Mozart The Marriage of Figaro Teddy Tahu Rhodes (Figaro), Taryn Fiebig (Susanna), Peter Coleman-Wright (Count), Rachelle Durkin (Countess), Opera Australia Chorus, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Patrick Summers (conductor), Neil Armfield (director) OPOZ56001DVD | 5060266600005 | DVD2
Recorded in 2010.
‘A marriage of distinction. An energetic, fresh-voiced cast...Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Taryn Feibig were a vivacious, appealing pairing...vocally strong and agile’ (The Australian)
‘As the Countess, Rachelle Durkin mixed statuesque hauteur with girlish puppy love...refined phrasing and beautifully poised tonal control’ (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Mozart The Marriage of Figaro Teddy Tahu Rhodes (Figaro), Taryn Fiebig (Susanna), Peter Coleman-Wright (Count), Rachelle Durkin (Countess), Opera Australia Chorus, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Patrick Summers (conductor), Neil Armfield (director) OPOZ56002BD | 5060266600012 | Blu-Ray
Recorded in 2010.
‘A marriage of distinction. An energetic, fresh-voiced cast...Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Taryn Feibig were a vivacious, appealing pairing...vocally strong and agile’ (The Australian)
‘As the Countess, Rachelle Durkin mixed statuesque hauteur with girlish puppy love...refined phrasing and beautifully poised tonal control’ (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Mozart The Marriage of Figaro Teddy Tahu Rhodes (Figaro), Taryn Fiebig (Susanna), Peter Coleman-Wright (Count), Rachelle Durkin (Countess), Opera Australia Chorus, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Patrick Summers (conductor), Neil Armfield (director) OPOZ56003CD | 5060266600029 | CD3
Recorded in 2010.
‘A marriage of distinction. An energetic, fresh-voiced cast...Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Taryn Feibig were a vivacious, appealing pairing...vocally strong and agile’ (The Australian)
‘As the Countess, Rachelle Durkin mixed statuesque hauteur with girlish puppy love...refined phrasing and beautifully poised tonal control’ (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Donizetti Lucia di Lammermoor Joan Sutherland (Lucia), Richard Greager (Edgardo), Malcolm Donnelly (Enrico), Clifford Grant (Raimondo), Patricia Price (Alisa), Sergei Baigildin (Arturo), Robin Donald (Normanno), Australian Opera Chorus, Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra, Richard Bonynge (conductor), John Copely (producer) OPOZ56005CD | 5060266600043 | CD2
Recorded in 1986.
‘superb...incredibly moving’ (The Australian) ‘Exceptionally fine...Sutherland remains a splendid heroine...Malcolm Donnelly is an outstanding Enrico’ (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Meyerbeer Les Huguenots Joan Sutherland (Marguite de Valois), Clifford Grant (Marcel), Amanda Thane (Valentine), Suzanne Johnson (Urbain), Anson Austin (Raoul de Nanglis), John Pringle (Comte de Nevers), John Wegner (Comte de Saint Bris), Richard Bonynge (conductor), Lotfi Mansouri (director) OPOZ56007CD | 5060266600067 | CD3
Recorded in 1990. Joan Sutherland's farewell performance of Les Huguenots. ‘Full of spectacle’ (The Sun Herald) ‘Incandescent...a wondrous, full-voiced performance that should be remembered for light years to come’ (The Age) ‘ [Sutherland] sings effortlessly...remarkable’ (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Donizetti Lucrezia Borgia Joan Sutherland (Lucrezia), Robert Allman (Don Alfonzo), Margreta Elkins (Maffio Orsini), Ron Stevens (Gennaro), Graeme Ewer (Rustighello), Australian Opera Chorus, Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra, Richard Bonynge (conductor), George Ogilvie (director) OPOZ56006CD | 5060266600050 | CD2
Recorded in 1977. ‘(Sutherland’s) extraordinary voice here not only scales the heights of coloratura but plunges with new ease into the depths of the mezzo range’ (The Bulletin) ‘Bonynge shapes the whole performance with assurance’ (Canberra Times) ‘delights the ear endlessly...ravishing’ (Financial Review)
Verdi Rigoletto Alan Opie (Rigoletto), Emma Matthews (Gilda), Paul O'Neill (Duke of Mantua), David Parkin (Sparafucile), Samuel Dundas (Count Ceprano), Gennadi Dubinsky (Count Monterone), Elizabeth Campbell (Maddelena, Giovanna), Opera australia Chorus, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Giovanni Reggoli (conductor), Elijah Moshinsky (director) OPOZ56009DVD | 5060266600081 | DVD
