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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Szymanowski: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2
Valery Gergiev explores the intense expression, fervour and spirituality of Polish composer Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937) with his first recording of the early symphonies on LSO Live. For decades Szymanowski’s music was rarely heard outside Poland. Today, he is recognised as one of Poland’s greatest musical figures. His desire to embody the music of his native land and his incorporation of the folkloric sounds of the Polish mountains make his orchestral works a must for anyone with an interest in Polish culture and music. During Szymanowski’s early career, he wrote works of a grandiose, densely chromatic nature in the Germanic style of Strauss and Wagner. His first symphony is drenched in evocative Romanticism and is an extremely powerful and emotionally intense composition. His second, chamber-like Symphony artfully interweaves layer upon layer of seemingly disparate musical ideas to form a complex tapestry that became one of the composer’s favourite of his own works. These first two symphonies, both unconventional in style and format, make for an enthralling listening experience and provide insight into Szymanowski’s ecstatic musical character. | 
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Valery Gergiev continues his Shostakovich symphony cycle with an emotionally-charged performance of the Seventh Symphony. Shostakovich dedicated his Symphony No 7 to the defiance shown by the citizens of Leningrad in the face of Nazi totalitarianism. Despite the widespread reassessment that has since taken place regarding the inspirations for his symphonies, the ‘Leningrad’ symphony remains a highly-potent symbol for the residents of modern-day St Petersburg. Previous releases in Gergiev’s Shostakovich cycle have included Symphonies Nos 1 & 15, 2 & 11 and 3 & 10. Between them they have received two Grammy Award nominations, as well as Chocs from Classica (France) and Editor’s Choices from Gramophone. Gergiev will conduct Shostakovich symphonies with the Rotterdam Philharmonic in December, and complete the Brahms & Szymanowsky cycles with the LSO in London. In January the Mariinsky orchestra will perform a number of Shostakovich symphonies with Gergiev in France and in February they return to Russia for performances of Shchedrin’s 'Dead Souls' and Strauss’ 'Elektra'. “Gergiev and his heroic St Petersburg orchestra show that the Adagio – touched by a sense of intimacy, passion and tragedy – is the real kernel of the symphony. This live recording has occasional imperfections of ensemble, always a hazard with Gergiev, but what counts is the big picture, captured here with intensity, heart and soul.” Financial Times, 29th December 2012 **** “such is the poignancy and sensitivity with which Gergiev shapes the world-weary melodies that I was immediately won over...[in the Finale] Gergiev exerts a much tauter control over proceedings, the inexorable tread of the sarabande rhythm achieving mesmeric cumulative power which is helped in no small measure by the superbly responsive orchestral playing and the tremendous dynamic range of the recording.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2013 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 1-3
Tchaikovsky’s early trio of symphonies have long lived in the shadow of the three that followed. Following his acclaimed Mariinsky DVD of the final three symphonies, which received Choc de l’annee in France, Valery Gergiev conducts outstanding performances of the earlier works with the LSO. Tchaikovsky’s early symphonies are full of the rich expressive melodies, for which he had a natural talent, with influences of Russian nationalism and folk tunes, particularly in the ‘Little Russian’, No. 2. The choreographer George Balanchine exploited the dance-like nature of the Third Symphony by using it as the basis for the final part of his ballet masterpiece, 'Jewels'. Throughout the Autumn Valery Gergiev will conduct the complete Brahms and Szymanowski cycles with the LSO in London, Edinburgh, Paris and Luxembourg. They also tour to the USA and Germany. Gergiev’s recent recordings on LSO Live include an acclaimed recording of Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances and Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements. His award-winning Mahler cycle will be released as a 10-SACD box set in October. “Gergiev can transform works that often seem problematic into something compelling and totally coherent. In this set, he does exactly that with the Third...which he not only reveals as a totally convincing reworking of traditional symphonic form...but links it dramatically with Tchaikovsky's operas... both [the First & Second] are full of wonderful touches, of sharply etched detail, vivid colours and tremendous focused energy.” The Guardian, 6th September 2012 ***** “what lovely and characteristic things are to be found in them, how full of Tchaikovskian panache, melodic richness and rhythmic vitality they are, and