Future Releases

Until his retirement in 2009, Alfred Brendel was renowned the world over for his mastery of the Classical repertoire that pushed forwards the boundaries of the piano at the turn of the 18th century. Here are his early recordings of these subtle and dramatic concertos and sonatas, all stereo and all as fresh and dynamic in impact as when they were recorded over 50 years ago.

Alfred Brendel’s early recordings for Vanguard may long have been scorned by the pianist himself as he sought ever to refine in particular his mastery of the Classical repertoire, but they have stood the test of time.

Brendel’s way with Beethoven back then was perhaps more eruptive, his Mozart less suave, and in the concertos he was accompanied by stalwarts of the music scene in postwar Vienna. This set includes Beethoven’s complete sonatas and concertos as well as the Choral Fantasy, various bagatelles and many of the more obscure variation sets as well as a splendid early traversal of the Diabelli variations. Eight Mozart concerto recordings include his favourite ‘Jeunehomme’ K271, which he returned to many times during the course of his career, including his very last concert and recording; smaller Mozart works in size rather than expressive content include the masterly quintet for piano and winds, the C minor Fantasy and endlessly consoling A minor Rondo.

Leo Brouwer had a promising career as a virtuoso guitarist ahead of him - until an injury to his left hand stopped him from progressing any further. The Cuban then turned his attention to conducting and teaching, both of which would become crucial aspects of his life. Indeed, it was for the purposes of teaching that Brouwer wrote the studies that we find on this disc, although they have proved to be much more than rudimentary training tools.

The first group of studies (published in 1971) showcases a vibrant creativity, with each concentrating on a particular, and sometimes neglected, area of guitar performance. This is also true of the Nuevos studios sencillos (2003), although the skills demonstrated are motivated by the characteristics of the music of different composers - so that the composer's personal style is essentially the basis of the study, such as the arpeggios of Claude Debussy and the tremolos of Francisco Tárrega. Each of the pensive and tense Preludios epigramáticos (1981) is based on a poem by Miguel Hernández, who was executed in prison during Franco's regime.

Turin-born Emanuele Buono is an internationally acclaimed performer. Among the many prestigious awards that he has received are the gold medal at the Parkening International Competition (2009), the 'Golden guitar' at the XIII Convegno Internazionale in Alessandria (2008) and first prize at the Concorso Internazionale Agustín Barrios in Nuoro (2012).

Joseph Haydn, often referred to as ‘The Father of the Symphony’, has an enormous 109 of these works to his name. Within his vast oeuvre of symphonies is a group of 12, written between 1781 and 1795, which are known as the ‘London’ symphonies, composed during or for his two visits to the English capital. Brimming with inspiration and character, the ‘London’ symphonies contain many of the legendary moments of Haydn’s works, including the drumroll opening of No.103, the ticking of the clock in the Andante of No.101, the jubilant sound of the triangle in the finale of the ‘Military’, and that arresting interjection of the timpani in the ‘Surprise’.

This collection brings together these wonderful works, each of which contributed to Haydn’s crafting of the symphonic form that would later be taken up by none other than his pupil and friend, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra was formed by Adam Fischer in 1987 with the express purpose of performing the works of the revered composer. The Orchestra is rather appropriately based in the Esterházy Palace - where Haydn was resident for much of his life - and has toured extensively throughout Europe, the USA and Asia, performing in events such as the Mozart Festival (New York) and the BBC Proms (London).

A masterpiece of Italian dramatic opera, ‘La Gioconda’ is Amilcare Ponchielli’s finest work. Throughout the tragic tale of love, deception and revenge, Ponchielli’s score wonderfully weaves together tender intimacy and fierce power as the events unfold. Upon discovering that married woman Laura is having an affair with her former fiancé Enzo, manipulative Barnaba persuades the lovers to elope, with the hope of ensnaring Gioconda - who Barnada knows is in love with Enzo - for himself. Gioconda, learning of the planned elopement, sets out to murder her rival but is shocked to discover her mother’s rosary around Laura’s neck…

The opera boasts a wealth of inspired music, including such famous arias and duets as ‘Suicidio!’ and ‘E un anatema!… L'amo come il fulgor creato’ as well as the ‘Dance of the Hours’, one of the most popular ballet excerpts in the repertoire and which was even given the Disney treatment in the 1940 film Fantasia.

