Coming Soon,
Sokolov's Rachmaninov 3 and other tempting treats
What's caught our collective eye in the Presto office this week as we browsed through the upcoming releases? Well, some excitingly full-fat Haydn, for starters...plus two very different Rachmaninov discs on Deutsche Grammophon (one from a veteran pianist, another from one of the most thrilling 'young pretenders' on the block!), and a crop of lieder recitals (each with a little twist of their own!) from three of the classiest baritones around…
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 & Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 (out 10th March)
Grigory Sokolov (piano); Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Trevor Pinnock; BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier
Concerto recordings from the enigmatic Russian pianist are rarer than hens' teeth, so these two performances from 2005 (the Mozart) and 1995 (the Rachmaninov) look set to become collectors' items - with the added bonus of an hour-long documentary by filmmaker Nadya Zhdanova, including footage of Sokolov's Tchaikovsky Competition victory in 1966.
Available Format: CD + DVD Video
Haydn: The Seasons (out 24th March)
Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Jeremy Ovenden (tenor), Andrew Foster-Williams (bass); Wrocław Baroque Orchestra, Wrocław Philharmonic Choir & Gabrieli Players, Paul McCreesh
Paul McCreesh's super-sized accounts of Mendelssohn's Elijah and Britten's War Requiem were great hits in the Presto office (and beyond!), so we're mightily looking forward to hearing this large-scale account of Haydn's Seasons, complete with a 70-strong choir, massed string section and ten horns!
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Preghiera - Rachmaninov: Piano Trios (out 24th February)
Gidon Kremer (violin), Daniil Trifonov (piano), Giedrė Dirvanauskaitė (cello)
Following the widespread success of his 'uncannily fine' (The New York Times) disc of Rachmaninov Variations in 2015, Daniil Trifonov joins forces with his mentor Gidon Kremer and Lithuanian cellist friend Giedrė Dirvanauskaitė to tackle the piano trios.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Tides of Life
Candida Thompson (violin) & Thomas Hampson (baritone), Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Netherlands Female Youth Choir
The veteran American baritone performs Samuel Barber's Dover Beach and lieder by Brahms, Schubert and Wolf in new arrangements for voice and string ensemble by the English composer David Matthews.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Adam: Giselle (out 3rd March)
Marianela Nuñez (Giselle), Vadim Muntagirov (Count Albrecht); Orchestra of The Royal Opera House, Barry Wordsworth
Peter Wright’s much-loved Royal Ballet production receives another outing on DVD and blu-ray, with Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov displaying 'absolute mastery' (The Guardian) as the eponymous heroine and her lover in this 2016 performance from Covent Garden.
Available Format: DVD Video
The peerless German baritone and his long-term musical partner can sell out a recital-venue in the blink of an eye, so they're sure to provide compelling advocates for Brahms's unfairly neglected anthology of songs dealing with courtly love.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
![Schubert: Winterreise [DVD] (out 10th March)](https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiODI3MDEzMS4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE0ODU1MjkwNTZ9)
Schubert: Winterreise [DVD] (out 10th March)
Matthias Goerne (baritone), Markus Hinterhäuser (piano)
Filmed at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2015, Goerne & Hinterhäuser's 'singularly memorable' (BachTrack) 'Winter Journey' is supplemented by a series of short black and white silent films by South African artist and theatre director William Kentridge.
Available Format: DVD Video
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