One of Opera Australia's best-loved productions. Inspired by Fellini's classic film La dolca vita, Verdi's dark melodrama is transposed into the world of modern day mafiosi. 'A classic production' (Sydney Morning Herald) 'A significant triumph' (The Opera Critic). Recorded in 2010
Verdi Rigoletto Alan Opie (Rigoletto), Emma Matthews (Gilda), Paul O'Neill (Duke of Mantua), David Parkin (Sparafucile), Samuel Dundas (Count Ceprano), Gennadi Dubinsky (Count Monterone), Elizabeth Campbell (Maddelena, Giovanna), Opera australia Chorus, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Giovanni Reggoli (conductor), Elijah Moshinsky (director) OPOZ56010BD | 5060266600098 | Blu-ray
One of Opera Australia's best-loved productions. Inspired by Fellini's classic film La dolca vita, Verdi's dark melodrama is transposed into the world of modern day mafiosi. 'A classic production' (Sydney Morning Herald) 'A significant triumph' (The Opera Critic). Recorded in 2010
Verdi Rigoletto Alan Opie (Rigoletto), Emma Matthews (Gilda), Paul O'Neill (Duke of Mantua), David Parkin (Sparafucile), Samuel Dundas (Count Ceprano), Gennadi Dubinsky (Count Monterone), Elizabeth Campbell (Maddelena, Giovanna), Opera australia Chorus, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Giovanni Reggoli (conductor), Elijah Moshinsky (director) OPOZ56011CD | 560266600104 | CD2
One of Opera Australia's best-loved productions. Inspired by Fellini's classic film La dolca vita, Verdi's dark melodrama is transposed into the world of modern day mafiosi. 'A classic production' (Sydney Morning Herald) 'A significant triumph' (The Opera Critic). Recorded in 2010
Delibes Lakme Joan Sutherland (Lakme), Henri Wilden (Gerald), Clifford Grant (Nilakantha), Huguette Tourangereau (Mallika), Isobel Buchanan (Ellen), John Pringle (Frederick), Australian Opera Chorus, Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra, Richard Bonynge (conductor) OPOZ56012CD | 5060266600111 | CD2
Dame Joan Sutherland gvies a thrilling, nuanced performance as the heroine in this lyrical and exotic tale of a doomed romance between an Indian priest's daughter and a British army officer. 'a great talent at its height, enthralling by the sheer beauty of that stupendous voice' (The Sun). Recorded in 1976
Verdi Il Trovatore Joan Sutherland (Leonora), Lauris Elms (Azucena), Kenneth Collins (Manrico), Donald Shanks (Ferrando), Jonathan Summers (Di Luna), Australian Opera Chorus, Elizabethan Orchestra, Richard Bonynge (conductor), Elijah Moshinsky (director) OPOZ56013CD | 5060266600128 | CD2
Fiery and full-blooded, Il Trovatore is a masterpiece of obsession, madness and revenge which binds together a mysterious gypsy woman, two mortal enemies and a woman who must betray her love or risk death. 'dramatically and vocally stunning' (The Australian), 'The Australian Opera has assembled one of its best casts under the baton of Richard Bonynge' (The Times). Recorded in 1983
*Please click on each cover image for more
collectors corner june 2011
Contact your preferred music store for these great new releases.
Click on the album cover for more information about each recording.
Play excerpts from the CDs on the player below.
Vivaldi - The French Connection 2 Katy Bircher (flute), La Serenissima, Andrian Chandler (director) AVIE | AV2218 | 822252221824 | CD
Includes two world premiere recordings. Exciting, eloquent, effervescent concertos, extravagantly virtuosic in character-great fun! Vol 1 also available on AV2178 (Gramophone Award-winner)
PLAY TRACK 1
Mahler Orchestral Songs
Kindertotenlieder, Songs of a Wayfarer, Ruckert Lieder Katarina Karneus (mezzo-soprano), Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Susanna Malkki (conductor) BIS | BISSACD1600 | 7318599916002 | SACD
Internationally renowned young singer with a deep affinity for Mahler. Sublimely moving music that hits the heart head on.
PLAY TRACK 2
Romantic drama and Classical suavity combined with colourful orchestration in this theatrical music. Outstanding artists bring these overtures to life, sounding as fresh as the day they were first composed.
