Dvorak Violin Concerto, Legends Richard Tognetti (violin), Nordic Chamber Orchestra, Christian Lindberg (conductor) BIS | BISCD1708 | CD | 7318590017081
One of the year’s most hotly anticipated classical releases by an Australian artist, this disc features Australia's favourite violinist Richard Tognetti in Dvorak’s virtuosic, highly melodic Violin Concerto. The work is the perfect showcase for Tognetti’s world-famous technique, precision and passion. The ARIA-winning ‘National Treasure’ teams with Christian Lindberg to bring this gorgeous Romantic work vividly to life. The last collaboration between the two masterful musicians (with Lindberg on Baroque trombone) was an extremely popular ABC Classic FM CD of the Week. Now Lindberg appears as conductor for this thrilling disc of Dvorak’s spirited music for violin and orchestra.
Watch an excerpt of Tognetti’s dazzling performance on YouTube.
Wagner Symphonic Arrangements Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi (conductor) CHANDOS | CHSA5077 | SACD | 095115507728
Vlieger (arranger) Parsifal An Orchestral Quest, Overture and Venusberg Ballet Scene from Tannhauser, Prelude to Act 3 of Lohengrin
Neeme Järvi conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in the second of four albums featuring the bold arrangements of Wagner by Henk de Vlieger. Of the first album (The Ring: An Orchestral Adventure CHSA5060), Classic FM magazine wrote, 'a penetrating symphonic poem that reflects the dramatic depths of The Ring.’ In Parsifal, an orchestral quest’, Vlieger has compiled the musical and emotional highlights of Wagner’s opera. This is coupled with Wagner’s original arrangement of the Overture and Venusberg Ballet Scene from Tannhäuser and his concert version of Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin. A must for those who like Wagner without the singing!
Chopin Piano Sonatas Nos 2-3 Olga Kern (piano) HARMONIA MUNDI | HMU907464 | CD | 093046746421
Frederic Chopin’s Piano Sonatas No2 (Funeral March) and No3 are the product of the composer’s maturity and boundless invention. Here they receive incandescent performances by the 2001 Cliburn Competition gold medalist Olga Kern, whose previous Chopin release (HMU907402) was praised as 'an excellent opportunity to sample Ms Kern’s impressive musicianship while revisiting one of the Romantic masters’ (Keyboard magazine). One of the most riveting new offerings for the Chopin bicentenary year.
Beethoven Piano Sonatas Steven Osborne (piano) HYPERION | CDA67662 | 034571176628 | CD
Piano Sonatas in C Sharp Minor Op 27 No 2 'Moonlight', C Minor Op 13 'Pathetique', G Major Op 79, C Major Op 53 'Waldstein'
Steven Osborne has been performing Beethoven live in concert for many years, always to great acclaim. Now for the first time he has committed these extraordinary performances to disc. It is clear from listening to the opening movement of the ‘Moonlight’ that this release will establish him firmly as one of the great Beethoven pianists of today. Performances of such passionate humility, such musical intelligence, such subtlety and yet such instinctive understanding of the music are rare indeed. This disc features three of Beethoven’s most celebrated sonatas and the miniature Op 79.
value pick of the month - cheaper than a download!
Luciano Pavarotti – The ‘Signature’ Edition
Arias including: Nessun Dorma (Turandot) • Brindisi (La Traviata) Una Furtiva Lagrima (L’elisir d’amore) • O Soave Fanciulla • Che gelida manina (La Bohéme) • La donna e mobile (Rigoletto) • O sole mio • Caro mio ben • Schubert’s Ave Maria Conducted by Richard Bonynge • Sir Charles Mackerras • Maria Giulini • Claudio Abbado RED NOTE | RNCDBOX001 | CD10 | 5060214200219
The finest Pavarotti boxed set on the market, an ideal gift for collectors! This beautifully presented 'signature' edition (in a matte-finish clamshell box with silver-embossed detail) features almost 150 superb tracks from the world's most beloved tenor, on 9 DVDs with a bonus live concert DVD from the Gran Teatre Del Liceu in 1989.
Averaging roughly 40 cents per track, this lavish boxed set is cheaper than a download and looks spectacular on any collector’s shelf.
May 31, 2010 The Complete London Symphonies Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski (conductor) NAÏVE | V5176 | CD4 | 822186051764
4 CDs for the price of 2
2009 was an annus mirabilis of astonishing productivity and brilliance for celebrated conductor Marc Minkowski, who has conducted critically acclaimed recordings of major works including the Bach Mass in B Minor (V5145) and a unique concept album devoted to Cecilia, patron saint of music (V5183).
Following these successes, he now releases on CD his superb contribution to last year’s Haydn bicentenary: the complete London Symphonies. These twelve symphonies represent the pinnacle of the Classical genre from the most prolific symphonist of the era. Minkowski has already garnered a reputation as one of the most innovative and progressive Mozart conductors recording today; this renown can now be extended to Mozart's friend and contemporary, Joseph Haydn.
May 10, 2010 Mr Corelli in London Maurice Steger (recorder), The English Concert, Laurence Cummings (conductor) HARMONIA MUNDI | HMU907523 | CD | 093046752323
Perhaps the brightest, most vibrant and virtuosic disc of recorder music ever released! This disc features charming baroque gems arranged by English contemporaries of Corelli from the Italian master’s visionary Violin Sonatas Op. 5.
