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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Schumann: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3Recorded live at Wigmore Hall on 19 September 2010, 9 January and 15 May 2011
Awarded the prestigious title of ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ by the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2006, British violinist Anthony Marwood is internationally celebrated for his engaging and insightful performances. For Schumann’s three Violin Sonatas, he is joined by Aleksandar Madžar, recently praised by Classical Music Magazine as matchless ‘in terms of technique and interpretation’. Considered by many to be the product of a tired mind hovering on the edge of insanity, these richly impassioned works are filled with restlessness, melancholy and fractured lyricism. “These works are not universally admired but this duo give as convincing a performance as any, at once febrile and lyrical, the sound well balanced, the musical invention explored to the full.” The Observer, 26th May 2013 | 
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| |  | Recorded live at Wigmore Hall, London, on 26 & 28 January 2012
British mezzo-soprano Alice Coote is acclaimed around the world for her commanding performances in opera, concert and recital, in repertoire spanning from the Baroque to contemporary music. A regular favourite at Wigmore Hall, she returned with Julius Drake in February 2012 to record Schubert’s 'Winterreise'. Traditionally performed by a male singer, this song cycle is celebrated internationally at the pinnacle of the German Lieder tradition. Offering fresh insight, and a unique perspective on the poetry, Coote unravelled this story with raw vulnerability as her heartfelt portrayal of emotional turmoil and destruction proved spectacularly engaging. With pianist Julius Drake expertly setting the tone from the outset, Coote took a kaleidoscope look at love, as she wholeheartedly plunged herself in the devastating story. At times emotionally overwhelming, her subtlety of expression unreservedly expressed a harrowing sense of rejection and loneliness. Truly taking the listener on a journey through the 24 poems, this landmark recording promises to be a must-have for any lover of song. “Alice Coote brings naked intensity to every phrase of the song-cycle” Financial Times, 6th April 2013 *** “Few Winterreises enjoy Coote's colouristic range. She has a soprano's brightness in the upper reaches but welcome mezzo weight that she effectively uses to convey the abrupt arrival of a cold front...comparisons with Coote make Lehmann look bad. The ultimate compliment?” Gramophone Magazine, June 2013 “Coote has introduced into her description of the traveller's plight the vocal modulations and variations that are essential in this cycle. Drake has similarly brought colour and alertness to the piano part.” International Record Review, June 2013 “Her performance doesn't give up its secrets easily. The opening songs suggest a non-interventionist approach, and it's only gradually that we notice gathering complexities of emotion and meaning...this is not a study of mental disintegration, but a painstaking examination of grief that eventually subsides into exhausted resignation. Coote's pianist is Julius Drake, admirably pointillist and comfortless...a formidable experience” The Guardian, 11th April 2013 *** “Coote's interpretation is remarkable not only for the range of timbres employed but for the way in which time stops over the course of the 24 songs in the cycle...A fearless and harrowing reading, half-kiss, half-slap.” The Independent, 18th May 2013 ***** “Coote, a mezzo soprano with glint and power and a sometimes super-charged lower register, is engaged and engaging, drawing you into her numbed and chilling journey of tears and loss, fear, hope and resignation.” The Irish Times, 3rd May 2013 |
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| |  | Simon Trpceski: Schubert, Bach, LisztRecorded live at Wigmore Hall, London, on 18 March 2012
