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Brahms: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2 / New Zealand String Quartet

Naxos

$19.99 Jul 08, 2016

Successful string quartet performance is all about communication, in the purest sense of the word: constant giving and exchanging, a communion among the players based on an intimate relationship bound by deep understanding, of the music and of each other. It’s the essence of what is meant by ensemble. When you have that, you can play anything together and make it vital, and most of all, true to the composer’s intent.

As my colleague David Hurwitz said in an earlier review, Brahms’ quartets are “respected more than they are loved”, and can sound “overworked” and “texturally monotonous”. It’s true that you can play unlawfully fast and loose with these quartets and pretty much get away with it, given enough rhythmic finesse and blurring of textures, and these are among the many reasons that listeners, including me, usually aren’t that much in love with these dense, phenomenally busy, complicated pieces. But when you hear them played with the unusual clarity, scintillating detail, and dynamic, exacting, turn-on-a-dime expressive statements uttered by an ensemble of literally one interpretive mind and unassailable technique, you have to rethink the reasons for your avoidance reflex when faced with a Brahms quartet close encounter.

When the New Zealand Quartet made this recording its members had been working and playing together for 20 years, a rarity in the music world, and a situation that pays huge dividends in performance. There are few relationships anywhere in which the members spend more time together, pouring heart and soul into an intensely charged, creative collaboration, its success built both on individual artistic drive and vision, and contingent on compromising, blending, and capitalizing on the strengths of those impulses and passions. Any group that can manage this, whether a married couple or a string quartet, is something of a miracle, and, especially if you’ve seen this group in concert, you know how special it is.

And there is no holding back in these performances: the NZSQ literally attacks and wrestles Brahms’ scores to the ground–a positive, friendly intervention, for the good of all concerned. These performances should not disappoint any listener, whether you hate Brahms or love his music, because they take you out of the realm of preconception and just deliver aggressive, uninhibited, and yes, passionate expressions of these scores, respectful of the composer while always working to realize the fullness of the music that Brahms struggled so long and hard to create.

My only regret here is that with a recording you don’t truly experience what this group is doing. Unless you actually see them in concert, you don’t appreciate the incredible group dynamic that’s happening during a performance, you don’t totally get the ensemble interaction that produces this result. They stand when they perform–cellist Rolf Gjelsten sits on a special raised platform–and there’s a physicality to the communication among the players that’s only comparable to a dance, a ballet. And if you can make a ballet out of Brahms’ string quartets, well, you’ve got something that’s worth listening to.

– ClassicsToday (David Vernier)

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Brahms: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2 / New Zealand String Quartet
Naxos Jul 2016
CD
$19.99

MONK ALONE: COMP COLUMBIA SOLO STUDIO RECORDINGS

MUSIC ON CD

$19.49 Jul 24, 2020

CD reissue. Monk is among the most moving piano players ever to stroke the keys. His masterful use of silence and surprise forces you to become entwined in the melody, to enter the song. Step into the world of master artist Thelonious Monk, and embrace the melody and mystique that was his to command. One would expect marvelous renditions of "'Round Midnight" and "Ruby My Dear", and Monk delivers. Equally precious are the performances of lesser-known original gems such as Introspection and "Ask Me Now", and the bravura renditions of standard-bearers such as "I'm Confessin' That I Love You", "Dinah", and the immortal ballad "Body and Soul". As Picasso was to painting, Monk was to jazz. Truly one-of-a-kind.

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MONK ALONE: COMP COLUMBIA SOLO STUDIO RECORDINGS
MUSIC ON CD Jul 2020
CD
$19.49

Bach: Well-Tempered Consort I / Phantasm

Linn Records

$20.99 Jan 24, 2020

In this new recording Phantasm make no excuses for arranging some of Bach’s remarkable keyboard music for a consort of viols. Led by director Laurence Dreyfus they go on a conscious mission to uncover the hidden riches concealed behind the more neutral resources of the harpsichord and organ so as to liberate the fascinating characters lurking in the shadows and behind the scenes within Bach’s individual polyphonic lines. In the process of fugal confrontation among three to six musicians, they come face to face with the astounding psychological insights of Bach’s most radical inventions. Drawn chiefly from the two books of the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Musical Offering and the Clavier-Übung III, the repertoire chosen for this recording has an uncanny way of forging Bach’s links with the old English traditions of the Fantasy and In nomine as much as leaping forward into a chromatic twelve-tone world where the raw emotions of expressionist modernism become not only audible but adventurously relevant. A second installment of The Well-Tempered Consort is already planned for 2021.

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REVIEWS:

As you would expect, the playing here is expressive while not being unidiomatic. Phrasing and the balancing of voices is a delight throughout, and this is reflected in a recording that allows the ear to follow any of Bach’s contrapuntal voices with ease. If you love the viol sound then you will relish this recording and, like me, be looking forward to future volumes.

– MusicWeb International

The most compelling reason to play Bach’s most densely wrought instrumental music on the viol is because it sounds fresh and appealing. Bach’s contrapuntal achievements sparkle in the hands of Phantasm.

– American Record Guide

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Bach: Well-Tempered Consort I / Phantasm
Linn Records Jan 2020
CD
$20.99

Das ist mein Freude - Love Songs & Psalms / Poplutz, Paduch, Rosenmüller Ensemble

CPO

$18.99 Jan 06, 2023

Under the title "It is good for me", the words from the 73rd Psalm, love songs, jubilant and psalm chants from the 17th century by Johann Rosenmüller, Claudio Monteverdi, Nicolò Corradini and others can be heard with the tenor Georg Poplutz, who is highly esteemed for his "expressive yet sensitive interpretation" and is now one of the most sought-after interpreters in baroque music. Here are his personal words about this album: "It is now also a pleasure for us to be able to present this program to you, which we hope will give you as much pleasure in listening to it as it gives us in making mu-sic! I would like to thank Arno Paduch for his tireless research and rediscovery of new (for our generation) works of this already old music. I am very pleased that we have now been able to record all these treasures and present some of the settings on album for the first time. To sing these works is indeed good for me - once more to God's glory and to the people, yes, to you for edification and joy!

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Das ist mein Freude - Love Songs & Psalms / Poplutz, Paduch, Rosenmüller Ensemble
CPO Jan 2023
CD
$18.99

SANTIAGO BROOKLYN SANTIAGO

ZOHO MUSIC

$16.21 Aug 11, 2023

The Santiago Big Band & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra - Santiago Brooklyn Santiago. O'Farrill, the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra pair up with Cuban pianist Marcos Fernandez and Cuba's Santiago Big Band in a historic collaboaration. Santiago, Cuba, is a place where folks know their local culture, lore, and history. A place where buildings have etched brick detailing and names like "Casa Lescay". A place where the arts are beloved, and the Corneta China leads throngs of revelers. A place where young filmmakers, dancers, musicians, writers also begin their careers. A place where your soul is fed by knowledge, community and maduros. Santiago is where I met the Master musician Marcos Fernandez (also known as El Brujo Del Tumbao), at his home. He had a piano and we immediately started playing for each other, together and in a round robin frenzy of pure music bonding. He also gave me a reading with the shells and told me stuff about myself that you could not possibly know unless you were me. Often Santiago is called "the real Cuba". This is probably because it is closer to Cuba's African roots than Havana. The music here is profound and profoundly loved. This is the home of Son, and the practitioners are the originators. La Familia Varela, El Quarteto de Saxofon de Juan Chacon, La Conga de Los Hoyas, these are profoundly gifted, deeply rooted musicians with a command of the most authentic of Cuban musical languages. Rumba, Guaganco, Comparsa, Son, Cha Cha, Mambo, Timba, it's all here and in it's greatest expression. These are the waters in which Marcos swims and in which he excels even beyond what one could expect from a people that excel in all things artistic. This record began as a phone conversation between Marcos and I in which we were looking for ways to collaborate, not an easy thing for two people who play the same instrument. Marcos and I shared musicians from of each of our groups and a true collaboration was given birth. Marcos and his musicians recorded in Santiago and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra recorded in their homes. Guest soloists from each group played on each other's recordings and finally after many months a unique recording was produced. Arturo O'Farrill

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SANTIAGO BROOKLYN SANTIAGO
ZOHO MUSIC Aug 2023
CD
$16.21

UNSTOPPABLE

GREEN HILL PROD.

$13.49 Jan 23, 2026

The Piano Guys return with Unstoppable, a fan favorite album now on both CD & vinyl featuring their signature cinematic take on today's biggest hits. Includes stunning renditions of "As It Was," "When You're Gone," and "Easy on Me." Own the music you love in a beautifully packaged release from the viral sensations who redefine instrumental music. Don't miss this must-have addition to your collection!

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UNSTOPPABLE
GREEN HILL PROD. Jan 2026
CD
$13.49

Mix & Match

Hagen: Shining Brow / Falletta, Orth, Harris, Frankenberry, Buffalo PO

Naxos

$14.99 ~~$29.99~~ Save 50% Mar 31, 2009

Superbly varied, brilliant and expressive … extremely valuable.