Lauded as ‘the world’s leading recorder virtuoso’ (The Independent), Maurice Steger is an esteemed regular guest of Antiqua Köln, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and Europa Galante. Mr Corelli in London offers a fantastical view of where England meets Venice in a sumptuous program played by acclaimed British Baroque ensemble The English Concert.
April 19, 2010 Handel Duets Sarah Connolly (mezzo), Rosemary Joshua (soprano), English Concert, Harry Bicket (conductor) CHANDOS | CHAN0767 | CD | 095115076729 Duets from Agrippina, Belshazzar, Sosarme, Ottone, Tamerlano, Ariodante, Radimisto, Theodora, Giulio Cesare
This sumptuous new Handel collection features two great singers - Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano) and Rosemary Joshua (soprano) - alongside the English Concert, one of the world’s finest baroque orchestras.
Duets play a key role in Handel’s stage works. A master of the Baroque opera seria medium, with its extended sequence of solo arias and recitative dialogue, he understood the dramatic effectiveness of occasional numbers blending two voices, generally those of a soprano heroine and a castrato hero. Sarah Connolly's Handelian roles have including the title-role in Giulio Cesare for the Glyndebourne Festival and in Agrippina, Xerxes, Ariodante and Ruggiero (Alcina) for the English National Opera. Rosemary Joshua, too, is well known for her Handel, having sung the title-role in Semele for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award and recorded for Chandos. A must-have for all Handel enthusiasts.
April 12, 2010 Schubert Arpeggione Sonata, Lieder Antoine Tamestit (viola), Sandrine Piau (soprano), Markus Hadulla (piano) NAÏVE | V5219 | CD | 822186052198 Arpeggione Sonata (arr viola), Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, Romanze der Helene
French violist Antoine Tamestit lovingly takes on one of the most popular works of chamber music for cello in an arrangement for his own instrument.
Schubert's yearning Arpeggione sonata sounds just as warm and lyrical recast for the mellow tones of the viola, while French soprano Sandrine Piau contributes several heart-wrenching Schubert Lieder to this Romantic album.
March 29, 2010 Australian Guitar Music Aleksandr Tsiboulski (guitar) NAXOS | 8570949 | CD | 747313094974 Edwards Guitar Dances, Blackwattle Caprices, Sculthorpe Pieces from Kakadu, Into the Dreaming, Djilile, Dean Three Caprichos after Goya, Houghton Stélé, Koehne A Closed World of Fine Feelings and Grand Design
This disc is a must-have for lovers of guitar music and contemporary Australian composition.
It presents a selection of lively and accessible Australian works arranged for guitar from our finest composers, from Sculthorpe's ever-popular Kakadu to Ross Edwards' thrilling dance-inspired music and works by Brett Dean, whose new opera Bliss is the toast of the town following Opera Australia’s triumphant premiere production. Brilliant young Adelaide-based guitarist Aleksandr Tsiboulski brings this diverse collection of music by leading Australian composers to the attention of listeners the world over.
Early One Morning - Finnish Orchestral Classics Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Camerata Finlandia, Jorma Panula (conductor) NAXOS | 857814344 | CD2 | 0747313814374 Sibelius Finlandia, The Swan of Tuonela Op 22 No 2, Andante Festivo, Scene With Cranes, The Song of My Heart, Impromptu, King Christian Elegy, Rautavaara Fiddlers, Kuusisto A Finnish Prayer
This exquisite 2-CD set presents some of the best known and best loved Finnish orchestral classics by 15 composers who are renowned both in their home country and around the world. With over 2 hours playing time this delightful selection, splendidly performed, will brighten your day –wherever you live.
Marin Alsop’s recording of Dvořák’s New World Symphony (8570714) was awarded 4 stars by The Sunday Times, while her ‘superb account’ of the Symphonic Variations made the disc ‘doubly recommendable’ (Gramophone).
The influence of his mentor Brahms is evident in Dvořák’s powerful Seventh Symphony, its sombre mood lightened by the Scherzo’s serene trio and triumphantly transfigured in the Finale. Many regard his Eighth Symphony, with its alternating major and minor keys, dramatic contrasts and Bohemian lyricism, as superior to his more popular Ninth.
With this new recording, JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic continue their revelatory exploration of Corigliano’s highly engaging and imaginative symphonic music.
The Phantasmagoria Suite draws material from his immense opera The Ghosts of Versailles, with subliminal quotes from Mozart, Rossini and Wagner. Music from his third film score, The Red Violin, provided elements which Corigliano elaborates in the Violin Concerto, its opening Chaconne being described by the composer as ‘a passionate romantic essay’ which he has complemented with an effervescent Scherzo, an intensely emotional Andante and a racing, rollicking Finale. Also available by Corigliano with the same performers: the Grammy-winning Mr. Tambourine Man (8559331).
An exciting new DVD venture from Opus Arte: Shakespeare productions live from the Bard’s original theatre in London, The Globe.
Dominic Dromgoole’s production brings refreshing clarity to one of Shakespeare’s most famous and best-loved tragedies, drawing out the contemporary relevance of this passionate teenage love story. Filmed before a live audience at Shakespeare’s Globe in the heart of London, its intimate and atmospheric setting adds immediacy and vitality to the humour and passion of Shakespeare’s verse.
Watch the trailer
Dvorak Violin Concerto, Legends
Wagner Symphonic Arrangements
Chopin Piano Sonatas Nos 2-3
Beethoven Piano Sonatas
