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Omar Ebrahim (baritone), Hyacinth Nicholls (mezzo-soprano), Darren Abrahams (tenor), James Laing (counter-tenor), Kevin West (tenor), Maureen Brathwaite (soprano), Karina Lucas (mezzo-soprano) & Rodney Clarke (baritone) The Young Vic, David Charles Abell Born on 18 July 1959, Jonathan Dove is one of Britain’s leading composers of opera, choral works, theatre, film, orchestral, and chamber music. His community opera Tobias and the Angel premiered in 1999 at Christ Church, Highbury Fields in London, was taken up in 2005 by the Young Vic / English Touring Opera during the refurbishment of the Theatre’s regular venue, and was the first opera performed at the newly revamped Young Vic in 2006. The libretto, by David Lan, is based on the Book of Tobit from the biblical Apocrypha. Dove has written more than twenty operatic works on a wide range of subjects and is the most performed contemporary opera composer in the UK. The colourfully biblical story of Tobit, who is blinded after daring to give a fellow Jew a proper burial, and the ensuing adventures of his son, Tobias, is vividly portrayed. The story particularly appealed to the composer, who said: ‘The tale has a mystical aspect, but also the character of a Jewish folk-tale, especially the scene in which Tobias is threatened by a huge fish, kills it, and is instructed to take out its heart and gall – which turn out to have magical healing properties.’ Although the racial oppression and demonic possession which are part of this work are fully developed, it is undoubtedly one of Dove’s brightest, even serene, scores, possessing immense appeal and communicative power. The nine instruments of the orchestra provide plenty of colour, for example effectively evoking the Jewish elements of a klezmer band, and David Lan’s libretto does a masterly job in telling the story in an almost cinematic way. This is the work’s premiere recording. “...there's a wealth of invention and imagination here which gives it a value beyond the walls of a theatre, church or any other performing space...Darren Abrahams perfectly captures the early naïveté of Tobias...and his evolution into a calm and poised husband, while countertenor James Laing exudes serenity as the accompanying angel.” International Record Review, July/August 2010 “The solo roles are expertly cast and sung, with magnificent support from the children's and adult choruses...As a purely aural experience this is a deeply satisfying production. Everyone involved sounds as though they are having the time of their lives. An outstanding release.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2010 “Darren Abrahams’s youthful tenor is well suited to Tobias, hero of this apocryphal biblical yarn about listening to your heart. And Dove’s attractive score (like John Adams sprinkled with Britten, plus a little Jewish folk music) bounces brightly out of the speakers.” The Times, 31st July 2010 **** “...the vocal style is in Dove's recognisable voice and listener-friendly mode...fluent and memorably lyrical. As a musical dramatist, one of Dove's strengths is that he knows when to let the music take the back seat and allow us to concentrate on the words and action.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2010 **** “...this Chandos release bristles with a fresh, zesty vitality that is wholly becoming. Performances throughout are exemplary: the Tobias of Darren Abrahams adroitly pitched between innocence and juvenile brio, countertenor James Laing’s Raphael potently serene and full of otherworldly nuance...A delight from start to finish.” Michael Quinn, bbc.co.uk, 25th August 2010 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Since Vladimir Ashkenazy’s debut with Decca in 1963, with more than 200 albums as pianist or conductor, he has never recorded the Six Partitas. The ‘master musician’ (Sydney Morning Herald) infuses a lifetime of pianistic and philosophical discernment into the Six Partitas of Bach. This album will become an obligatory purchase for Bach and Ashkenazy fans: a summit-meeting of masters. “Bach's impervious logicality here applied to such frothy material as the opening "Praeambulum" to the Partita No 5 in G major, and its later "Passepied" and "Gigue", where the balance of formality and courtly danceability is held in perfect equilibrium by Ashkenazy.” The Independent, 2nd July 2010 **** “...he plays them with uncomplicated joy, content to let Bach’s poetry and intellectual fibre speak for themselves. Articulation is crisp without ever being mannered, and the speedy dance numbers really dance. Stately preludes stand proud and tall...while the sarabandes shimmer with beauty.” The Times, 17th July 2010 **** “Bach's music seems to have lit a youthful spark under Vladimir Ashkenazy's 70-something fingers, and in fact there's nothing remotely arthritic about these joyful, invigorating and technically impressive Partita interpretations...Ashkenazy's innate musicality, impeccable taste and obvious love for these works permeate every bar.