Now in his late forties Daron Hagen has been eminently successful for many years in a wide variety of musical genres: orchestral, concertos, chamber music, vocal and opera. He has received commissions from leading American orchestras like the New York Phil, the Philadelphia and the National Symphony and from numerous instrumentalists. He numbers among his teachers Ned Rorem, David Diamond, Witold Lutos?awski and Leonard Bernstein. With such diverse musical influences it's no wonder that his own compositional style is eclectic, a remark that is in no way deprecating. It only denotes that he is at home in a variety of styles and is able to adjust to the requirements for each specific composition. I have listened to excerpts from a number of his compositions and the remaining impression is that here is basically a warm romantic with ability and willingness to write gorgeous melodies. Romeo and Juliet for flute, cello and orchestra is a splendid example and the second movement from his third piano trio Wayfaring Stranger (2007) is extremely beautiful. He is just as adept at writing rhythmically fresh and rather naughty music for brass - the Invention from Concerto for Brass Quintet!. He is also accomplished when writing for the human voice. I haven't heard any of his solo songs - of which there are a lot - but his choral writing is extremely affecting. The Waking Father for six male voices is music to return to. His musical idiom is largely tonal though he employs various modern techniques for expressive reasons. Mixing styles - high and low - is one of his hallmarks and he is a splendid communicator, which his first opera Shining Brow aptly demonstrates.

It was in July 1989 that Daron Hagen was asked by the Madison Opera to write an opera about the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Together with the chosen librettist, Paul Muldoon, Hagen worked out a synopsis and set to work with the first act, which fizzed along without problems. The second act was tougher and he met Leonard Bernstein several times for guidance. Bernstein died in October 1990, before the opera was finished, and it is dedicated to his memory.

Frank Lloyd Wright fell in love with a client's wife Mamah while outlining their house. They left their respective wife and husband, went to Europe. Eventually returning to the USA, they built a house in Wisconsin, Taliesin, which is Welsh for 'Shining Brow'. In 1914, when Wright was in Chicago, his manservant murdered seven people in the house, including Mamah and her two children and then set the house on fire. Two survivors managed to put out the fire but the house was seriously damaged. This is essentially the story of the opera. Frank Lloyd Wright lived until 1959 and probably his most famous creation is the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Musically Hagen's score is a conglomerate of the manifold styles I referred to in his other works, but wholly efficient and personal. Shining Brow is a number opera with arias, choruses, orchestral numbers and ensembles. The music is very varied to mirror the dramatic and emotional contents of the story. The chorus of draftsmen (CD 1 tr. 2) has 'go' and makes me think of Orff and Carmina burana. Wright's arietta (CD 1 tr. 5) is melodious and agreeable and his wife Catherine's aria (CD 1 tr. 6) has echoes of Broadway musical. The Sullivan Variations (CD 1 tr. 8) is hymn-like brass music and there is another chorus with plainsong character. In act II there is a barbershop quartet (CD 2 tr. 8) and the Canapé Variations (CD 2 tr. 9) is a long gossip scene at a cocktail party played against the waltz from Der Rosenkavalier. Initially there are quotations from the Presentation of the Silver Rose from the same opera. Symbolically this 'theft' of another composer's music is a parallel to Wright's 'theft' of another man's wife. Sullivan's arietta (CD 2 tr. 15) is a song that should be on many opera-lovers' list of the most beautiful opera arias. It is followed by an a cappella chorus that nods in the direction of Bernstein's Candide (the Westphalia chorus). The rhythmic elements are often very much in the foreground and there are no longueurs. To my mind this is a truly inspired and dramatically convincing opera and readers who prefer operas with melodies should know that there is a wealth of melodic inventiveness.

The cast is a good one and several of the members have taken part in earlier productions, including Robert Orth as Frank Lloyd Wright and Brenda Harris as Mamah. They are both excellent and Robert Frankenberry as Wright's one-time mentor and friend Louis Sullivan sports a fine lyric tenor. The Buffalo forces are splendid and JoAnn Falletta brings out the dark dramatic side of the work as well as the lyrical music of which there is also a lot.

The recording can't be faulted and the few stage noises only enhance the feeling of a real occasion. While writing the final paragraphs of this review I have been listening again to large portions of the opera and can report that it grows further with renewed acquaintance. The orchestration stands out as superbly varied, brilliant and expressive and the melodic material is organically interwoven with the story. The only regrettable thing is that there is no libretto available. We get only a synopsis that gives the outline but leaves you in limbo as far as detailed understanding is concerned.

Anyway, relatively contemporary operas are rare guests in the record catalogues. Shining Brow, like Carlson's Anna Karenina that I reviewed a short while ago, are extremely valuable additions to a repertoire that far too seldom reaches beyond Puccini. Daron Hagen has no intention to challenge Puccini; he has his own musical world that is just as valid - and it shouldn't be less accessible to opera-lovers.

-- Göran Forsling, MusicWeb International

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Hagen: Shining Brow / Falletta, Orth, Harris, Frankenberry, Buffalo PO
Naxos Mar 2009
CD
~~$29.99~~ $14.99

Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 5 - Ravel: Piano Concerto in

Idil Biret Archive

$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.

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Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 5 - Ravel: Piano Concerto in
Idil Biret Archive Sep 2009
CD
$14.99

Bach: The Art Of Fugue / Sergio Vartolo, Maddalena Vartolo

Naxos

$29.99 Jul 28, 2009

BACH The Art of Fugue • Sergio Vartolo (hpd); Maddalena Vartolo (hpd) • NAXOS 8.570577 (2 CDs: 102: 13)

Some recordings deserve high praise, some deserve faint praise, and some earn their fair share of ridicule. Then there is the category of those that earn your respect over time, if you have the stamina to hang in. Bach’s The Art of Fugue , BWV 1080, usually considered an intellectually “dry” work, as played on the harpsichord by Sergio Vartolo (with Maddalena Vartolo on the final two pieces for two harpsichords), won me over after a struggle. The first time through, I experienced a rash of negative judgments: the tempo was too slow, the beat was too regular, the dynamic range was too narrow (only from p to f , while the piano could cover from ppp to fff ), the soloist is an academic (and you know how they are), and there was no exhilaration by acceleration. Everything was too risk free, too free of passion. I was under the spell of the modern piano readings of Bach’s music. But after putting these discs aside for about a week, I asked myself: “If the disc is all that, why did Naxos offer it?” I concluded that I must not have been listening with both frontal lobes of my brain operating. Or, maybe the first time through I’d put too much Kirsch in the fondue for lunch, and it affected my judgment. In any event, I didn’t “get it.”

So I listened to all 102:13 of it, again. This time I realized what I’d forgotten in my prejudice. Of course, the harpsichord had a limited dynamic range with each string being plucked by a leather plectrum under uniform pressure each time its keyboard note was struck (no matter how heartily or delicately). That is one of the limiting factors of its design, which became an incentive in the development of the forte piano. As for the tempo and the rhythm, I realized these were likely a secondary concern to Bach, a champion of well-tempered tuning, in these contrapuntal but equally harmonic exercises. The metronome had not yet been developed, so there couldn’t have been exact instructions from the composer as would become the later practice. There were likely “conventions,” probably issued verbally on the signature score, as to the approximate tempo the composer recommended for each section.

In my bifurcated Oblomovian mind, I decided to concede the tempo to the performer, especially as Vartolo is a highly prolific recording artist, a regular medal winner, as well as a professor at the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna, where, in 1770, a new member—W. A. Mozart—was installed. I reasoned if there were existing instructions from Bach, or conventions that were observed concerning tempo, rubato, syncopation, etc., Vartolo (as scholar) would know them. And this time I enjoyed my listening much more. But I still wasn’t sold.

During my third trip through the Art of Fugue with Vartolo, I got so into the music I could forget about dynamic range and tempo and appreciate the gorgeous sound of the harpsichord, the skill of the Naxos recording engineers, as well as the spellbinding quality of Vartolo’s playing. I’ve taken to putting it in my CD player first thing in the morning, and (setting it on automatic repeat) letting it play all day while I am at my computer. The presentation of the music is so inevitable, the playing and recording so clean, that I’ve come to hear the clarity of the argument for original instruments, something I had thought too doctrinaire. Certainly, this music—when played on a modern piano, even by soloists who loved Bach (like Glenn Gould)—takes on a quite different mode of presentation. But I can hear the case for equally expert playing on the harpsichord.

In conclusion, I’m not too proud to climb down off my high horse and recommend this two-CD set. It has won me over by overcoming my knee-jerk reactions. If you are interested in Bach, or the fugue, or the harpsichord, or the body of work known as The Art of Fugue , I recommend this recording with high praise. Both the playing and the recording are damn fine. The lesson I’ve learned here, and hope to share with you is that in judging music, it seems best to admit your prejudices to yourself. If you can keep aware of your own preferences, education, music you exclude on specious grounds, you might discover the value of music that is new to you. As I have. Music loving ought to be inclusive. It depends on how you do it. I recommend that you Zen yourself out with Vartolo’s The Art of Fugue during a rainy weekend. You could be pleasantly surprised! And for you harpsichord players out there, you already knew all this. But isn’t it cool to see it in print?

