2002—and several recent appearances in New York have drawn favorable reviews. He appears as soloist on 15 Berlin Classics CDs; his 2003 Korngold and Barber concertos, with Thomas Sanderling and the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony, cut much of the saccharine and raise those works well above mere respectability. This is his third recording for Sony, following a disc of works by Richard Strauss (Don Quixote and Romance for Cello and Orchestra with Staastkapelle Dresden, plus the Cello Sonata) and one of the Fauré and Schumann piano quintets with Louis Lortie. Neither has ever been available in America.
Angelica Kirchschlager is the latest in the series of great mezzo-sopranos of our era. She has a seamless, easily produced voice, faultless technique that never draws attention to itself, and great feeling for many musical styles. It speaks well of her confidence that she agreed to play second fiddle on this disc. Her Gypsy Songs (sung in German) are so fine that I wish she had sung all seven, but Mr. Vogler’s playing is equally wonderful. Mr. Deutsch gets to show his stuff in the brilliant, complex accompaniments, Foster not having offered him much of a challenge.
Having disposed of the hors d’oeuvres, we can now attack the main course. After the opening phrase, the Cello Concerto’s orchestral introduction is so high-spirited that one wonders if a cello will be able to match it. In the second theme, Philip Myers’s solo horn (the Philharmonic’s full roster appears in the booklet) could wring tears from a stone. The cello entrance is equally strong; Vogler’s lean, clean sonority shines through. Throughout the performance, the athletic side of the music is to the fore; emotion is not short-changed, but the work never falls prey to the over-ripe sentimentality common to most recordings. A best single word to describe this performance would be invigorating. The obvious comparison is with Yo-Yo Ma, playing with the same orchestra in the same hall, for the same label. It’s not that Vogler is a better cellist (only God and Feuermann?), but he has an exuberant personal style, as does conductor David Robertson; they throw themselves into the music wholeheartedly. Ma’s playing is more inhibited—no, that’s not quite the right word—more self contained. His conductor Kurt Masur fits the same mold, being a product of conservative German musical tradition.
The recorded sound is gorgeous. The recording took place in Avery Fisher Hall on December 6, 2004; the orchestra kindly allowed me to attend the morning session (the first movement), and the troublesome venue never sounded so rich and alive. With no audience (I was surrounded by 2,741 empty seats) nor any artificial damping materials, as were used at some Columbia sessions in the Bernstein era, the music surged through the hall, vibrant and forceful. On the recording, ff climaxes do turn slightly hard, a common fault of this hall, but that’s a minor blemish on an otherwise stunning achievement. Vogler’s lean, forward tone makes its presence felt at all times, as it did in the hall, so it does not depend on electronic assistance. Kudos to producer Andreas Neubronner! After 50 minutes of rehearsal and audio adjustments, the opening Allegro was set down in one complete take and another broken into three sections. One wishes Sony had issued an SACD recording here; why is it no longer supporting its own medium? Vogler’s aforementioned Don Quixote is a Sony surround-sound hybrid SCAD “only available outside the US market,” according to www.highfidelity.net.
This CD bears the title: “The Secrets of Dvo?ák’s Cello Concerto,” which relates to two interviews in the program notes between Michael Beckerman, chair of New York University’s Department of Music and a specialist in Czech music, and cellist Jan Vogler. They do explore some interesting areas and provide some valuable information, but I find most of it to be hype, pursuing the question of whether the death of Dvo?ák’s love Josefina Kounicová (whose sister Anna he married, à la Mozart) has relevance to our understanding of the Cello Concerto. Here’s a basic point on which I disagree: Beckerman writes “Telling musical stories in one way or another was Dvo?ák’s stock in trade at this time in his career” (the Cello Concerto followed the “New World” Symphony, was contemporary with his final two quartets, in G Major and AI Minor, and preceded the four tone poems after Erben ballads). The statement is too vague and too hedged to contradict, but I feel it misrepresents the composer, and the following 16 pages of argument are based on it. If we examine Dvo?ák’s œuvre, most observers agree that his best works are his instrumental and orchestral ones, not his operas, which, in spite of containing much wonderful music, fail just because he was not much of a story teller. His lovely songs depend primarily on their luscious melodies. The Cello Concerto speaks to me as an instrumental and orchestral masterpiece, and to hell with its composer’s love life. Those interviews form the entire program notes, their 17 pages denying us a single word of song texts. If Dvo?ák was such a story teller, why not let us read some of his stories? Texts would have been especially welcome for the songs played by the cello. Perhaps what I dislike most is Sony’s view that every disc these days must have an Album Concept, as if Dvo?ák, Jan Vogler, and the New York Philharmonic were not enough.
Arkivmusic.com lists 102 entries under Dvo?ák’s Cello Concerto, by 38 soloists; many are duplications and/or reissues, so the number of performances is probably about 50. I’ve heard perhaps half that many, and this new one is my favorite. It should not be a serious collector’s only recording, of course; I’ve kept at least seven others: Casals/Szell (pace Bernard Jacobson), Starker/Dorati, Rostropovich/Talich, Ma/Masur, and three Feuermanns.
FANFARE: James H. North
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 5 - Ravel: Piano Concerto in
Idil Biret Archive
CD
$14.99
Sep 29, 2009
Idil Biret' new Liszt album prompts a reappraisal of her extraordinary talent... in her Liszt Sonata... you will hear playing of a formidable power and assurance... There is no mistaking her lightning reflexes in the second of the Paganini Etudes and her vi. 747313128778 IBRA8571287.2 16136342 .00 14.99 .19 IDIL BIRET ARCHIVE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/4/2/8/1908240.jpg 26 1 N
MARTIN,CLAIRE / WHEN LIGHTS ARE LOW WHEN LIGHTS ARE LOW 691062039222 LINN392.2 16136441 .00 20.99 .20 LINN RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/5/2/8/1908257.jpg 18 1 N
MATTHEWS / VANDEWALLE PRELUDES & BAGATELLES 670541841228 RAVL7819.2 16183216 .00 13.99 .14 RAVELLO COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/15/2011 08/31/2026 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/5/2/8/1908258.jpg 11 1 N
SOLLSCHER,GORAN GORAN SOLLSCHER 7391782215144 CRE21514.2 01991246 .00 20.99 .23 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/19/1996 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/5/0/5/1465050.jpg 0 1 N
ELLINGTON,DUKE / BABS,ALICE IN SWEDEN 1973 7391782215991 CRE21599.2 06473136 .00 20.99 .24 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 08/24/1999 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/5/0/5/1465054.jpg 1 1 N
MITCHELL,RED HOME SUITE 7391782213133 CRE21313.2 01990065 .00 20.99 .25 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 09/27/1994 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/8/0/5/1465085.jpg 0 1 N
RIEDEL,GEORG / ALFREDSON,HANS / DAHLGREN,EVA NU SJUNGER NAKTERGALEN 7391782213560 CRE21356.2 01990232 .00 20.99 .21 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC CHILDRENS 01/24/1995 08/31/2026 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/8/0/5/1465086.jpg 7 1 N
RIEDEL,GEORG / JANSON,CLAES / WILLEMARK,LENA LILLA UNGEN MIN 7391782214109 CRE21410.2 01990577 .00 20.99 .21 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC CHILDRENS 01/24/1995 08/31/2026 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/8/0/5/1465088.jpg 15 1 N
BRUMEL / HUELGAS ENSEMBLE / VAN NEVEL MISSA ET ECCE TERRAE MOTUS / SEQUENTIA 8718247710928 NWTC8802092.2 16182745 .00 12.99 .22 NEWTON CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/8/1/8/1908184.jpg 0 1 N
BEETHOVEN / NEW ZEALAND PIANO QUARTET PIANO QUARTETS From the pen of the fifteen-year-old Beethoven, these three piano quartets are among the earliest examples of a chamber music genre that would not reach full maturity until the time of Brahms. 747313099870 NXS8570998.2 14433184 .00 19.99 .23 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/26/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/9/9/2/1512991.jpg 4 1 N
MOLINO / TAMPONI / MALLOZZI / GIGLIO TRIOS FOR FLUTE VIOLA & GUITAR 8007194104479 TCS763801.2 14313530 .00 21.99 .22 TACTUS RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 03/10/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/2/2/9/1489227.jpg 3 1 N