Praised by the Los Angeles Times for his grace, eloquence and the ‘understated beauty of his tone’, Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski shot to fame after winning the London International Piano Competition in 2001. A regular concerto soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras, he also enjoys a busy international career as a chamber musician, and his solo recordings have received recognition as ‘Editor’s Choice’ and ‘Debut Album’ awards from Gramophone. With repertoire rich in nods towards a folk hinterland, Trpceski’s programme for this Wigmore Hall Live CD draws strongly on his deep immersion in national traditions of music and dance throughout his childhood. Schubert’s tuneful 16 German Dances pave the way to what is arguably the composer’s most virtuosic sonata, his ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy. Almost symphonic in scale, Trpceski’s emphatically energetic performance here unleashes an emotional outpouring. By way of a transcription of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A minor BWV543, in which the rich sonorities of the organ work are handsomely explored in an arrangement for piano, the second half of the programme focuses on Liszt. Here, Trpceski demonstrates his wide palette of tone colours with subtly sculpted phrases to explore the depths of these masterpieces. “a proper piano recital - a varied, thoughtfully chosen programme, a rewarding musical and pianistic experience one wants to return to, superbly recorded, classily presented and featuring the playing of a master pianist.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2013 “Trpceski's glittering, diamond-like sound can be a little unyielding in the 104th of the Jeux d'eaux a la Villa d'Este...In playing of such intelligence and precision, wit and charm seem occasionally in short supply. All of these issues, it seems to me, will be addressed in time...Meanwhile, Trpceski is a pianist who excites admiration.” International Record Review, June 2013 “a thoughtfully structured programme, with the 16 German Dances followed by a commanding performance of the Wanderer Fantasy, underpinned by the mix of rhythmic buoyancy and security that seems to come so naturally to Trpceski and deploying a remarkably vivifying spectrum of tonal colour. Architecturally Trpceski tackles the Fantasy with absolute assurance” The Telegraph, 4th April 2013 |
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| |  | Maxim Vengerov plays Bach, Beethoven, Brahms & Wieniawski
A virtuoso of legendary renown, Maxim Vengerov is acclaimed as a musician of the highest order. Following a prodigious debut at the age of five, he has enjoyed a successful career throughout the world and, over the past quarter-century, has been internationally celebrated as a violinist, teacher and conductor. His return to Wigmore Hall in April 2012 will be remembered as one of the great landmarks of the London concert season, as he performed cornerstones of the violin repertoire to a sold-out Hall, confirming his reputation as one of the world’s most dynamic artists. With a warm, rich tone, he created a personal and intimate atmosphere from the very beginning of Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor, which opened the recital. Playful and searching, his soulful outpourings and refined expression resonated deeply though every movement. Vengerov was joined by recital partner Itamar Golan for a fiery and adventurous performance of Beethoven’s grand ‘Kreutzer’ sonata. With an energetic approach, this shining rendition presented both musicians as equal partners in the magnificent masterwork, their ensemble fresh and conversational throughout. The blazing passion is almost tangible in the two encores, Hungarian Dance No. 1 by Brahms, and Scherzo-Tarantella by Wienawski, as Vengerov’s true virtuosity was fully unleashed to awe-inspiring effect. Marking his much anticipated return to the performance platform, this recording is an absolute ‘must-have’. “He takes a while to warm up in the Bach Partita, and the opening Allemanda sounds cautious at first...The great final Chaconne has some awkward moments, not least in pacing and tonal firmness, though there are magical changes of colour. In the Beethoven there's more consistency...I imagine this was a thrilling concert.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2013 *** “Is Vengerov as good as he ever was? Time will tell. His Bach starts off tentative and effortful, before relaxing into the soulful Sarabanda and Ciaccona – the opposite of the fast, flashy style with which he previously dazzled...it’s only in the Wieniawski and Brahms encores that he switches on the gas.” Financial Times, 9th February 2013 *** “The playing throughout this disc is vastly sinuous; and though this may not be a seismic shift from his previous style, there is still a sense that he's shed the need to sound merely pretty in order to get closer to the scale and importance of the music.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2013 “Vengerov opened the recital with Bach’s D minor Partita. In a reading that’s one of the best out there – big-boned, justifiably confident and played with a swagger commensurate with this player’s talent. This is flawless violin playing – the double stops in the Corrente so easily achieved, the fourth movement’s Giga graceful and witty...Essential listening.” The Arts Desk, 16th February 2013 “His sell-out return to Wigmore Hall in April last year was as thrilling as everyone hoped. The evidence is here: opening with Bach's Partita No 2 in D minor for solo violin, the Soviet-born musician combines impeccable technique with a golden, powerful tone, muscular and sturdy but lithe too, without excessive ornament.” The Observer, 3rd February 2013 “the technical perfection he displays in is performance of Bach’s Second Partita surpasses most of those set down in the studio.” The Strad, April 2013 |
