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

 

SEGUEDILLES

Anne Gastinel / Xavier Phillips OFFENBACH 6 Cello Duos

 

6 CELLO DUOS

Ophélie Gaillard / Morphing Chamber Orchestra / Frédéric Chaslin CELLOPERA

 

CELLOPERA

 

Yoonie Han HOLLYWOOD ROMANCE

 

HOLLYWOOD ROMANCE

 

Hee-Young Lim / Philippe Muller DUO

 

DUO

 

Wiener Philharmoniker / Valery Gergiev / Jonas Kaufmann SOMMERNACHTS KONZERT 2020

SOMMERNACHTS KONZERT 2020

 

Raphaela Gromes / Julian Riem / Wen-Sinn Yang OFFENBACH

                                                                     OFFENBACH

Georges Prêtre THE LAST CONCERT AT LA SCALA

                                              THE LAST CONCERT AT LA SCALA

Edgar Moreau / Les Forces Majeures / Raphaël Merlin OFFENBACH - GULDA Cello Concertos

Edgar Moreau performs two cello concertos which bravely and wittily challenge convention. Offenbach’s ambitious Grand Concerto in G major culminates in military fireworks, while Friedrich Gulda’s Concerto for Cello, Wind Orchestra and Band – written 130 years later – is a dazzling stylistic kaleidoscope. Moreau is joined by conductor Raphaël Merlin and the dynamic orchestral collective Les Forces Majeures.

Jodie Devos / Münchner Rundfunkorchester​ / Laurent Campellone OFFENBACH COLORATURE

Soprano Jodie Devos, who has signed with Alpha for several recordings, here pays homage to Offenbach, whose bicentenary of his birth is celebrated in 2019. This programme shows Offenbach’s fascination with the vocal fireworks of coloratura divas. This kind of ‘lyric coloratura’ or ‘soprano leggero’ voice runs like a thread through most of the composer’s oeuvre, from his first pieces for two or three soloists to those grand frescoes of his maturity, La Vie parisienne, Robinson Crusoé, and Orphée aux Enfers. The coloratura soprano also adorns Offenbach’s less frivolous operettas (such as Fantasio), as well as his only serious opera – Les Contes d’Hoffmann – in which the role of the doll (with only one aria, but what an aria!) is among the most famous in the entire French repertoire. Concocted collaboratively with Alexandre Dratwicki and the Palazzetto Bru Zane, this recorded programme – tailor-made for Jodie Devos – presents innumerable rarities from Mesdames de la Halle, Boule-de-Neige, Un mari à la porte, Le Roi Carotte, Le Voyage dans la lune, and Vert-Vert. In the famous Barcarolle "Belle nuit, Ô nuit d'amour", she is joined by up-and-coming mezzo-soprano Adèle Charvet.

Hee-Young Lim / London Symphony Orchestra / Scott Yoo FRENCH CELLO CONCERTOS

The young South Korean cellist Hee-Young Lim won her first competition at the tender age of 11 and has been racking up honors ever since. 

It's little wonder. As she showed at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater on Saturday night, Lim, now 20, is a deeply gifted musician with a full, singing tone, near-flawless technique and a natural lyricism that infused virtually every note she played. 

Performing entirely from memory, Lim clearly had little use for the theatricality that other wunderkinder often indulge in; in fact, she seemed almost self-effacing onstage, and her playing always favored elegance over indulgence. At first, she almost seemed too well behaved; Boccherini's Sonata in A, No. 6, which opened the program, was decorous to a fault. But she quickly moved into more complex depths with Debussy's Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor -- a mercurial, elegantly savage work that she brought off with insight and quiet power.

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.

Raphaela Gromes HOMMAGE À ROSSINI

Gioachino Rossini died 150 years ago. This leading light of Italian opera wrote one of the most frequently performed and most famous operas in the whole history of music: Il barbiere di Siviglia. Now the star violoncellist and exclusive SONY Classical artist Raphaela Gromes pays tribute to Rossini with her latest album. Her Hommage à Rossini naturally features Une Larme, Rossini’s only original work for violoncello and piano, but it also includes a number of arrangements of Rossini arias for violoncello and orchestra or piano and a set of variations on a theme from Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto written by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů. But pride of place goes to a world-premiere recording of a piece by Jacques Offenbach, his Hommageà Rossini for violoncello and orchestra. Long thought to be lost, this fantasy, dating from 1845, has now been reawoken from its Sleeping - Beauty - like slumber thanks to the musicological researches of Raphaela Gromes and can be performed again in time to mark Rossini’s sesquicentenary – 173 years after it was composed. For this discographic sensation Raphaela Gromes is accompanied by the WDR Funkhausorchester under Enrico Delamboye. In the pieces for violoncello and piano, conversely, her accompanist is the pianist Julian Riem, who is also responsible for the arrangements.

