New Release Round-up,
New Release Round-up - 7th April 2017
This week an all-star cast performs Wagner's Lohengrin with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Mark Elder. Orchestral highlights include Gergiev conducting Richard Strauss in Munich, Andrew Manze conducting Mendelssohn and a disc of Sousa from the RSNO and Kristjan Järvi. Piano highlights include Marc-André Hamelin performing piano concertos by Rachmaninov and Medtner, solo Shostakovich from Peter Donohoe and Artur Schnabel's complete RCA Victor recordings.
Wagner: Lohengrin
Klaus Florian Vogt (Lohengrin), Camilla Nylund (Elsa), Katarina Dalayman, (Ortrud), Evgeny Nikitin (Friedrich), Falk Struckmann (Heinrich), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mark Elder
After the success of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's 2013 production of Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer a follow-up was inevitable. With the eminent Wagnerian Mark Elder leading a cast of internationally acclaimed soloists, the production from December 2015 was hailed as a triumph.
Available Formats: 3 SACDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Medtner & Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos
Marc-André Hamelin (piano), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski
A typical release—in so far as there can ever be such a thing—from Marc-André Hamelin, combining a stimulating, unexpected coupling; brilliant new light shed on the familiar; and pianism of the very highest calibre. Not to be missed.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Die Kölner Akademie and Michael Willens have previously recorded Mozart’s complete piano concertos. The team now releases the first of four projected discs with further Mozart scores, including the Posthorn Serenade, and the beloved favourite, Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Richard Strauss was born in Munich, and several of his pieces had their world premiere there. The two pieces on this recording embody the perfect blend of what was of importance in the musical tradition of the 19th century: symphonic composition and programme music.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Mendelssohn's warmly lyrical and evocative Scottish symphony is paired with his confident and precocious first symphony for the first in a series of recordings by the conductor Andrew Manze and the NDR Radiophilharmonie.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Peter Donohoe begins a new series of Shostakovich releases with this new recording of the 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87. Although doubtlessly inspired by J.S. Bach’s own 48 Preludes and Fugues, Shostakovich’s compositions are all deeply original and rooted in his own enigmatic and ambiguous style.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Kristjan Järvi exploits the style and panache of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in a programme of works by the American John Philip Sousa, ‘The March King’. The disc includes such famous pieces as The Stars and Stripes Forever, Semper Fidelis, and The Liberty Bell.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Sony Classical pays tribute to Artur Schnabel – one of the 20th century’s most influential pianists and musical thinkers – with a 2-CD set of his complete American RCA Victor recordings, recorded within an intense two months of activity in 1942. Concertos and Sonatas by Beethoven are joined by the previously unpublished Schubert Impromptus D 899, a significant addition to Schnabel’s discography.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