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| |  | L’alba separa dalla luce l’ombraDawn divides the light from the shadows
Anna Caterina Antonacci’s enchanting recital entitled 'L’alba separa dalla luce l’ombra' delves into a colourful landscape of French and Italian art song. She explores the rich tonal and emotional contrasts of works spanning almost three centuries, with deeply engaging interpretations throughout. Antonacci is famed for her profound and vivid appearances both on the opera stage [most recently in Covent Garden's The Trojans] and recital platform, and this recording manages to capture her spellbinding, dramatic performance and her ability to give clear voice to the varied, ever-shifting psychological states portrayed through this emotional programme, recorded live on 5th December, 2011. “Antonacci and her scrupulous accmpanist Donald Sulzen, provide alert and imaginative accounts of all their material...Antonacci brings individuality to everything she sings, her colouristic range reinforcing her careful definition of text.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2013 **** “Even without her magnetic stage presence, Antonacci presents a vivid 'face' in all she sings here...Antonacci's tone - fierily intense rather than especially rich - can sound a touch strained at climaxes. But she responds with quicksilver intelligence and empathy to the shifting emotional states of these yearning and/or disenchanted lovers...so gripping is Antonacci in everything she sings that it seems churlish to carp.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2012 “If one wants to be pernickety one could possibly say that Antonacci’s vibrato is sometimes over-generous and that she occasionally sounds slightly worn. Under some circumstances this could be quite serious criticism but with so expressive and life-enhancing a singer it hardly matters. This is a delightful programme, delightfully executed and with delightful accompaniments. I wish I had been there!” MusicWeb International, December 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Miah Persson sings Songs by Schubert, Sibelius & Grieg
Grieg: | Seks Sange, Op. 48 Hjertets Melodier af H. C.Andersen, Op. 5 No. 3 'Jeg elsker Dig' encore | Schubert: | Suleika I, D720 Ganymed, D544 (Goethe) Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, D877/4 Rastlose Liebe, D138 Du bist die Ruh D776 (Rückert) Auf dem Wasser zu singen, D774 Gretchen am Spinnrade, D118 Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, D965 (Von Chezy / Muller) Richard Hosford (clarinet) | Sibelius: | Våren flyktar hastigt, Op. 13 No. 4 (Text: Runeberg) Den första kyssen, Op. 37 No. 1 (Text: J.L. Runeberg) Var det en dröm? Op. 37 No. 4 (J.J. Wecksell) Säf, säf, susa, Op. 36 No. 4 (Text: Gustav Fröding) Flickan kom från sin älsklings möte, Op. 37, No. 5 |
Famed for her highly intelligent performances and deep engagement with music, Swedish soprano Miah Persson is in great demand throughout the world. She returned to Wigmore Hall last February with internationally renowned accompanist Roger Vignoles to perform a wonderfully emotive and dramatic programme. Opening with some of the most celebrated Schubert Lieder, Persson revealed a refined interpretation of each song, searching deep within the texts to convey emotions from agony to ecstasy. With great passion, Persson then entered the Scandinavian sound world to complete her programme with Grieg’s stormy Six Songs and a beautiful collection of Sibelius’s most evocative settings. “Persson is beautiful and so is her voice, so she starts with a big advantage. But that is only the start...I did find...that there was a danger of monotony, undercharacterisation and reliance on sheer undeniable vocal beauty. Roger Vignoles is an ideal accompanist, setting the mood with a few notes or chords” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012 *** “'Gretchen am Spinnrade' is a model of how a middle-weight voice can scale the song's peaks thanks to an inner conviction and trusting how the notes and words can shoulder the dramatic weight...So beautiful is her enunciation in the Swedish-language Sibelius songs that you could take phonetic dictation...The Grieg songs show signs of vocal tiring...In 'Die verschwiegene Nachtigall', though, one can hardly imagine a more alluring nightingale song.