ROCHBERG / PINKAS PIANO MUSIC 3 George Rochberg' relationship with the past is not one of nostalgia; it is one of intimate, living familiarity. 636943963326 NAAC8559633.2 15101358 .00 19.99 .24 NAXOS AMERICAN COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 06/29/2010 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/5/8/7/1657850.jpg 0 1 N
WHITACRE / ELORA FESTIVAL SINGERS / EDISON CHORAL MUSIC Eric Whitacre dedication to the beauty of sound, paired with exquisite texts, results in a poetic combination that creates a unique sonic experience. 636943967720 NAAC8559677.2 15101372 .00 19.99 .23 NAXOS AMERICAN COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 06/15/2010 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/5/8/7/1657854.jpg 26 1 N
KWAK / MARTINU / DORATI / HOLLIGER / GORITZKI CONCERTO FOR OBOE & SMALL ORCHESTRA / SONATA FOR 760623158662 MDGE9031586SACD 14928505 .00 24.99 .23 MDG SUPER-AUDIO CD CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 04/06/2010 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/2/7/8/1628722.jpg 16 1 N
GOPLERUD / CONSTANTINIDES / MONDS / SANDOZ / MANN VIGNETTES FROM MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE 044747294223 CAV2942.2 14156328 .00 18.99 .20 CENTAUR COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 11/25/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/7/1/2/1452178.jpg 7 1 N
BERNARD,GILLES CHAPEAU DE MA 690579001227 EFFC1227.2 26066448 .00 16.99 .25 EFFENDI COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 01/01/2000 01/12/2021 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/7/1/4/1504171.jpg 1 1 N
BRIDGE / BEBBINGTON PIANO MUSIC 2 748871308220 SOMM82.2 14374678 .00 20.99 .21 SOMM RECORDINGS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 04/14/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/4/1/5/1495142.jpg 2 1 N
SCHUBERT / SCHUBERT / MAHLER / MEINDERS TRANSCRIPTIONS 5709499671009 DAN671.2 14370663 .00 18.99 .18 DANACORD RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 04/14/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/4/2/6/3896248.jpg 3 1 N
STAROBIN / CARTER / KAVISTA / LAVISTA / SONDHEIM FAVORITE TRACKS 2 090404929229 BRI9292.2 14370168 .00 18.99 .21 BRIDGE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 04/14/2009 08/31/2026 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/77/1336377-2552993.jpg 7 1 N
HAYDN / BONDI / EDER / REICHARDT / FANTAPIE STABAT MATER Haydn's wonderful Stabat Mater is far less well known than those of Pergolesi and other composers; this recording made in Paris in 1978 was a pioneering version using reconstructed scores and revised by renowned musicologist and scholar H C Robbins Landon. Also included is the even rarer LIBERA ME, only discovered in the mid 20th century. The soloists are: ANNA MARIA BONDI (soprano), CLAUDIA EDER (mezzo), AXEL REICHARDT (tenor) and KERT KRATTINGER (bass) with the Choral Philippe Caillard. As bonus tracks, we include classic 1964 recordings of the 44th Symphony (Trauersinfonie) and the rare Double Concerto for Violin and Harpsichord, which features violinist Jacques Francis Manzone and harpsichordist Francoise Petit. 809730121227 DVRT21212.2 14374692 .00 27.99 .27 DIVINE ART COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL OPERA / OPERETTA / ORATORIO 04/14/2009 08/31/2026 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/8/1/5/1495187.jpg 34 2 N
CARTER / MACDOWELL ROZSA / SEIVEWRIGHT AMERICAN PIANO SONATAS This CD celebrates two notable milestones in American music: The 100th birthday of Elliott Carter (to whom we dedicate the CD) and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Miklis Rizsa, who sadly is no longer with us. Each wrote just one Piano Sonata - of which this is currently the only recording of the Rizsa piece) and they are presented with the Fourth Sonata (the Keltic) of Edward MacDowell. Splendid performances. This is the first of four projected volumes. 809730505225 DVRT25052.2 14374722 .00 19.99 .22 DIVINE ART COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 04/14/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/9/1/5/1495191.jpg 21 1 N
CASKEN / WEIR / SAXTON / KREUTZER QUARTET NOTHERN LIGHTS: BRITISH STRING QUARTETS The three composers featured on this CD are in themselves leading lights of the contemporary music scene in the UK, and their works (of which these are first recordings) very fine examples of the modern string quartet, all extremely accessible. 809730850721 METI28507.2 14371738 .00 19.99 .22 METIER COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 04/14/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/9/1/5/1495196.jpg 9 1 N
SCHUMANN / JANDO PIANO CONCERTO 747313254729 NXS8557547.2 10559703 .00 19.99 .19 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 02/22/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/3/1/5/705132.jpg 25 1 N
ORCH DEL TEATRO FENICE / MAAZEL / BONFADELLI NEW YEAR'S CONCERT 2004 This concert celebrates the reopening of the Gran Teatro La Fenice several years after it was destroyed by fire. Stefania Bonfadelli, Roberto Aronica, Greta Hodgkinson, Il Ballet to del Sud, and the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro La Fenice perform. 824121000882 TDDVNYC4VDVD 10561478 .00 24.99 .27 TDK DVD VIDEO DIGITAL VIDEO DISC CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 02/22/2005 03/27/2018 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/29/549729.jpg 47 1 N
DOHNANYI / PEDERECKI / BEETHOVEN / DIAZ TRIO STRING TRIOS 661853002124 ATEK21.2 10557112 .00 18.99 .22 ARTEK COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 02/22/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/3/6/5/705634.jpg 2 1 N
CHOPIN / ARRAU / KLEMPERER / WDR SO BALLADES / PIANO CONCERTO 8025726042303 URNA4230.2 10578742 .00 18.99 .23 URANIA COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 03/01/2005 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/80/551380.jpg 7 1 N
SCHUMANN / ENDERS MAJOR PIANO WORKS 812864015638 OEHM366.2 10623299 .00 37.99 .43 OEHMS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 03/22/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/5/1/9/709152.jpg 0 3 N
CHOPIN / KEMPF / PERL / HEWITT PIANO MUSIC More than two hours of beautiful music for solo piano by one of the instrument's best-loved composers, played by Freddy Kempf, Alfredo Perl and Angela Hewitt. 809478000938 BOPU893DVD 10572955 .00 26.99 .21 BBC / OPUS ARTE DIGITAL VIDEO DISC CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 02/22/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/9/2/5/705290.jpg 3 1 N
SOR / STAROBIN LES PLUS BELLES PAGES 090404916625 BRI9166.2 10609859 .00 18.99 .10 BRIDGE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 03/29/2005 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/31/558631-2553411.jpg 8 1 N
HAKALA,TOMMI GREAT BARITONE ARIAS 761195104828 OND1048.2 10648315 .00 18.99 .25 ONDINE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 04/26/2005 08/31/2026 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/1/6/7/707617.jpg 1 1 N
STILL / JETER / FORT SMITH SYMPHONY AFRO-AMERICAN SYMPHONY 636943917428 NAAC8559174.2 10592229 .00 19.99 .20 NAXOS AMERICAN COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 03/22/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/8/0/0/710085.jpg 0 1 N
BACH / IM / KIELLAND / HALLENBERG / MULLER-BRUHL MASS IN B MINOR 747313110254 NXS5110102-03DVA 10592496 .00 32.99 .29 NAXOS DVD AUDIO CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 03/22/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/9/0/0/710092.jpg 19 2 N
DISCOVER BAROQUE MUSIC / VARIOUS DISCOVER BAROQUE MUSIC / VARIOUS 636943816028 NXS8558160-61.2 10595114 .00 21.99 .53 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC V/A COMPILATIONS 03/22/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/9/0/0/710093.jpg 0 2 N
BRITTEN / LOTT / LANGRIDGE / JOHNSON / BONELL FOLK SONG ARRANGEMENTS 747313222025 NXS8557220-21.2 10592571 .00 29.99 .28 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 03/22/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/9/0/0/710097.jpg 3 2 N
CHOIR OF ST JOHN'S COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE / ROBINSON ENGLISH CHORAL MUSIC 747313255726 NXS8557557-58.2 10593370 .00 29.99 .25 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 03/22/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/1/1/0/710115.jpg 6 2 N
ALFANO / YINON / BRANDENBURGISCHES STAATSORCH SYMPHONIES 1 & 2 761203708024 CPO777080.2 10593578 .00 18.99 .21 CPO RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 03/22/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/2/1/0/710124.jpg 0 1 N
MATHIEU / LEFEVRE HOMMAGE A ANDRE MATHIEU 774204927523 ANL29275.2 10595015 .00 20.99 .22 ANALEKTA COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 03/22/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/5/1/0/710155.jpg 5 1 N
ZIMMERMANN / HCD ENSEMBLE / BACH,M ECHOING GREEN 764593015024 MOD150.2 10912072 .00 20.99 .22 MODE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 08/23/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/4/1/4/744147.jpg 3 1 N
