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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
In a very short time, Yannick Nézet-Séguin has become one of the most sought-after young conductors in the world, popular with orchestras and audiences alike. Recently named as Music Director Designate of the Philadelphia Orchestra, he succeeded Valery Gergiev as Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008. He is also Chief Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. For the first of four projected discs with BIS, Nézet-Séguin and his Rotterdam players have recorded Hector Berlioz’ masterpiece Symphonie fantastique, in a full-blooded and luxurious performance which at the same time respects the work’s classical proportions The work is here followed by the ‘lyrical scene’ Cléopâtre (often referred to as La Mort de Cléopâtre), composed shortly before as Berlioz’ entry in the competition for the prestigious Prix de Rome. Performing the part of Cleopatra is the electrifying soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci in one of her rare appearances on disc. "He [Yannick Nézet-Séguin] makes the Rotterdam Orchestra sound word-class.” The Times “one hears that what Nézet-Séguin offers (aided by a superlatively airy, open, yet richly resonant recording) is the orchestral equivalent of a Peter Hall staging - with a focus entirely on the text itself, not its extra-musical 'narrative', and with no whipped-up histrionics, just apt tempos and pinpoint placing of each note and accent.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2011 *** “You'll hear things here all too routinely buried by others. Anna Caterina Antonacci's vocal heft and dramatic instincts help unlock the anguish of Cléopâtre in the symphony's ideal companion piece....First-rate surround sound adds to this recording's lasting appeal.” Classic FM Magazine, May 2011 ***** “[an] expressive, operatic reading of the Fantastique...He's not afraid of violence, noise or audience-rousing codas - try the end of the first movement or the sweep of the ball...The fill-up is gorgeous enough to make purchase obligatory.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2011 “his Fantastique is wonderful...the best of it is almost mind-bending in its hallucinatory vividness – the last two movements have rarely sounded more weird – and the whole thing captures the sense of self-dramatising Romantic shamelessness that lurks behind it. Ultimately, then, a very fine performance.” The Guardian, 7th April 2011 **** “This a strong, clean-cut performance of the Symphonie fantastique...blessed with lucid playing that mirrors the translucency of Berlioz’s scoring. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts with rhythmic punch and, in the Scène aux champs, has the measure of the rustic tranquillity...Antonacci sings with thrilling intensity.” The Telegraph, 25th February 2011 **** | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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“Although Yannick Nezet-Seguin stresses Romantic warmth of sonority and richness of mood, it's remarkable how textured the orchestral sound is. We don't just hear the leading melodic lines, but also the echoes, imitations and counter-melodies that often get pushed into the background. It's refreshing to hear Bruckner's orchestral writing brought to life on so many levels, captured faithfully by the recording.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2012 **** “Nezet-Seguin shies away from weighty sound blocks or dense textures; rather, he inflects the musical line according to its expressive place in the overall scheme of things and isn't afraid to dip the tempo at crucial corners, so that we can better appreciate the view...The Scherzo is full of energy, though again it's most lyrical aspects come off best...The Andante is equally successful.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2012 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Strauss: Ein Heldenleben & Vier letzte Lieder
In a very short time, Yannick Nézet-Séguin has become one of the most sought-after young conductors in the world, popular with orchestras and audiences alike. Recently named as Music Director Designate of the Philadelphia Orchestra, he succeeded Valery Gergiev as Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008. He is also Chief Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. On this the second of four projected discs for BIS, the Rotterdam Philharmonic here perform two of Richard Strauss’ most popular works: The tone poem Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) has often been described as an autobiographical work. The six interwoven sections describe themes of hope, love and courage, with a scherzo that mocks the hero’s enemies and a final climax that sees the hero withdraw from the world fulfilled. The Four Last Songs were the last works that Strauss composed before his death in 1949, and throughout the works, the pervading mood is one of death and transience. The Rotterdam Orchestra are here joined by Dorothea Röschmann, who has built a reputation on the opera stage as one of the most admired present interpreters of Mozart and of lieder. “the gossamer textures of the Hero's 'War and Peace'...work best here, the bassoon stylishly leading the superb Rotterdam woodwind. The final retirement is gilded by a glorious horn solo...[Roschmann's] fast vibrato is offset by luminosity and soaring beauty...there's always understanding of the text, and the sunset epilogue, well accompanied by the orchestra, is moving.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2011 ***/**** “Dorothea Röschmann has a deliciously supple and textured soprano that finds glorious colours here” Classic FM Magazine, October 2011 *** “Nézet-Séguin's portrait of the "Hero's adversaries" is piquant rather than ironically adversarial...