CONSUMER INFORMATION SERVICE: NO. 272 SEPTEMBER 2014 REPRESENTING TODAY’S GREAT LABELS THIS MONTH'S HIGHLIGHTS Select Music and Video Distribution Limited 3 Wells Place, Redhill, Surrey RH1 3SL Tel: 01737 645600 Fax: 01737 644065 George Frideric HANDEL Highlight of the month Arias Radamisto: Quando mai, spietata sorte Alcina: Mi lusinga il dolce affetto; Verdi prati; Stà nell’Ircana; Hercules: There in myrtle shades reclined; Cease, ruler of the day, to rise; Where shall I fly? Giulio Cesare in Egitto: Cara speme, questo core Ariodante: Con l’ali di costanza; Scherza infida!; Dopo notte Alice Coote The English Concert, Harry Bicket Hyperion is delighted to present a tour de force from the supreme mezzo-soprano of today, Alice Coote, accompanied by The English Concert and Harry Bicket, making their Hyperion debut. Coote performs a selection of Handel’s greatest arias from opera and CDA67979 oratorio, employing an extraordinary range of vocal and dramatic colour, tone and emotion to produce triumphant and moving interpretations of these masterpieces. Piano Sonatas Nikolai MEDTNER: Skazki, Op. 20; Sonata in B flat minor ‘Sonata Romantica’, Op. 53, No. 1 Sergei RACHMANINOV: Variations on a theme of Corelli; Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor Steven Osborne Steven Osborne has become increasingly admired for his performances and recordings of Russian romantic piano music, playing with a remarkable level of authority and a rare combination of technical ease, tonal CDA67936 lustre and idiomatic identification. Here he presents an impressive selection from two masters who lived and worked contemporaneously. Both were renowned concert pianists, and both wrote superbly for their instrument. Yet their reputations could not be more divergent. Rachmaninov utterly loved; Medtner only now becoming rehabilitated. William BYRD The Three Masses Mass for five voices; Mass for four voices; Mass for three voices; Ave verum corpus Westminster Cathedral Choir, Martin Baker A new recording of the most perfect of Tudor masterpieces: Byrd’s three Mass-settings, from the cradle of their CDA68038 nineteenth-century rehabilitation. Westminster Cathedral Choir is enjoying a vintage period, and here we hear its trademark sound in all its glory: unfettered, natural singing from the trebles underpinned by warm yet clear tones from the gentlemen. Camille SAINT-SAËNS The Romantic Cello Concerto, Vol. 5 Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33; Cello Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 119; La muse et le poète, Op. 132; Allegro appassionato, Op. 43; Le cygnet Natalie Clein BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Manze CDA68002 Natalie Clein adds a remarkable collection of Saint-Saëns’ music for cello and orchestra to her impressive discography. Clein first came to prominence when she won the 'BBC Young Musician of the Year' award in 1994; it is appropriate that she now performs the music of another extraordinary child prodigy. Johannes BRAHMS The Songs of Brahms, Vol. 5 Romanzen aus L Tieck’s Magelone, Op. 33 Christopher Maltman, Graham Johnson A new recording from renowned recitalist and winner of the Lieder Prize at the 1997 'Cardiff Singer of the World Competition', Christopher Maltman. Graham Johnson is both accompanist and curator of this series that presents CDJ33125 the entire piano-accompanied songs and vocal works of Johannes Brahms. William WALLACE Georgy CATOIRE Creation Symphony & other Piano Music orchestral works CDH55465 Marc-André Hamelin CDH55425 BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins (from CDA67090) (from CDA66987) 2 SEPTEMBER 2014 Joseph HAYDN Highlight Piano Concertos of the month Concerto in F major; Concerto in G major; Concerto in D major Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Manchester Camerata, Gábor Takács-Nagy Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is recognised today as one of the world’s finest interpreters of Haydn’s piano works, International Piano having described him as ‘Haydn’s greatest contemporary keyboard exponent’. In this concerto recording he performs in partnership with the conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy, the two united by an admiration for Haydn’s infectious good humour and art of the unexpected. CHAN 10808 Felix MENDELSSOHN Mendelssohn in Birmingham, Vol. 2 Symphony No. 1; Symphony No. 3; Overture to ‘Ruy Blas’ City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner CHSA 5139 Edward Gardner and the CBSO present Vol. 2 in their series 'Mendelssohn in Birmingham', this time performing Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3 and the Overture to Ruy Blas. The impressive first volume was roundly praised, IRR commending the ‘powerfully engaging and alert performances’ whilst the Sunday Times made it their ‘Album of the Week’. Czech Violin Music v Leoš JANÁCEK: Violin Sonata; Allegro; Romance; Dumka; Josef SUK: Four Pieces, Op. 17; v Antonín DVORÁK: Romantic Pieces, Op. 