As a child, Raphaela Gromes wanted to become a singer and decided to take up the violoncello because the sounds that this instrument produces come closest to those of the human voice. In her efforts to achieve a “vocal approach” to her Rossini programme, she sought advice on the technical mysteries of bel canto from the soprano Juliane Banse and the mezzo-soprano Daphne Evangelatos. In this way she has been able to come closer to Rossini’s declared ideal of “sweet Italian singing that comes from the heart”.

Nicole Cabell / Alyson Cambridge SISTERS IN SONG

Nicole Cabell and Alyson Cambridge, acclaimed sopranos and close friends, record together for the first time on an album of opera duets by Mozart, Offenbach, Humperdinck, and Delibes and specially commissioned duet arrangements of classical songs, folk tunes, and African-American spirituals.
Cabell, 2005 winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, is “a faultlessly gleaming soprano” (Financial Times). Cambridge is “radiant, vocally assured . . . and artistically imaginative” (Washington Post), known for her “revelatory, sensual, smoky readings” (Opera News). Joining them in the “Soave sia il vento” trio from Mozart’s Così fan tutte is the “mellow-voiced and charismatic” (New York Times) baritone Will Liverman. They’re accompanied on their Cedille debut by the Lake Forest Symphony under 2015 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award winner Vladimir Kulenovic.
Inspired by opera stars Kathleen Battle & Jessye Norman’s spirituals recording from the early 1990s, the sopranos describe their album as a “dream project” that’s “uniquely us,” reflecting their multi-ethnic heritages and showcasing pieces that profoundly influenced them both. Composer-arranger Joe Clark, whose music has been performed by Reneé Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, and jazz singer Kurt Elling, among other classical, jazz, and pop artists, created arrangements expressly for Cabell and Cambridge’s distinctive voices.

Orchestre Symphonique De Québec / Fabien Gabel GAÎTÉ PARISIENNE

From the waltz to the French cancan to the ballet, this program by the Orchestre symphonique de Québec under the baton of conductor Fabien Gabel illustrates the perfect symbiosis between dance and French music. On the menu: Maurice Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales; Jacques Offenbach’s suite Gaîté Parisienne, arranged by Manuel Rosenthal; and the suite Les Biches by Francis Poulenc. 

Recognized internationally as one of the stars of the new generation, Fabien Gabel is a regular guest of major orchestras in Europe, North America, and Asia, and has been music director of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec since September 2012. He is also music director of the Orchestre Français des Jeunes for the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons, taking over from David Zinman.

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.

Yoon Kyung Cho MEDITATION

Cellist Yoon-Kyung Cho was born in Seoul and has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at major venues across the Europe and South Korea. She has been accepted to the "Classe d'excellence de violoncelle"(2014-2015) of Gautier Capuçon in cooperation with Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris. Also, Yoon-Kyung has been selected from the prestigious audition for a Musicians' Company Concert 2015/16 series and she will give her Wigmore Hall recital debut next year. She also won Second Prize at the Johannes Brahms International Competition in Pörtschach (Austria) and the Concerto Competition at Royal College of Music and performed Shostakovich Cello Concerto No.1 with RCM Philharmonic Orchestra with Martin André in London. Not only this, Yoon-Kyung has won numerous competitions including Silver Medal at the prestigious KBS-KEPCO Music Competition in Seoul and First Prize in the Busan Times Competition, the Seoul Soloists Cello Ensemble Competition, the Korea Times Music Competition, the Sung-Jung Music Competition, and the Segye Times Music Competition.

Anna Netrebko DIVA

It is rare for an artist to break through the boundaries of classical music stardom and achieve recognition in the wider world, but Anna Netrebko has achieved that and more. In a recording career spanning less than fifteen years so far, she has not only seduced the classical scene with the beauty of her voice, her superb vocal control and supreme musicality, she has also become an international icon. More than an operatic diva, Anna Netrebko is an enormously charismatic individual whose style and stage presence are as celebrated as her musicianship. A passionate advocate for children’s causes, she supports a number of charitable organisations, including SOS-Kinderdorf International and the Russian Children’s Welfare Society. She is a global ambassador for Chopard jewellery.

