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D CLASSICAL new release ECEMBER harharmoniamonia mmundiundi UKUK 2009 harmonia mundi, aeon, alia vox, alpha, ambronay, arcana, arte verum, audite, bel air classiques, calliope, CSO resound, delphian, first hand, fuga libera, glossa, hat[now]art, K617, KML, LSO Live, mariinsky, medici arts, mirare, mode, nascor, opal, opella nova, orfeo, paradizo, pearl, praga digitals, radio france, RAM, RCOC, RCO Live, ricercar, sfz, signum classics, stradivarius, unicorn kanchana, walhall, wergo, winter & winter, ysaye available 30th November 2009 call off 20th November F R O N T C O V E R A R T I S T S GRAMOPHONE HMU907484 Schubert Die Winterreise Mark Padmore/Paul Lewis HMC992039/40 Haydn The Creation Kleiter, Schmitt, Weisser, RIAS Chamber Choir, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra/René Jacobs C782091a Haydn Arias Simona Saturova GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNERS BAROQUE INSTRUMENTAL HMU907502 PURCELL COMPLETE FANTAZIAS / Fretwork EARLY HMU807489 SONG OF SONGS / Stile Antico SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT Bernard Coutaz, founder harmonia mundi BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE Chamber Choice HMU907467/68 Handel Trio Sonatas Opp 2 & 5 Academy of Ancient Music / Richard Egarr "Both performance and recording are outstanding with impeccable intonation, consistently warm tone at every dynamic level, completing AAM's 'Handel-Opus-number' project." BBC Music Magazine, December 2009 *****/***** BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE DVD Choice 2072508 Thomas Hampson Sings Schumann Thomas Hampson (baritone), Wolfram Rieger (piano) "There are no extras: with performances of this stature, who needs them?" BBC Music Magazine, December 2009 CLASSIC FM MAGAZINE EDITOR'S CHOICE 2057348 Sao Paulo Samba INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW MIR074 Buxtehude and Reinken Works for Violins, Viol and Continuo La Rêveuse AVSA9870 Barcode: 7 619986 398709 Hybrid SACD deluxe digibook Booklet : English, Spanish, French,Turkish,Armenian, German, Italian, Catalan ISTANBUL Dimitrie Cantemir: "The Book of Science of Music" and the Sephardic and Armenian Traditions HESPERION XXI: Jordi Savall Following the huge success of Orient-Occident and Jerusalem.... prepare yourself to cross borders! This new release is mainly based on 'The Book of Science of Music', published in 1710 by the Moldavian prince Dimitrie Cantemir, after many years spent in Istanbul. This unique manuscript enables us to discover the jewels of the Turkish traditional music. Jordi Savall already included some of its pieces in his album Orient Occident (AVSA9848), but he decided to explore it further in order to reveal the magic of the incredible city of Istanbul. This city portrait wouldn't have been complete without the fascinating Armenian and Sephardic repertoire that was also familiar in Istanbul during this time. Once again, Jordi Savall reminds us about a Golden Age of cultural dialogue, brought back to life by Hesperion XXI and outstanding Turkish and Armenian guests musicians.A Jordi Savall experience that goes beyond music... ALSO AVAILABLE: AVSA9848 Orient Occident "Recorded sound and packaging are up to Alia Vox's usual high standard. This is a rich feast indeed for music lovers of all persuasions." International Record Review, AVSA9856 THE ROUTE TO THE ORIENT The Independent, ***** The Scotsman, ***** Choral and Song Choice, BBC Music Magazine AVSA9863A+B Jerusalem BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE DISC OF THE MONTH GRAMOPHONE EDITOR'S CHOICE ***** The Scotsman "A lot of care has been taken in the historical shape, the repertoire and the artists - it's a territory where early music and world music meet to create beautiful and powerful performances." London Evening Standard "Jerusalem may not bring world peace any closer, but you'll never read the Gaza headlines in quite the same way again." The Times Classical CD of the Week "the sheer ambition of the project is little short of breathtaking. The beautifully illustrated 400- page book that accompanies the music is a work of art in its own right." The Sunday Times harmonia mundi UK- released 30th November 2009 CSOR901914 Barcode: 8 10449 01914 9 2 STANDARD CDs CSOR901916 Barcode: 8 10449 01916 3 2 HYBRID SACDs 24-page booklet, notes and biographies in English, French, German Gustav MAHLER Symphony No. 2 'Resurrection' Miah Persson, Christianne Stotijn, Chicago Symphony Chorus; Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Bernard Haitink (conductor) Recorded live in Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center on November 20, 21, 22 and 25, 2008 CSO principal conductor Bernard Haitink leads a moving and noble performance of Mahler's immense Second Symphony, continuing his and the orchestra's successful exploration of Mahler's symphonies. The legendary CSO brass are at their finest, with stellar solos and ensemble playing from the woodwinds, strings and percussion.The Chicago Symphony Chorus sounds glorious in Mahler's triumphant finale, singing with sumptuous sound and immaculate diction. A musical force in Chicago and around the world, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is consistently hailed as