REINHARDT,ISMAEL GYPSY SWING 743037192422 ARM1924.2 10737101 .00 16.99 .22 ARC MUSIC COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC 05/03/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/4/7/4/714740.jpg 86 1 N
RAFF / DASKALAKIS / ROGLIT VIOLIN SONATAS NO 1 IN E MAJOR OP 73 812973011224 TUDO7122.2 11198697 .00 21.99 .23 TUDOR COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 11/08/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/8/2/2/782283.jpg 3 1 N
APOLLO SAXOPHONE QUARTET SHORT CUTS 880040201229 QURT2012.2 10689424 .00 18.99 .25 QUARTZ COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 04/26/2005 08/31/2026 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/6/1/6/716161.jpg 18 1 N
BACH / KIELLAND / COLOGNE BACH CHOIR / MULLER-BRUH SACRED CANTANAS FOR ALTO 747313262120 NXS8557621.2 11226420 .00 19.99 .19 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 12/13/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/8/5/4/784584.jpg 29 1 N
ADAMS,JOHN LUTHER PLACE WE BEGAN 800413003229 CDBL32.2 14400902 .00 18.99 .19 COLD BLUE LABEL COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/12/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/5/3/1/1511354.jpg 2 1 N
RUSSKAYA MUZYKA TRADITIONAL MUSIC FROM RUSSIA 5019396220027 ARM2200.2 14319013 .00 16.99 .24 ARC MUSIC COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC RUSSIA / EASTERN EUROPE 03/24/2009 01/03/2025 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/25/1413925.jpg 3 1 N
NIGL,GEORG / PIANCA / GHIELMI GUERRA AMOROSA 5425004849465 PASS946.2 14781414 .00 21.99 .21 PASSACAILLE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 10/13/2009 08/31/2026 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/9/6/4/1564694.jpg 4 1 N
RUBINSTEIN / BANOWETZ PIANO MUSIC (1852-1894) / SOUVENIR DE DRESDE On this second volume of Anton Rubinstein' piano music, GRAMMY-nominated pianist Joseph Banowetz interprets works spanning the composer' long career, from the famous Melody in F, written by the 23-year-old Rubinstein to the nostalgic Souvenir of. 747313094271 NXS8570942.2 15152114 .00 19.99 .19 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 07/27/2010 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/90/1414290-2788019.jpg 30 1 N
CASELLA / HEE YOU / LA VECCHIA SYMPHONY NO 2 / NOTTE ALTA FOR PIANO & ORCHESTRA From the very first notes, with their tolling bells, Casella' Symphony No. 2 is deeply indebted to it's model, Mahler' own Symphony No. 2, whose Parisian premiere was championed by Casella during his years in the French capital. 747313241477 NXS8572414.2 15152190 .00 19.99 .21 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 07/27/2010 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/6/3/2/1672367.jpg 11 1 N
GOLDEN BOUGH CELTIC & ORIG MUSIC: WINDING ROAD BY GOLDEN BOUGH 5019396229426 ARM2294.2 15143624 .00 13.99 .23 ARC MUSIC COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC 07/27/2010 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/8/3/2/1672387.jpg 20 1 N
RODRIGO / BIZET / SAAD / MANSUROV / RPO CELEBRATION OF THE SPANISH GUITAR 5050693194024 RPOR15.2 15168405 .00 18.99 .25 ROYAL PHIL ORCHESTRA COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 07/27/2010 07/01/2025 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/2/4/2/1672428.jpg 15 1 N
SCHUMANN / SYM ORCH BADEN-BADEN / GIELEN SYMPHONIES 2 & 3 4010276023166 HAC93259.2 15144041 .00 20.99 .23 SWRMUSIC COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 07/27/2010 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/4/4/2/1672446.jpg 43 1 N
BELLSON,LOUIE HOT One of the most exciting drummers ever to climb up onto a jazz bandstand leads a terrific group (featuring Clark Terry on flugelhorn) on this recording. Their inspired take on Caravan joins Hot; Hookin' It; Ode to a Friend; the Peaceful Poet; Walkin' with Buddy, and more! 710357271229 NIM2712.2 14299025 .00 16.99 .20 NIMBUS RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 03/10/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/2/2/9/1489226.jpg 3 1 N
GRONDAHL / KJERULF / NORDRAAK / GERICKE / HADLAND LIL EVA: SELECTED NORWEGIAN SONGS 7033662012381 SMXC1238.2 15540164 .00 20.99 .25 SIMAX CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 04/27/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/0/2/8/1558209.jpg 3 1 N
DE LA FUENTE,BENJAMIN LA LONGUE MARCHE: WORKS FOR VIOLIN & ELECTRONICS 3760058369807 AEON980.2 14503498 .00 8.99 .18 AEON COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 07/14/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/6/2/3/1533260.jpg 79 1 N
BACH,J.S. / WINTER / GUILLON / BEEKMAN / ARNOULD CANTATAS 12 78 & 150 3760009292048 ZIG90502.2 14503207 .00 20.99 .16 ZIG ZAG TERRITORIES COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 07/14/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/6/3/3/1533364.jpg 2 1 N
AUERBACH / PETERSEN QUARTET / KUSHPLER STRING QUARTET 8 / 6 VERSES 845221006437 CIO71104.2 14687419 .00 10.99 .26 CAPRICCIO COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/01/2006 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/9/7/3/1503791.jpg 0 1 N
BRAHMS / GHINDIN / SPIVAKOV VIOLIN SONATAS 1-3 845221006277 CIO71082.2 14687143 .00 10.99 .24 CAPRICCIO COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/01/2000 08/31/2026 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/1/8/3/1503814.jpg 14 1 N
YSAYE / KRAGGERUD / MONSEN / TOMTER / REE STRING TRIO LE CHIMEY While Ysaye' Six Solo Violin Sonatas remain his best known works, the Belgian virtuoso also composed other pieces which translate his thorough knowledge of the violin' capabilities into thrilling music. The performance here of his Sonata for Two Vio. 747313097777 NXS8570977.2 14736742 .00 19.99 .21 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 10/27/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/3/0/9/1569033.jpg 1 1 N
PAGANINI / KUUSISTO / ESKELINEN DUOS 761195114223 OND1142-2.2 14743993 .00 18.99 .21 ONDINE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 10/27/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/7/0/9/1569072.jpg 2 1 N
MENDELSSOHN / VOLLE / HAAG / SONNLEITNER / KOFLER GERMAN ROMANTIC CHRISTMAS 812864018400 OEHM924.2 14744600 .00 19.99 .55 OEHMS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 10/27/2009 08/31/2026 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/7/0/9/1569079.jpg 6 1 N
LEVY / BALLANTYNE / YUASA SYMPHONY 3 CELLO CONCERTO 2 Son of the distinguished Swiss composer, pianist, and teacher Ernst Levy, Frank Ezra Levy was born in Paris on 15th October, 1930, and came to New York in 1939. He began cello lessons at the age of ten, and at twelve he began studies in theory and composition with Hugo Kauder, which continued for nine years. After graduating from the High School of Music and Art, Levy attended the Juilliard School of Music and the University of Chicago. His major cello teachers were Leonard Rose and Janos Starker. A former member of the St Louis Symphony and the Feldman Chamber Ensemble, Frank Ezra Levy is still a professional cellist, and continues to compose. Large works include a four-act comic opera, a cantata, four symphonies, several other orchestral pieces, and eight concertos. All the rest of his 88 published works are chamber music, an extraordinary variety of pieces for 1-15 instruments, often in highly unusual combinations. Notable premières of Frank Levy's music include his Third Symphony at Carnegie Hall (1989), the Holocaust Triptych at Manhattan School of Music (1993), his First Cello Concerto at Lincoln Center (2002) and Apostrophe No. 3 for 15 solo strings, at Music Festival of the Hamptons (2004). Currently available among his recorded works are the Fourth Symphony and First Cello Concerto. LP recordings include the Violin Duo, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Suite for Horn and Piano, Adagio and Rondo for Two Clarinets and Bass Clarinet, and the Brass Quintet. 636943923429 NAAC8559234.2 11226802 .00 19.99 .22 NAXOS AMERICAN COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 12/13/2005 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/4/8/4/784846.jpg 6 1 N
RAVEL / TRIO DALI / SAVARY / SAREIKA / LA MARCA PIANO TRIO 5400439005471 FUGL547.2 14312441 .00 20.99 .17 FUGA LIBERA LABEL COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 03/10/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/5/2/9/1489255.jpg 2 1 N
KHANER,JEFFREY / ABRAMOVIC GERMAN FLUTE MUSIC 822252207620 AVIE2076.2 14693403 .00 19.99 .25 AVIE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 10/13/2009 08/31/2026 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/9/1/8/1558193.jpg 6 1 N
CHANG,EVELYN POETS FROM THE EAST 822252216820 AVIE2168.2 14503238 .00 19.99 .24 AVIE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 07/14/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/8/2/3/1533282.jpg 2 1 N
PORPORA / MANZOTTI / I MUSICI DELLA CONCORDIA OPERA ARIAS 8007194104417 TCS681601.2 14503795 .00 21.99 .23 TACTUS RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 07/14/2009 08/31/2026 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/5/3/3/1533357.jpg 4 1 N