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2012 “Persson clearly relishes the possibility of characterization particular songs...The voice is light and lyric throughout but there's power too when required, so the final lines of Du bist die Ruh are radiant...However - and this is possibly a subjective caveat - what Persson lacks is the kind of rounded warm tone and inner conviction that makes the best Schubert recitals so warmly satisfying...Hosford is the perfect partner up on the rock” International Record Review, September 2012 “a lovely, beautifully balanced recital...In an opening Schubert set, Persson, for all the natural brightness of her voice, achieves the right aching heaviness in Lied der Mignon, and a beguiling sense of gentle repose in Du bist die Ruh.” Sunday Times, 15th July 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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British violinist Anthony Marwood, admired by audiences and critics around the globe for his exceptional artistry and passionate performances, is joined by the celebrated Serbian pianist Aleksandar Madžar for this wonderful recording of the three Brahms Violin Sonatas. Composed between 1878 and 1888, the deeply expressive violin sonatas are famed for glorious, free-soaring melodies, as Brahms carefully balances Classical refinement with Romantic lyricism. Exploring these supremely beautiful works with fresh insight; Marwood and Madžar unfold the emotional contours with rich tone and close musicianship through this intimate recording. “Especially impressive is their absolute unanimity of approach: the sense they convey that they are not merely equal partners but equally important voices in Brahms's polyphonic textures. The breadth of their phrasing, the constant search for fluidity...is also very striking...Marwood and Madzar are so good I'm tempted to make them the new benchmark among contemporary recordings.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2012 ***** “this is duo playing of the highest order...[Marwood's] musicianship and panache will be familiar to many. We don't hear enough of Madzar in the UK: there are few to match him in terms of technique and interpretation, and he here proves a terrific chamber music partner.” Classical Music, 19th May 2012 ***** “Distinct pianism and etched string attack may not be all that these sonatas require. Marwood doesn't often relax into the music...Nevertheless, the impassioned last sonata finds Marwood and Madzar in more relenting mood, willing to modify hitherto guarded responses to conventions of performance that Brahms took for granted.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Elias String Quartet play Haydn & Schumann
Elias String Quartet: Sara Bitlloch, Donald Grant (violins), Martin Saving (viola) & Marie Bitlloch (cello) The Elias String Quartet returns to Wigmore Hall Live with a much anticipated disc of Haydn and Schumann, recorded live in concert, September 2010. Formed at the Royal Northern College of Music in 1998, the ensemble quickly became established among the leading quartets performing internationally today, and is now supported by the prestigious Wigmore Hall Emerging Talent scheme. Widely praised for the vibrancy and intensity of its performances, the quartet has received particular critical acclaim for recent recordings, and in April 2010 its disc of Mendelssohn, Mozart and Schubert on the Wigmore Hall Live label [WHLIVE0028] received the BBC Music Magazine Newcomer Award. “a keen feeling for musical character, immaculate ensemble, lively articulation and just the right degree of vibration to ensure both warmth and clarity of sound...the Elias genuinely catch the ardent waywardness of Schumann spirit. They also make something mesmeric of the sudden, still, drone-based episode near the end of the rustic-style finale.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 **** “Slender tone, soft, delicate and withdrawn greets you at the start of Schumann's first Quartet, the Introduzione played Andante espressivo as instructed. The Elias String Quartet observe the metronome marking ((as they do in the other movements too) but there isn't a hint of rigidity...the Elias make their points and there is no lack of variety in mood” Gramophone Magazine, October 2012 “They make a beautiful sound, burnished yet translucent, and play with vigour and subtlety. On the strength of these performances, I find their fluid, yielding style more suited to Schumann than to Haydn...The Schumann is a delight.” Sunday Times, 3rd June 2012 “It's a fascinating programme: the Haydn features a dazzling presto finale brimming with theatrical gaiety and virtuoso flair, while the Schumann is explored with marvellous collective vigour and sensitivity – the pulsing drive of both the scherzo and the finale disguising the deft lightness of the bowing.” The Independent, 13th April 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Schubert: Schwanengesang