how brightly they shine in these vivid performances” Sunday Times, 16th September 2012 “This budget-price, immaculately recorded double album is a revelation; Valery Gergiev’s pin-sharp attention to detail and rhythmic zest making each work seem much bigger and bolder than usual, far more than sequences of balletic interludes...Essential listening.” The Arts Desk, 30th September 2012 “Gergiev’s handling of dynamic is expert…the orchestra is at its best here” International Record Review, November 2012 “Gergiev's frequent use of striking contrasts of tempos between themes, or even dramatic pauses, as in the slow movement, often makes Tchaikovsky's First sound like a close relation to a Bruckner symphony. Yet, such is the affection with which Gergiev shapes this work that it never descends to bathos.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2013 ***** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Chopin: | Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60 | Liszt: | Erlkönig, S558 No. 4 (after Schubert D328) Fruhlingsglaube, S557c Die Forelle, S564 Auf dem Wasser zu singen, S558 No. 2 (from Schubert D774) Die Stadt - Mässig Geschwindt (No. 1 from Schwanengesang, S560, after Schubert) Widmung S566 after Schumann (Liebeslied) | Tchaikovsky: | Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23 Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev Un poco di Chopin, Op. 72, No. 15 |
Daniil Trifonov, winner of the XIVth International Tchaikovsky Competition, is probably the world’s most exciting young pianist. On his first Mariinsky recording he joins Valery Gergiev for a scintillating performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1. Daniil also presents a selection of recital repertoire including music by Tchaikovsky, Chopin and Liszt transcriptions of Schubert and Schumann. Written for Nikolai Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto is one of his most popular works. Revised three times, including an arrangement for two pianos, the concerto was finally set in stone in 1888 and it is this version that is most frequently performed today. Tchaikovsky balances core motivic elements with a sense of lyrical spontaneity to create a technically challenging but instantly appealing work. At only 21 years old, Daniil Trifonov has won countless awards, including the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, the Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv and the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (Gold Medal). Valery Gergiev personally awarded Trifonov the ‘Grand Prix’ in Moscow, an additional award given to the best overall competitor in any category of the International Tchaikovsky Competition. In 2011, Trifonov gave his debut with the London Symphony Orchestra and has since performed with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Mariinsky Orchestra, as well as touring throughout the USA, Europe and the Far East. In the coming season he will make debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony and Chicago Symphony orchestras, as well as performing recitals at Salle Pleyel, Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall and Wigmore Hall. “Trifonov's combination of delicacy and fire leaves an indelible impression in this debut recording with the Mariinsky. The Tchaikovsky, scorching and heart-rending but never bombastic, is paired with solo Liszt transcriptions” The Observer, 12th August 2012 “Trifonov has won every top piano competition, and this shows why. His performance of the Tchaikovsky warhorse...is nuanced but not mannered, virtuosic without being showy, and powerful yet not hammered, as many young Russian pianists do...He has the world at his feet.” The Times, 11th August 2012 **** “Last year’s winner [International Tchaikovsky Competition] 21-year old Daniil Trifonov is truly exceptional. Trifonov … the orchestral support is first-rate … Even more impressive are the solo works included here which display all the variety of Trifonov’s tonal range … Seemingly there is nothing that Trifonov cannot do. Trifonov may be at the start of his career but he is already a mature artist. His youth brings an overwhelming energy which seems to blow the cobwebs off everything he performs: he forces one to listen to these works anew, the sure sign of greatness.” International Record Review, October 2012 “His special blend of attributes is on display here, not least his technical ease, exquisite control and rich resource of colour. In the Tchaikovsky [Concerto], Trifonov's playing ignites when it has to, but is generally notable for its dynamic phrasing and variety of articulation. For such an overworked piece it sounds remarkably fresh.