FANFARE: Ilya Oblomov

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Bach: The Art Of Fugue / Sergio Vartolo, Maddalena Vartolo
Naxos Jul 2009
CD
$29.99

American Classics - Copland: The Tender Land Suite, Piano Concerto, Etc / Pasternack, Hanson

Naxos

$19.99 May 27, 2008

This is another collection of American classics that deserves the highest praise. With exemplary playing, singing and an acoustic to match this is plainly indispensable.

Thankfully this isn’t the umpteenth recording of Appalachian Spring but a collection of lesser-known Copland. As always this music is quintessentially American, the suite from his opera The Tender Land, the bluesy piano concerto and the Old American Songs, the latter in choral arrangements. Appropriately enough the orchestra is the Illinois-based Elgin Symphony, which has embarked on an ambitious project called In Search of Our American Voice. Helping them in this endeavour are the St. Charles Singers, a multi-talented chamber choir founded in 1984.

Speaking of voices, Copland has a unique, instantly recognisable ‘voice’ of his own and that is clear from the first bars of The Tender Land suite. In his illuminating liner-notes Joseph Horowitz reminds us that although this has a Depression-era rural setting one could argue that, in part at least, it’s also Copland’s response to the McCarthyist witch hunt of the 1950s.

Interestingly the suite, arranged after the opera’s premiere in 1954, starts with the introduction to Act 3 and the love duet between the farm girl Laurie Moss and her drifter beau, Martin. The second movement is based on the party in Act II and the final movement comes from the quintet,’ ‘The Promise of Living’, at the end of Act I.

Whatever Copland’s intentions the music is not far removed from the Pennsylvanian hills of Appalachia, with its open, unpretentious scoring. The usual epithets ‘folksy’ and ‘homespun’ apply but there is also a degree of disquiet reflected in the brass at the start of this movement. The ensuing harp melodies are most affecting in their simplicity and directness, Robert Hanson securing warm, idiomatic playing from his orchestra.

The recording is clear and detailed, notably in the vigorous party music, and there’s no sign of strain or grain in the climaxes. Indeed, it’s an almost perfect acoustic for such a lucid score, the surging music of the last movement lovingly shaped and projected. This is vintage Copland and hearing this music may spur you to try the opera itself.

Horowitz makes the point that Copland’s piano concerto was somewhat eclipsed by Gershwin’s much better known effort, written the year before. It doesn’t have the latter’s Broadway-inspired razzamatazz but what it does have is a more sophisticated, cosmopolitan feel to it. The insouciant, bluesy first movement – introduced with the usual fanfare – has the pianist doodling quietly at the keyboard. Benjamin Pasternack captures the languor of this movement very well indeed, the piano ideally placed and faithfully recorded. Copland’s detailed scoring is wonderfully realised too, the more expansive moments thrillingly intense but never overheated.

The doodler is back in the second movement, his random notes followed by raucous music that has a real swing to it. The drums and percussion are certainly reminiscent of Gershwin but there is a fresh, individual quality to this concerto. Pasternack is suitably foot-stompin’ in those repeated jazzy phrases and the Elgin players give him wonderful support throughout. But it’s the final minute or so that’s the real tour de force, with the splendid percussion chasing the pianist all the way to the finish line.

This is exhilarating stuff and quite possibly the most enjoyable item on the disc – go on, give it another whirl – so the choral arrangements of the Old American Songs needs to be pretty special to top that. Most listeners probably know these pieces in their original scoring for voice and piano; if that’s the version you want do try Willard White on Chandos CHAN 8960.

Alas, first impressions of the choral arrangements aren’t very encouraging, baritone Nathaniel Stampley’s rather wide vibrato spoiling ‘The Boatmen’s Dance’. The St. Charles singers are another matter entirely; they are clear and nimble and, to be fair, Stampley does improve in ‘The Dodger’. Those who have heard Willard White in this repertoire will know just how much character and personality he brings to bear in these songs. Well worth seeking out.

The Elgin Symphony is never less than excellent and the chorus sing eloquently in the ballad ‘Long Time Ago’. Diction could be clearer but with such heartfelt singing it seems churlish to complain. And then there’s ‘Simple Gifts’, the Shaker hymn we know from Appalachian Spring, essayed here with a wonderful sense of innocence and optimism. They even manage the farmyard onomatopoeia of ’I Bought Me a Cat’ which, if you don’t mind this kind of silliness, will probably put a smile on your face.

Really it’s the chorus that makes these arrangements stand out; their bright, focused sound is invariably pleasing, even if the music doesn’t always sound like Copland. They are also suitably impassioned – febrile, even – in the Revivalist hymn ‘Zion’s Walls’. Then Stampley and tenor Jeffrey Hunt join them for a spirited rendition of ’The Golden Willow Tree’. Both soloists acquit themselves well here and for once the quirky orchestration actually sounds like authentic Copland.

Of the two remaining songs the hymn tune ‘At The River’ could have been penned by Charles Ives, such is its mix of devotional text and strange harmonies. Hanson and his band bring this music to a stirring close before launching into the utterly delightful ‘Ching-a-ring Chaw’. If you haven’t smiled so far then this will surely do the trick, the singing and playing pin-sharp and full of fun. An upbeat finale to an enchanting disc.

Minor caveats about the baritone aside this is another collection of American classics that deserves the highest praise. With exemplary playing, singing and an acoustic to match this is plainly indispensable. And the song texts are included as well, which is a welcome bonus. Buy it and enjoy.

-- Dan Morgan, MusicWeb International

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American Classics - Copland: The Tender Land Suite, Piano Concerto, Etc / Pasternack, Hanson
Naxos May 2008
CD
$19.99

Life With Czech Music - Dvorak, Smetana / Charles Mackerras

Supraphon

$88.99 Oct 15, 2010

Also available: Life with Czech Music - Janácek, Martinu / Sir Charles Mackerras

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Reviews:

Symphonic Variations, Legends, Scherzo capriccioso

Charles Mackerras recorded all of this music in London for EMI's "Eminence" series, but those discs may be very difficult to find, and in any case they fail to stand up to these marvelous remakes. What makes so many Mackerras performances special is the conductor's buoyant sense of rhythm, and when he's working the Czech Philharmonic in top form that result can be (and in this case is) exquisite. There's no need to go on at length about the virtues of these performances. A few examples suffice to illustrate the point: there's the wonderful lightness of touch Mackerras brings to the waltz episode in the Symphonic Variations and its dazzling final fugue; the care with which he balances the percussion in the Scherzo capriccioso so that its rhythmic contributions tell without ever becoming overbearing; and in the Legends, the snap he brings to the quicker pieces (such as No. 3) and the wonderfully subtle way he sets up the appearance (in No. 6) of that gorgeous tune from the Third Symphony's slow movement. Sonically this disc is equally fine. Note the perfect balances between winds and strings throughout and the gorgeous contribution of the harp in the Legends that call for it. Totally great!

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Symphony no 6, Golden Spinning Wheel

In his equally laudatory review of this fantastic new release, my colleague Christophe Huss salutes Supraphon for managing to remain true to its dedication to Czech music while at the same time upholding the highest standards of performance quality. To this observation I can only add "Amen!" The label already has a couple of noteworthy versions of Dvorák's luminous Sixth Symphony with the incomparable (in this music anyway) Czech Philharmonic--a very good one by Neumann and a classic account by Ancerl. In fact, this symphony has been very well-served on disc, with excellent recordings by Kubelik, Rowicki, and Suitner, to name three of the best that come immediately to mind. Nevertheless, this newcomer bids fair to move right to the top of the available discography.

Recorded live, the rapport in evidence between Charles Mackerras and the orchestra really is the stuff of legends. There are so many outstanding moments that it's hard to settle on just a few, but consider the fortissimo counterstatement of the opening tune, just a touch "pesante" for added emphasis, or the gorgeously natural rubato between phrases of the same movement's second subject, and the way the coda really takes off and builds in energy straight through to the final climax. Then there's the usual gorgeous wind playing from the orchestra, so evident in the Adagio. Mackerras drives the scherzo with exhilarating abandon, and although he never bears down on the rhythm too heavily (always maintaining the lilt of the dance), the clarity of texture allows such characterful touches as the offbeat timpani in the reprise to register with full impact. I also love the extra punch he brings to the principal section's return after the trio.

