Marianne Crebassa / Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse / Ben Glassberg SEGUEDILLES

 

SEGUEDILLES

Ksenija Sidorova CARMEN

 

CARMEN

 

Oksana Volkova / Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra / Constantine Orbelian POISON D'AMOUR

 

POISON D'AMOUR

 

Zlata Chochieva (RE)CREATIONS

 

(RE)CREATIONS

CHRISTIAN LÖFFLER Parallels

 

PARALLELS

 

Duo W CONTRASTES

 

CONTRASTES

 

Nathanaël Gouin BIZET SANS PAROLES

BIZET SANS PAROLES

 

Ekaterina Siurina / Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra / Constantine Orbelian AMOUR ÉTERNEL

AMOUR ÉTERNEL

Marina Rebeka / Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen / Michael Balke ELLE

FRENCH OPERA ARIAS

Aleksandra Kurzak DESIRE

DESIRE

Marianne Lambert MÉLODIES PASSAGÈRES

MÉLODIES PASSAGÈRES

Eugénie Warnier / Marine Thoreau La Salle / Quatuor Les Heures du jour SOIR - BERCEUSES (MAIS PAS QUE...)

My singing debut was very abrupt, a matter of urgency. I was at the time an intern in gynaecology and obstetrics, and one evening, returning home from attending a performance of Rusalka at the Bastille Opera, I knew I had to sing. Starting to work your voice at the age of 25 is a difficult challenge, I ‘did’ everything as a matter of urgency. I use this word because despite my desire to learn to sing I had above all to do it very quickly, almost immediately on stage. I was able to enter the great temple through the door of early music. Little by little, by learning as I went, I was able to make progress, ‘carve out my space’, often with a certain form of violence, because I had to get ahead as fast as possible. The idea of this disc was born, I believe, a very long time ago and it has been shaped slowly, delicately. It was a journey towards peaceful reassurance, a gentle desire for songs that came from afar, for a melodious childhood, music-loving, melodic, for the love of the beautiful : a text, an air, easy to remember, soothing, reposeful. This ever present desire took form, became reality. With maturity came a self-confidence built up day after day until its first manifestation at Bordeaux Opera where I met an audience that was open-minded, moved, receptive and that had rejuvenated my desire to touch and move... the seed had been planted. (Eugénie Warnier)

Sophie Karthäuser / Eugene Asti LE BAL DES ANIMAUX

A mirror for the human animal The inhabitants of the animal kingdom have long been a subject of fascination for visual artists, and a source of inspiration for composers as well. Whether voicing their affection and awe, or mocking the human animal, composers have paid tribute to our furry and feathered friends by producing masterpieces of invention, musical mimicry, and wit. Peacocks, ducks, dromedaries, pigs, butterflies, carp, cicadas, and owls are just some of the creatures in the menagerie assembled for this recording, featuring the mischievous voice of Sophie Karthäuser, deftly accompanied by Eugene Asti.

Lilit Grigoryan VARIATIONS SÉRIEUSES

Award-winning Armenian pianist Lilit Grigoryan explores the art of the variation in her new recording with Orchid Classics entitled Variations Serieuses. In stunning interpretations combining both virtuosity and integrity, Lilit Grigoryan takes the listener on a journey through this art form, from Busoni’s breathtaking re-imagining of the majestic Chaconne from J.S. Bach’s D minor violin Partita, to Beethoven’s 32 Variations, which range between extreme technical difficulty and expressive moments of quiet simplicity, to Mendelssohn’s grand Variations sérieuses. Alongside these giants of the repertoire are some more rarely-heard gems: Bizet’s sinuous and innovative chromatic variations, and youthful late-Romantic colour from Polish composer Szymanowski. 

Born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1985, Lilit Grigoryan started to play piano at the age of seven at the Al. Spendiaryan Music School. She was a student at the Komitas Yerevan State Conservatory before she entered the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock in the class of Prof. Matthias Kirschnereit in April 2014. She graduated in Rostock with the highest distinction. From 2012 to 2016 Lilit Grigoryan was also Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium.

