|
|---|
|
 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Cat. No.: 475 7668 |
 |
 |
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
TRACK LISTING SAINT-SAËNS(arr.Thibaudet/Kerber): Medley on themes ( Samson et Delilah )
French piano virtuoso Jean Yves Thibaudet brings a lifelong passion for opera to his new album of irresistible operatic melodies: Aria - Opera Without Words. 'Aria' is a collection of opera's most enduring music in piano arrangements from touching simplicity to thrilling virtuosity. 'Poet of the piano' Jean-Yves Thibaudet again brings his uniquely accessible artistry to the widest classical audience with an album that combines the intimacy of the piano recital with the drama and romance of the opera house. The album showcases the full palette of 'sound colours' for which Jean-Yves Thibaudet is internationally renowned. These performances are not just arrangements of popular classics, they are also piano works in their own right. Bellini's Casta Diva, in which the heroine of his opera Norma sings to the moon-goddess, becomes a Romantic nocturne which could almost have come from the pen of Frédéric Chopin. The album includes arrangements of many of the best-loved arias of opera including Puccini's Vissi d'arte (from Tosca) and O mio babbino caro (from Gianni Schicchi), and the sparkling 'jewel song' from Gounod's Faust. Two of the most evocative tracks have been arranged by Jean Yves Thibaudet himself Thibaudet's understanding of French style lies at the heart of his arrangement of music from Saint Saens' Samson et Dalila and the setting of Marietta's Lied from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt showcases the fluid, vocal quality of his playing. A highlight of the disc is Thibaudet's piano evocation of the most spectacular moment in all opera - 'The Ride of the Walkyries' from the second opera in Wagner's mighty Ring Cycle. To music that everyone will recognise, the Walkyries - warrior daughters of Wotan, King of the Gods - ride through the sky on winged horses. Music which Wagner wrote for massive orchestral forces loses none of its power in Thibaudet's gloriously virtuosic performance of Louis Brassin's formidable transcription. As well as performing in recital with the world's greatest opera stars, including Cecilia Bartoli and Renée Fleming, Jean-Yves Thibaudet has appeared in a stage role at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, alongside Mirella Freni and Plácido Domingo in Giordano's Fedora. |
 |
 |
|||
|
Cat. No.: 475 7853 |
|
|
Andrea Bocelli – Turiddu Steven Mercurio
TRACK LISTING Superstar tenor Andrea Bocelli leads an outstanding international cast in the world's favourite one act opera. Known the world over as 'Cav & Pag' Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana are among the World's best loved short operas, frequently performed together on one evening. Two new studio recordings starring Andrea Bocelli are presented on CD as two separate recordings - each on 1CD with full texts and translations. Pietro Mascagni's ever popular one act opera of Scicilian peasant life includes the famous orchestral Intermezzo and choral Easter Hymn. ALSO AVAILABLE: |
|
|
|||
|
Cat. No.: 475 8199 |
|
|
The Sixteen
TRACK LISTING 1 de Anchieta: Con Amores, La Mía Madre 2 Pachelbel: Canon (Rosa Mystica) 3 de Victoria: O Quam Gloriosum 4 de Victoria: O Quam Gloriosum 5 Villa-Lobos: Prelude No.1 In E Minor 6 Villa-Lobos: Prelude No.3 in A minor ("Flow my Tears") 7 Villa-Lobos: Prelude No.2 In E 8 Villa-Lobos: Prelude No.4 in E minor ("Weep you no more sad fountains") 9 Villa-Lobos: Prelude No.5 In D 10 Fernandes: Villancico (A negrito de cucurumbé) 11 Villa-Lobos: Aria (Cantilena) [Bachianas brasileiras No.5] 12 Tarrega: Recuerdos De La Alhambra 13 Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Procesión [Seven Poems by Federíco García Lorca] 14 Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Paso [Seven Poems by Federíco García Lorca] 15 Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Saeta [Seven Poems by Federíco García Lorca] 16 Tallis: God Grant We Grace (Canon) 17 de Victoria: Alma Redemptoris Mater 18 de Victoria: Alma Redemptoris Mater 19 Llobet: Canço de lladre [Catalan Folk Songs] 20 Borodin: Polovtsian Dances ("Our Revels are ended") [Prince Igor]
The beautiful blend of Britain's best-loved choir and a chart-topping Japanese guitarist. A remarkable new album to follow The Sixteen's best-selling Renaissance: Music For Inner Peace and Ikon. Marrying centuries of great European choral tradition with the sublime sonorities and simplicity of the classical guitar Into the Light is a unique album of choral music sung by the world-famous choir The Sixteen accompanied by Kaori Muraji, the remarkable classical guitarist whose outstanding performances have made her a huge star in her native Japan and beyond. Both The Sixteen and Kaori Muraji were thrilled and inspired by this recording and their enthusiasm resulted in inspirational music-making. The power of the disc lies in its sheer beauty and simplicity, with the most dedicated artists ensuring that this exquisite music will indeed transport you 'into the light', to a place beyond the present and mundane. The repertoire on the disc spans the centuries and the genres, from Renaissance sacred music to 20th century secular, and each track is a gem. Many of the earlier tracks, such as Victoria's O quam gloriosam and Alma Redemptoris