Fauré · Duruflé | Requiem

The best things are the ‘Pie Jesu’ solos: Popp sophisticated and secular, Te Kanawa warmer and franker. Otherwise, the Fauré turns slow, bland and bourgeois in an over-Anglican way, despite the professional chorus. Nimsgern sounds wobbly and wan. Davis is less inhibited nowadays but, even twenty years ago, the more innocent and expansive Duruflé loosened him up so that the big moments achieve their proper thrills, while the prevailing calmer moods remain tender, rather than chilly. -- BBC Music Magazine

The Fauré Requiem is a problematic work in that the composer left it in several versions, none of which is considered perfectly satisfactory. To this day performers assemble and re-orchestrate their own versions from the various manuscripts.

The Duruflé Requiem is an at once appealing work, strikingly original, tonal but modern in sound, endlessly fascinating. The "Sanctus* is tremendously exciting, the "Paradisum" gorgeously other-worldly. This chamber-sized performance, apparently arranged by the composer, for small choir and organ stresses the intimacy and integrity of the work and is quite successful.

Currier · Time Machines | Penderecki · Duo concertante | Rihm · Lichtes Spiel · Dyade

August 23rd 2011 will see Anne-Sophie Mutter’s 35th anniversary on stage. Anne-Sophie Mutter is not only one of the world’s top violinists but an international bestseller, having sold more than 5,000,000 units worldwide − and counting.

In celebration of this achievement, Deutsche Grammophon releases a new album featuring world-premiere recordings of two new works written for Mutter: Wolfgang Rihm’s Lichtes Spiel and Sebastian Currier’s Time Machines, recorded with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

“Lichtes Spiel features an evanescent, will o' the wisp quality to Mutter's lines, threatened by darker, steely shades in the orchestral arrangement. But it's light in not just the visual sense, but also the spiritual. Dyade is a more subtle, flowing piece bereft of rests, but no less unsettling” The Independent, 2nd September 2011 *** 

La belleza del canto

The Sweet and technically agile voice... -- New York Times

A beautiful, sparkling voice with a bright shining height and a pleasant and rich centre -- Opernglass

MP3 HQ · 115 MB

Vivaldi · Concerti Per Fagotto & Oboe

With this Volume 22, Opus 111 continues its ambitious project to record more than 450 Vivaldi              

manuscripts housed in the National University Library at Turin. Like many of the performances in previous installments, these--three bassoon concertos, two for oboe, and one double concerto for oboe and bassoon--also are characterized by widely contrasting tempos, sharply delineated dynamics, and especially here, a stylish in-your-face approach. From bassoonist Sergio Azzolini's quite audible intake of breath before beginning the Concerto in D minor and continuing throughout this captivating program, rarely have Vivaldi's wind concertos been rendered with such a consistent sense of urgency, vitality, and well, attitude. 

At no point do you feel that Azzolini, oboist Hans Peter Westermann, and the members of the Italian period-instrument ensemble Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca are less than fully engaged in and passionate about their mission to champion this less-familiar though certainly worthy repertoire.

The double concerto for oboe and bassoon in G major is especially ravishing, featuring a first-movement Andante molto where the soloists' aria-like phrasing sensuously complements the strings, and a spirited final Allegro molto that exploits the combined sonorities of the solo instruments. The opening Allegro from the A minor bassoon concerto (one of Vivaldi's most recognizable themes), with its measured beat and evolving rhythmic structure, also is rendered with uncommon agility and grace.

Many listeners will be familiar with what arguably is the program's most famous work, the Concerto for transverse flute subtitled "la Notte" (the night) RV 104. While there have been many exceptional period-instrument flute performances, listeners who enjoyed Giovanni Antonini and Il Giardino Armonico's groundbreaking, over-the-top extravaganza on Teldec (1991) are immediately directed to this equally animated alternate version. Azzolini's manual dexterity and breath control, especially in the "Fantasmi" and following Presto movements, are absolutely amazing in what must be three of the most virtuosic displays ever written for the instrument.

Opus 111's sound is crisp, clear, and naturally balanced, and Azzolini and Louis Vatoison's informative, entertaining notes feature many fascinating anecdotes. In sum, this is another outstanding entry in an already important and distinguished series that's guaranteed to delight all fans of the composer. --John Greene, ClassicsToday.com

The Neapolitans · Pergolesi · Durante · Leo

Simply put, if you enjoy 18th-century violin music, you'll find an hour of pure pleasure listening to this expertly played program of unusual, rarely heard concertos by mostly lesser-known Neapolitan composers (Pergolesi excepted!). Elizabeth Wallfisch and her colleagues deliver performances that can only be described as ideal--sensibly paced, articulate, and to the point. They just play the music, albeit with sincere attention to its innate rhythmic energy and assertive melodic character.