Best of all, Mackerras treats us to what must be the most thrilling account of the finale yet captured on disc. It takes off like the wind and never looks back, simply accumulating energy as it goes. The great string fugato that initiates the coda flies by as if on mighty wings, and the grandiosity of the closing pages never loses that vital rhythmic impulse that gives the music its inner life. I wish that Supraphon had not included the applause at the end, but when you consider that all of this, and so much else besides, is happening in real time you will understand that anyone who believes that the era of "great" conductors is past simply hasn't been listening. If this sort of artistic communion between conductor and orchestra in the service of a brilliant interpretation isn't greatness, then we need to ask whether the term has any meaning at all.

The Golden Spinning Wheel (a studio recording this time) also receives what is arguably its finest performance on disc, even considering Harnoncourt's outstanding recent version. The opening, usually a blur of muddy rhythms in the lower strings and indifferently played percussion, here sounds as crisp and clean as a spring morning. I have never understood why some performances cut the central episode wherein the holy hermit gets back the heroine's various body parts (so he can patch her together again) in exchange for the components of the golden spinning wheel. The threefold musical repetition is not literal, and the orchestration is enchanting. The section is, in effect, the slow movement following the scherzo in which poor Dornicka gets hacked to bits in the first place, and it's a necessary four minutes of contrast. Finally, this is the moment where we encounter most of the "spinning wheel" music of the title. Mackerras rightly doesn't delete it, and hearing those deliciously chubby brass chorales and lovely wind solos alongside such characterful phrasing, you can't imagine why anyone would. The last few minutes offer as pure an expression of joy as you'll ever hear.

Supraphon's engineering is outstanding in both works, a touch warmer in the symphony (perhaps as a result of the presence of an audience), but in all respects as fine as any from this source. That audience, by the way, is absolutely silent, and with music-making of such spellbinding quality going on it's no wonder. Coming hard on the heels of his sensational Janácek double CD a few months ago, it's clear that Mackerras' Supraphon recordings will comprise a small but outstanding legacy worthy to stand beside the great recordings of such legends as Talich or Ancerl, and that the great Czech tradition is very much alive both in Prague and at Supraphon. Buy a few of these: they make terrific gifts for special occasions, and you can be sure to get a hearty "Thank you!" from the lucky objects of your affection. But first, treat yourself.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Symphonies 8 & 9

At 80 years young, Charles Mackerras remains one of the great conductors of our era, not to mention one of the most unheralded. His unfailing musicality, intelligence, and sheer joy in performing communicates vividly in these two glorious performances, beautifully recorded live in September, 2005. They are the kind of interpretations that make you listen as if for the first time to music you probably know well. This isn't just because Mackerras opts for the Urtext editions of both scores, most noticeable in the finale of the Eighth Symphony, where after the central climax he has the cellos play the variant of the main theme contained in Dvorák's autograph (Harnoncourt and a few others do similarly). What really distinguishes these performances is their sheer excitement and vital sense of flow, a function of rhythmically characterful phrasing allied to ideally transparent textures.

This is as true of the bucolic first two movements of the Eighth Symphony, where the woodwinds are especially delightful, as it is in the tremendously physical and passionate initial allegro of the Ninth. Has this movement's coda ever sounded more stormily agitated? And notice how marvellously Mackerras judges the tempo of the ensuing Largo, perfectly poised between rapt contemplation and easeful forward motion. Rhythmic acuity is the hallmark of both scherzos: a deliciously pointed waltz in the Eighth, and a swiftly vivacious Slavonic dance in the Ninth.

In the two finales, so often turned into stop-and-start affairs by less adept conductors, Mackerras creates an irresistible feeling of culmination, choosing rousing initial tempos and then for the most part sticking to them. The Eighth's concluding variations seldom have come across more cogently, particularly the lazy last three, which never bog down in excessive Romantic reverie. The Prague Symphony Orchestra responds to Mackerras' direction with amazing gusto, as if it doesn't already know the music backwards and forwards, and the audience is admirably silent. There are other wonderful performances of this music out there, but this truly is as good as it gets.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Slavonic Dances

It's been along time since Supraphon made a great new recording of Dvorák's delicious Slavonic Dances, but it's been worth the wait. Charles Mackerras is one of the two or three finest conductors alive at present, and he knows this music, loves it, and makes the orchestra play it as if it were as fresh as the day it was written. This is no mean feat, since the Czech Philharmonic knows these pieces blindfolded; or at least they think that they do. It's amazing how many seemingly new details Mackerras reveals (particularly in his characterful treatment of the percussion parts, and the careful dynamic balances involving the brass section) that on closer examination turn out to have been exactly what the composer wrote all along. He's particularly crisp and attentive to rhythm in the waltz-like dances (Op. 46 No. 6 and Op. 72 No. 8), where he catches the music's lilt to perfection. But then, he doesn't really put a foot wrong anywhere. The great recordings of these pieces are by Kubelik (DG), Dorati (Mercury), Szell (Sony), Talich (Supraphon), and Sejna (Supraphon). This newcomer, warmly recorded with fine inner detail, belongs in their august company.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Symphonic Poems

"You won't find better conducting in this music anywhere. Charles Mackerras finds so many wonderful details in these pieces that it's impossible to list them all, and he does it at all tempos and dynamic levels. Listen to his subtle underlining of rhythm in The Wood Dove's opening funeral march, and compare it to the unrivaled glitter of its central party music. Bask in the woodwind timbres at the opening of The Noonday Witch, and marvel at just how much music Mackerras finds even in the stormy climax of The Water Goblin. It's an unalloyed delight from the first note to the last.

Of course, the Czech Philharmonic plays these pieces magnificently. The sonics, however, are not as brilliant as the performances, and that's not unusual from this venue, with its somewhat cavernous acoustic. Slightly recessed brass and percussion lessen the impact of the climaxes somewhat, but it's awfully hard to quibble when the interpretations are this strong. Self-recommending."

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Ma Vlast
Taken down live at the 1999 Prague Spring Festival, Charles Mackerras' performance offers a typically fresh, vital look at Smetana's masterpiece. With the Czech Philharmonic in fine form, the result is completely recommendable, even if it doesn't have quite the personality of Kubelik's emotional return performance of 1990, or that special orchestral sonority that Talich or Ancerl enjoyed. Mackerras' interpretive insights are subtle, but fans of this music will find plenty to enjoy, such as the correctly played (for once!) trumpet rhythms at the climax of "Vltava", the carefully balanced brass and string sonorities at the opening of "From Bohemia's Woods and Fields", and the propulsive thrust that cleverly disguises the monothematic repetitiousness of "Tábor" and "Blaník". The up-close, live recording manages to minimize most audience noises but necessarily spotlights certain instruments (harps right at the beginning) in a way that precludes a truly expansive soundstage. On the other hand, the notorious reverberation of the Rudolfinum has been successfully tamed, thanks in part to the presence of the public. We're not exactly dying for another recording of this work, but it's impossible not to welcome music making of this enthusiasm and idiomatic security with anything less than open arms.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Life With Czech Music - Dvorak, Smetana / Charles Mackerras
Supraphon Oct 2010
CD
$88.99

Love & Levity

Sono Luminus

$17.99 Oct 24, 2025

These two quartets were written in the summer of 2021. There was a pandemic going on, and I spent most of the summer in my apartment, reading books and feeling the momentum of life melting away in the heat. Early that summer, I read Haruki Murakami's first novel, "Hear the Wind Sing," and in the introduction he tells an anecdote from a baseball game: "In the bottom of the first inning, Hilton slammed Sotokoba's first pitch into the left field for a clean double. The satisfying crack when the bat met the ball resounded throughout Jingu Stadium. Scattered applause rose around me and in that instant, for no reason and based on no grounds whatsoever, it suddenly struck me: I think I can write a novel." This story had an effect on me similar to the crack of the bat, as I'd never written concert music but had always wanted to. My only idea of how to start composing was to improvise at the piano. There are parts of the piano quartet that are direct transcriptions of these sessions, such as the cadenza-like development section of the first movement. But even the most structured-sounding passages began as improvisations before being arranged into an almost naively typical sonata structure. The piano quartet, while clearly an "early" piece, introduced me to my own language, and got me addicted to composing. I started writing Love and Levity, my first string quartet, immediately after finishing the piano quartet. The Renaissance Quartet wasn't even really a thing yet, but I knew who I was writing it for. I consider the piece to be, at it's core, Beethovenian: in it's thematic and structural tautness, but even more so in it's motion towards excess-staying on an idea for too long, playing something too fast or too slow, too quiet or too loud. The title came from this anachronistic romanticism, this desire to talk about big feelings, but always with a bit of humor, always a bit weird. Jazz and contemporary songwriting are as important to this music as the classical tradition. The scherzo movement, "Hermit's Waltz," is a jazz piece, complete with a transcription of an actual solo taken by guitarist Jacob Drab. The outer movements feature chords, melodies, and instrumental techniques taken from American folk musics such as rock, bluegrass, and the blues. These musics are not only emblems of New York, the city I call home, but contain the DNA of virtually all contemporary music. I leave it to you to discover what any of that means, and how it all came out. I want to thank my quartet mates, as well as Valerie, Brian, and Han, for making this music so much better than it is on the page.