Mater, are well-known as unaccompanied choral standards. However, this disc breaks the mould, using the original manuscripts for these pieces which were in fact written for lute and voices, allowing the artists to complement and respond to each other musically, as Victoria once intended. The arrangement of Pachebel's famous Canon does the opposite, this time bringing an instrumental piece to life by arranging it for voices whose beauty does it more than justice. Other pieces, such as Tallis's God Grant We Grace and Recuerdos de la Alhambra display the wondrous, uplifting solo performances of both choir and guitarist, whilst the intriguing and exciting Romancero Gitaro by Castelnuovo Tedesco showcases the ability of The Sixteen and Muraji to adapt their musicianship to a more modern musical setting. Particularly notable are the arrangements by Bob Chilcott, once a member of the famous King's Singers who paved the way for groups like The Sixteen. His compositions, specially written for this disc, show inspiration and innovation, as in the Villa Lobos Preludes 3 & 4, where Muraji's guitar part remains unchanged whilst the voices sing fabulous new music to the famous words of literary greats; Shakespeare, Dowland and Oscar Wilde. One will not find pieces like it on any other disc sung to such a high standard! |
|
|
|||
|
Cat. No.: 475 8352 |
|
|
Gewandhausorchester, Leipzig
TRACK LISTING SCHUMANN: Symphony No.2 in C major, Op. 61 Symphony No.4 in D minor, Op. 120
Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhausorchester - a great Mahlerian conducting the orchestra of Schumann's home town of Leipzig. Stunning 'live' performances. This album of Schumann's Symphonies Nos.2 and 4, produces a winning formula of an all-Schumann programme performed by the orchestra of Schumann's home town, with the added electricity that only comes from a live performance. Since his arrival as their principal conductor, Riccardo Chailly has rejuvenated the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and their interpretations of the repertoire of Schumann and his Romantic contemporaries have won rave reviews: 'What has happened at the Gewandhaus? ...the orchestra sounds reborn. The obvious answer is the arrival of Riccardo Chailly' The Times, London (March 2006) The curiosity and novelty of this CD lies in the editions of the symphonies used by Chailly; as an authority on Mahler he decided to use Mahler's own editions of Schumann's symphonies, and few, if any, recordings of these versions are available. Indeed, Mahler did not originally intend for his extensive editing of the symphonies to be made public, and he only decided he wanted them published as he lay dying. However, as a master of the orchestral score, Mahler's alterations, whilst remaining true to Schumann's intentions, make for enhanced music. Chailly's recognition of this and his Mahlerian credentials, coupled with the Gewandhaus orchestra's expertise in the performance of Schumann's music, produces the thrilling and dynamic music-making heard on this disc. The overture to Schumann's only opera, Genoveva, is also included, reiterating once more the capacity for luscious, dense orchestral writing on a large scale from a composer more renowned (perhaps unfairly so) for his solo vocal music. This disc is unique for its tie-in with Decca concerts; Symphony no.4 will be our first Chailly-Gewandhaus collaboration launched online in December, bringing this wonderful and stimulating collaboration to a broader audience. It is clear that this product is only the beginning of what is already proving to be a successful musical partnership, creating an excited buzz in the musical world and renewed attention in the orchestral music of one of the Romantic era's greatest and most interesting composers. |
|
|
|||
|
Cat. No.: 475 8400 |
|
|
Yue Deng Jean Yves Thibaudet
Claus Ogerman
TRACK LISTING 1 Sarabande - Fantasie 2 First Movement [Duo Lirico per violono e pianoforte] 3 Second Movement [Duo Lirico per violono e pianoforte] 4 Third Movement (Valse lento) [Duo Lirico per violono e pianoforte] 5 Fourth Movement (Finale) [Duo Lirico per violono e pianoforte] 6 Preludio and Chant 7 Nightwings
Piano star Jean Yves Thibaudet is joined by young violin star Yue Deng for this album of intimate music for piano and violin by the celebrated composer/arranger Claus Ogermann. French piano star Jean Yves Thibaudet is joined by young Chinese violinist Yue Deng for this album of intimate classical music for piano and violin by the celebrated jazz composer/arranger Claus Ogermann. Grammy Award Winner Claus Ogermann is a musician of rare breadth and versatility who has worked with all the great song stylists including Frank Sinatra, Stan Getz, George Benson, Nelson Riddle, Astrid Gilberto, Michael Brecker and Antonio Carlos Jobin. Well known for recent collaborations with Diana Krall (including the album The Look Of Love), Claus Ogermann has also written works performed by legendary pianists Bill Evans and Glenn Gould, and is the arranger of the classic recording of The Girl From Ipenema. Classical style has always been important to Ogermann, and his compositions include concertos - both classical and jazz - a song cycle (premiered by Briggitte Fasbaender and an orchestral suite commissioned for the American Ballet Theatre. Yue Deng is one of today's outstanding Chinese violinists, having trained in China and at New York's Juilliard School.