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2010 “His playing is intense, focused, almost austere....Ashkenazy refuses to seduce us with tonal opulence on this engrossing recording, yet that itself is a kind of seduction.” The Telegraph, 6th August 2010 **** “Ashkenazy's dexterity is breathtaking. The bounding left hand of self-fulfilling sequences of the Capriccio and the breathless Gigue (No. 2) are thrilling...At the other extreme, Ashkenazy is intensely sensitive...A fascinating opportunity for direct access to Bach, with minimal obstruction from his interpreter,” BBC Music Magazine, September 2010 **** “The thrill of fresh discovery runs through this set, with some exciting movements – like the last of Partita No 2 – dashed off with effortless virtuosity, while the sarabandes are very intense and sustained.” The Observer, 15th August 2010 “Ashkenazy's new recording stands high among recent versions of the Partitas on the modern piano” International Record Review, October 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Dvorak - Symphony No. 7
Iván Fischer: There are many hidden treasures among Dvorák’s works and it is a particular pleasure for me to present the beautiful Suite for Orchestra in A major on this disc. I think it should be performed more often in concerts, and I sincerely hope that this recording will inspire orchestras to extend their Dvorák repertoire with this composition of enchanting beauty, lyricism and freshness. The 7th Symphony is among the greatest masterpieces. Symphonies, which start in a minor and end in a major key, like Beethoven’s fifth, Mahler’s first and many others take us from sadness to happiness, from tragedy to jubilation. But here Dvorák sustains the D minor to the very end: he turns to D major only in the final six bars! It is an extraordinary structure, an incredible development creating irresistible excitement. Iván Fischer is founder and Music Director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C. The partnership between Iván Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra has proved to be one of the greatest success stories in the past 25 years of classical music. Fischer introduced several reforms, developed intense rehearsal methods for the musicians, emphasizing chamber music and creative work for each orchestra member. Intense international touring and a series of acclaimed recordings for Philips Classics, later for Channel Classics have contributed to Iván Fischer's reputation as one of the world's most visionary and successful orchestra leaders. “This remains a youthful orchestra, and each of its tours and recordings has the atmosphere of a festival...Fischer maintains the momentum throughout [the Seventh], giving his woodwind soloists plenty of time to luxuriate in Dvorak’s inexhaustible stream of melodic ideas, yet never driving the music.” Sunday Times, 23rd May 2010 **** “The turmoil of the opening movement of Dvorak's Seventh Symphony has rarely sounded so thrilling. The Budapest Festival Orchestra's cellos and double basses bite into this work with panther-like agility...Ivan Fischer balances vigour with softness” The Independent on Sunday, 30th May 2010 “Fischer's approach is certainly involved with the work's expressive character, but also with Dvorak's strong symphonic control. The musical argument in the first movement is powerful...Fischer and the orchestra are at their best in the finale with puropseful development and a spine-tingling close - often the point at which some of the finest interpretations fall down.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2010 *** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Nicholas Angelich plays Brahms
Pianist Nicholas Angelich continues his authoritative and insightful survey of Brahms with his Piano Concerto No.2. In the past, Gramophone has praised Angelich’s “trenchant, focused Brahms,” describing him as “a formidable player … whose performances … are of a wholly exceptional drama, sweep and impeccable craftsmanship.” “Angelich has the titanic technique that has to be the first port of call in tackling music of this magnitude and power. The tone he produces here has weight, depth and richness throughout the range...This is a magnificent disc, and deserves pride of place in any Brahms-lover’s library.” The Telegraph, 21st May 2010 ***** “Angelich's approach in the concerto combines all the necessary power and technical skill in the first two movements with great finesse in the slow movement and finale; it's a mainstream performance that springs few surprises, but never leaves any doubts about its sense of direction or integrity.” The Guardian, 27th May 2010 **** “There is a sense in which the Second Piano Concerto is...chamber music writ large. Yet there is nothing small-scale about this performance...Angelich produces a rich and solid tone-quality throughout its full range, with exceptionally powerful lower-register playing...[He] is also on excellent form for the Op. 76 pieces...with wonderul rhythmic vitality” BBC Music Magazine, August 2010 **** “Angelich's approach is essentially lyrical. He employs an infinitely calibrated palette of extreme dynamic contrasts to launch contoured phrases of great refinement...[communicating] his tremendous love for this august masterpiece, born of a deep-seated musicality and compelling intelligence that are entirely his own.” International Record Review, July/August 2010 “[Angelich] has made a speciality in Brahms, music superbly suited to his awe-inspiring gifts. For here is a young Titan of the keyboard...Few pianists in my experience have sensed Brahms's emotional turbulence to such an acute degree...these works have rarely, if ever, received finer performances.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Live Recording from The Salzburger Festspiele, 2004