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Love & Levity
Sono Luminus Oct 2025
CD
$17.99

Mix & Match

Haydn: Keyboard Sonatas / Vladimir Feltsman

Nimbus

$16.99 Jul 01, 2013

Vladimir Feltsman has a long-established reputation as a major artist. His 1987 arrival in the United States (after a seven-year shutdown of his career by Soviet authorities) was greeted with loud huzzahs. His first American recital took place at the White House, and his ensuing Carnegie Hall debut was recorded in its entirety. His repertoire covers everything from Bach through the 20th century. Recording first for Melodiya, then for Sony, then Camerata, he has now made a great many recordings for Nimbus since 2008.

These seem to be Feltsman’s first recordings of Haydn; his readings are very personal, as if he were trying to be different from every other performance or recording. There are many unmarked and unexpected tempo changes, some amounting to Luftpausen more appropriate to mid-19th-century music. Such playing can be either invigorating in its freshness or cloying in its fussiness; it would no doubt upset period practice purists. As a long-time lover of conductor Willem Mengelberg’s erratic ways, I would expect to be open to Feltsman’s performances, but I can be invigorated and exasperated by the same passage on succeeding days. I am bothered by Feltsman’s wildly inconsistent playing of the C-Minor Sonata, but maybe that’s just me: I have never been satisfied with any performance and am not even sure what I want from this often recorded piece. The only pianist to come close is Youri Egorov, yet I cannot cite anything special in his recording; he just plays it straight, offering no special insight.

I listen again as I write this, and I continue to be disturbed by the dichotomy: Such magnificent pianism takes the breath away, yet such inappropriate music-making almost loses Haydn. Then comes the opening Presto of the E-Minor Sonata: Feltsman understands well that the vibrancy of a Presto is never based on speed alone. Every mark in the score is faithfully observed, the clarity and sheer life of the playing are inimitable; there is only one slight slowdown at an internal cadence, and a thrilling virtuoso flourish—lasting less than a second—is tossed into the second repeat. I could keep, and recommend, this two-CD set for this one track. But the following Adagio is filled with bluster and virtuoso posturing (in his program notes, Feltsman calls it “elaborate ornamentation in the manner of C.P.E. Bach.”), and the final Vivace molto wanders fitfully, searching in vain for its true character. So it goes throughout both discs. Listening again to the C-Minor Sonata, Feltsman produces a lovely, yearning character in the opening measures, but after a minute or so his odd phrasings, unexpected pauses, and sudden violent attacks spoil the mood.

The opening Andante con espressione of the C-Major Sonata is fascinating here. Feltsman’s left hand is leonine, like nothing since Cliburn. But a cutesy twist of the three chords in measure nine breaks the spell before it has a chance settle in. In the Presto , there is an awkward moment during the repeat of measure 17 (at 0:37) that sounds like a too-tight edit, cutting a fraction of a second from the music. Nimbus’s trademark reverberance is too much for this tempo, blurring what seems to be pristine pianism. The Eb Variations are gentle, subtle music, and Feltsman has a strong feeling for them. There is not a single virtuoso excess in its 17 minutes.

It’s clear that Feltsman can do anything he wants at the keyboard, and do it better than almost anyone else. One constantly receives the impression that one is listening to a dominant artist. But his style of playing generally does not suit Haydn—Sviatoslav Richter could get away with it because he was so sensitive to every type of music. It works on and off for Feltsman. I equate his playing with Nimbus’s recorded sound: both are brilliant but overdone, too glittering, too shiny. Has any piano ever sounded this bright, with a tiny halo around every note? The results are not for me, but that doesn’t mean they may not be for you. What I do recommend is that every piano lover hear these performances.

Postscript : The package is a single-CD-sized jewel case, but the swinging inner tray fell out every time I opened it. It’s long past time to abandon the fragile jewel case.

FANFARE: James H. North

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Haydn: Keyboard Sonatas / Vladimir Feltsman
Nimbus Jul 2013
CD
$16.99

Forgotten Provence 1150-1550 / The Martin Best Consort

Nimbus

$20.99 Oct 01, 1996

The whole programme, the lively and the reflective, is very well performed.

The very welcome resurgence of the Nimbus and Lyrita labels has restored many treasures to the catalogue. This is emphatically one of them – an hour of music from medieval and early-Renaissance Provence on a recording to sit back and enjoy. Technically, this and the other recordings made by the Martin Best Consort and Ensemble are not reissues, since they are again available with their original catalogue numbers and still at full price. Almost five years after Nimbus got back on its feet, it is incredible that their recordings are not featured in the 2008 editions of either the Penguin Guide or the Gramophone Guide. I hope that the current review will partly redress that unfortunate situation.

The recording covers a number of themes, as stated in the sub-titles. The overall tone of the programme is lively, though with some reflective interludes. The texts are in Occitan, the medieval language of Provence, and Latin.

The first section deals with love, not always of the courtly type. In Ne l’oseray-je the woman laments that she is to be married off to an uncouth peasant; the man complains that everything in the home seems to be for his wife’s benefit. In Dessus la rive a sailor tries to have his way with a young girl, who appears to get the better of him.

Track 3 brings us to the theme of fin amors or courtly love, but with the boot on the other foot – the woman’s rather than the man’s. Beatriz, La Comtessa de Dia, or Comtesse de Die, was one of several independent-minded medieval Provençal women who fought their corner in a male-dominated world. In A chanter m’er de so qu’ieu non volria (I must sing of that which I would rather not), the only piece by any of the trobairitz, or female troubadours, to have survived with its melody, she adopts the role usually taken by the male lover, complaining that she is compelled to sing about a love that consumes her for someone who does not value her.

This work is also included on an excellent Hyperion recording, Bella Domna: The Medieval Woman (Stevie Wishart with Sinfonye on the budget-price Helios label, CDH55207 review – a well-deserved Musicweb Bargain of the Month). Sinfonye perform the work unaccompanied and at a slightly more leisurely pace. Both performances work well, capturing a tone of regret, rather than anger, at the indifference of the beloved. If I marginally prefer the Hyperion, it is a very close call – Lilly Crabtree on Nimbus sings excellently. All the versions which I know give the text as chantar, which would seem to be correct Occitan, but Crabtree clearly sings chanter, as per the booklet.

Those wishing to know more about the trobairitz should consult Klinck A L and A M Rasmussen (eds.), Medieval Woman’s Song: Cross Cultural Approaches (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002). References to A chanter m’er are on p.8. Vecy le mai is a carole in rondeau form, one of those countless medieval celebrations of the month of May, "the merry month which stirs our hearts." Ma charmante cadet belongs to the chanson d’aventure type, though it omits the usual prefatory matter in which the man’s riding out is described; it represents a dialogue between a knight and a peasant girl who, as so often in such chansons, is his intellectual superior.

The sequence of free organum which follows allows a temporary respite from secular concerns. The term organum refers not to an organ accompaniment but to an early kind of polyphony in which the voices move at an interval against each other, usually at a fifth; in this case the technique is applied to a sung Alleluia into which the psalm text Justus ut palma has been inserted – "the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree." Those seeking to understand terms such as organum and polyphony will find lucid explanations in the Oxford Companion to Music. In any case, don’t be put off by these technical terms; just enjoy the music. A l’entrada del tens cler takes us back to familiar troubadour territory, the return of Spring. Li gelos chastises jealous men, while the Air de Cheval gives us a brief instrumental interlude.

Lancan li jorn is one of the most celebrated of troubadour cansos; in Jaufré’s text the lover longs with what the notes aptly describe as Michelangelo’s ‘divine discontent’, for his beloved in a far-off country. This piece is no less effective for its being viewed from the conventional male perspective. The note-writer thinks that Beatriz’s female-orientated version in A chanter m’er is somehow more ‘real’, but long experience has taught me never to be wholly convinced by circumstantial detail in literature – as when Rousseau retells Montaigne’s account of being knocked out by a rampaging animal, as if it were his own experience. Jaufre is just as convincing when his canso is sung as affectively as it is here.

In Ara Lauzata a lascivious monk wishes that the pretty girl he sees could be a beautiful nun encloistered in his house; he is obviously second cousin to some of the worldly clerics in the Carmina Burana, best known in Carl Orff’s arrangement, though the original medieval music has survived. The Sequence to St Peter and St Paul recalls us to the joyful praise which the monk should have been offering to the saints instead of the scurrilous thoughts to which he has given voice.

The Montpellier Motets are not all religious pieces – the term did not have that limited meaning originally. Pucelete/Je languis, Aucun and Lonc tans are all secular motets but Alle Psallite, which closes the sequence, is another eked-out Alleluia in praise of God. If you would like to investigate further the manuscript from which these pieces came, you could do much worse than to try the Anonymous 4 in Love’s Illusion: Music from the Montpellier Codex – a different style from that of Martin Best but equally enjoyable (Harmonia Mundi HMX290 7109, budget price).