There's a stylistic similarity to these pieces, but the spotlight moves from the vocally-inspired solo lines of Pergolesi's Concerto in B-flat and the A major sonata to the rich-textured orchestral dialog of Leonardo Leo's D major concerto for four violins. 

This latter piece is a fine example of both string writing and formal baroque style. Francesco Durante's Concerto No. 5 for string orchestra is a fiercely agitated, vivacious six-minute work that's both unadventurous and fundamentally exciting. Considering the abundance of recordings that feature works by the best-known 18th-century masters, this release is a welcome alternative, one that clearly accentuates the virtues of music that's often passed over or relegated to second-tier status. 

The sound couldn't be better--we hear soloist and ensemble in a natural setting that allows desirable space and intimate detail. --David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com 

Debussy · Complete Works for Solo Piano Volume 4

“Jean-Efflam Bavouzet's flexible virtuosity and innate grasp of Debussy's style and sound world yields ravishing, freshly minted interpretations of the Images and Etudes that proudly rank with (and sometimes surpass) the catalogue's reference versions.” -- Gramophone

“Anyone who doubts Bavouzet's abilities should sample the playful romp through the third of the Images, the quasi-Etude 'Mouvement', or his beautifully atmospheric 'Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut'.” -- BBC Music Magazine ****

 “Jean-Efflam Bavouzet's flexible virtuosity and innate grasp of Debussy's style and sound world yields ravishing, freshly minted interpretations of the Images and Etudes that proudly rank with (and sometimes surpass) the catalogue's reference versions. The Images gain welcome nourishment from Bavouzet's portfolio of ravishing colour shadings and articulations, while easily absorbing such pianistic liberties as playing one hand before the other, à la Michelangeli.

His headlong, impulsive 'Hommage à Rameau' contrasts with similarly nuanced yet more austere readings. In 'Poissons d'or', he sneaks a few piranhas into the fishbowl as he modifies Debussy's aussi léger que possible directive with volatile dynamic hairpins and witty accents.
'Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fût' also rivets your attention via his seductive legato and three-dimensional textures.

Bavouzet's Chandos Etudes remake may well be the best yet. As you follow the intelligently contoured left-hand counterlines of 'Pour les tierces' you almost don't notice the fluency and easy evenness of Bavouzet's right-hand double notes. On the other hand, in 'Pour les huit doigts' and 'Pour les degrés chromatiques' he favours melodic inflection and linear motion over Aimard's and Uchida's smoother, scintillating surfaces.

The difficult leaps of 'Pour les accords' have rarely sounded less like technical feats and more like music, and 'Pour les arpèges composés' rivals Horowitz's 1965 reading for harmonic pointing and sexiness.
Bavouzet precedes this étude with a full-bodied, emotionally generous performance of its recently rediscovered earlier version, Etuderetrouvée. This attractively engineered release will reveal more and more details to savour with each rehearing – guaranteed! If you haven't yet ordered it, what are you waiting for?” -- The Gramophone Clasical Music Guide 2010

Sibelius · Complete Works For Violin And Orchestra

Primarily a commander of turgid orchestral forces and vibrant musical landscapes, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius brought his formidable musical gift to just a single concerto. It is for violin, unsurprisingly; early on, Sibelius had aspired to a career as a concert violinist. His understanding of the instrument, his gargantuan Wagnerian orchestration, and his unabashed lyricism have succeeded in putting that single concerto at the heart of the violin repertoire, and it remains one of the most popular concertos written after 1900.

The demands on the violinist in the concerto (as well as the dozen or so violin works) are greater than the usual fast fingers. The virtuosity of a good Sibelius player is something more: a study in contrasts of light and dark, hot and cold, sadness and mirth. Quite an imposing musical task.

German violinist Christian Tetzlaff has all the right tools in his shed. His eternal, liquid line and burly, burnished tone are ideally suited to he retro romanticism of Sibelius. He plays with understatement, emotive through a prevalent stoicism that gives way at, ooh, just the right times to unequivocal gush and guts. The sweet Humoresques are tender and nostalgic, the Serenades warm and effulgent.