Set Design by Peter Pabst. Arthaus presents one of the most talked about productions of recent Salzburg festival years – the 2004 staging of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier. The musical comedy has a deep-rooted performance tradition at the Salzburg Festival, but Robert Carsen’s new reading opened up a new view of this operatic staple while Semyon Bychkov leading the Vienna Philharmonic and a cast of internationally renowned singers guaranteed a high musical standard. Semyon Bychkov conducts Strauss with fl exible nuances and a great deal of energy and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung praised the conductor’s ability “to make the dense textures of the score transparent and to throw light on the subtleties of the instrumentation”. The musical side of the performance was additionally sustained by the experience and longstanding Strauss tradition of the Vienna Philharmonic, according to the Münchner Merkur, the only “orchestra in the world that is capable of such decadent excesses and such gloriously honed waltzes.” Carsen marked the work with a coherent vision, cleverly holding its three acts and almost 200 stage personnel together. The wide stage of the Großes Festspielhaus allowed him to keep the main action centre-stage, while the surrounding spaces were used to comment on the action. Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1 Picture Format: 16:9 DVD Format: DVD 9 & DVD 5, NTSC Subtitle Languages: DE, GB, FR, ES, IT Running Time: 201 mins FSK: 0 “Adrianne Pieczonka's Marschallin gives a telling portryal of a modern woman thoroughly enjoying her liaison in middle age...Miah Persson is an adorable Sophie and Franz Hawlata, playing Baron Ochs as a not-so-old military man, is less the ineffectual figure of ridicule than usual...Semyon Bychkov unleashes a gutsy, Bavarian kind of Strauss” Gramophone Magazine, September 2010 “a thoughtful presentation, finely sung by a distinguished cast and wonderfully conducted by Bychkov.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2010 ***** “very fine indeed...the cast has no weak link. Adrianne Pieczonka looks excactly right as the Marschallin and sings and acts very movingly throughout...The very boyish Angelika Kirchschlager is perfectly cast as Octavian and, like the lovely Sophie (Miah Persson) sings very beautifully...Brian Large's video direction is near-perfect” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition **** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Franck: Symphonic Variations & Piano Pieces
Following his highly acclaimed award-winning debut album on Naïve, Bertrand Chamayou collaborates with one of Europe’s leading symphony orchestras, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, to record solo and orchestral works by César Franck. Fuelled by the desire to bring César Franck’s music out of obscurity, Bertrand Chamayou here demonstrates wonderfully why Franck’s music should be an essential element in the concerto repertory of a virtuoso pianist. The programme here features the four great works Franck wrote for the piano – each one, rarely recorded. Though ‘Prélude, choral et fugue’ and ‘Variations Symphoniques’ appear frequently in concert programmes, the other works recorded here are less well-known. ‘Prélude, aria et final’ is a genuine neglected masterpiece. Chamayou states in his booklet note that “It is an example of the quintessence of Franck’s art, a virtually perfect work”. The scintillating symphonic poem, Les Dijnns, follows and can be said to clearly affirm Franck’s status as the direct successor of Liszt. The recording ends with ‘Prélude, fugue et variation’ - a work that possesses undeniable charm and melodic grace that has excited envy among pianists. Chamayou opts to perform the rare and delightful salon arrangement by the composer himself. “This is an intriguing collection of César Franck's five works involving a solo piano...[Chamayou] demonstrates that both the solo-piano Prélude, Aria et Final and Les Djinns, a compact symphonic poem for piano and orchestra based upon a Victor Hugo poem, deserve to be heard far more frequently.” The Guardian, 6th May 2010 ** “The Prélude, Choral et Fugue has long been among the keyboard repertoire’s toughest challenges, and here its sturdy counterpoint, elaborate flourishes, ripe textures and serpentine harmonies are conveyed with impressive panache and interpretative seriousness by the young French pianist Bertrand Chamayou.” The Telegraph, 21st May 2010 ***** “This is an outstanding release in every way. In fact, I cannot recall another that included all Franck's masterpieces for the piano on a single disc and in which, moreover, every performance goes straight to the top of recommended recordings.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2010 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Coull Quartet play Sibelius