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2012 **** “[Trifonov] makes the instrument sing and allows the music to breathe … The six Liszt song transcriptions show him at his best, triumphantly capturing all the despair of ‘Erlkonig’ … A pianist, then, with a great international career in front of him (no doubt about that).” Gramophone Magazine, November 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Valery Gergiev conducts Strauss’ 'Elektra', one of the most powerful operas in the repertoire, accompanied by a superlative cast. Premiered in 1910 at Covent Garden, under the baton of Sir Thomas Beecham, 'Elektra' showcases many, of what were at the time, modernist techniques such as dissonance, chromaticism and fluid tonality but also some of his finest writing. The one-act Greek tragedy was reconstructed by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and his adapted text forms the libretto for the opera. The drama centres around Elektra and her determination to avenge her father’s death. The themes of death, violence, sexual repression and revenge are omnipresent. American soprano Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet is recognised as a leading force in German and contemporary music repertoire and a great singing actress. Angela Denoke and Dame Felicity Palmer both possess outstanding pedigrees in Strauss' opera. They are joined by outstanding Lieder specialist Matthias Goerne, making one of his rare forays into operatic repertoire. “This exciting reading is worth a try, if not a classic” Sunday Times, 1st July 2012 “one feels a distinct frisson with the arrival of Klytaemnestra...Caricature is totally eschewed; however tortured Klytaemnestra may be, Palmer maintains an innate regality in her vocal presence...[Goerne's] text is penetratingly delivered...Storey offers a heroic voice as Aegisthus, for a change, with all the notes truly sounded...One can tell that the LSO rejoices in playing this music...Any Elektra enthusiast will want to hear Goerne and the magnificent Palmer.” International Record Review, July/August 2012 “if vocal discipline is not Charbonnet’s strong suit that may be a virtue in this role...It is difficult to find any faults in Felicity Palmer’s classic Klytämnestra...she is always scrupulously musical and no thoughts of caricature invade one’s attention...[Storey creates] an individual sound for the character of Ägisthus..[Goerne] falls not far short of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in establishing a dark, mysterious presence at his entry” classicalsource.com, July 2012 “Gergiev grasps the Wagnerian intensity of the score, also capturing the Straussian extremist tendencies with thrilling impact. Thrusting playing by the LSO helps.” The Scotsman, 9th July 2012 ***** “Gothic glory lies in the London Symphony Orchestra’s playing: visceral in impact, full of details usually lost in an opera house pit...Charbonnet doesn’t have enough heft at the top for the increasingly unhinged Elektra: the compensation comes in her commitment and passion.” The Times, 20th July 2012 *** “[Gergiev] conveys passions and tensions with compelling, sometimes deafening power...[Charbonnet is] strongly involved without, thankfully, overplaying the weirdness...[Palmer's Klytaemnestra is] the real star of this show, slicing through Gergiev's sound-wall with incisive diction and keen characterisation: she's neurotic, malevolent but far from the conventional Germanic witch. Ian Storey makes Aegisth's few lines at once fatuous and menacing.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012 *** “Gergiev has the LSO sailing through metre- and key-changes with almost effortless fluidity, and Strauss's dramaturgical acumen has never seemed clearer...Charbonnet generates plenty of manic excitement with her ultra-aggressive vibrato but...there are many signs of considerable theatrical intelligence; at times her conviction triumphs over her own voice...Goerne is the one vocal marvel here: his Orestes has nobility and morality” Gramophone Magazine, October 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances
Following his acclaimed LSO Live recording of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No 2, a Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Valery Gergiev conducts a thrilling performance of the composer’s 'Symphonic Dances', coupled with fellow emigré Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements. An orchestral suite in three sections, the 'Symphonic Dances' were the last works Rachmaninov completed and proved to be some of his most popular. Although rarely sentimental, they draw on folk idioms and the composer’s reminiscences of Russia, from where he emigrated in 1917. Stravinsky’s 'Symphony in Three Movements' was written between 1942-45 and was the first work Stravinsky completed after his arrival in the USA. Although he claimed it was a ‘War Symphony’, his true inspiration was typically vague. Following an extensive tour of the Far East with the LSO in February and March, Valery Gergiev conducts concerts throughout Europe in with the Mariinsky Orchestra, including performances in the UK. “Gergiev’s reading is a satisfying one and the LSO are on superlative form… Punchy, powerful stuff, in close-up, vivid sound.” The Arts Desk, 5th May 2012 “[Gergiev] elicits a fair amount of instrumental detail from Rachmaninov's luminous scoring [in the Symphonic Dances] but it is at the cost of cohesive overall structure...