SHOSTAKOVICH / RLPO / PETRENKO SYMPHONY NO. 11 THE YEAR 1905 Charismatic young conductor Vasily Petrenko launches his Shostakovich Symphonies series with the Eleventh, a highly charged depiction of the 'Bloody Sunday' massacre of over two hundred peaceful demonstrators by Czarist soldiers outside the Winter Palace in St Petersburg in 1905. Scored for a sizeable orchestra of triple woodwind, four horns, three each of trumpets and trombones, tuba timpani, percussion, celesta, harps and strings, the Symphony makes extensive use of revolutionary songs as thematic elements, as it progresses, without pause, from the glacial opening movement, Palace Square, to the terrifying massacre and it's aftermath, The Ninth of January, the funereal third movement, Eternal Memory, and the final movement, The Tocsin, which culminates with cataclysmic bell strokes. 747313208272 NXS8572082.2 14339059 .00 19.99 .22 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 03/31/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/3/6/4/1494632.jpg 3 1 N
BREWER,CHRISTINE / LPO / PARRY CHRISTINE BREWER SOPRANO 2 Featuring Gluck Arias from Alceste, Wagner Arias from Tannhauser, Beethoven Fidelio Act 1, Britten, Menotti, Handel (sung in English). 095115315927 CHN3159.2 14344602 .00 13.99 .36 CHANDOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 03/31/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/3/6/4/1494637.jpg 2 1 N
SAINT-SAENS / RIMONDA / CANZIANI PETITE ECOLE DE LA MELODIE 095115151020 CHN10510.2 14344534 .00 21.99 .25 CHANDOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 03/31/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/6/6/4/1494664.jpg 33 1 N
MENDELSSOHN / GOETZ / BRUTSCHER / MERTENS / HAGEL PAULUS OP 36 881488900859 PROL9008.2 14341946 .00 24.99 .42 PROFIL - G HAENSSLER COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 03/31/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/8/6/4/1494685.jpg 8 2 N
INSTITUTO EL CIMARRON MUSIC FROM ARGENTINA: FOLK MUSIC & TANGOS 743037220729 ARM2207.2 14404344 .00 16.99 .25 ARC MUSIC COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC 05/05/2009 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/94/1418294.jpg 3 1 N
FESTIVAL OF SAN MIGUEL TZINACAPAN / VARIOUS FESTIVAL OF SAN MIGUEL TZINACAPAN / VARIOUS 794881916320 OCO561099.2 14431210 .00 20.99 .18 OCORA FRANCE COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC V/A COMPILATIONS 05/12/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/2/8/1/1511820.jpg 3 1 N
JOACHIM / KIM / STAATSKAPELLE WEIMAR / HALASZ VIOLIN CONCERTOS IN HUNGARIAN STYLE OP 11 A colleague of Mendelssohn, the Schumann's and Brahms, the virtuoso violinist Joseph Joachim was himself a composer of note. His exuberant single-movement Opus 3 Violin Concerto from around 1851 was dedicated to Liszt. 747313099177 NXS8570991.2 14736711 .00 19.99 .21 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/27/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/3/0/9/1569034.jpg 3 1 N
SHOSTAKOVICH / RLPO / PETRENKO SYMPHONIES NOS 5 & 9 Following their electrifying account of Shostakovich' Eleventh Symphony, Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra explore the profound ambivalences of the composer' most performed symphony, the Fifth, written in 1937 at a time. 747313216772 NXS8572167.2 14736674 .00 19.99 .22 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/27/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/3/0/9/1569036.jpg 0 1 N
ADAM / COJOCARU / KOBBORG / NUNEZ / PETIPA GISELLE Alina Cojocatu, Johan Kobborg, Marianela Nunez, and Martin Harvey perform in this Royal Ballet production of the Adam ballet conducted by Boris Gruzin. 809478070306 BOPU7030BR 14471902 .00 39.99 .25 BBC / OPUS ARTE BLU-RAY CLASSICAL OPERA / OPERETTA / ORATORIO 05/26/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/7/0/3/1513071.jpg 0 1 N
VIVALDI / DEUTER / HARMONIE UNIVERSELLE VIOLIN CONCERTOS 3760107400154 ELOQ815.2 13784300 .00 29.99 .20 ELOQUENTIA FRANCE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 08/12/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/4/2/1/1381245.jpg 0 2 N
FREITAS / RTE NAT'L SO / CASSUTO SYMPHONY NO. 1 / SUITE ALENTEJANA Luis de Freitas Branco was a pre-eminent figure in Portuguese music of the first half of the twentieth century. This first disc of a four volume series of Freitas Branco' orchestral works features the First Symphony in which the influence of Cesar Franc. 747313076574 NXS8570765.2 13802110 .00 19.99 .22 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 07/29/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/1/2/9/1379214.jpg 14 1 N
HAYDN / BABANOV / SCHUSTER / DASKALAKIS TRUMPET CONCERTO / HORN CONCERTO NO. 1 Haydn' popular Trumpet Concerto is best known for it's thrilling first movement cadenza and brilliant and inventive Rondo finale. The Horn Concerto No. 1 is also notable for the technical demands made on the soloist, not least the large octave leaps. 747313048274 NXS8570482.2 13787165 .00 19.99 .20 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 07/29/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/2/2/9/1379220.jpg 3 1 N
IRELAND / LENEHAN PIANO WORKS 3 John Ireland' piano music, some of the most appealing British piano music of the twentieth century, reflects the composer' many interests: his love of literature, his interest in paganism and Celtic mysticism. 747313046171 NXS8570461.2 13786939 .00 19.99 .20 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 07/29/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/2/2/9/1379224.jpg 105 1 N
BELLINI / CORELLI / NERI / CALLAS / SANTINI NORMA: ACT 1 8014399501514 MYT151.2 13699697 .00 10.99 .21 MYTO RECORDS ITALY COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL OPERA / OPERETTA / ORATORIO 06/24/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/3/4/9/1379439.jpg 4 1 N
BELLOMY,DAN BACK TO BROOKLYN 021475011087 CMB1108.2 06410759 .00 18.99 .20 CAMBRIA RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 06/29/1999 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/6/4/2/1552468.jpg 1 N
KING'S SINGERS COLLECTION / VARIOUS KING'S SINGERS COLLECTION / VARIOUS 635212012024 SGUK120.2 13688608 .00 58.99 1.11 SIGNUM CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC V/A COMPILATIONS 06/24/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/3/7/4/1374732.jpg 11 5 Y
EWAZEN / TELEMANN / DOPPLER / MULLER / BACH SOUVENIRS: CHAMBER MUSIC HORN FLUTE & PIANO Souvenirs: Chamber Music for Horn, Flute and Piano by Peter Green 044747294421 CAV2944.2 13696504 .00 18.99 .18 CENTAUR COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 06/24/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/5/7/4/1374755.jpg 4 1 N
WOLF-FERRARI / RODRIGUES / RLPO / PETRENKO SUSANNA'S SECRET 822252219326 AVIE2193.2 15133885 .00 19.99 .34 AVIE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 08/10/2010 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/2/6/4/1674621.jpg 8 1 N
MY FIRST MOZART ALBUM / VARIOUS MY FIRST MOZART ALBUM / VARIOUS If you listen carefully to this CD, you will get to know one of the best composers in the world. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived 250 years ago but he carries on being famous-so he must have been special. He giggled a lot. 747313820474 NXS8578204.2 16182974 .00 19.99 .21 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC V/A COMPILATIONS 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/7/2/8/1908270.jpg 0 1 N
HAAS / ENSEMBLE COSMEDIN ANIMA MEA: SACRED MUSIC OF THE MIDDLE AGES Anima mea explores the Christian concept of the soul through these masterpieces of medieval Sacred Music. Hildegard of Bingen' beautifully exalted harmonies represent God' order in the music of the spheres. 747313263271 NXS8572632.2 16182882 .00 19.99 .23 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/3/3/8/1908333.jpg 0 1 N
WAGNER / YOUNG / PHILHARMONIKER HAMBURG / POLASKI GOTTERDAMMERUNG 4260034869288 OEHM928.2 16183056 .00 47.99 .77 OEHMS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/5/3/8/1908350.jpg 5 4 Y
WETZ / ZUMBUELT / DOMBERGCHOR ERFURT CHRISTMAS ORATORIO 53 761203763825 CPO777638.2 16136182 .00 18.99 .25 CPO RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS / CHANUKKAH 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/6/3/8/1908360.jpg 16 1 N
PORTSMOUTH CHAMBER CHOIR / BEAMISH / MOLDOVEANU SONG MORE SILENT 822252214727 AVIE2147.2 14159244 .00 19.99 .16 AVIE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHILDRENS 11/25/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/7/2/3/1443278.jpg 11 1 N
PLACE / HICKEY / LINELL MUSIC FOR SHAKESPEARE'S THEATRE Music played an important role in the Renaissance theatre and Shakespeare brought new subtlety to it's use. In a theatre without lights and sets, it fell to music to underline mood, whether for magic, comedy, feasting or pathos. 747313070879 NXS8570708.2 20566654 .00 19.99 .21 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 04/29/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/2/5/2/1482524.jpg 3 1 N