one of the finest international orchestras. ALSO AVAILABLE: CSOR901902 Mahler 1 / Haitink "[Haitink] seems to have a direct line into the minds of the composers who conceived these emo- tionally complex masterpieces…So it is here in this superb recording of Mahler's First Symphony, made during performances in Chicago last year. ..This breathtaking performance is the next best thing to hearing Haitink and the CSO in the flesh " Daily Telegraph Classical CD of the Week ***** CSOR901807 Mahler 3/ Haitink "The Chicago Symphony Orchestra launches its own label with a sonic spectacular… The clarity is fantastic. Brightness, too: it's as though everyone's sunbathing in the Alps." The Times CSOR901804 Mahler 6 / Haitink "A powerful sense of drama pervades Haitink's draining account of Mahler's Tragic Symphony, the Sixth, a stunning testament to the Dutchman's reign as principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra." The Times harmonia mundi UK- released 30th November 2009 C760091A Barcode: 4 011790 760124 NORMAL PRICE CD Richard WAGNER Arias and Duets from Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Die Walküre Petra-Maria Schnitzer (soprano); Peter Seiffert (tenor) Munich Radio Orchestra / Ulf Schirmer (conductor) To describe Petra Maria Schnitzer and Peter Seiffert as the dream couple of the Romantic world of Wagner's operas and music dramas would be an otiose exercise indeed. During the last three seasons alone they have appeared together as Elisabeth and Tannhäuser in San Francisco, Barcelona and Madrid and as Sieglinde and Siegmund in Florence and Valencia, affording their audiences ample opportunity to appreciate their partnership onstage.The 2009/10 season, too, began with performances of Tannhäuser in Berlin, while their diaries for the next twelve months contain many other joint engagements, not just in Wagner but in works by other composers, too, all of them at leading houses.As Elsa and the eponymous Lohengrin, finally, they will be appearing in Vienna and elsewhere. It is clear from all these excerpts of solo scenes and duets that both of these internationally acclaimed singers have long been associated with these roles and that they have appeared together on many different occasions. Rarely has Wagner been sung with such clarity of diction and such beautiful phrasing, producing a wonderfully cantabile approach to this repertory. One of the reasons for this is no doubt the fact that both Petra Maria Schnitzer and Peter Seiffert have built up their careers very slowly and without undue haste, initially proving themselves in the Mozart repertory before facing up to the challenges posed by Wagner's music dramas. In this way the word-tone relationship demanded by the composer is given its due, and the Sprechgesang so often derided as the "Bayreuth bark" is avoided. Elsa's Dream, the scene in the bridal chamber in Act Three and Lohengrin's Grail Narration have rarely been sung with such nuanced, subtle lyricism, while Elisabeth's Greeting to the Hall of Song and the following duet for Elisabeth and Tannhäuser are both crowned with radiant top notes. In Tannhäuser's Rome Narration, the character's inner turmoil and defiance are brought out to highly expressive effect, while avoiding the "effects without causes" decried by the composer himself.The great duet for the incestuous lovers in Die Walküre is a worthy conclusion to this Wagner CD, the success of which is underscored by the playing of the orchestra, which under Ulf Schirmer's direction is notable for its tonal beauty and avoidance of all bombast. harmonia mundi UK- released 30th November 2009 FUG557 Barcode: 5400439 005570 NORMAL PRICE CD Josef SUK Symphony No.2 'Asrael' Op. 27, Legend Of The Dead Victors Op. 35b National Orchestra of Belgium / Walter Weller Josef Suk's 'Asrael' Symphony, of a dimension worthy of Mahler, written a century ago by a man crucified by pain, is slowly finding its way into the limelight.After memorable recordings by Talich, Pesek and more recently Vladimir Ashkenazy,Walter Weller with the Belgian National Orchestra, leads us into an intimate reading of this work, written after the deaths of Suk's father-in-law, Dvorak and his young wife, Otilie. Asraël (Angel of Death) is a unique reflection upon death, where sadness, anger, resignation and the overcoming of pain form an extraordinary storyline, a combination of intimacy and remarkable fullness of sound. Rarely recorded, the work that completes this programme will be of interest to all fans of Czech music and of works inspired by the war: Legend of the Dead Victors is Suk's tribute to the Czech soldiers who died during World War I; an extraordinary short piece suggesting another vision of how to overcome death. Walter Weller is regularly invited as guest conductor throughout the world and has held a number of prestigious titles with orchestras including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Liverpool and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras. Since the 2007/08 season, he has held the post of Music Director to the National Orchestra of Belgium and has toured to Spain in addition to concerts in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. In Scotland,Walter Weller has the special distinction of being pictured on the £50-note.