[the Symphony in Three Movements] is a big-boned performance, its syncopations crisply articulated by the LSO, its powerful rhythmic impetus kept on a tight rein, its palette of timbres well delineated.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2012 “these are thoughtful, well-considered performances, excellently played and recorded...Gergiev's rather deliberate tempo in the first movement of the Rachmaninov seems to stress the 'symphonic', rather than the 'dance' aspect of this work...Much the same might be said of the Stravinsky: overall the emotional temperature seems a bit low, despite some highly exciting passages and refined solo playing in the more lyrical moments.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2012 *** “Gergiev gives us a bold, exciting account of Stravinsky's wartime cracker: wild and rough at the edges in the outer movements; unsentimental, even brusque in the 'soft centre'.” Classical Music, 7th April 2012 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto is one of the most sought-after interpreters of French, Italian and Russian repertoire. Here he joins Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky orchestra for a sumptuous recording of Massenet’s final great opera. Gergiev is no stranger to conducting Massenet, having recorded an outstanding performance of 'Hérodiade' in 1995 with Renée Fleming and Placido Domingo. 'Don Quichotte', Massenet’s comédie-héroïque, is a tale of heroism, adventure and unrequited love. The plot relates only indirectly to the great novel by Miguel de Cervantes and more likely refers to the play Le chevalier de la longue figure, by the poet Jacques Le Lorrain. Massenet, nearing the end of his career, probably identified with the character of Don Quichotte, and fell in love with the mezzo-soprano Lucy Arbell, who played Dulcinée in the first performance of the work. Praised for his vast range, thundering vocal power, and exceptional acting ability, Ferruccio Furlanetto has performed at the world’s leading opera houses, including La Scala, the Royal Opera House, the New York Metropolitan Opera and the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. His 2011-12 season is dominated by performances of 'Boris Godunov' with the Chicago Lyric Opera, Vienna Staatsoper and the Teatro Massimo (Palermo). Furlanetto will also sing Méphistophélès in Gounod’s 'Faust', Don Basilio in 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' and Silva in 'Ernani' at the Met. Mezzo-soprano Anna Kiknadze is a principal soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg. Highlights of her early career include being a finalist at the 2001 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, 2002 Placido Domingo Operalia Competition in Paris and the International Rimsky-Korsakov Competition in St. Petersburg. “[Furlanetto] is moving in Quichotte’s prayer and death scene. Gergiev surprises with his sensitive handling of Massenet’s delicately perfumed idiom, relishing the atmosphere of his Spanish pastiche.” Sunday Times, 26th February 2012 “[Furlanetto] is quite astonishingly moving in it, as is Andrei Serov as Sancho Pança. The rest of it is more equivocal. Gergiev is at his best when the music is most tender, but goes hell-for-leather at the fiesta scenes, which work better when less pressured.” The Guardian, 8th March 2012 **** “Furlanetto's basso cantante makes a fine compromise [between Ghiaurov and van Dam] - rich but smooth in fluent French - and Valery Gergiev whips up the score more vigorously than either predecessor...Gergiev has excellent surround sound, and this new version comes recommended” BBC Music Magazine, April 2012 **** “[Furlanetto's] dark round tone is perfect for the role. He can't resist uttering his trademark sob now and then but much can be forgiven for his beautiful legato...Furlanetto's combination of sadness and dignity is most affecting...Anna Kiknadze finds heart as well as frivolity in Dulcinee's music. Gergiev and his chorus and orchestra are on fine form and the recorded sound, in the experienced hands of James Mallinson, is excellent.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2012  BBC Music Magazine
Opera Choice - April 2012 |
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| |  | Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Since winning the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1998, Denis Matsuev has established a reputation as one of Russia’s leading pianists. His first release on the Mariinsky label, featuring Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and 'Paganini Variations', received widespread acclaim. He has toured throughout Europe and North America with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, as well as performing with the LSO, Berlin and New York Philharmonics. For his second Mariinsky release with Gergiev he turns to music by Shostakovich and Shchedrin. Despite being a prolific symphonist, Shostakovich only wrote two piano concertos. His first features a prominent solo trumpet part which provides dialogue with the piano and an independent voice ‘commenting’ on the music of the piano and orchestra. Shostakovich draws in numerous musical styles within the work and displays his usual