Nightingales figured largely in medieval poetry and music. The first of the pieces entitled Rossignolet du bois asks if the nightingale has heard the voice of a village boy who wishes to be married but doesn’t understand how to behave in love. In the second the nightingale announces the arrival of Spring-time and love. In le Sodard, the soldier hears the nightingale sing that his love is dead. The lyrics are worthy of Housman’s Shropshire Lad and the music a rousing martial theme, played here with gusto, which contrasts with the soldier’s loss.

The Epiphany sequence Epiphaniam Domino is one of many such pieces contained in medieval missals, lengthy pieces which replaced the Gradual between Epistle and Gospel, very few of which survived the reforming zeal of the Council of Trent.

The final piece, Reis glorios, is a dawn-song, alba in Occitan, aubade in standard French. The words are spoken as if by the watchman who has been keeping guard over his master as he made love, but they are religious words, in praise of the Glorious King and His Holy Mother. The fine performance of this wonderful alba by Guiraut de Bornelh, named by Dante as the Master of the troubadours, makes an excellent conclusion to a very worthwhile programme, combining the secular and the spiritual, as the medievals did effortlessly.

The singing and instrumental playing throughout are excellent, in both the lively music – the courtly and the not so courtly – and the more reflective pieces. I leave aside the thorny issue of the extent to which such music should be accompanied. Regular readers will know that I have consistently given the highest praise to Hyperion’s budget-price Helios reissues of the recordings of Gothic Voices, who very rarely include an instrumental accompaniment. I trust that I shall not seem illogical in praising the Martin Best Consort, who do regularly employ such an accompaniment, in equal measure. There is certainly room for both approaches when such fine performers are involved; in any case, the accompaniments here are not overdone. Apart from the fact that the Gothic Voices reissues are at budget price, comparisons are odious – and there is no overlap, as far as I am aware, between this Nimbus recording and anything that Gothic Voices recorded: they concentrated on a mainly Northern French repertoire.

The recording is good – a little close, but that is not inappropriate in such music. The notes are informative, offering a general overview and individual notes on the separate tracks. Nimbus offer translations of all the works, but not the original texts. If only one could be included, I suppose that is the right way round, but I still think it a pity – medieval Provençal is not exactly a common enough skill for the listener to pick it up from hearing the CD. Hyperion are more generous in this matter: they always offer texts, albeit in minuscule form, including that of A chantar m’er in the booklet accompanying Sinfonye’s recording of Bella Domna. For convenience of those who buy the recording – many of you, I hope – I have included such original texts as I have access to, in an Appendix to this review.

Until recently, this CD was available with other Martin Best medieval recordings in a bargain collection. If you hurry, you may find that some dealers are still offering that set – a wonderful bargain. It was the original intention that I should review the collection but, although it is deleted in that form, Nimbus have kindly sent me the individual CDs to review. Watch out for reviews of the remaining volumes in due course.

-- Brian Wilson, MusicWeb International

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Forgotten Provence 1150-1550 / The Martin Best Consort
Nimbus Oct 1996
CD
$20.99

Viardot: Le Dernier Sorcier / Owens, Barton, Myra Huang

Bridge Records

$18.99 Mar 01, 2019

"One hundred fifty years ago, the great mezzo-soprano, composer, and pedagogue Pauline García Viardot created the salon opera Le dernier sorcier ('The Last Sorcerer') in collaboration with the acclaimed Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev. The piece centered on themes of power and progress, gender and equality, and the restoration of natural order in an ever-changing world. A chamber opera in two acts, Le dernier sorcier revolves around Krakamiche, a once-powerful sorcerer whose presence in the great woods has upset the fairies, the forest’s rightful inhabitants, and disturbed the harmony of the land. Through the combined efforts of the fairy folk and their queen, the sorcerer's daughter and her prince, and a hapless valet, Krakamiche ultimately learns key truths about humility, love, and living in harmony with the natural world. Viardot's original manuscript, scored for solo voices, treble chorus, and piano, was held in a private collection for over a century, and as such, the work essentially vanished. Recently, the original piano-vocal score was acquired by Harvard University’s Houghton Library, which has granted permission to produce this world premiere recording."

REVIEWS:

Le dernier sorcier is a lovely discovery. It is not a lost masterpiece, but it is a work that brought me real pleasure. I will return to it in the future, especially in this high-spirited performance. The recorded sound is a bit cavernous and unfocused for my taste; I would have appreciated a greater presence for the voices. Bridge provides extensive and informative notes and a complete French-English libretto.

– Fanfare

If you ever thought that opera is sometimes an overblown genre and could profit from a bit of modesty, here’s a wonderful example of that. The Last Sorcerer could be performed in a small hall or even somebody’s living room and lasts a mere hour, yet it addresses deep human issues and a wide range of feelings. Bridge came out last year with a superb first complete recording of The Cradle Will Rock by Blitzstein with the original orchestrations. Here they take a chance on an even more obscure but also delightful and sometimes touching work.

– American Record Guide

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Viardot: Le Dernier Sorcier / Owens, Barton, Myra Huang
Bridge Records Mar 2019
CD
$18.99

UNSTOPPABLE

GREEN HILL PROD.

Vinyl

$28.99 Jan 23, 2026

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UNSTOPPABLE
GREEN HILL PROD. Jan 2026
Vinyl
$28.99

Mix & Match

Chansons 1957-1962 - Scoubidou, Personnalites, Mon beau chap

Frémeaux

$32.99 Jan 23, 2026

Apres ses debuts remarques dans le jazz, Alexandre Sacha Distel, neveu du celebre chef d'orchestre Ray Ventura, s'oriente vers la chanson. Son charme et sa voix seduisent rapidement le public. en 1958, son tube Scoubidou le propulse au sommet des charts. de 1959 a 1962, Distel enchaine les succes. Il remporte le Grand Prix de l'Academie Charles-Cros en 1959, chante avec Maurice Chevalier, compose pour le grand ecran et devient une icône de la chanson francaise, alliant talent musical et elegance naturelle. Patrick FReMEAUX After a stunning debut as a jazz guitarist, Alexandre "Sacha" Distel, the nephew of famous French bandleader Ray Ventura, turned to the world of songs, where his voice and good looks quickly attracted a large audience. In 1958 he had an enormous hit with the song "Scoubidou" that catapulted him to the top of the charts. In 1959 he won the "Grand Prix de l'Academie Charles-Cros", and for the next three years he enjoyed one hit after another. He would sing with Maurice Chevalier and compose songs for films before becoming an icon in popular music with a unique combination of musical talent and natural elegance. Patrick FReMEAUX CD1 (1957-1959) : Sacha Distel CHANTE : TOUT BAS (SPEAK LOW) - CHEVEUX DANS LE VENT - QUAND J'Y PENSE - LA FIN D'UN ROMAN D'AMOUR - MA CHeRIE SI JOLIE (TAMMY) - MALADIE D'AMOUR - INSENSIBLEMENT - FASCINATION - ROSE D'OR - LE TOUR DU MONDE (AROUND THE WORLD) - QUAND TU VIENS CHEZ MOI... MON COEUR - QUELQUE CHOSE EN TOI - L'eTANG - TIENS ! TIENS ! TIENS ! - UN AMOUR COMME LE NÔTRE - QUE RESTE-T-IL DE NOS AMOURS ? - PARLEZ-MOI D'AMOUR - SI PETITE O MON AMOUR - GARDE cA POUR TOI (CATCH A FALLING STAR) - LE MUR - La, PReS DE LA FENeTRE (IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS) - DORS MON AMOUR - BRIGITTE - a JAMAIS - BONJOUR CHeRIE. BANDE ORIGINALE DU FILM GIGI : C'EST LA BARBE (AVEC MAURICE CHEVALIER) - TOUT cA N'EST PAS POUR MOI - CEUX QUI INVENTeRENT LE CHAMPAGNE (AVEC MARIE FRANCE GIGI ET JANE MARKEN) - GIGI. CD2 (1959-1961) : Sacha Distel EN PERSONNE : SCOUBIDOU - POMMES ET POIRES - OH ! QUELLE NUIT (LONESOME ME) - QUAND ON S'EST CONNU - CE SERAIT DOMMAGE... (IMPATIENT LOVER) - OUI, OUI, OUI, OUI (GRAND PRIX DE LA CHANSON R.T.F. 1959) - DIS ! O DIS ! (EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER) - ET QUE cA DURE - JE N'AVAIS PAS COMPRIS. COQ D'OR DE LA CHANSON 1959 : SOPHIE. Sacha Distel N°2 : MON BEAU CHAPEAU - La, PReS DE LA FENeTRE (IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS) - LES CeLIBATAIRES - OUAH ! OUAH ! OUAH ! OUAH ! - PERSONNALITeS - ELLE A LE... ELLE A LA... ELLE A LES... - DITES a L'ORCHESTRE (LA... LA... LA...) - MONSIEUR L'BARON - TOUT cA DEVAIT ARRIVER (EVERYTHING HAPPENS TO ME) - DRÔLE DE ReVE (THE PREACHER) - ALLEZ ! VA ! (MY HEART IS AN OPEN BOOK). Sacha Distel N°3 : 20 MADAM' MADAM' - CALIN CALINETTE - LES CARIOCAS, ELLES SONT SI BELLES LES CARIOCAS - OUI, DEVANT DIEU (LA NOVIA) - LE BOOGIE DU BeBe (BABY SITTIN' BOOGIE) - ON DIT, ON DIT, ON DIT - cA C'EST DU POULET - a CAUSE DE TOI (I DON't KNOW WHY) - BYE BYE BABY (BYE BYE BLACKBIRD) - TROIS FOIS LA FRANCE. CD3 (1961-1962) : OUI ET NON - C'EST TOUT, C'EST TOUT (THAT'S ALL) - CATERINA - C'eTAIT PLUS FORT QUE TOUT (I CAN't STOP LOVING YOU) - J'AI UN RENDEZ-VOUS (I WANNA THANK YOU) - SANS TOI - QUE C'EST BON (WELCOME HOME TO MY HEART) - CHANSON SUR UNE SEULE NOTE (SAMBA DE UMA NOTA SO) - GUITARE ET COPAINS (A STEEL GUITAR AND A GLASS OF WINE) - DIS-MOI BARMAN - LES FILLES... MOI J'AIME cA - BON VENT MA JOLIE - PAILLASSE - RIEN DANS LA NUIT. SACHA BOSSA NOVA : ESO BESO - DESAFINADO - VIENS DANSER LA BOSSA NOVA (TING TOUNG) - LOIN DE TOI (RECADO). EVERYBODY LOVES THE LOVER : LET ME LOVE YOU - WHY DON't WE DO THIS MORE OFTEN - MY HEART STOOD STILL - ONCE IN EVERY LIFETIME - I'm IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE - SPEAK TO ME OF LOVE - THE LOVER - IT'S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME - EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER - YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME - I CAN't GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE - ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE. DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE : OLIVIER JULIEN