SOMM’s successful collaboration with the Coull Quartet continues this month with an unusual CD release of chamber music by Sibelius featuring the String Quartet ‘Voces Intimae’ in D minor which has had a handful of previous recordings and the Piano Quintet in G minor, with pianist Martin Roscoe, which is even less well represented in the CD catalogue. “Martin Roscoe and the Coull Quartet take [the Piano Quintet] seriously as chamber music...[and] demonstrate well enough what a coherently and originally argued work the mature Voces Intimae Quartet is” BBC Music Magazine, August 2010 **** “...the Coulls prove unflashy, dedicated and profoundly humane interpreters of the great D minor Quartet...scrupulously faithful to both the letter and the spirit of the score, and their pacing throughout strikes me as pretty much spot-on…Acquire with confidence!” Gramophone Magazine, September 2010 “Roscoe and the Coull Quartet play [the Quintet] with sympathy and conviction, and their eloquence shows the work to best advantage. In Voces intimae the Coull show show themselves as well attuned to the spirit (and letter) of this lovely score. The Somm recording is truthful and well balanced...a useful addition to the Sibelius discography.” International Record Review, October 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Chopin - Cello Sonatas
Chopin’s name inevitably dominates this line-up of Polish composers, especially in this bi-centenary year of 2010 when every note of his is being re-explored. Certain works of the prolific but short-lived Szymanowski, particularly his two violin concertos and the concert pieces for violin and piano, maintain their popularity internationally but that leaves so much still to be discovered. And the name of Simon Laks is only just beginning to emerge from oblivion. His cello sonata here receives its first recording. Simon Laks wrote his Sonata in the early 1930s expressly for the great French cellist Maurice Maréchal. The piano part was first played by Vlado Perlemuter in 1932, the partnership a testimony to the composer’s standing in the city. The piece remains to this day in the hand-writing of Laks, uncorrected but very readable. The 1930s’ musical scene in Paris was dominated by the likes of Ravel, Poulenc and Honegger – and Gershwin - and the influence of each can be glimpsed in the writing. The night-club atmosphere of the central movement is indebted to Ravel’s ‘Blues’ movement in his violin sonata (same key, same smoky sleaziness). Strict sonata form serves Laks well in the first movement, the second subject almost Fauré-esque in its delicious, side-stepping harmony. Had he not been removed so cruelly from the forefront of music and sent to the concentration camp, who knows what wonderful scores he might have composed later? Instead, he turned to film music and a rather more hum-drum life of obscurity from which, 30 years after his death, he is only now beginning to come to the public’s attention. “First up is the famous Chopin, which in Wallfisch's hands flows like a river of silk, pulsing with a burnished warmth, spontaneity and vigour. His long partnership with York is shown at its best, instinctive and flexible...Their soulful reading of Glazunov's transcription of the E flat Etude is one to cherish.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2010 **** “There's an air of spontaneity, yet the expressive weight of each phrase is carefully considered, by York as well as by Wallfisch, giving the whole work a powerful sense of unity...Their grand gestures [in the Szymanowski] carry complete conviction and sweep us along.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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Julia Fischer confirms her position as a foremost virtuoso of the violin with her assured ascent of an Everest of the solo violin repertoire – Paganini’s towering and fiendishly challenging 24 Caprices. “The Caprices represent twenty-four moods, little musical ideas, each one different, each one appealing.” (Julia Fischer) As her second Decca album, the Caprices is advantageously positioned to build on the success of her Bach Concertos release in 2009. “… an intuitive Bachian. Her phrasing is elegant and she has an unerring feeling for Bach’s broad architectural melodic contours.” (BBC Music Magazine) Julia Fischer, one of classical music’s most technically accomplished, poised, and versatile violinists, is an artist of musical integrity. Such is the range of her talent that she could enjoy a career as a concert pianist. Look out for her first DVD (a simultaneous release) in which she performs a stunning Saint-Saëns 3rd Violin Concerto as well as Grieg’s Piano Concerto. “Julia Fischer certainly has the technical equipment for this challenging music...Her technique, however, is not of the showy kind; the particular strength of these performances is the way each piece emerges as an example of romantic tone-painting rather than just a virtuoso showpiece.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2010 “Fischer finds captivating solutions to the conundrum of bringing expression and character to music of hair-raising difficulty...