wit and sardonic humour. The Second Concerto, by contrast, is more unified and is unusually happy and optimistic in nature for Shostakovich. This may be because it was written for his son, who gave the première, and has been described as showing “the composer as though his own youth had returned to him”. The slow movement contains some of Shostakovich’s most achingly beautiful music – almost Rachmaninov-like in its Romanticism. Rodion Shchedrin has so far composed six piano concertos, each signifying a new phase in his compositional development, as well as a double concerto for piano and cello and a substantial corpus of solo piano works. His Fifth Concerto is influenced by the music of both Shostakovich and Prokofiev. “these new accounts of the two Shostakovich Concertos must be among the best currently available. He is brilliant and mercurial in the fast movements of both works, creatively negotiating tempo and style and bringing a sense of elan to the Second's outer movements...This unfamiliar coupling offers added value for any collector of Russian music.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2012 **** “everything comes easily together in Shostakovich's Second Concerto, where both soloist and conductor reveal the music's disarming meoldic wit in a relaxed, unpressured manner and deliver a heartfelt, touchingly inflected reading of the Andante that allows the cellos plenty of room to sing out.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | DSD recording, live at the Barbican 2-3 March 2011
The final release in Valery Gergiev’s acclaimed Mahler cycle features the composer’s Symphony No 9, recorded at the Barbican in March 2011. Mahler’s wrote his Ninth Symphony during a time of great personal suffering and heartache. This is reflected in the music, at times manic and fierce, at others delicate and serene, as it explores many emotions and ultimately concludes with the heart-stopping coda of the Adagio, seemingly conveying the composer’s acceptance of his own mortality. In addition to his recordings of Mahler’s symphonies, Gergiev’s other recent releases on LSO Live have included acclaimed recordings of music by Debussy, Ravel and Rachmaninov as well as Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet which recently won Disc of the Year at the BBC Music Magazine Awards. Forthcoming releases on the Mariinsky label, which is managed on behalf of the Mariinsky Theatre by LSO Live, include Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, conducted by Valery Gergiev and featuring Natalie Dessay in the title role alongside Piotr Beczala and Ilya Bannik. The Mariinsky label also releases its first DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs in October. CONCERT REVIEWS “from the rosy vein struck by the strings to the honed gestures of the woodwind, here was an orchestra at one with itself and its Director” The Guardian “Gergiev’s reading was both valid and deeply moving. Finally all tears were wiped away, all coughing silenced, in a breathless,peerlessly executed coda [Adagio]” Evening Standard “There’s nothing on the classical circuit that quite compares to the full Valery Gergiev experience. Gergiev’s pacing of the Adagio ... felt absolutely right. And the LSO fiddles played majestically for him” The Times “despite typically swift speeds, there's none of the haste that some have disliked in Gergiev's Mahler. Interpretatively, however, you will either love or loathe it. It's an unusually panicky account of a work generally considered to be about mortality and resignation...The inner movements bristle with existential alarm, and the exhausted collapse at the height of the Rondo Burleske is particularly well done.” The Guardian, 8th September 2011 *** “Gergiev paces and balances [the opening's] unfolding finely, from halting start via macabre climax to nostalgic fade-out. The ensuing Landler movement duly comes as a shock as Mahler doubtless intended...The sardonic contrapuntal capers of the Rondo Burleske third movement are also played for force here...Thereafter, the reading comes back into focus, with the climax passionately delivered and an unfailing concentration in those infinitely drawn-out dying bars.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2011 *** “The LSO's lustrous, ultra-secure paying reaches astonishing virtuoso heights in the 'Rondo Burleske' Scherzo. And Gergiev unfolds Mahler's huge four-movement structure with masterly grip and command...If you like your Mahler to be a sumptuous feast of sound, look no further. If you want to be taken to the music's expressive heart, look elsewhere.” Classic FM Magazine, November 2011 *** “His conception remains pushy, extrovert and darkly opaque, the horns glowering menacingly even in moments of repose...The band displays both its corporate dexterity and its famous ability to play very loudly indeed. Surface detail is tangibly immediate, the vivid yet shallow sound stage reinforcing the impression that we are listening to a brilliant concerto for orchestra...such an interpretation will have its admirers - never boring, half-hearted or indecisive” Gramophone Magazine, November 2011 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Mariinsky Concert Hall, St Petersburg, 12-16 September 2010. Notes in Russian (cyrillic ), English, French and German, libretto in Italian with English translation