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Chansons 1957-1962 - Scoubidou, Personnalites, Mon beau chap
Frémeaux Jan 2026
CD
$32.99

Bax: Symphony No 3, The Happy Forest / Lloyd-jones, Et Al

Naxos

$19.99 Feb 01, 2000

In the golden age of vinyl, the English label Lyrita produced a series of Bax symphony recordings conducted by Myer Fredman, Raymond Leppard, Vernon Hanley, and Norman Del Mar that gave most their first exposure to the evocative, romantic symphonic music of Sir Arnold Bax (1883-1953). It was one of the most distinguished series of audiophile recordings every chronicled. Lyrita only released two of the symphonies on CD (Symphonies 1 & 7) but that is probably out of print at the moment. There was an even better recording of the third symphony from the London Symphony and Edward Downes, also long gone. Chandos took a stab at the series during the dawn of the DDD era, but its conductor, Bryden Thomson, using slow tempos, took a loose and meandering view of these episodic works that caused them to seem disjointed. Naxos has now entered the ring with just the right conductor and orchestra and produced a series that is every bit the equal of that on Lyrita, but with a welcome twist, it is available to the public at less than half the cost. In this current installement, David Lloyd-Jones once again leads the excellent Scottish orchestra in a reading that is radiant and lyrical, and paced exacly right. The sounds of nature have seldom been so successfully translated into musical expression, and the superb engineering partners the performance hand in glove. If you like Vaughan Williams, especially his Pastoral Symphony, you will no doubt love this music. Start with this, the most popular of the composer's symphonies, backtrack to symphonies 1 & 2, already available on Naxos CD; then, along with me, keenly anticipate further releases in this magical series.--Rad Bennett, ClassicsToday.com

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Bax: Symphony No 3, The Happy Forest / Lloyd-jones, Et Al
Naxos Feb 2000
CD
$19.99

Song Dust / Karl Strømme

NXN Recordings

$16.99 Feb 18, 2022

Song Dust is the first trio recording from trumpeter Karl Strømme. Having toured as a member of the European Union Jazz Youth Orchestra, and recorded several albums as a member of the experimental outfit Peloton, Strømme released Dynalyd, for quintet in 2019. For his NXN Recordings debut he teamed up with exciting young musicians Gard Kronborg on acoustic bass and Per-Arne Ferner on guitar. Listeners will enjoy both nods to the Westcoast jazz as well as the Nordic cool, especially through the expressive trumpet inspired by the Chet Baker trio recordings on Steeple Chase. The traditional jazz trio would often include a drummer, but you won’t miss one on Song Dust. Besides a joyful percussive part on track 5, VM all musicians are given plenty of space and time to make beautiful soundscapes and passages throughout the album.

REVIEW:

“Nods to West Coast jazz and Nordic cool” is an excellent description of Song Dust, Norwegian trumpeter Karl Strømme’s debut date for the Naxos label NXN Recordings. It’s also Strømme’s first trio recording, and features the somewhat unusual trio lineup of trumpet, acoustic bass guitar (Gard Kronborg) and guitar (Per-Arne Ferner).

Strømme, who teaches at the Norwegian Academy of Music, has an extensive performing and recording history that includes touring with the European Union Jazz Youth Orchestra and, most recently, his well received 2019 quintet recording Dynalyd.

An easy comparison to Strømme is Chet Baker, in both his often airy tonal quality and his phrasing and material. He emphasizes that here with the opening track, the standard “Nature Boy,” which he presents quite naturally and freely, with only minor embellishments from bass and guitar behind his trumpet lines. But elsewhere he follows his own path, particularly in his penchant for playing trumpet and synth lines simultaneously. The second track “Opal” finds him pursuing this subtly on a mostly traditional sounding post-bop piece of lovely melodic lines.

It’s almost cheating to call this a trio, and I say that with a smile, but the synthesizer is truly a fourth instrument here. The electronic keyboard-trumpet pairing is quite explicit on the brief, languid “Dance Of The Cohort,” with burbling synth sounds nearly alone in accompanying Strømme’s horn. A few songs later, the similarly brief “0502Y” presents a dreamlike soundscape that includes a Rhodes-like keyboard in addition to shimmering synth and faux glockenspiel. The only track with explicit percussion, “VM” adds handclaps and hand drums for a Latin vibe behind an engaging trumpet improvisation that to me recalls Kenny Wheeler. Lots of that “Nordic cool” vibe comes through on the mysterious “One Two Trees” with some nice atmospheric guitar from Ferner and Strømme accompanying his horn with a unison line on the synth – again, very subtly, no prog bombastics here.

Kronborg provides solid and inventive rhythm throughout, and really displays his chops on a lovely, melodic solo on the title track, which finishes the album. My favorite is the rhythmically complex “Bela Waltz,” which only truly runs on waltz time for brief melodic choruses. Ferner’s guitar moves seamlessly from rhythm to melody and back again more than once here.

Atmospheric but never background music, Song Dust is consistently engaging, upbeat, cool modern jazz.

AGreenManReview.com (Gary Whitehouse)

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Song Dust / Karl Strømme
NXN Recordings Feb 2022
CD
$16.99

Dohnanyi: Ruralia Hungarica & Humoresken in Form einer Suite / Toth

Challenge Classics

$18.99 Oct 19, 2018

Valentina Toth writes: “Although they were not musically trained, my parents taught me to love Bartok and Kodaly. I treasured their music from the time I was young, and only became acquainted with Dohnanyi’s work much later, when I came in contact with it by accident. It was romantic, virtuosic, and incredibly well written for the instrument. What more can you ask as a concert pianist? And although he may only seem rather less distinctly Hungarian than Bartok, many aspects of his country are reflected in his work. I remember when I was working on the Ruralia hungarica, my father recognized many of the melodies from the songs he had learned as a boy.” Dohnanyi wrote Ruralia hungarica in 1923 and gave it a real Hungarian touch by including a wide range of folk melodies in all movements. The Humoresken Op. 17 from 1907 date from when he taught in Berlin. They are basically romantic in nature and now and then reminiscent of Brahms’ piano music. As the name suggests, these are more or less light-hearted character pieces, in which he draws on musical forms from the eighteenth century.

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Dohnanyi: Ruralia Hungarica & Humoresken in Form einer Suite / Toth
Challenge Classics Oct 2018
CD
$18.99

EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE

DELMARK

$15.70 Dec 20, 2019

Now in his 90s, this enduring Chicago blues great entered the studio to create his first album in a decade-and it's on Delmark, for whom he first recorded 40 years ago! His Delmark homecoming blends his originals with takes on some classics: "I Need You So Bad," "My Ring," "Lead Me On," "Love Me or Leave Me," "Rattlesnake" and more blues with that trademark Jimmy Johnson R&B flavor. Delmark.