[she] brings to this tricky music a wealth of bravura and imagination.” The Telegraph, 6th August 2010 **** “She finds a quality of inward communing that is most appealing, so you never get a sense of “display for display’s sake” as one Caprice succeeds another: No 6 has extraordinary spectral beauty, Nos 20 and 22 a poetic mystique.” Financial Times, 28th August 2010 **** “German superstar Julia Fischer gives a giddily virtuosic account of the 24 caprices for solo violin, making a strong case for them as proper music rather than mere ear-popping, fiendishly difficult fiddler's sparklers.” The Observer, 22nd August 2010 “...it is something of a surprise to find [Fischer] recording Paganini’s notoriously showy Caprices. Less surprising is Fischer’s serious treatment of these fiendishly difficult pieces as music of genuine stature, rooted in and inspired by the golden age of violin-playing (and making), the high baroque.” Sunday Times, 29th August 2010 **** “Fischer plays these notorious finger-breakers as though they were amongst the most treasured pieces in the repertoire...she dons the various rhetorical disguises Paganini assumes...with engaging aplomb...Fischer's ability to impart a convincing emotional narrative to each piece is hard to overlook - it makes for compelling listening.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2010 **** “Her spot-on intonation and even tone-production throughout is a marvel...She sees each caprice not as a display vehicle but as representing a different mood...She succeeds admirably.” Classic FM Magazine, November 2010 ***** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Peace of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713. The treaties among several European states, including Great Britain, France, Spain, Savoy, and the Dutch Republic, helped end the War of the Spanish Succession. The treaties were concluded between the representatives of Louis XIV of France and Philip V of Spain on the one hand, and representatives of Queen Anne of Great Britain, the Duke of Savoy, the King of Portugal and the United Provinces on the other. This was the first peace achieved through diplomacy, with thanks to the hospitality of Utrecht. The Peace of Utrecht was celebrated in 1713 with music, festive fireworks and specially commissioned compositions such as the Utrecht Te Deum and Utrecht Jubilate by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) and the Ode for the Peace of Utrecht by William Croft (1678-1727). In 2013, Utrecht once again will be the host, stage and partner of festivities, arts and culture. Founded in 1921, The Netherlands Bach Society is the oldest Early Music ensemble in the Netherlands, and possibly in the whole world. Yet along with the musicians, its artistic director Jos van Veldhoven is still continually in search of contemporary ways of presenting this music, whether it be the traditional performances of the St. Matthew Passion in Naarden, other works by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) or music by his predecessors, successors, contemporaries and fellow spirits. “...the performances, with Jos van Veldhoven conducting the Netherlands Bach Society, are terrific...the fires of political and humanitarian justice still blaze in the majesty of the choral singing and the elation of the playing.” The Guardian, 8th July 2010 ***** “The instrumental performance is airy, the choral singing sturdy and joyous, while William Towers and Peter Harvey beguile in Croft's duet on a ground bass, "Peace Is the Song".” The Independent, 18th July 2010 “Jos van Veldhoven's excellent Dutch musicians are joined by a team of mostly English soloists...The Netherlands Bach Society fires on all cylinders in the Jubilate...The choir handles lively counterpoint intuitively...Contrasts between penitent intimacy and and colourful magnificence are managed shrewdly by Veldhoven.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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| |  | The 1956 Nixa-Westminster stereo recordings Volume 1
A release that all Boult fans have been waiting for :- Cockaigne is the first release in the UK in any format. Most works are first releases on CD of the original Westminster source masters. First stereo release on CD & first stereo release in UK of Cockaigne, Young Person’s Guide, Soireés musicales & Matineés musicales. First release on CD of Elgar’s Falstaff from tape source. All recorded at Walthamstow Assembly Halls in 1956, re-mastered at Abbey Road Studios 2010. “...the performances of Britten and Walton...give a wider sense of Boult's sympathies as an interpreter. this account of Falstaff, in particular, has never been bettered for its sense of drama and narrative flow...The orchestral sound...generally stands up well in these transfers.” The Guardian, 3rd June 2010 *** “The Walton Symphony...comes up more brightly than previously: it's an intensely rhythmic performance...the slow movement builds surely and passionately, and the finale comes as the culmination and catharsis that it should be” BBC Music Magazine, October 2010 *** | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op.15: I. Allegro con brio