75; Nocturne in B major, Op. 40 Jennifer Pike, Tom Poster CHAN 10827 Since bursting onto the musical scene as a prodigiously talented youngster, Jennifer Pike has earned admirers the world over with her intelligent musicianship and dazzling technique. Her stunning recent recording of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, described in The Mail on Sunday as an ‘auspicious entry into the big league’, confirmed her status as a truly outstanding soloist of the highest calibre. Here she is joined by her established duo partner Tom Poster in music for violin and piano by three great Czech composers. Celtic Reflections My Lagan Love; Irish Lullaby; Home Away from Home; The Cliffs of Dooneen; Carrickfergus; The Coolin; Inis*; She Moved through the Fair*; The Mushroom Tree*; The Kid on the Mountain*; Danny Boy; The Raggle Taggle Gypsy; The Last Rose of Summer; Down by the Sally Gardens; The Pleasant Rocks; Open the Door Softly; The Lamentation of Eoin O’Neill; Planxty Dillon CHAN 10821 Barry Douglas, Eimear McGeown* Barry Douglas is best-known for his celebrated performances of great works central to the classical repertoire, not least through his acclaimed Brahms and Schubert series on Chandos. In his new disc, Celtic Reflections, we hear another side to his musical life. Sir Arnold BAX Four Orchestral Pieces; Phantasy for Viola and Orchestra; Overture; Elegy and Rondo Philip Dukes BBC Philharmonic, Sir Andrew Davis CHAN 10829 Sir Andrew Davis is among the most distinguished interpreters of British music today and here turns to the works of Sir Arnold Bax. With the inclusion of the Phantasy for Viola and Orchestra, this disc marks the completion of Chandos’s long-running project to record Bax’s complete orchestral music. Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Sheherazade Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Peter Oundjian This disc marks the beginning of a new recording relationship between Chandos and the Toronto Symphony CHSA 5145 Orchestra. Conducting this performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s ever-popular symphonic suite Sheherazade is Peter Oundjian, who this season celebrates his tenth year as Music Director of the Orchestra. Thomas TOMKINS When David Heard Sacred Choral Music Freddie James CHAN 0804 Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, Andrew Nethsingha Thomas Tomkins, born in 1572, was one of the most accomplished and versatile English composers of his era. A total mastery of contrapuntal technique and expressive intensity are hallmarks of his style. Here the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge performs a collection of choral works complemented by several pieces for organ. SEPTEMBER 2014 3 Kalevi AHO (b. 1949) Concerto for Horn and Chamber Orchestra Acht Jahreszeiten Concerto for Theramin and Chamber Orchestra Annu Salminen, Carolina Eyck Lapland Chamber Orchestra, John Storgårds Widely regarded as one of today’s most important composers of orchestral music, Kalevi Aho has written fifteen symphonies as well as over twenty concertos. This disc also includes a video clip, playable on your computer, with Carolina Eyck’s introduction to the BIS2036 theremin and to Kalevi Aho’s concerto. John PICKARD (b. 1963) Eden for brass band Symphony No. 4 ‘Gaia Symphony’ for brass band and percussion Eikanger-Bjørsvik Musikklag, Andreas Hanson Composed over a period of fourteen years, John Pickard’s Gaia Symphony and Eden are scored for the standard ‘British’ brass band. Both works in different ways mirror concerns regarding the world and nature, and their relationship with the human species. BIS2061 Benjamin BRITTEN (1913-1976) Simple Symphony, Op. 4; Rhapsody; Quartettino; Phantasy in F minor for string quintet; String Quartet in F major Emperor Quartet For this final disc in the series, the Emperor Quartet have gathered five works from the composer’s earliest period. BIS1870 C. P. E. BACH The Solo Keyboard Music, Vol. 28 ‘Zweyte Fortsetzung’ Sonatas Nos. 1-3 Miklós Spányi C. P. E Bach’s ‘Zweyte Fortsetzung’ Sonatas, are a sequel to a previous collection, namely the famous Sonatas with Varied Reprises, published in 1760. BIS2045 Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Quintets Orlando Quartet, Nobuko Imai, Members of the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, Vertavo String Quartet, Martin Fröst, Ensemble Villa Musica Mozart’s string quintets, and particularly the last four (K. 515, K. 516, K. 593 and K. 614) are often cited as being among the finest examples of his chamber music. BIS9046 4 SEPTEMBER 2014 Andrzej PANUFNIK Symphonic Works, Vol. 8 Violin Concerto; Cello Concerto; Piano Concerto Alexander Sitkovetsky, Raphael Wallfisch, Ewa Kupiec Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Lukasz Borowicz 777687-2 Andrzej Panufnik stands out in the compositional landscape of the western world. 'For me music is always the expression of the deepest human feeling and genuine emotion'. This month