Dana Zemtsov / Cathelijne Noorland ROMANTIC METAMORPHOSES

The term ‘Romantic’ has always been something of a mystery to me due to its many and often subtle definitions. On this CD I invite the listener to re-explore this phenomenon, so often evident in day-to-day life, from different perspectives. T he programme takes as its point of departure the nineteenth-century classical romanticism of the beautiful ‘Sonata’ by Henri Vieuxtemps. This is the lyrical, sensitive type of romanticism so typical of that period. In contrast to this is ‘Suite for viola and piano’, Ernest Bloch’s romantically fantasized adventure through savage nature and tribes under the sun in the jungle. Waxman’s ‘Carmen Fantasy’, which probably needs littleintroduction, is a strong depiction of Bizet’s dramatic opera.

For me personally, however, the most ‘romantic’ and personal piece on this CD is the ‘Melodie im alten Stil’ by Evgeni Zemtsov. The nostalgic style in which this modern piece is written, with its lyrical melody, ornamented in Baroque style, imposed on fresh, contrasting harmonies, is just one reason to admire it. A second one is the story behind it: during his studies in Moscow the composer fell in love with a beautiful girl. She played the viola, and he wrote this beautiful piece for her instrument as a declaration of love. One year later their first child – my father – was born. (Dana Zemtsov)

BERNSTEIN Romance

Bernstein to relax and dream: the double album "Romance" portrays the conductor, composer and pianist from his most romantic side in celebration of his centenary on August 25^th.

Leonard Bernstein is still unforgotten today, still on his centenary in 2018, for his outstanding interpretations of great symphonic works by Mahler, Brahms or Beethoven, and his unique sense for emotional melodies in his own arrangements and compositions. Nobody can resist the charm of the love ballad “Maria” or the optimistically inspired song “Somewhere” from the “West Side Story”. On this album some excerpts of Bernstein’s great recordings are carefully selected, which include legendary musical companions: from Edvard Grieg's "Morgenstimmung" (Peer Gynt Suite) with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, "Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber to the nostalgic second movement "Largo ma non tanto" from the Violin Double Concerto BWV 1043 by Johann Sebastian Bach with star violinists Isaac Stern and Yehudi Menuhin. And of course with Bernstein’s own music, “Maria” from the “West Side Story” or Offenbach’s famous “Barcarolle”. "Romance" is the ideal album to get to know one of the most famous classical artists of all time with romantic, relaxing classical music in high-quality recordings. 

The recordings are taken from the great Columbia Records catalogue. Bernstein conducted the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, working with outstanding soloists such as pianist Rudolf Serkin and violinists Isaac Stern and Yehudi Menuhin. In the piano concertos by Mozart and Beethoven, he plays the dual role of the pianist and the conductor.

Daniel Barenboim MAX & MAESTRO

Daniel Barenboim, one of the world’s greatest classical artists and a staunch champion of music’s civilising power, has signed a new and exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. The partnership was announced on 8 March 2018, just days after the first anniversary of the Pierre Boulez Saal, Maestro Barenboim’s pioneering project devoted to the promotion of cultural exchange and dialogue.

The Berlin connection will be significant throughout his new and future recordings for the yellow label – Barenboim will work with the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Staatsoper unter den Linden, the Boulez Ensemble and members of the Barenboim-Said Akademie. Many of his recordings will be made in the flexible space of the Boulez Saal, home to the Barenboim-Said Akademie, a centre for the cultivation of communication, listening and understanding.

“I welcome this exclusive relationship with Deutsche Grammophon and believe that it will introduce the philosophy of the Pierre Boulez Saal, with its vision of the ‘thinking ear’ and of active, engaged listening, to a large new audience,” says Daniel Barenboim. “We want to share what happens when performers explore music on all levels – emotional, sensory, spiritual, intellectual – and open minds to the understanding and insights that this can bring to our lives. There is so much that music can teach us about being human, about healing division and harmonising the rational and the irrational, the logical and the intuitive.”

Deutsche Grammophon intends to develop three distinct recording series: Barenboim, the Pianist and Conductor, Barenboim the Chamber Music Player and Barenboim, the Educator and Innovator. The latter will take the form of digital-only releases on Daniel Barenboim’s own label, Peral Music, and will be complemented by social media campaigns, a strong YouTube presence and programmes for children’s television. Maestro Barenboim’s YouTube channel has attracted around 40,000 subscribers since its launch in 2016, while his video postings have been viewed almost one million times. He will also reach young television viewers as a character in Max & Maestro, a 52-part cartoon series co-produced by RAI, France Television and ARD-HR, in which he introduces 11-year-old rapper Max to classical music.