The Mariinsky label’s opera recordings have garnered acclaim and awards from around the world, most recently for Valery Gergiev’s recording of Parsifal released in 2010. For the label’s fifth opera, Gergiev conducts Donizetti’s masterpiece with a magnificent cast led by Natalie Dessay. Natalie Dessay is one of the world’s most sought-after sopranos and an admired interpreter of lyric heroines. She is particularly renowned for her interpretation of the role of Lucia, which she has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House and the Mariinsky Theatre. Future engagements include Verdi’s La Traviata with the LSO at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in July and at the Vienna State Opera in October. Piotr Beczala is rapidly establishing a reputation as one of today’s leading lyric tenors. He has recently sung Edgardo at the Met and on tour in Japan, and this summer will perform at the Bavarian State Opera and Salzburg Festival. Valery Gergiev recently won the Disc of the Year Award from BBC Music Magazine for his LSO Live recording of Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet. In July, Gergiev will conduct the Mariinsky Ballet at New York Metropolitan Opera and in August he conducts at the Edinburgh Festival and BBC Proms with the Mariinsky Orchestra before opening the LSO’s 2011-12 concert season. In October he embarks on a major tour of the USA and Canada with the Mariinsky Orchestra, including residencies at Carnegie Hall and Berkeley. Forthcoming releases include the final instalment in his Mahler cycle on LSO Live featuring Symphony No 9 and the Mariinsky label’s first DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs. Natalie Dessay appears courtesy of Virgin Classics. “The recording is worth owning for Beczala’s classy singing as Edgardo, the only paragon here. The Polish tenor’s gleaming, if not Italianate, tone, superb diction and shapely phrasing are the set’s most consistent pleasures.” Sunday Times, 17th July 2011 ** “Here’s a Valery Gergiev recording in which, for once, the febrile maestro isn’t centre stage. This is all about Natalie Dessay’s performance as poor deluded Lucy. And if you thrill to the French soprano’s hypercharged, histrionic and occasionally wayward delivery of Donizetti’s mad scene, you will forgive the ebullient but sometimes rough-edged playing of the Mariinsky Orchestra...Top singing from Vladislav Sulimsky as Enrico.” The Times, 16th July 2011 **** “there is something distinctively Russian about this Lammermoor. All those Italian melodies flow beautifully...But there is a sense of drive and purpose about this performance that seems, to me at least, distinctively Slavic...Dessay structures [the Mad Scene] well, always saving something in reserve for the build-ups and outbursts. Some excellent glass harmonica playing from Sascha Reckert...An intense but satisfying experience.” Classical Review, July 2011 “Here is a Lucia to match Callas or Sutherland. Natalie Dessay’s light soprano gives a vivid impression of Lucia’s vulnerable personality. The Mad Scene is enthralling. Piotr Beczala is a gloriously virile Edgardo, and the Italian style of the Russian cast more than acceptable. With Valery Gergiev a surprisingly sensitive conductor, this is a top-rank recording of a marvellous opera.” The Telegraph, 4th August 2011 ***** “Gergiev drives it hard, admirably sustaining an atmosphere of tremendous neurotic tension throughout...Piotr Beczala's Edgardo is stylish and impulsive, if occasionally effortful.” The Guardian, 11th August 2011 *** “how authentic a Donizettian can [Gergiev] be? The basic answer is that the tinta he establishes for the work - a dark sound with good forward winds and present brass...creates real atmosphere...this is a neurotic, depressed Donizetti, surely right for this story. If this is not always Italian slancio, it certainly has its own mood and lift...It is also sensitive to dynamic markings: this is rarely a loud experience.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2011 “Everything Dessay does is lovely, but there is a lack of the desperation which should pervade the role...[Beczala is] actually more moving and Italianate than Dessay. Still, as post-Maria Callas Lucias go, this is one of the best.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2011 **** “we can once again relish Dessay's extraordinary command of staccatos, her flexibility (the rapid scales in the Mad Scene cabaletta are stunning) and that uniquely pearly timbre...Finally, and most importantly, she phrases at all times with the sensitivity we have come to expect of her...Beczala, with his gleaming, immaculately centred tone and unfailing sincerity of address, stands comparison with any other recorded Edgardo.” International Record Review, September 2011 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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