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EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE
DELMARK Dec 2019
CD
$15.70

Bach: Goldberg Variations / Kato

Centaur Records

$18.99 Feb 26, 2013

BACH Goldberg Variations • Sachiko Kato (pn) • CENTAUR CRC3202 (59:15)

When this arrived in the mail, my first reaction was, “Oh no, here we go again; another Goldberg Variations by an artist I’ve never heard of before.” And after being so rattled by my grievous error regarding the matter of repeats in Daniel Pienaar’s recording, I had serious doubts about reviewing another Goldberg Variations ever again. Well, you know what they say about getting right back up on the horse after you’ve been thrown. Had I passed on this assignment out of fear, I’d have missed out on a truly extraordinary experience. For starters, forget that this is a recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations . It’s a disc you should have purely for the velvet smoothness and silken beauty of Sachiko Kato’s tone as captured by the One Soul Studios engineers in New York’s Klavierhaus Hall. This is simply one of the most gorgeous reproductions of piano sound I’ve heard on disc.

Now, of course, this is a recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations , and not being one to be burned twice, I listened to Kato’s performance with undivided attention and followed the score dutifully. Here is what I can tell you. She takes the first-half repeats of each variation, but not the second-half ones. More’s the pity, because in many of the variations’ first halves, she adds some of her own embellishments that tickled me with delight. Kato is an extremely imaginative player, and I would have loved to hear her embellishments in second-half repeats.

Beyond the matter of repeats and her own embellishments, Kato’s readings of the variations are so perfectly realized in terms of tempos, phrasing, and discovery of detail, particularly in the left hand, that one marvels at the utter naturalness and fluency of the music. Notice I said “of the music,” not of Kato’s playing, because she plays with such a sense of effortlessness and ease that it’s as if the piano is having its own joyous conversation with Bach. Listen, for example to the happy mordents and smiling trill-and-mordents in the second half of Variation 5, executed with such perfection that even at Kato’s rapid velocity, not only can you hear the difference between them, your ear can discern the number of squiggles.

I’ve long admired Angela Hewitt, Murray Perahia, András Schiff, and Craig Sheppard in this music, but Sachiko Kato’s performance is truly special, and for piano versions, I think it may now be my favorite. This wonderful Japanese-born, Los Angeles-raised, Juilliard-trained artist has yet to gain much of a presence on record—Amazon, as well as her website, lists only two previous releases, both of modern music, which Kato champions—but she performs extensively throughout the U.S. and Japan. To everyone who embraces Bach’s Goldberg Variations on piano, this deserves to be heard and is urgently recommended.

FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

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Bach: Goldberg Variations / Kato
Centaur Records Feb 2013
CD
$18.99

Rorem: Double Concerto, After Reading Shakespeare

Naxos

$19.99 Dec 12, 2006

Ned Rorem describes this performance of his Double Concerto for Violin and Cello as "perfect", so it would be presumptuous to challenge his opinion of it technically. Certainly the playing of Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson is excellent, as is that of the IRIS Orchestra under Michael Stern. Like some of Rorem's other concertante works, this takes the form of a series of short movements, eight in all, save that one of them (Conversation at Midnight) isn't so short, lasting for nearly a quarter of an hour, or about half the concerto's total time. The two soloists offer admirably focused playing here, with a real feeling of dialog both between themselves and with the orchestra. The scoring is Spartan--strings, eight woodwinds, and four brass--but there's no lack of color or incident. In short, this is a lovely addition to the string concerto repertoire, and a terrific piece for chamber orchestras to consider programming.

What keeps this disc from getting the highest rating is an admittedly personal issue, one that you may not share. After Reading Shakespeare, a suite for solo cello, was also written for Sharon Robinson, and it is very sympathetically performed (listen, for example, to how vividly she characterizes "Titania and Oberon"). Nevertheless, the pairing of an orchestral piece with this most chamber-like of chamber compositions strikes me as unconvincing, coming as it does after the concerto. In his notes Rorem emphasizes the fact that the movement titles of this piece should not be taken literally, the music having preceded some of them. If so, then why use them at all? And why suggest as opening and closing movements such weighty subjects as "Lear" and "Othello and Iago"? They really beg the question of whether or not Rorem's inspiration is up to Shakespeare's, and we don't want to go there, do we? There are times when composers might do better to resist the temptation to offer verbal clues, even if they are perfectly valid ones. Still and all, the music and performances themselves are self-recommending to the composer's many admirers, and on that basis I can recommend this fine new release without further qualification.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Rorem: Double Concerto, After Reading Shakespeare
Naxos Dec 2006
CD
$19.99

Pictures of America / Dessay

Sony Masterworks

$6.49 ~~$12.98~~ Save 50% Jan 13, 2017

The first album of Natalie Dessay for Sony Classical is a journey through music (Great American Song Book, Broadway & Jazz) and art (Edward Hopper) - This is not a classical album. "I was delighted to once again work with Claire Gibault, who now leads her own chamber orchestra, the Paris Mozart Orchestra, more than twenty years after she first accompanied my Mozart performance at the start of my career as a classical singer. It all started with a couple of Edward Hopper paintings that inspired the beautiful stories of poet Claude Esteban, which Graciane Finzi in turn illustrated with her delicate and inventive music. Claire asked me to tell the story of these "melologues". For my part, I selected ten other paintings that inspired me to choose a range of songs from what's known as the "Great American Songbook".

I asked five incredible musicians to arrange them for the Paris Mozart Orchestra, thereby building a bridge between classical music, jazz, and musicals. I then worked to develop a new voice—a deeper and more intimate sound that would whisper into the listener's ear. It was a voice I had to learn to control, like a small, secretive wild animal. I wanted to open things up with "On A Clear Day", which serves as an introduction, and a promise. Next comes a self-deprecating and low-pitched version of "I Feel Pretty" in quintuple time that leads naturally into "I Am A Fool To Want You", a song about someone who is ready to do anything and everything to win over a lost love. "Send In The Clowns" marks the disenchantment of people whose paths cross, but never at the right time. Hope lies just beyond the next bend in the road with "Detour Ahead" followed by "Something's Coming…Maybe Tonight". Next is "Autour de minuit" based on the beautiful poem by Claude Nougaro, which rings with the promise of a brighter tomorrow and of luck that might finally go our way. But the memory of our beloved refuses to fade, and every night we find ourselves back at the counter of a café that echoes with happy memories with "I Keep Going Back To Joe's", except that now it's just us at the bar as we listen to "In My Solitude". It's times like these that make us want to settle down with "A Place You Want To Call Home", but in the end, as "The Two Lonely People" asks, won't we always wind up alone even when we think we have a special someone? What do we have left, then, if not show business? As "There's No Business Like Show Business" tells us, isn't the world just a stage filled? Enjoy your journey through music and paintings with these "Pictures of America"."

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REVIEW:

Dessay sounds in great form and uses every trick in the book. She takes aspects of a Streisand-inspired technique. Taking the cover off the voice mid-note and opening the tone right out to its full; or whittling it down to a sexy, Julie London whisper.

– Opera Now

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Pictures of America / Dessay
Sony Masterworks Jan 2017
CD
~~$12.98~~ $6.49

Siesta - Ibert, Ravel, Piazzolla, Etc / Petri, Hannibal

OUR Recordings

$18.99 Jan 30, 2007

When I read the word “Siesta,” I picture a recumbent Mexican wearing a multicolored serape snoozing under his extravagantly brimmed sombrero. For Lars Hannibal, however, a siesta offers a break from work which doesn’t have to be spent sleeping. Instead, it’s a good time to listen to music. You certainly wouldn’t want to doze through this CD, as even in the familiar pieces the recorder’s woody rusticity shines a new light on the old tunes. Piazzolla’s Histoire du tango—a four-movement suite chronicling the evolution of tango in Argentina—expresses itself with humor, melancholy, and in the last movement, irony. Joan Albert Amargòs’s Tango català has a Spanish title, but I hear Brazil in its mood, melody, and harmony. After the guitar sets the scene, the recorder joins in, substituting for a sultry singer in a work “having the quiet sadness of many a Jazz ballad” (from Leo Black’s notes). Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Sonatina is the work of a classicist in love with Spain; Ravel’s Pièce en forme de habanera sways to its endlessly seductive rhythm; and Entr’acte, Ibert’s swirling mini-travelogue, recalls the old cliché that some of the best Spanish music is by French composers. Three works by Villa-Lobos close the recital: Modinha (literally, little song), a lyrical, syncopated melody; Distribução de flores, a haunting tune (especially when played by the tenor recorder), with an unmistakable South American Indian sound; and the Cantilena from the well-loved Bachianas brasileiras No. 5. The recorder and guitar probably won’t displace the voice and cellos of the original in listeners’ affections, but the melody is as beautiful as ever, even if the recorder sometimes sounds a bit shrill. Overall, a very enjoyable disc that introduced me to some unfamiliar music while providing a fresh look at some perennials.

FANFARE: Robert Schulslaper

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Siesta - Ibert, Ravel, Piazzolla, Etc / Petri, Hannibal
OUR Recordings Jan 2007
CD
$18.99