PLAY TRACK 3
Lutoslawski, Szymanowski, Alexander Tchaikovsky
Lutoslawski Concerto for Orchestra, Szymanowski Symphony No 3, A Tchaikovsky Symphony No 4 for Viola Chorus and Orchestra Rafal Bartminski (tenor), Andreas Rohn (violin), Nimrod Guez (viola), Bavarian Radio Choir and Symphony Orchestra, Mariss Jansons (conductor) BR KLASSIK | 900107 | 4035719001075 | CD
Gorgeously full-bodied sound, masterful orchestral music. These modern masterpieces are all very accessible in terms of their styles, rich with Romantic resonance and thrilling to hear. Highly enjoyable on all counts.
PLAY TRACK 4
Heroines in Music
Music from The French Lieutenant's Woman, Hotel du Lac, Pride and Prejudice, Cranford Suite Philharmonia Orchestra, Carl Davis (conductor) CARL DAVIS COLLECTION | CDC010 | 84548000109 | CD
Music from award-winning and popular movies and TV series. Authoritative performances conducted by the composer.
PLAY TRACK 5
Bach Goldberg Variations Steven Devine (harpsichord) CHANDOS | CHAN0780 | 095115078020 | CD
Steven Devine is harpsichordist with The Gonzaga Band and London Baroque, and also the co-director of The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Inspirational interpretation of one of the greatest keyboard variation sets ever composed.
PLAY TRACK 6
Rozsa Orchestral Works Vol 2
Variations on a Hungarian Peasant Song Op 4, The Vintner's Daughter Op 23a Notturno Ungherese Op 28, Cello Concerto Op 32 Jennifer Pike (violin), Paul Watkins (cello), BBC Philharmonic, Rumon Gamba (conductor) CHANDOS | CHAN10674 | 095115167427 | CD
Jennifer Pike was a BBC Young Artist of the Year. Best known for his film music (for which he received no fewer than 13 Oscar nominations), Miklos Rozsa was also a notable compoer for the concert hall. Vol 1 also available on CHAN10488
PLAY TRACK 7
Fiesta Criolla - Latin American Orchestral Works
Music by Piazzolla, Carrillo, Castro, Valcarcel, Mignone, Holguin and Williams Wurtemberg Philharmonie Reutlingen, Gabriel Castagna (conductor) CHANDOS | CHAN10675 | 095115167526 | CD
Afro-Cuban/Creole-inspired music from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru—all world premiere recordings. Latin American music is the speciality of conductor Gabriel Castagna, who inspires the orchestra in vivid performances.
PLAY TRACK 8
Schmitt La Tragedie de Salome, Psaume 47, Le Palais hante Susan Bullock (soprano), Sao Paola Choir and Symphony Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier (conductor) CHANDOS | CHSA5090 | 095115509029 | SACD
Exuberant, highly imaginative French orchestral music. Florent Schmitt’s grandly neo-romantic works sit well beside those of Ravel or Stravinsky—well worth discovering!
PLAY TRACK 9
Reich Three Movements, The Desert Music Chorus Sine Nomine, Tonkustler Orchester Niederosterich, Kristian Jarvi (conductor) CHANDOS | CHSA5091 | 095115509128 | SACD
Composer Steve Reich himself loves this new recording: ‘Incisive, focused and intense...Bravo’. ‘Minimalism’ for the thinking music-lover, rewarding and significant repertoire.
PLAY TRACK 10
The Ballad Singer
Songs by Beethoven, Loewe, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler, Stanford, Scott, Sullivan, Emanuel, Porter Gerald Finley (baritone), Julius Drake (piano) HYPERION | CDA67830 | 034571178301 | CD
Great poetry set to great music interpreted by great artists. A glittering treasury of songs, Lieder and ballads interpreted by the multi-award-winning partnership of Gerald Finley and Julius Drake.
PLAY TRACK 11
Casals Encores
Music by Popper, Godard, Lassen, Faure, Wagner, Elgar, de Falla, Granados, Chopin, Saint-Saens Alban Gerhardt (cello), Cecile Licad (piano) HYPERION | CDA67831 | 034571178318 | CD
German cellist Alban Gerhardt tours Australia during August and September 2011. This album of delightful musical bon-bons played with finesse and verve is a superb tribute to the legendary cellis Pablo Casals.