Born in 1971 in Krasnodar, Russia, Netrebko studied vocal performance at the St Petersburg Conservatory. When she auditioned for the Mariinsky Theatre, she was spotted by Valery Gergiev, who became her vocal mentor. She made her operatic stage debut at the Mariinsky, aged 22, singing Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro. One year later she made her US debut at the San Francisco Opera. She really started pulses racing in the international opera world with a triumphant Salzburg Festival debut in 2002 as Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Since then she has gone on to perform with nearly all the world’s great opera companies, displaying consummate skill and naturalness as she inhabits each new role, including Mozart’s Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Puccini’s Mimì (La bohème) and Manon Lescaut; Verdi’s Violetta (La traviata), Gilda, Leonora, Lady Macbeth and Giovanna d’Arco; Bellini’s Giulietta (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Elvira (I puritani) and Amina (La sonnambula); Donizetti’s Norina (Don Pasquale), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Lucia di Lammermoor and Anna Bolena; Massenet’s Manon; Gounod’s Juliette; Tchaikovsky’s Tatiana (Eugene Onegin) and Iolanta; Wagner’s Elsa (Lohengrin); and, most recently, Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur.

Her debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera also came in 2002, and she has returned every season since, becoming the only soprano to have opened the season in three consecutive years (2011–13), as well as captivating audiences worldwide thanks to the Met’s “Live in HD” cinecasts. Anna Netrebko appears every season at the Vienna State Opera – she has lived in Vienna for many years and obtained Austrian citizenship in 2006. Having made her La Scala debut in 2011 as Donna Anna, she returned to Milan in 2012, giving performances as Mimì that won praise from critics and audiences alike. She made her role debut as Verdi’s Lady Macbeth at the Bavarian State Opera in 2014 and was invited back to La Scala to open the 2015-16 season in a production of the same composer’s Giovanna d’Arco, the work’s first performance there for over 150 years and Netrebko’s first stage appearance in its title role.

Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo / Brad Cohen / Emma Matthews IN MONTE CARLO

Bel Canto Emma Matthews is the brightest star out of Australia, the most anticipated since Dame Joan Sutherland. A co-production between ABC Classics and Universal Music in Australia, this CD combines jewels from French and Italian operatic repertoire, as well as music by Bernstein and 2 Australian composers Richard Mills and Calvin Bowman.

Emma made her Covent Garden debut in March/April 2010 in the title role of Cunning Little Vixen at the Royal Opera House, conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras and her European concert debut with Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo in Mahler’s Fourth Symphony and also her debut with conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy as soloist in Mahler’s 4.

This release highlights Romantic opera heroines the Doll Song from Tales of Hoffmann, the Bell Song from Lakme, as well as fearless and thrilling coloratura moments in Proch’s Theme and Variations and Bernstein’s Glitter and Be Gay. There are two world premiere recordings on the disc both from Australian composers - The Nightingale’s Song at the close of Richard Mills opera The Love of the Nightingale and Calvin Bowman’s song Now touch the air softly. (Presto Classical)

Camille Thomas / Orchestre National de Lille / Alexandre Bloch SAINT-SAËNS - OFFENBACH

Deutsche Grammophon is delighted to announce that Camille Thomas, among the most charismatic of young classical artists, has signed to the yellow label. The 28-year-old Franco-Belgian musician becomes the first ever female cellist to join Deutsche Grammophon’s artist roster. Her DG debut album, Enchantée, set for release in autumn 2017, will present fresh interpretations of works for cello and orchestra by Saint-Saëns and Offenbach, some of the most beautiful in the repertoire. Recorded with the Orchestre National de Lille and conductor Alexandre Bloch, it will also include bonus tracks featuring guest appearances by violinist Nemanja Radulović and tenor Rolando Villazón. Thomas’s choice of repertoire stems from her passion for French culture and the music of the Romantic period. As well as appealing to her existing fans in France and Germany, the elegance and intensity of her music-making are sure to captivate a global audience.

“It is a great honour to be invited to record for Deutsche Grammophon,” comments Camille Thomas. “To work with the company is like a dream come true for me. I fell in love with Berlin when I moved there from Paris to study and have developed a deep affection for Germany in the decade since. There is something truly special for me about recording for Deutsche Grammophon, sharing in its unrivalled tradition, exploring exciting projects and working with other members of its great family of artists. I look forward to building new audiences for cello in partnership with the yellow label.”

Camille Thomas was born in Paris in 1988. She began playing cello at the age of four and subsequently studied in her native city with Marcel Bardon. Her musical horizons broadened after she left school and enrolled to study with Stephan Forck at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. Thomas completed her training with Frans Helmerson at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne. Her international breakthrough came in 2014 when she was nominated for a “Newcomer of the Year” award at France’s prestigious Victoires de la Musique Classique and went on to be named winner of that year’s New Talent competition sponsored by the European Broadcasting Union. Thomas’s first album, A Century of Russian Colours, was released to critical acclaim in 2013 and was followed three years later by a fine second album, Reminiscences, awarded a CHOC by French magazine Classica, among other plaudits. In February 2016 she appeared on Arte’s Stars of Tomorrow, hosted by Rolando Villazón, and she was recently named as winner of the 2016 “Young Soloist of the Year” category in RTBF’s C’est du Belge awards, chosen in collaboration with Paris Match.