The rarely-recorded pictorial Suite is completely rapturous, and Tetzlaff is a knockout in the closing moto perpetuo. Simply a magnificent recording. -- David Simmons, WQXR   

Schubert · String Quintet · String Quartets "Death and the Maiden" · "Quartettsatz"

The Lindsay version gives the impression that one is eavesdropping on music-making in the intimacy of a private concert. They observe the first movement exposition repeat and the effortlessness of their approach does not preclude intellectual strength. In the ethereal Adagio they effectively convey the sense of it appearing motionless, suspended, as it were between reality and dream, yet at the same time they never allow it to become static. Their reading must rank at the top of the list; it is very well recorded. It now comes coupled at mid-price with an equally memorable version of the Death and the Maiden Quartet – a virtually unbeatable paring, with the Quartettzatz thrown in for good measure. -- Penguin Guide to Classical Music - 2008 Edition

"A fine , natural performance with an appealingly intimate sense of scale. There are some truly heavenly moments in this reading which fills the disc thanks to the first-movement repeat"  -- The Gramophone Classical Music Guide 2009, on Quintet

Monteverdi · Teatro d'Amore

“The technical perfection, and the easy informality with each other and the music, with which these pieces are performed, makes for a captivating listen...Meld Philippe Jaroussky's sweet countertenor into the mix (who is also letting his hair down) and you've got something that is very special, and very surprising.” -- BBC Music Magazine

‘A range of styles are explored…with a genial ease that belies the technical brilliance and musicianship without which it couldn’t possibly work. Aside from their superb music-making, the players convey a sense of utter conviction in what they are doing’ -- Gramophone

This, L’Arpeggiata’s first release on Virgin Classics, explores music by Claudio Monteverdi, blending instruments and voices – including those of countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and soprano Núria Rial in a kind of intoxicating baroque jam session. It includes the final duet from L’incoronazione di Poppea, often cited as one of the most sensuous and beautiful love scenes in all opera.

Founded in 2000, L’Arpeggiata is a French-based ensemble directed by Austrian-born harpist and lutenist Christina Pluhar. Its members, some of the leading European soloists in their field, join forces with exceptional singers from the worlds of baroque and traditional music. The group’s particular focus is on French, Italian and Neapolitan music of the 17th century and it works with often daring instrumental improvisations, exploiting rich textures created by blending a variety of plucked instruments, and a vocal style influenced by traditional music. 

The group tours extensively and its recordings on Alpha and Naïve have sold over 200,000 copies. Christina Pluhar describes L’Arpeggiata as "an international cocktail of musicians with lots of character. There is a basic ensemble of regular players and then they are joined by other performers for each project. I choose not to work with the same singers all the time, preferring to give myself the option of looking for voices that seem to me to be perfect for specific repertoire … There are so many different ways of using the human voice and I think there is so much experimentation one can do, even in early music. When I’m accompanying vocal music, I try to go as far as I can in terms of improvisation, searching for colours which reflect the voice of the chosen singer and which determine and support feelings. Emotions are very close to the surface in speech, the singer’s voice, and in the words whose meaning we’re trying to convey.

This recording was made in the celebrated Vredenburg concert hall in Utrecht, where L’Arpeggiata was resident ensemble at the Festival Oude Muziek in 2006.

Cello Portrait

Beate Altenburg, born in 1975 in Cologne, Germany, graduated with a Masters degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London in 2003. As a soloist, she has played with renowned orchestras in Europe and South America. She has been a prize-winner of numerous festivals. 

This CD, her brilliant first solo recording showcases great works for solo cello from Bach to the moderns.

MP3 HQ · 107 MB

Platti · 6 Flute Sonatas, Op. 3

Giovanni Benedetto Platti had his musical apprenticeship in Venice, where his teachers may have included older contemporaries such as Vivaldi. From 1722 until his death in 1763 he was employed at the episcopal court in Würzburg, described as an oboist and violinist, greatly respected for his virtuosity. His Flute Sonatas, presumably composed over a number of years, range from the late baroque to the early classical in style.

 Little is known of the early years of the Italian musician, Giovanni Benedetto Platti, even his date of birth being unclear, but was probably 1697. His teachers could have included Vivaldi or Albinoni, as he was an oboist and violinist of such quality that in 1722 he was taken to Germany and engaged to play in the court orchestra of Prince-Bishop of Bamberg and Wurzburg. It was there he was to spend the rest of his life, becoming the highest paid member of the court musicians, even ranked above the kapellmeister. He also appears to have been a teacher and a quite prolific composer. Whether he could play the flute is unclear, though at the time an oboist would probably have been proficient on the type of flute that predated the transverse instrument.