PLAY TRACK 12
Howells The Winchester Service Winchester Cathedral Choir, Simon Bell (organ), Andrew Lumsden (conductor) HYPERION | CDA67853 | 034571178530 | CD
A jewel of a recording with the choir’s new Director of Music. Lyrical and intensely spiritual English music sung with great sensitivity and precision. Rarely-heard repertoire by a master of British music.
PLAY TRACK 13
Walton Belshazzar's Feast, Symphony No 1 Peter Coleman-Wright (baritone),London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Colin Davis (conductor) LSO LIVE | LSO0681 | 822231168126 | SACD
Thrilling accounts of two of William Walton’s greatest works. Features acclaimed Australian baritone Peter Coleman-Wright. Fabulous recorded sound. Belshazzar's Feast bristles with excitement while the Symphony has never sounded so good.
PLAY TRACK 14
Michael Nyman - Composer in Progres
A film by Silvia Beck Michael Nyman and Band ARTHAUS | K101483 | 807280148398 | DVD
Features Steve Reich and Volker Schloendorff and includes unprecedented access to Michael Nyman’s life as a composer, performer and also a film-maker: an unforgettable journey with a great artist.
Madama Butterfly DVD Raffaella Angeletti (Butterfly), Massimo Pisapia (Pinkerton), Fondatione Orchestra Regionale della Marche, Pier Luigi Pizzi (conductor) C MAJOR | 706208 | 814337010621 | DVD
‘one of the best Butterflies of our time’ (ForumOpera.com). Strong cast, great production. Also on Blu-ray 706304 (for the first time!)
Daniel Barenboim - The Warsaw Recital DVD
Chopin Piano Sonata No 2, Waltzes, Other Works Daniel Barenboim (piano) ACCENTUS | ACC20102 | 4260234830019 | DVD
Celebrates the 60th Anniversary of Daniel Barenboim’s stage debut. Highly praised concert recording. Also on Blu-ray ACC10202A.
Chopin The Piano Concertos DVD Nikolai Demidenko (piano), Evgeny Kissin (piano), Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni Wit (conductor) ACCENTUS | ACC20104 | 4260234830033 | DVD
Unique gala concert with star artists recorded in Warsaw on Chopin’s 200th birthday. Soloists Demidenko and Kissen each give marvelous performances. Also on Blu-ray ACC1020B.
Mahler Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Symphony No 10 Adagio DVD Magdalena Kozena (mezzo-soprano), Christian Gerhaher (baritone), Cleveland Orchestra, Pierre Boulez (conductor) ACCENTUS | ACC20231 | 4260234830118 | DVD
Celebrates the 150th Anniversary of Mahler’s birth and Boulez’s 85th birthday. 'profound, visceral understanding of this music' (WCLV Classic FM). Mahler's 'Wunderhorn' song settings are among his most important. Also on Blu-ray ACC10231.
Holst - In the Bleak Midwinter
A film by Tony Palmer. The first full-length documentary on Holst Imogen Holst, Michael Tippett, Herbert Howells, Edmund Rubbra, Elliott Carter, and more TONY PALMER FILMS | TPDVD173 | 5060230861425 | DVD
Fascinating first full-length documentary on Holst, an unjustly neglected and sadly still largely misunderstood composer. Includes previously unreleased material—an essential film.
Australian Guitar Music Aleksandr Tsiboulski (guitar) NAXOS | 8570949 | CD | 747313094974
‘Add another name to Australia’s thriving classical guitar scene…Tsiboulski is the complete guitarist. His playing possesses a highly controlled, honed refinement, but he rises above the technical demands to reach a new level of concentrated, inner thought…The standout is Koehne’s rhapsodic A Closed World of Fine Feelings and Grand Design, which Tsiboulski plays with exquisite, perfectly judged phrases and aching tenderness. He is excellent, too, with Edwards’ Guitar Dances and Blackwattle Caprices…Sculthorpe’s ruminative From Kakadu and Djilile acquire an almost spiritual power.’ (The Australian, 5-star review)
Mozart Violin Concertos Richard Tognetti, Christopher Moore, ACO BIS | BISSACD1754 | SACD | 7318599917542
Undoubtedly one of the most popular and accessible classical albums by any Australian artist this year, this is the Australian Chamber Orchestra's much-anticipated first release dedicated solely to Mozart following a national tour featuring one of his violin concertos. It's set to rival Tognetti’s recordings of Bach which won three consecutive ARIA awards. Watch footage from the recording sessions, interviews with Tognetti and more on the dedicated mini-site: www.savd.com.au/aco
Mozart Divertimento in E flat, K563, Fragment for string trio in G major Henning Kraggerud, Lars Anders Tomter, Christoph Richter NAXOS | 8572258 | 747313225873 | CD
At the peak of his powers, but beset by cash-flow problems brought on by living beyond his means, Mozart composed his famous String Trio, K. 563 for his friend, fellow-mason and creditor Johann Michael Puchberg. While labelled ‘Divertimento’, this masterful six-movement work is one of Mozart’s most substantial pieces for string trio and one of his greatest works. The Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud, who has made a number of highly-praised Naxos recordings, joins prize-winning compatriot Lars Anders Tomter (who has recorded the Walton Viola Concerto for Naxos) and acclaimed German cellist Christoph Richter.