KORNGOLD / STRAUSS / PRAGUE SYM ORCH / KOUT CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN & ORCHESTRA 099925396220 SPP3962.2 14737381 .00 14.99 .20 SUPRAPHON COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/27/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/5/4/1/1571451.jpg 0 1 N
KOVACS / DONATONI / BASSETT / KOMIVES / HARTIG CHALUMEAU 044747296524 CAV2965.2 14737640 .00 18.99 .20 CENTAUR COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 10/27/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/6/4/1/1571462.jpg 12 1 N
VIVALDI / MCMURTRY / HUHTANEN / MCLEOD / MALLON SACRED MUSIC -MAGNIFICAT 3 / NISI DOMINUS Vivaldi' sacred music occupies a place of honour in his vast output, dovetailing passages of great tenderness and sombre beauty, rich in cantabile expressiveness, with highly operatic movements of colourful and exciting virtuosity. 747313044573 NXS8570445.2 13956387 .00 19.99 .25 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 09/30/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/4/8/1/1411848.jpg 28 1 N
HAYDN / OELZE / WEIR / LIKA / NORRINGTON / COE CREATION HOBXXI:2 881488707458 PROL7074.2 13959890 .00 24.99 .25 PROFIL - G HAENSSLER COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 09/30/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/5/8/1/1411854.jpg 7 2 N
CLASSICAL DREAMS / VARIOUS CLASSICAL DREAMS / VARIOUS 881488806557 PROL8065.2 13960827 .00 54.99 .25 PROFIL - G HAENSSLER COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL V/A COMPILATIONS 09/30/2008 08/31/2026 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/38/1308038.jpg 9 3 N
RAVEL / SAINT-SAENS / FOURNET / BILKENT SO / BIRET IDIL BIRET RAVEL EDITION 3 - PIANO CONCERTOS The Turkish pianist Idil Biret was one of the greatest child prodigies of the 20th century. Her recital at the Boston Conservatory demonstrated that she is no less prodigious today. She played a long and demanding program with the power, concentration.
Mozart: 45 Symphonies / Adam Fischer, Danish National Chamber Orchestra
Dacapo Classical
CD
$53.99
Jan 28, 2014
MOZART Symphonies Nos. 1, 4–31, 33–36, 39–41. Symphonies, K 19a, 42a, 45a–b, 73l–n, 73q, 111b • Ádám Fischer, cond; Danish Natl CO • DACAPO 8.201201 (12 CDs: 716:42)
I mentioned in my review of a single disc from this series, which included symphonies Nos. 28–30 (Fanfare 34:4), that I didn’t think that Ádám Fischer’s performances captured “Mozart’s drama as well as they capture his elegance,” but added the caveat that it’s difficult to gauge an entire series of symphonies by one CD. Alas, in later reviewing the disc including symphonies Nos. 31, 33, and 34, I had the opposite feeling, that Fischer was making a “race to the finish line” and playing the symphonies too quickly. Now, as it so happened, I reviewed those two discs about two years apart, and so did not have the first still on hand to compare to the second, or to think about the differences in approach. But now I have the full set of 45 symphonies to review, and my feelings have changed. Now I am inclined to agree with Patrick Rucker, who gave a rave review to the single disc of symphonies Nos. 15–18 in Fanfare 31:1 (a disc reviewed, I believe, before I joined the magazine staff), stating that he was “grasping for superlatives.”
The difference? Listening to the entire series in chronological sequence. By doing so, I noted that, despite an overall theatrical approach to these symphonies (in the liner notes, Fischer admits that he tends to think of orchestral music “operatically,” i.e., finding a dramatic theme or thread in the music that he then tries to bring out), he does make distinctions between the earlier and the later symphonies. Reducing his approach to a few basics, he plays the earlier symphonies with equal drama and electricity but with far fewer changes in dynamics and fewer rubato touches. In addition, I was able to download the scores of four of the symphonies—two of the most famous late works (40 and 41) and two early symphonies (Nos. 5 and 15, chosen pretty much at random)—and although these are not up-to-date, verified, Urtext scores like the ones Fischer worked from, they do include dynamics markings. And, as any number of conductors of the past have mentioned, they do not tell you what to do between the forte here and the piano four or six bars later (or vice versa). You are expected to follow your own good taste in approaching them.
Perhaps another deciding factor for me was in hearing Philippe Herreweghe’s more dynamic performances of symphonies Nos. 39 and 41 and, believe it or not, Bruno Walter’s historic performances of symphonies Nos. 39–41. Despite Walter’s slower tempos (and richer string sound), he actually elicited much more nuance and detail from those symphonies than did Jaap ter Linden, whose set I gave a good review to and suggested at the time that it was a fine historically-informed set of the Mozart symphonies. But, to be honest, what really sold me on Fischer’s approach were his performances of the early, lesser-known, oft-neglected, and unnumbered symphonies. Each and every one of them sounded as if it was just bursting with excitement, yet not too much that it overpowered the music on the printed page.
Moreover, what struck me in the single disc of symphonies 31, 33 and 34 as too fast now, suddenly, made sense in context. And, for the several Toscanini-bashers out there, I found it almost comical to note that Fischer takes the Finale of the “Jupiter” Symphony at virtually the same tempo that they consider “too fast.” The difference, of course, is that musicians of the 1940s and 50s weren’t used to playing Mozart this swiftly, and so they tended to sound pressed, whereas Fischer’s Danish National Chamber Orchestra skips through the music deftly and nimbly, like snow rabbits dashing across the landscape. It’s the comfort level of the executants that makes the difference, then, not the “wrong” tempo.
A good example of Fischer’s approach is CD 3, where he presents no less that four symphonies in a row that are all in the key of D Major (K 73l, m, n, and q). It would have been very easy for him, and the orchestra, to simply slip into an all-purpose style for these works, which of course would make them sound pretty much the same, yet he continually varies his approach from work to work. I do, however, caution the listener to approach this set one CD at a time. That is what I did, listening on consecutive nights to only one CD per evening, and it worked out pretty well. You get a better feel for the magnitude of Fischer’s achievement that way, and you are being fairer to both him and the Danish orchestra, whose players helped prod him on to take chances with the music and do things differently from the norm. After all, this was a seven-year project for them. These symphonies did not just get all rehearsed and recorded within a year or two.
I should also point out the work that went into Symphony No. 15, one of the four I obtained scores of. In the notes, Fischer asserts that if this work had not been by Mozart, who wrote so many symphonies and so many of good quality, it would probably be a much better known work, possibly a repertoire staple. Just reading the score, the music does look promising but certainly not brilliant. The first movement, for instance, is in a quick 3/4 time, featuring a jagged melody with the usual wide-ranging melodic leaps. From the first bar, the dynamics marking is forte, which changes to piano at bar 13, then back to forte at bar 22, piano again at bar 25, forte on the first beat of bar 30 with a sudden fp on the second beat (a half note played by the oboes, trumpets, and first violins, while the second violins play 16ths and the violas, cellos, and basses play eighth notes). It’s all pretty cut-and-dry, you might say, and this is how most conductors play it. Fischer adds a little burst of extra volume at the top of bar 5, when the agitated strings play against long-held notes by oboes and trumpets, and there are all sorts of little gradations of sound in various places, including slight crescendos to emphasize the musical drama. More interestingly, none of this sounds particularly fussy; if you didn’t have the score in front of you, or if you hadn’t heard any number of flat-response historically-informed performances, you’d think that this is simply the way the music goes. Toscanini once said it isn’t the f here or the p there that’s difficult to gauge, but what to do in between. Sadly, Toscanini paid little attention to most of Mozart’s symphonies because, except for the last three, he found most of them boring: “Is always beautiful, but always the same!” In Fischer’s performances, nothing is “always the same.” In the Andante of this Symphony, for instance, there are no dynamics markings at all, yet Fischer plays it at a moderate mp with further gradations down to p or pp and back again. By such means does he create and sustain interest.