The recording is taken from Stagione Lirica’s 2012 season at the Teatro Verdi in Salerno, Italy. In the title role is acclaimed Chinese soprano Hui He, who has been enthralling audiences all over the world since her debut in 2003. Supporting her are Luciana D’Intino and Carlo Striuli, and the whole ensemble is directed by Yishai Steckler.

When Franz Liszt overheard Camille Saint-Saëns playing the organ at the Madeleine in Paris, he hailed the young Frenchman as the ‘greatest organist in the world’. Saint-Saëns’talents did not end there: he was a gifted composer - among his most famous works are ‘The Carnival of the Animals’ and ‘Danse Macabre’ - and, naturally, the symphony in which he used his own virtuoso instrument would become his one of his best-loved works. This collection brings together his revered ‘Organ’ Symphony and the Symphony in F ‘Urbs Roma’.

Saint-Saëns originally subtitled Symphony No.3 in C minor Op.87 (unusually arranged in just two movements) as simply avec orgue; the organ does not feature as a solo instrument, but its presence alongside the orchestra adds an exciting dimension to the piece, especially in the lowest pedal notes and the delightful dialogues between the organ and strings. The addition of the arpeggios of the piano part (scored for four hands) provides a wonderful contrast to the organ’s thunderous notes. The Symphony in F ‘Urbs Roma’ is the longest of Saint-Saëns’symphonic compositions, and remained unpublished during the composer’s lifetime. The first movement brims with elegant strings, while the subsequent Molto vivace invokes a whirring dance. The third movement has been described as a ‘funeral march for the death of an empire’, after which the ensuing Poco allegretto - Andante con moto brings the work to a tranquil end. The works are performed by the Orchestre National de l’ORTF conducted by Jean Martinon, featuring acclaimed organist Bernard Gavoty.

Such was his renown in the musical world ('one of the most celebrated Masters of the Science of Musick in the Kingdom and scarce inferior to any in Europe'), when Henry Purcell tragically died aged only 36 in 1695, he was essentially afforded a state funeral. This collection brings together the composer's complete works for strings.

Showing Purcell's success as a cutting-edge composer, both sets of sonatas showcase the contrapuntal technique with which he would become so intimately linked, demonstrating the techniques that Purcell detailed in John Playford's The Introduction to the Skill of Musick of 1694.

The act of pushing the boundaries of composition here is in stark contrast to the Fantasias, which resurrected a form that had been long since forgotten. The use of the viol - rather than its more modern counterpart, the violin - is also a curious choice, but this series of works may in fact be the last written for viol consort. Among them in this special collection is the magnificent 'Golden Sonata' as well as the 'One Note Fantasia', in which the tenor viol plays a sustained middle C for the entire piece, perhaps showing Purcell's impish sense of humour, with the part being intended for a particularly unskilled player.

The works are performed by Musica Amphion, a group dedicated to performing works of the 17th and 18th centuries on period instruments. The ensemble was formed in 1993 by harpsichordist Pieter-Jan Belder and the leader is violinist Rémy Baude, who is also concertmaster of Frans Brüggen's Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - virtuoso organist and composer of a wealth of orchestral, chamber and vocal music - is one of the most influential composers ever to have lived, one whose works form an established part of the repertoire of every instrument for which he wrote. This collection comprises the Goldberg Variations BWV988, a composition that takes its name from a young pupil of Bach, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who was in the service of Count von Keyserlingk. The Count was a notoriously bad sleeper, and requested of Bach a series of pieces for Goldberg to play to him when he could not sleep; he then considered the work to be 'his', although it is widely referred to by the name of its performer. The variations are in groups of three, with the last in each group being a canon and the final variation weaving together two popular song melodies into a quodlibet. The variations range in character, and feature fughettas, a French overture, ornamental slow arias as well as virtuosic pieces for two manuals.

The Goldberg Variations are played on a variety of different instruments. The first CD features organist Pieter-Jan Belder, and the second Yuan Sheng on piano. The variations of CD3 are performed on the organ by Elena Barshai, while the Amati String Trio -- Gil Sharon, violin; Ron Ephrat, viola; Alexander Hülshoff, cello - feature on the final disc of the collection.

Fame is a strange thing. Although Johann Friedrich Fasch was highly esteemed by his contemporaries and the generations of musicians who followed him, in the concert repertoire of today he is grouped together with many minor masters who wrote a lot of works that sadly communicate very little. Yet music scholar Johann Adolf Scheibe put Fasch into the same class as Telemann, and J.S. Bach possessed copies of several of the composer's works. This release therefore aims to expose the genius of Fasch, and in doing so to help restore appreciation for what has become a largely forgotten corpus of deftly written, utterly absorbing music.