|
|
|
|||
|
Cat. No.: 477 5980 |
|
|
ARTISTS Simone Kermes, soprano
TRACK LISTING VIVALDI: In furore iustissimae irae RV 626 Andrea Marcon and his VBO team up with the 'Queen of Baroque' Simone Kermes for a divine album of Vivaldi motets. These Vivaldi motets are on par with the composer's popular Four Seasons - highly entertaining, emotional and energetic music. 'Amor Sacro' are pieces for soprano and strings: highly virtuosic songs of breakneck tempi that alternate with tender, touching, slow arias, something like concertos for voice that feature exhibitionistic solo parts requiring extraordinary technical versatility. Tartini is rumoured to have said that Vivaldi wrote for voice in the same way that he wrote for strings, even though he should have known that 'a throat is not a violin neck.' The German soprano Simone Kermes delivers these vocal pyrotechnics ranging from melodic and melancholic to fiery and passionate. After their successful collaborations with star violinist Giuliano Carmignola, Andrea Marcon and his Venice Baroque Orchestra team up with one of the most charismatic and virtuosic sopranos performing today. This recording has all ingredients to be a favourite for critics and a bestseller for audiences. The title Amor Sacro derives from the sacred, non-liturgical repertoire that was performed in moments of relative silence during Mass or Vespers. There will be a follow-up project with Kermes and VBO under the title 'Amor profano' with a selection of Vivaldi's opera arias for soprano. |
|
|
|||
|
Cat. No.: 477 6402 |
|
|
ARTISTS Yundi Li, piano
TRACK LISTING LISZT: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in E flat major, S. 124 Yundi Li shines in his first concerto recording with two pieces that seem tailor-made. Yundi Li plays the repertoire for which he is so highly acclaimed - Chopin and Liszt - with recordings of the two most popular works from Romantic concerto repertoire. In October 2000, Yundi Li won First Prize at the famous Chopin Competition in Warsaw - the first time in 15 years that the top prize had been awarded. Since then, the Chinese pianist has won high praise for his Chopin playing in particular, whether for his 2002 DG recording debut (a Chopin recital) or for his live performances: ' Mr. Li is a poetic player with a sensitive touch (but also ample power when he needs it), as well as an ear for textural clarity and an impeccable sense of line. Those qualities, notable on his handful of recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, served the Chopin perfectly.' The New York Times (2005) For his first concerto recording, Yundi Li collaborates with the Philharmonia Orchestra, one of the world's great orchestras with an extraordinary recording legacy, and Sir Andrew Davis, who is one of Britain's leading conductors and famous for his regular appearances at The Last Night of the Proms. |
|
|
|||
|
Cat. No.: 477 6566 |
|
|
ARTISTS Marijana Mijanovic – Floridante Joyce DiDonato – Elmira Roberta Invernizzi – Timante Sharon Rostorf-Zamir – Rossane Vito Priante – Oronte Riccardo Novaro – Coralbo Alan Curtis
TRACK LISTING HANDEL: Floridante Pre-eminent Baroque specialist Alan Curtis conducts neglected Handel masterpiece. Following the critical acclaim of his milestone recording Rodelinda, Curtis turns his attention to Handel's 13th opera Floridante, which the well-known author Donna Leon describes in the album's liner notes as a story of 'sex, violence, lust, incest, jealousy, and betrayal.'The work was premiered in London in 1721. Once again Curtis proves his skill in selecting an exquisite cast of singers - Marijana Mijanovic, Joyce DiDonato, Vito Priante, and Roberta Invernizzi - all ranking among the most exciting singers in Baroque opera today. Curtis's recording of Floridante is the first to be based on a new edition of the opera. This reconstructs Handel's original intended form of the piece, which he had to adjust before the premiere due to changes in the singers. |
|
|
|||