Anita Rachvelishvili / Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale Della RAI / Giacomo Sagripanti ANITA

Anita Rachvelishvili was born in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. She at first studied piano at the Mukhran Machavariani School and then singing at the Vano-Sarajishvili Conservatory with Manana Egadze. She received a stipend from the president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, and in 2007 won the Paata Burchuladze Prize. While still a student at the conservatory, she debuted at the Opera in Tblisi as Maddalena in Rigoletto and as Olga in Eugen Onegin, subsequently joining the ensemble of the theater in the fall of 2006. In 2007 she was invited to join the Accademia at the Teatro alla Scalla, it was there she was heard by Daniel Barenboim, who then invited her to star in the new production of Carmen which opened the 2009/2010 La Scala Season.

She  became internationally known when on December 7th, 2009, the opening night of the La Scala season, she sang the title role in Carmen opposite Jonas Kaufmann as Don José, in a production staged by Emma Date and conducted by Daniel Barenboim. This performance, which was her first of any major role in the West and which was her debut in the role, was also televised all over the world.

Ekaterina Mechetina SERGEI RACHMANINOV Variations on a Theme of Corelli - Piano Transcriptions

One harrowingly difficult set of variations by Rachmaninoff and a variety of his best-known transcriptions: this is not debut material for the pianistically faint-of-heart. But then, Ekaterina Mechetina is anything but faint-hearted. This collection was shrewdly chosen to emphasize some of her more spectacular qualities, and in general, it succeeds well.

Mechetina is an aggressive player and a superb technician, facts that immediately become apparent in the Corelli Variations. She plays with complete mastery of the music at any tempo, and seems especially to relish the challenge of the faster, more complex variations—such as the furious seventh, marked vivace, with its giant bell in the bass never obscuring the theme and avalanche of figurations riding above it, or the quicksilver 10th variation, with its extremely clean and even articulation. The late Romantic rhetoric of the fourth and 15th variations find her warm and committed, with a natural rubato and long-breathed phrasing. Similarly, she doesn’t lose her way in the freer passages of the 14th, cimbalom-like variation; while the arpeggiated runs that twice erupt during its length coruscate. The way the pianist plays the opening theme demonstrates yet another useful virtue, all too rare these days: the ability to perform slowly, solemnly, without any trace of nerves or need to push ahead.

Many of the same features are shown elsewhere on this release. The Bach selections are bright and cleanly articulated, with an assertive attack that the pianist softens well. Not that this is soft playing, however, but vibrant, angular, and often rich, in keeping with the personal and deliberately non-authentic nature of these piano transcriptions. I did find a couple of passages in the Gavotte hard in tone, however. It points to the one fault in Mechetina’s rendition of this music: a certain want of color. She’s certainly not steely-fingered on this recording, but tends to deploy the panoply of techniques used to control this aspect of pianism (dynamics, fingering, pedaling, etc) far more discreetly than she does the others. As a result, the Mendelssohn and Rimsky-Korsakov lack gossamer, though they have all the point, clarity, and accuracy at caffeinated tempos one could desire. Her versions of Lilacs and the Cradle Song are persuasively lyrical, but the two Kreisler numbers are just a bit too prosaic despite their virtuosity to be completely convincing. (Barry Brenesal)

Arabella Steinbacher FANTASIES, RHAPSODIES & DAYDREAMS

Until the 2016 release of this album on Pentatone, violinist Arabella Steinbacher had mostly explored heavy repertory of the 19th and 20th centuries on recordings of Strauss, Franck, Shostakovich. She shifts gears with this collection of virtuoso favorites that might easily have appeared on a concert program of a century ago, or nearly that long. It's not a program of encores, which is more common today. The works on this program are substantial and, with the exception of Massenet's famous Méditation, between nine and 15 minutes in length. The novelty here is the opening Carmen Fantasie by Franz Waxman, written for Jascha Heifetz and edited by that great violinist. Despite her disclaimer, Steinbacher takes after Heifetz stylistically with her soaring, Apollonian tone, and this work fits her well. Another highlight is an unusually light, agile performance of Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, rather quick, but always seeming under control and not rushed. Steinbacher has plenty of competition here and elsewhere, but in the main, her performances have the refined quality that her classic models achieved, even in broadly popular repertory. She picks her material well, avoiding her polar opposite, Fritz Kreisler. Pentatone's spacious sound, recorded in an unspecified location, delivers on its audiophile claims, and Steinbacher's Booth Stradivarius sounds great. A recommended look back at the age of the star violin virtuoso. (James Manheim)