Respighi Violin Concerto in A major, Suite for Strings, Rossiniana Laura Marzadori, Chamber Orchestra of New York Ottorino Respighi, Salvatore Di Vittorio NAXOS | 8572332 | 747313233274 | CD
Includes World Première Recordings. Respighi’s unfinished First Violin Concerto in A major (1903) was revised and completed by composer/conductor Salvatore Di Vittorio, who directed its première in 2010. Harking back to the masterful writing of Vivaldi and Mendelssohn, the Concerto also foreshadows the orchestral technicolour of the great Italian composer’s ‘Roman Trilogy’ (Naxos 8.550589). The lyrical Aria and graceful Suite, newly transcribed by Di Vittorio, embody Respighi’s abiding love of Baroque music, while Rossiniana is a delightful reworking of Rossini’s piano music, Les riens (Trifles), much enhanced by Respighi’s contribution of new melodies and innovative orchestration.
Piatti 12 Caprices for Cello, Capricco sopra un tema della Niiobe di Pacini Soo Bae NAXOS | 8570782 | 747313078271 | CD
Playing the rich-toned and highly responsive Stradivarius ‘Bonjour’ cello of 1696, on loan to her from the Canada Council of the Arts, the Canadian cellist Soo Bae interprets Alfredo Piatti’s technically demanding and emotionally rewarding Capriccio on a theme from Pacini’s opera Niobe and his virtuosic Twelve Caprices with seeming effortlessness. Winner of the 2005 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, and selected by Musical America as ‘New Artist of the Month’ (March 2009), Soo Bae enjoys a busy international career.
Rode 12 Etudes for violin solo, 3 Duos for 2 violins Nicolas and Rudolf Koeckert (violin) NAXOS | 8572604 | 747313260478 | CD
Pierre Rode’s music represents the full flowering of the French violin school founded by his mentor Giovanni Battista Viotti. Naxos’s recordings of his 24 Caprices (8.570958) and Violin Concertos Nos. 7, 10 and 13 (8.570469) have received critical accolades, with Nos. 3, 4 and 6 to be released on 8.570767. The virtuosic 12 Etudes heard here run the gamut from graceful to vigorously dramatic, testing the artistry and technique of the solo violinist to the utmost. The three Duos present fewer technical demands, concentrating instead on lyricism, elfin sprightliness and dynamic contrasts. Award-winning Nicolas Koeckert, who performs regularly as a soloist with leading orchestras from around the world, is joined on this recording by his father, the internationally-renowned chamber musician Rudolf Koeckert.
The son of Alessandro Scarlatti, who created a new school of opera in Naples, Domenico Scarlatti is particularly distinguished for his remarkable keyboard sonatas, of which some 555 are known. This significant addition to early 18th century keyboard repertoire was written for performance on the various keyboard instruments of the Spanish court, where he was employed for many years, and in all its variety has long provided a valuable repertoire for pianists. Chinese pianist Duanduan Hao won First Prize in the 2009 Shanghai International Piano Competition.
Hummel Operatic Fantasies and Variations Madoka Inui (piano) NAXOS | 8572736 | 747313273676 | CD
The reputation of Johann Nepomuk Hummel – child prodigy, student of Mozart, successor of Haydn and Beethoven’s rival, widely-travelled piano virtuoso, composer, conductor, influential teacher and ingenious businessman – is once more on the rise. His variations, fantasies and potpourris on operas, including his own, were influential on Liszt and showcase his extraordinary abilities as both performer and composer. Winner of the Città di Stresa International Piano Competition, Madoka Inui has collaborated in literary-musical events with several distinguished authors and made a number of recordings for Naxos as accompanist in its Viennese series devoted to the art of solo instruments.