[Four Last Songs are] gloriously sung by Dorothea Roschmann, who has a truly lovely voice, and is most sensitively accompanied...Even among many illustrious names, there is no finer recorded performance.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2011 “The multiple ironies of Heldenleben are superbly caught, though the emotional kernel of his interpretation lies in a sexy account of the central love scene and his touchingly beautiful treatment of the finale. The orchestral sound is lean and sinewy...[Röschmann's] voice lacks a little of its former lustre, though you can hear every word – and hear it given meaning.” The Guardian, 11th August 2011 **** “This suave and efficient Strauss disc shows why Yannick Nézet-Séguin has rocketed to the first division of the conducting league.” The Times, 2nd July 2011 *** | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Franck & Schmitt
Under the baton of the international conductor Nézet-Séguin, Orchestre Métropolitan performs the rarely recorded Symphonic Poem La tragédie de Salomé by French composer Florent Schmitt (1870-1958). Originally, the work was a one-hour ballet scored for only 20 musicians. In 1910, Schmitt reduced the length of the work and expanded the orchestration. This shorter version on this CD is the best known. “Yannick Nézet-Séguin favours more leisurely tempos in the slow introductions [of Salomé], drawing luscious playing from his Montreal orchestra, particularly in the Prelude...He has a firm grasp of the architectural structure of the Symphony's three movements so that it builds to a convincing climax. Pacing is steady but not lacking tension, reflecting this conductor's considerable success with Bruckner.” International Record Review, April 2011 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Marc Hervieux: Tenor Arias
Marc Hervieux delivers superb renditions of favourite Italian arias on this blockbuster ATMA recording. After the extraordinary success of Le Premier Noël (ATMA’s best selling CD in 2009), Hervieux presents his second CD on the ATMA label. This CD is devoted to the the most beautiful arias by Puccini, Verdi, Mascagni and Leoncavallo. | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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Nézet-Séguin has been principal conductor of the Orchestra Métropolitan since March 2000. He is Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and in May 2009 received the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award. “Here, as in the Seventh [Nézet-Séguin] is able to balance expressive suppleness with a firm enough sense of structure, relishing the spacious acoustic without allowing it to weigh the music down...[He] is clearly developing into a very interesting Bruckner conductor, and he may yet displace a few big names in this symphony.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2010 **** | | | (also available to download from $21.25) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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Yannick Nézet-Séguin is an international phenomenon. In August 2008 he makes his debut at the Salzburg Festival conducting Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” and the Mozart C minor Mass. In September he takes over as Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, replacing Valery Gergiev. The same month he assumes the role of Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic. ATMA released Nézet-Séguin’s recording of the Bruckner Symphony 7 last year and Symphony No. 8 will be recorded in 2009. | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | La Mer
“…Nézet-Séguin's traversal of the opening 'De l'aube à midi sure la mer'… seems just a little tentative in phrasing, the climactic crash of waves at the movement's peroration without the startling rush and immediacy of the Shui recording. This slightly careful attitude marginally softens the impact of what is in many ways a very sensitive and admirably nuanced performance.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2008 **** “The Metropolitan Orchestra of Montreal may not be so well known outside Canada as the great Montreal Symphony Orchestra, but here under music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin they show what a formidable band they are, offering performances both incisive and refined in every department. The rarity is the orchestral showpiece Kaléidoscope, written by the Québécois composer Pierre Mercure... a powerful, enjoyable piece that reflects the Debussian example on the one hand but the influence of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring on the other in its sharply motoric rhythms.” Gramophone Magazine, Janurary 2008 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin has won rave reviews for his masterful interpretations of Bruckner’s symphonies both at home and as far afield as Australia. Recently appointed music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Nézet-Séguin’s performances of Bruckner have been praised for“the vividness and ardour of his reading[s]” (Sydney Morning Herald). This highly-anticipated recording of Bruckner’s monumental 7th symphony was made following a series of live performances of the work with the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal last September. “Like all good Bruckner interpreters [Nézet-Séguin] made the abrupt , , , changes of gear sound natural and unforced, giving the impression of a mighty planet gradually orbiting around its axis” Sydney Morning Herald | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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