The notes also explain the reason why the music sounds so vibrant and alive: His string players all use steel strings, which gives the music a consistently “edgy” quality that reveals, as Fischer put it, Mozart’s “earthily honest side.” The more you think about it, the more this makes sense, since Mozart was strongly influenced by both Haydn and C. P. E. Bach, both of whom exploited an earthy, dramatic quality in their symphonies.
Probably the most difficult aspect of the earlier symphonies to overcome was the monotony of orchestration. Clarinets, horns, and other instruments only begin to appear in Mozart’s symphonies later on; earlier, the composer had to rely on his ingenuity of counter-rhythms and occasional harmonic changes to sustain interest, and unlike Haydn, Mozart almost invariably sought the widest possible popularity for his music (perhaps one of the reasons why Toscanini found it “always the same”). Yet, as the notes also point out, in Mozart’s day no one bothered to listen to music more than three years old as a rule. It was all about what was new, not what had come before. No one gave a hoot back then about “historical performance practice” because they didn’t want it and wouldn’t have listened if you gave it to them.
I still feel that occasional movements, such as the Andantes of the “Paris” Symphony and No. 39, are a shade too fast for my taste, but in the context of Fischer’s overall musical conception what he plays works very well. I can now accept what I hear in those later symphonies because my tolerance was built up through what he did with the numerous early works. In short, I have taken this symphonic journey with Fischer, the only difference being that I did it in 12 nights rather than in seven years.
I have now replaced the Jaap ter Linden set of Mozart symphonies on my shelf with this one. I strongly urge you to give them a listen and see if you don’t agree.
FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley
DOPPLER & KUHLAU: ROMANTIC & VIRTUOSO MUSIC FOR
RUBICON
CD
$20.17
Jun 10, 2022
The Doppler brothers and Friedrich Kulhau have yet to attract the public recognition that they already enjoy from the worldwide community of flautists. They certainly deserve to be better known and it is not unreasonable to think that the recognition that Paganini, Ysaye and Sarasate enjoy as famous composers for their instrument will one day be enjoyed by these neglected composers of romantic and virtuosic music for the flute. The Doppler brothers were born in the city of Lemberg, now L'viv in Ukraine. Their father conducted a military band. Successful both as composers and publishers, they also held important Kapellmeister positions in Germany and Hungary. Kuhlau, also the son of a military bandsman, was primarily a pianist (he championed Beethoven's piano music in his native Denmark) and his C major piano concerto Op.7 of 1810 is worth getting to know. He was a friend of Beethoven - the two composers famously got on well - especially in pubs in Vienna! The flute featured prominently in Kuhlau's output from his earliest works to his final years, from which the delightful trio of 1831 on this album dates.
Nobel Prize Concert - Joshua Bell, Sakari Oramo
Accentus Music
DVD
$31.99
May 31, 2011
Also available on Blu-ray
THE NOBEL PRIZE CONCERT 2010
Ludwig van Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3 in C major, Op. 72b
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82
Joshua Bell, violin
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor
Bonus:
- Interviews featuring Joshua Bell, Sakari Oramo, and Mario Vargas Llosa, the 2010 Nobel Laureate in Literature.
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 91 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)
THE NOBEL PRIZE CONCERT 2010
Ludwig van Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3 in C major, Op. 72b
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82
Joshua Bell, violin
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor
Bonus:
- Interviews featuring Joshua Bell, Sakari Oramo, and Mario Vargas Llosa, the 2010 Nobel Laureate in Literature.
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 91 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)
Saint-Saëns: Cello Sonatas no 1 & 2, etc / Kliegel, et al
Naxos
CD
$19.99
Jan 30, 2007
SAINT-SAËNS Cello Sonatas: No. 1 in c; No. 2 in F. Suite for Cello and Piano • Maria Kliegel (vc); François-Joël Thiollier (pn) • NAXOS 8.557880 (77:32)
It has been previously noted that Saint-Saëns’s four major works for cello were composed more or less in tandem pairs. 1872–73 saw the twin births of the C-Minor Sonata, op. 32, and the A-Minor Concerto, op. 33. The composer was approaching 40 at the time; yet for a man who lived to 86, these may still be regarded as fairly early works. Not until nearly 30 years later did Saint-Saëns turn again to the cello, this time composing in reverse order the D-Minor Concerto, op. 119, in 1902, followed in 1905 by the Sonata in F Major, op. 123.
My only grumble about Jamie Walton’s Saint-Saëns CD (reviewed in 29:6) was that had he omitted “The Swan” movement from The Carnival of the Animals , there would have been just enough room on the disc to include the Second Sonata, thereby giving us all four of the composer’s major works for cello on a single disc. It turns out that in writing that review, I overlooked the even earlier, but hardly insignificant, 1862 Suite for Cello and Piano, op. 16, which, at 23 minutes’ duration, is even longer than the First Sonata and certainly qualifies as a “major” work.
With the current release, cellist Maria Kliegel and pianist François-Joël Thiollier fill in the blanks, offering us, along with the C-Minor Sonata, the earlier Suite and the later F-Major Sonata, both of which were absent from Walton’s entry. The juxtaposition of these works on the same disc affords us the opportunity to hear for ourselves the evolution, both professional and personal, of a man whose interior life may have been more complex than received opinion about him has otherwise led us to believe.
The five-movement Suite makes no pretense to a refracted antique or neo-Baroque style—as some of the composer’s early works do—despite note writer Keith Anderson’s assertion that its Prelude loosely resembles the arpeggio Praeludium of Bach’s G-Major Solo Cello Suite. Saint-Saëns’s Suite is an ardent, effusive romantic outpouring that has more in common with the young, though never youthful, Brahms than it has with anything from an earlier time.
The C-Minor Sonata, though coming 10 years after the Suite, is all surface Sturm und Drang somewhat reminiscent of Mendelssohn. It was works such as this that earned Saint-Saëns his reputation as an arch-conservative in thrall to German models and aesthetics.
The F-Major Sonata, written when he was 70, has clearly evolved away from the composer’s earlier, more immediately recognizable profile. Though still adhering to the principles of sonata form, the piece has about it a more through-composed feeling that is carried forward by a gorgeous rippling piano part rather in the manner of the composer’s own student, Fauré. More significant, however, is the genuine expressiveness and depth of the music, which clearly belie the notion that Saint-Saëns was but an extremely gifted tunesmith and facile craftsman with an uncanny instinct for writing music devoid of any meaningful substance.
Maria Kliegel can be heard in a wide range of repertoire that she has recorded for Naxos; with over 50 entries in their catalog, she is perhaps the company’s leading “stable” cellist, a term that unfortunately carries certain uncomplimentary connotations. Be assured that in Kliegel’s case they are not deserved, for she is a fantastic player with solid technique, spot-on intonation, and robust tone, which she projects with a great deal of confidence and authority. If her delivery is not quite as smooth and refined as that of the aforementioned Jamie Walton, my sense is that she wants us to perceive Saint-Saëns as both more serious and more substantive than he is often taken to be.
François-Joël Thiollier has also recorded extensively for Naxos, having made a specialty of the French piano repertoire. His partnering with Kliegel is a natural. For the excellent performances, fine sound, budget price, and smart programming, I’m inclined to call this disc indispensable for lovers of chamber music for cello and piano.
FANFARE: Jerry Dubins
In Concert
SteepleChase
CD
$22.99
Aug 15, 2022
SteepleChase is proud to announce the inaugural release of the “In Concert” series of previously unissued live recordings from Falkoner Centret in Copenhagen, where numerous prominent American bands and soloists performed for the very appreciative audiences in the late 50s. The Swing King Benny Goodman (1909-86) toured Europe in 1959 with his 10-piece band featuring vibraphonist Red Norvo and adding vocalist Anita O’Day on two tracks. This well-attended concert is from October 17, 1959.