The concertos were composed in 1743 and, as was tradition at the time, were in a group of six, though they are in character markedly different?At the time they would have represented a stiff technical challenge to the soloist, though the accompaniment is functional. Playing a period instrument, the Norwegian flautist, Paul Wahlberg is a specialist in this era of composition, and plays with the nimbleness required. Try the fourth sonata for a sample, particularly as it is here accompanied by the clavichord, giving the impression of a strummed guitar that really suits the music. In total we are not talking about major discoveries, but these are engaging, unassuming pieces, nicely crafted, pleasing melodies and each ending with a happy and vivacious finale. The recording is nicely balanced.

Il Primo Uomo · Arias for Nicolini

Nicola Grimaldi (1673-1732) was the "Primo Uomo Assoluto" the undisputed first castrato on all great opera stages of this time. His voice was so unique that great composers like Scarlatti and Händel wrote arias especially for him. For this recording Dmitry Egorev and La Stagione Frankfurt select some of the most outstanding arias to honor legendary singer.

MP3 HQ · 113 MB

Mozart · Wind Concertos

This well-filled disc is a testament to the high performance standard reached by the L'Oiseau-Lyre label in the late 1970's and early 1980's especially in works by Mozart. Having already recorded a pioneering period instrument set of the complete symphonies, Christopher Hogwood turned his attention to the wind concertos with predictably delightful results.

The Flute and Harp Concerto is typically one of Mozart's gems and in this lovely interpretation it shines like a diamond in the sun with Lisa Beznosiuk and Frances Kelly's immaculate playing. The Andante is particularly beautiful with the recording in the Henry Wood Hall sounding pretty immaculate more than 20 years later.

The Andante for flute is similarly pensive and ravishing whilst Danny Bond fills the Bassoon Concerto with all the sprightly step and colour that one could indeed hope for. The first Flute Concerto rounds off the disc in exemplary fashion with Beznosiuk again on pretty much top form. A treasure of a disc and at this price, I really would not have any qualms in recommending it as my top choice for the works in question both to the newcomer and to the seasoned enthusiast. -- ClassicalNet

Delalande · Symphonies pour les Soupers du Roy

October 1990: Hugo Reyne, known until then as the 'recorder-player of Les Arts Florissants', presented the first-ever completed recording of the Symphonies pour les soupers du Roy with his ensemble La Simphonie du Marais, founded three years previously. Delalande's music with full historical accuracy. It is just as relevant and up-to-date today!

4/5 Diapason - *** Le Monde de la Musique -
**** Compact – 10 Répertoire

4 CD · MP3 HQ · 488 MB

Debussy · Complete Works for Solo Piano Volume 3

“This third volume confirms Jean-Efflam Bavouzet's winning affinity for Debussy's music. Such familiar pieces as the Suite bergamasque, Deux Arabesques or Children's Corner come across with their colours luminous, their ideas voiced fluently and the moods atmospherically fixed.” -- The Daily Telegraph

“Fiercely energised yet superfine, his performances are not for those with comfortable drawing-room notions of Debussy.” -- Gramophone

“…this delightful disc places Debussy's two most modest cycles (Children's Corner and Suite bergamasque) within a broadly chronological sequence of pieces spanning the composer's career.” -- BBC MUsic Magazine *****

“Volume 3 of Jean-Efflam Bavouzet's superb Debussy cycle links mostly early miniatures with the Suite bergamasque and Children's Corner.
Once more he turns conventional notions of 'impressionism' topsy-turvy, cleansing Debussy of years of dust and accretion and recreating him in every bar in a sparkling and pristine light.
Fiercely energised yet superfine, his performances are not for those with comfortable drawing- room notions of Debussy, and rarely in my experience has a pianist so faultlessly or precisely achieved his aims.

All sentimentality is erased from the Nocturne's enchanting evanescence and just when he momentarily has you wishing that his formidable directness would melt into something more heart-easing, he makes you gasp at his flawless balance of sense and sensibility. He makes something audaciously epic out of Hommage à Haydn and the startling hesitancy in the opening of 'The Snow is Dancing' is convincing rather than idiosyncratic.

His recital ends on a desolating note with the Berceuse héroïque's phantom battle-cries and bugle-calls memorably evoked. The superbly recorded disc includes his own remarkable essay.

This could well be the finest and most challenging of all Debussy piano cycles.