Fasch made his name largely through his overtures, works which in the 17th and 18th centuries referred to a series of dance movements prefaced by an extensive introduction of pompous gravity. Two are explored in this release - the Overture in D minor and the Overture in B flat 'a due cori', arranged by M. Fechner and E. Steinsdorff respectively - and they are followed by a selection of Fasch's sonatas for two oboes and bassoon, with and without basso continuo, works whose details (such as free, fantasy-like episodes to be played at a slow pace) reveal a rich field for experimentation. A Concerto in D and a Sonata for 2 oboes and 2 bassoons also feature, and overall one is struck by this composer's highly personal style of chamber music -- a stark contrast to the ingratiating melodies and harmonic suavity of his large-scale instrumental pieces.

Recorded during 1986--87, the overtures and Concerto in D are played by esteemed ensemble Virtuosi Saxoniae (all members of the Staatskapelle Dresden) under the directorship of renowned trumpeter Ludwig Güttler. The sonatas complete the all-German line-up of musicians; renowned oboists Burkhard Glaetzner and Ingo Goritzki feature among others.

Carl Loewe was born in Löbejün, studied in Halle, toured through Germany in his mid-20s and then secured an appointment as professor and Kantor at the Gymnasium and seminary in Stettin (formerly in Prussia, now in Poland), where he remained for the rest of his life. A contemporary of Schubert, he was a central figure in Stettin's musical life, and was a prolific composer of songs and oratorio to cater for the increasing musical appetite of the late-19th-century German bourgeoisie.

Loewe is today remembered for his treatment of the ballad, a relatively new genre at that time which took the form of a lengthy story comprising many verses, characters and dramatic events. Country life, olden or idealised times, love and the passing of time are often the subject matter for his works, which are set to a variety of then-contemporary poets ranging from classical masters Rückert and Schiller to more forward-looking ones such as Chamisso - while Prinz Eugen (1844) recounts the victory of Prince Eugen of Savoy during the Austro-Turkish War of 1716-18, for instance, Süßes Begräbnis describes the final resting place of a shepherdess (1837).

Also included on the release is Loewe's intimate setting of Goethe's Erlkönig, a direct contrast to Schubert's infamous and much more extrovert rendition of the text, composed just one year earlier.

Performing these often over-looked works are the tenor and bass singers Eberhard Büchner and Theo Adam, accompanied by Norman Shetler and Rudolf Dunckel respectively. The two duos cover all manner of moods in what are highly atmospheric pieces, and in doing so offer a strong case for why Loewe - nicknamed the 'Schubert of North Germany' in his day - deserves to be better known.

Packed with intrigue, jealousy and revenge, Beatrice di Tenda is a tragic opera in two acts that retells the final months of one of Renaissance history's most fascinating and ill-fated characters. The work was written after ‘Norma’ and before ‘I puritani’, and therefore stands as Bellini's penultimate opera, a bel canto composition of transitional flavour that drew on 15th-century accounts and more recent studies of the Visconti era for its subject matter. Beatrice di Tenda, widow of Facino Cane and a high-minded but powerconscious woman of mature years, is married to the young Filippo Maria Visconti, whose station has been considerably improved by Beatrice's dowry of property and armies. Instead of feeling grateful towards his wife, however, Filippo is tired of the much older Beatrice, and decides to take Agnese del Maino - one of her ladies-inwaiting - as his mistress. But Agnese is in love with a nobleman called Orombello, who himself is enamoured of Beatrice. Gradually becoming more suspecting of his wife's innocent relationship with the signore of Ventimiglia, and increasingly incensed by the rebellion of Facino's one-time followers who resent their new ruler, Filippo finally decides to rid himself of Beatrice by accusing her of adultery and conspiracy.

Subjected to torture along with Orombello, Beatrice was tried and eventually beheaded in 1418. First performed on 16 March 1833, ‘Beatrice di Tenda’, evidently more reserved in terms of musical resources when compared to the vocal pyrotechnics of its predecessor, was only half-heartedly received by the public, its number of performances gradually diminishing thereafter. In recent years, however, the work has undergone a resurgence in popularity, thanks largely to the American Opera Society's revival of the opera in 1961 (which featured Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne among others). This acclaimed recording is based on a production of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, which presented Beatrice di Tenda in a series of concert performances in 1992.