BENNY GOODMAN (cl), RED NORVO (vib), RUSS FREEMAN (p), JIMMY WYBLE (g), RED WOOTEN (b), JOHN MARKHAM (dr), JACK SHELDON (tp, voc*). FLIP PHILLIPS (ts), JERRY DODGION (as, fl), BILL HARRIS (tb), ANITA O’DAY (voc*)
Itzhak Perlman: Complete RCA & Columbia Album Collection
Sony Masterworks
CD
$59.98
Aug 07, 2020
In celebration of the great Israeli-American violinist’s 75th birthday, Sony Classical is proud to present the first-ever collection of Itzhak Perlman’s complete recordings for RCA and CBS/Sony in a single box set: 18 CDs spanning the years 1965 to 2012.
Itzhak Perlman has dominated the world of violin virtuosos for half a century. His TV appearances had already made him a household name in the US by the time he was 13. A few years later came his Carnegie Hall debut, then the prestigious Leventritt Award, followed by triumphant tours of Israel, North America and Europe between 1965 and 1968. By then he was an international celebrity and recognized “not just as the finest violinist of his generation but as one of the greatest musical talents to emerge since World War II” (leading string authority Tully Potter writing in the NEW GROVE).
And it was then that Perlman began his illustrious, virtually unparalleled career as a recording artist. His first sessions for RCA, accompanied by pianist David Garvey – with works ranging from sonatas by Handel, Leclair and Hindemith to showpieces by Paganini, Bazzini, Sarasate and Falla – took place in New York in 1965 but were not issued for nearly 40 years because the label felt concertos would make a more suitable commercial debut for the rising star. When an album of these pieces was finally released – as “Perlman Rediscovered”, in 2004 – it was hailed “an outstanding tribute to one of the great names among violinists of any age, as well as a remarkably varied and interesting recital in its own right” (ClassicsToday). These tracks are, of course, included in the new collection.
Perlman’s first concerto efforts for RCA – the Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and Prokofiev Second, with Leinsdorf and the Boston Symphony – were set down in 1966/1967 and released the following years as his recording debut. ClassicsToday acclaimed them in a recent reissue as “offering playing that is gutsy and shamelessly virtuosic, and with a sharper rhythmic focus than Perlman often achieved subsequently. The finale of the Sibelius remains a potent example of the playing’s youthful fire.” In 1969, Perlman recorded what was arguably one of the finest albums of his career, the two Prokofiev Sonatas (which he never remade), partnered by pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy at the beginning of their long and distinguished collaboration: “Delicate where needs be … and yet with a Heifetzian resilience that both sonatas willingly respond to … Perlman and Ashkenazy play with astonishing virtuosity” (Gramophone).
Itzhak Perlman’s work for American Columbia began in the mid-1970s and – apart from Bach and Vivaldi multi-violin concertos with Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman and the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta – cover a wide swath of chamber music with special partners: pianists Daniel Barenboim and Emanuel Ax, cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Lynn Harrell and guitarist John Williams. The Mendelssohn Piano Trios with Ax and Ma, first released in 2010, appear here for the first time in a Perlman collection (“…ensemble balance, clarity of inner part-writing, drama, lyricism, and phrase shaping of the highest order … I find these performances not just outstanding; I find them astounding” (Fanfare).
That other John Williams, the legendary composer for the silver screen, was Perlman’s collaborator in another medium, the movies: his two best-selling “Cinema Serenade” albums arranged and conducted by Williams, with Perlman featured in selections from such classic films as Modern Times, Gone with the Wind, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Out of Africa, Cinema Paradiso, The Color Purple and, of course, the theme that Perlman memorably performed on the soundtrack of Williams’s Oscar-winning score for the Spielberg masterpiece Schindler’s List.
New to Perlman CD editions are two complete soundtrack albums: John Williams’s “elegant and thoughtful score” for Memoirs of a Geisha in which the violinist is joined by Yo-Yo Ma and to which Perlman “brings a magical and peculiarly oriental sound to his violin-playing” (Gramophone), and the music for Yimou Zhang’s Hero by Tan Dun: “Few composers today write more effective melodies for bowed strings” (Gramophone). And to round off this uniquely wide-ranging survey of the violinist’s musical passions and triumphs, in its first appearance in a Perlman collection, the artist is joined by golden-voiced cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot in Eternal Echoes, a highly praised album of liturgical and traditional selections which the violinist has affectionately described as “Jewish comfort music – everything that I recognize from my childhood is in this program.”
SET CONTENTS
DISC 1:
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63
Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47
DISC 2:
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, TH 59
Dvořák: Romance in F Minor, Op. 11, B. 39
DISC 3:
Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 80
Prokofiev: Violin Sonata in D Major No. 2, Op. 94bis
DISC 4:
Lalo: Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21
Ravel: Tzigane, M. 76 (Version for Violin & Orchestra)
DISC 5:
Paganini: Centone di sonate, Op. 64, MS 112 (Sonata No. 1 in A Minor)
Paganini: Sonata for Violin and Guitar in E Minor, Op. 3, No. 6, MS 27
Paganini: Sonata concertata in A Major, Op. 61, MS 2
Giuliani: Duo concertante in E Minor, Op. 25 "Grand Sonata"
Giuliani: Cantabile in D Major, Op. 17, MS 109
DISC 6:
Dohnányi: Serenade in C Major, Op. 10
Beethoven: Serenade in D Major, Op. 8
DISC 7:
Bach, J.S.: Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043
Vivaldi: Concerto for 3 Violins in F Major, RV 551
Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E-Flat Major, K. 364
DISC 8:
Chausson: Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet in D Major, Op. 21
DISC 9:
Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78
Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100
Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108
DISC 10:
Mozart: Duo for Violin & Viola in G Major, K. 423
Mozart: Duo for Violin and Viola, K. 424
Leclair: 6 Sonatas for 2 Violins, Op. 3, No. 4
DISC 11:
Lubbock/Rosenbaum/Jones/Temperton: The Color Purple: Main Title
Gardel: Scent of a Woman: Tango (Por Una Cabeza)
Legrand: Yentl: Papa, Can You Hear Me?