A greater study in contrast in 'composer and interpreter' would be hard to imagine then between Bavouzet and Pascal Rogéacute;. Where Bavouzet breaks out into blazing Mediterranean sunlight, Rogéacute; (radically enriching his earlier Decca Debussy discs) is happy to withdraw into shadow-land. Time and again his playing suggests emotion recollected in tranquillity rather than turmoil; and in, say, 'Hommage à Rameau' or the Sarabande from Pour le piano he discovers the mysterious, still centre of Debussy's art.

'Poissons d'or' is a marvellous distillation of indolence and flashing disruption, and 'Mouvement' is a perky and vivacious rejoinder to all former introspection. And so too is the Toccata, played with unerring ease and grace, and with many ear-catching details.

To summarise, the ever-elusive truth lies somewhere between Rogéacute; the dreamer, Bavouzet the sinewy but always musical athlete, Thibaudet, the teasing wit and sophisticate and, of course, the legendary Gieseking. You pays your money and you takes your choice…” -- The Gramophone Classical Music Guide 2010

Mendelssohn · Bruch · String Octets

Bruch’s ripely romantic late Octet (scored for 4 violins, 2 violas, cello and double bass)…has a genuine romantic sweep. Although the structure of the first movement seems partly modelled on Mendelssohn, there is no Scherzo. Instead, after a lovely song-like Adagio, with an Andante middle section (the highlight of the work), the finale has much of Mendelssohn’s infectious exuberance. It is played with persuasive warmth and conviction by the combined Kodály and Auer Quartets and is a thoroughly worthwhile addiction to the Bruch discography. -- *** Penguin Guide

The Kodály and Auer Quartets join forces to produce these exceptionally enjoyable performances of the Mendelssohn and Bruch Octets (the latter joined by Zsolt Fejérvári on the double bass). The combined ensembles sound of uniform mind and spirit in both works, playing with a sense of joyous abandon in the Mendelssohn and sinewy vigor in the Bruch. The rich string tone lends an ingratiating warmth to the collective sound, while the players' impeccable musicianship assures that every note registers, even in the many rapid ostinatos that comprise much of the Mendelsson.

The Kodály and Auer play from the heart as well as the head, certainly so in their delicate phrasing in the tender slow movements. Naxos' close-perspective recording keeps the performers at a comfortable distance while providing ample space for the string timbres to naturally resonate. This one's an easy recommendation: beautiful, stimulating music, marvelous performances, and excellent recording all at the Naxos price. What more could you ask for? -- V.C. Jr. ClassicalToday.com

Salieri · The 2 Piano Concertos · Les Horaces Overture · Semiramide Overture · XXVI Variations on La Follia di Spagna.

Antonio Salieri is still better known today for the renowned composers with whom he was associated than for his own many and varied compositions. While he cannot be ranked among the great masters himself, he has nevertheless come into view as an underrated and important composer deserving of closer attention. Salieri was the dominant figure in Parisian opera from the mid to late 1780s. Tarare (1787), generally considered his finest achievement in the genre, is a masterpiece. He also wrote significant instrumental, sacred, and vocal compositions, and shaped the Viennese musical world that would produce so many important composers for a century and a half.

MP3 HQ · 130 MB

Persichetti · Divertimento · Masquerade · Parable IX

Persichetti was an inventive and powerful symphonies who followed the traditions of Piston, Roy Harris and William Schumann. He was a particularly distinguished composer for wind ensemble, and these inventive and vital works are well worth exploring, particularly given the competitive price. The playing of the LSO Winds under David Amos is virtuosic and infectious. Let us hope Naxos will give us some of the symphonies. -- *** Penguin Guide

A dissertation by Williams Nicholls notes that Vincent Persichetti never forgot the apparent disrespect of music educators who, at a national conference in 1956, came and went during the first performance of his Band Symphony. Perhaps he didn't know how things go at conferences, but I would also surmise that the music did not compel them to stay. Persichetti is given much credit for writing music that introduced young musicians to modern music, but to me, that's as far as it went. While his slow, expressive music is often beautiful, the exuberant works are shallow, producing their dissonance almost entirely through bitonality and mirroring. There is nothing wrong with these devices until you hear them in one piece after another.

Listening to Eugene Corporon's student ensembles from Cincinnati OH and Denton IX is always a pleasant task, but this time, comparison puts them in perspective. Of course it would not be fair to expect a college group to meet the same standard as the London Symphony Winds, but they offer almost the same program. The students sound very good, but the world-class professionals have uniformly solid, beautiful tone, stable pitch, and security at all dynamic levels. They also take the fast music much faster, and it helps. -- American Record Guide