Bacalov: Il Postino: Theme
Bernstein: The Age of Innocence: Theme
Williams: Theme (From "Far and Away")
Legrand: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg: I Will Wait for You
Previn: Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Theme
Williams: Sabrina: Theme
Barry: Out of Africa: Main Title
Bonfa: Black Orpheus: Manha de Carnaval
Williams: Main Theme (From "Schindler's List")
Morricone: Love Theme (From "Cinema Paradiso")
DISC 12:
Raksin: Theme from "Laura" (1944)
Steiner: Theme from Now, Voyager (1942)
Chaplin: Smile from "Modern Times" (1936)
Rózsa: Love Theme from Lost Weekend (1945)
Young: St. Patrick's Day from The Quiet Man (1952) (Traditional)
Korngold: Marian & Robin Love Theme from "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938)
Hupfeld: As Time Goes By from "Casablanca" (1942)
Walton: Touch Her Soft Lips and Part (From "Henry V")
Young: Stella by Starlight from The Uninvited (1944)
Young: Theme from My Foolish Heart (1949)
Steiner: Tara's Theme (From "Gone with the Wind" 1939)
Newman: Cathy's Theme from "Wuthering Heights" (1939)
DISC 13:
Tan Dun: Works
DISC 14:
Paganini: 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1, MS 25
Ben-Haim: Berceuse Sfaradite
Sarasate: Navarra, Op. 33
Handel: Violin Sonata in E Major, Op. 1 No. 15, HWV 373
Hindemith: Violin Sonata, Op. 11 No. 1 in E-Flat
Leclair: Violin Sonata, Op. 9 No. 3 in D
Bloch: Baal Shem: II. Nigun (Version for Violin & Piano)
Falla: Spanish Dance No. 1 (from La vida breve)
Bazzini: La ronde des lutins, Op. 25
DISC 15: John Williams: Works
DISC 16:
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 2 in C Minor Op. 66
Mendelssohn: Songs without Words, Op. 19, No. 1 Sweet Remembrance" - Andante con moto"
Mendelssohn: Songs without Words, Op. 38, No. 2 - Allegro non troppo
DISC 17:
Berditchever: A Dudele
Shenker: Mizmor L'Dovid
Goldfaden: Shoyfer Shel Moshiakh
Schwartz: Romanian Doyne
Rosenblatt: T'filas Tal
Traditional: Yism'chu
Schloßberg: R'tzay
Traditional: Dem Trisker Rebns Khosid
Schorr: Sheyibone Bays Hamikdosh
Traditional: Kol Nidrei
DISC 18:
Tchaikovsky: Sérénade mélancolique, Op. 26, TH 56
Tchaikovsky: Valse-Scherzo, Op. 34, TH 58
Dvořák: Romance in F Minor, Op. 11, B. 39
Dvořák: 8 Humoresques, Op. 101, B. 187: No. 7, Poco lento e grazioso (Transcribed by Oscar Morawetz for Violin, Cello & Orchestra)
Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 90, B. 166: "Dumky", V. Allegro
Dvořák: Slavonic Dances, Op. 72, B. 147: No. 2, Dumka. Allegretto grazioso
Halvorsen: Passacaglia and Sarabande for Violin and Viola (With Variations on a Theme by Handel)
Walton: Canzonetta from Henry V
Williams: Air and Simple Gifts
Rosetti: Oboe Concertos; Symphonies / Moesus, Meier, Zurich Chamber Orchestra
CPO
CD
$18.99
Jun 28, 2011
ROSETTI Oboe Concertos: in C; in C. Symphonies: in F; in D • Kurt Meier (ob); Johannes Moesus (cond); Zurich CO • CPO 777-631-2 (71:16)
Quite apart from the fact that he’s virtually forgotten, the composer of record has a problem. According to the Harvard Biographical Dictionary , “He has been confused with Franz Anton Rössler, a cobbler, and five other musicians named Antonio Rosetti.” That’s severe! It may be that he should have stuck with his given name, Franti?ek Antonín Rössler, except that the Italianization worked for him during his very active lifetime. Rössler/Rosetti was born in Litom??ice, Bohemia, in 1750, played double bass in the orchestra of the Wallerstein court, eventually becoming court conductor and Kapellmeister. He composed prolifically—as many as 40 symphonies and 50 solo concertos as well as various sacred works. In 1789 he became Kapellmeister at the court of Ludwigslust, where he died at age 42 in 1792. He was highly regarded by his contemporaries, and in 1791 wrote and conducted a Requiem for Mozart at Prague. The present disc makes a strong case for re-examining his legacy. The two symphonies, both set in three movements, are early works, but they attest to his skill in handling of the orchestra and his ability to craft memorable lines. The F-Major Symphony, composed around 1776–77, was one of his most popular works. The concertos are even more impressive. Kurt Meier is an effective advocate, with a rich, full tone and a flawless technique. Rosetti wrote many concertos for members of his orchestra, especially for horns or bassoons, but also, of course, for the oboe. I reviewed a cpo disc of three other Rosetti oboe concertos played by Lajos Lenscés in Fanfare 15:2. All five could be welcome additions to any soloist’s repertory. Two discs of Rosetti’s more mature symphonies—by Concerto Köln on Teldec and Mathias Bamert on Chandos—are worth seeking out, as well. There are four symphonies on each disc, with, remarkably, no duplications. Meanwhile, the present disc gives me great pleasure, and I recommend it heartily.
FANFARE: George Chien
Handel: Concerti grossi, Op. 6 / Christie, Les Arts Florissants
HARMONIA MUNDI
CD
$11.99
Aug 28, 2020
This is William Christie's valedictory disc for Harmonia Mundi before seeking pastures new with Erato. All five works belong to Handel's last and greatest set of concertos, Op. 6, printed in London in 1740. They are splendid pieces and I never tire of listening to them. Christie has chosen three of the four concertos for which optional oboe parts have survived (Nos. I. 2 and 6), as well as the seventh and tenth concertos of the set. It is as good a choice as any if choices have to be made and Christie brings the music to life with all his characteristic enthusiasm and feeling for Handelian idiom. The orchestra of Les Arts Florissants sound on good form, too, achieving a pleasant warmth of string timbre and a greater unanimity of sound than has sometimes been the case in earlier issues.
On the whole I like the presence of oboes in the aforementioned concertos, though the music loses nothing by their absence. Perhaps they are a shade too prominent in the G major Concerto (Op. 6 No. I) but I doubt if this seemingly slight imbalance will bother readers. What I did find more disconcerting, though, were some of the embellishments and cadential elaborations which felt too extended or spun out. One such instance occurs at the close of the Larghetto andante e piano of the F major Concerto (Op. 6 No. 2), where the continuo archlute launches into a veritable solo, albeit in miniature; and again, at the conclusion of the following Allegro the oboes, aided and abetted by the archlute, indulge in imitative flights of fancy. Such moments are neither unimaginative nor lacking in taste but my ears tell me that they are really not necessary. Perhaps I'm just being too English about it—beware of Channel tunnels!
Apart from this reservation, I found Christie's approach refreshing and full of vitality. The playing is wonderfully articulated and the rhythms clear-cut without being at all stiff or unyielding. There are moments, too, of great delicacy as, for example, in the languorous Musette of the G minor Concerto (Op. 6 No. 6), which is eloquently shaped and plentifully endowed with affecting contrasts. Then, at the opposite end of the scale, so to speak, are infectious movements like the Hornpipe of the B flat Concerto (Op. 6 No. 7), and the robust French overture which begins the D minor Concerto (Op. 6 No. 10). Christie enlivens these admirably—though the Hornpipe is, perhaps, a little restrained---responding with spontaneity to Handel's engagingly wide terms of stylistic reference. In short, a stimulating and enjoyable performance, notwithstanding reservations which may worry some ears much less than others.
-- Gramophone [5/1995]
reviewing the original release of this title
On the whole I like the presence of oboes in the aforementioned concertos, though the music loses nothing by their absence. Perhaps they are a shade too prominent in the G major Concerto (Op. 6 No. I) but I doubt if this seemingly slight imbalance will bother readers. What I did find more disconcerting, though, were some of the embellishments and cadential elaborations which felt too extended or spun out. One such instance occurs at the close of the Larghetto andante e piano of the F major Concerto (Op. 6 No. 2), where the continuo archlute launches into a veritable solo, albeit in miniature; and again, at the conclusion of the following Allegro the oboes, aided and abetted by the archlute, indulge in imitative flights of fancy. Such moments are neither unimaginative nor lacking in taste but my ears tell me that they are really not necessary. Perhaps I'm just being too English about it—beware of Channel tunnels!
Apart from this reservation, I found Christie's approach refreshing and full of vitality. The playing is wonderfully articulated and the rhythms clear-cut without being at all stiff or unyielding. There are moments, too, of great delicacy as, for example, in the languorous Musette of the G minor Concerto (Op. 6 No. 6), which is eloquently shaped and plentifully endowed with affecting contrasts. Then, at the opposite end of the scale, so to speak, are infectious movements like the Hornpipe of the B flat Concerto (Op. 6 No. 7), and the robust French overture which begins the D minor Concerto (Op. 6 No. 10). Christie enlivens these admirably—though the Hornpipe is, perhaps, a little restrained---responding with spontaneity to Handel's engagingly wide terms of stylistic reference. In short, a stimulating and enjoyable performance, notwithstanding reservations which may worry some ears much less than others.
-- Gramophone [5/1995]
reviewing the original release of this title
Johan Helmich Roman’s Oboe
Musicaphon
CD
$16.99
Jul 17, 2026
Roman was Kapellmeister at the court in Stockholm and certainly the most important Swedish composer of the 18th century. He was trained by Handel and Pepusch, among others, and was familiar with all musical developments in Europe thanks to two extensive educational journeys. The works recorded here likely represent all of Roman's compositions in which the oboe, whether single or double, plays a solo role. In many other works, we find oboes as orchestral instruments, though they almost always double the strings and only rarely appear as soloists in individual sections.
Sammartini: 6 Concertos in 7 Parts, Op. 2 / I Musici
Dynamic
CD
$18.99
May 19, 2017
Sammartini’s first concerti grossi, those of his Op. 2, are considered to be among the composer’s masterpieces. These intensely inspired pieces, composed with such vigorous spirit, sometimes hardly seem to fit the measured form of the concerto grosso. Sammartini’s themes enjoy a pliant lyricism, at times melancholic, at others passionate and vehement. The contrapuntal development is always masterful, both learned and extraordinarily subtle in nature, taking unexpected and thoroughly expressive turns, often through refined chromaticism and an original use of harmony. The continuous, inexhaustible variety of Sammartini’s thematic invention leaves no room for predictable developments; it constantly introduces new elements, with often truly beautiful results. I Musici, founded in 1951, is the oldest chamber ensemble still active today. Over the years, they have become world-renowned for their promotion of 18th century Italian music, most notably Vivaldi and his Four Seasons, which they first recorded in 1959, and which has sold over 25 million copies in various editions, the last of which was for Dynamic in 2012.