Concluding a highly acclaimed series of Schubert song cycles, Wigmore Hall Live now release the much-anticipated Schwanengesang. Recorded live on the Wigmore stage by Christopher Maltman and Graham Johnson in April 2010, the song cycle was collated after Schubert’s death by the publisher Haslinger and, through the works of three poets, depicts a despairing man tormented by his lost love. Often sorrowful, sometimes enraged, this performance never fails to search deep within the emotive poetry, truly exploring the drama that unfolds through the fourteen poems. Famed for his superlative Schubertian pianism, Johnson features here not as an accompanist but as an equal, as Maltman’s stunningly colourful voice displays an infinite palette of timbres, carefully and subtly nuanced throughout. “Both singer and accompanist are on far better form, for me, than they were in Winterreise...These are direct, uncluttered accounts of songs of varying quality, and the deepest - 'Am Meer', 'Der Doppelganger' - get appropriately weighty treatment, while others, such as the last, are delightfully light.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2012 **** “Maltman brings a light touch to 'Liebesbotschaft', beautifully complemented by the filigree of Johnson's accompaniment...The second encore, 'Der Winterabend', culminates in Johnson's right hand doubling and counterpointing the vocal line - magical.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2012 “Maltman has a very beautiful light baritone voice and sings Schubert with undemonstrative perceptiveness and much musical intelligence...This is fine recording of Schwanengesang, the accompaniment occasionally somewhat insensitive but Maltman's singing hard to fault.” International Record Review, February 2012 “Maltman confirms that he is one of the most impressive baritone exponents of art songs currently before the public and, of course, he is partnered by one of the finest accompanists of our day, one who is steeped in Schubert’s lieder. Though there are many excellent CD versions of Schwanengesang in the catalogue this one joins the ranks of the very best.” MusicWeb International, June 2012 “There's an uncompromising emotional rawness in Maltman's singing in Der Atlas, Die Stadt and Der Doppelgänger that make for very disquieting listening. But it's not all angst: he's sexy in Ständchen and humorous in Die Taubenpost. Johnson, meanwhile, is exemplary, reminding us throughout of the genius of Schubert's piano writing.” The Guardian, 8th March 2012 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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“….Maltman’s ardent, impulsive, intensely “lived” performance, partnered and inspired by the everilluminating Johnson, should be heard by anyone who loves the cycle.” So wrote Richard Wigmore in Gramophone Magazine of Christopher Maltman’s Die Schöne Müllerin. Released in April 2011, this was the first release of his complete Schubert song cycles project and was awarded an Editor’s Choice. Recorded over a series of live dates, Maltman has collaborated with one of the world’s foremost authorities on the lieder repertoire, accompanist Graham Johnson. Maltman’s teaming with Johnson is a triumphant partnership with Maltman giving the accolade that he is the “definitive accompanist who leaves no stone unturned”. Die Winterreise will be followed by Schwanengesang in 2012, the live performance of which was critically-applauded. Maltman’s decision to undertake these substantial recordings as a live project was a considered choice: “the live recording experience is where the real beauty lies; the little points, the little imperfections, the emotional stress, give the performance an organic feel, a rawness. It dials everything back to the most important element – the live performance.” “There are many good things in this live Wigmore Hall recital, not least Maltman's characterisation of despair and alienation in 'Wasserflut' and 'Rast' and Johnson's eloquent pianism.” Classic FM Magazine, November 2011 *** “If Maltman is sometimes better at communicating the tenderness in Winterreise than the torture, there are moments in this subtle, insightful account where he lays bare the composer’s own syphilitic deterioration.” classicalsource.com, October 2011 “Maltman never gives a less than intelligent performance, and he skillfully dramatizes Schubert’s great song-cycle.” Financial Times, 22nd October 2011 *** “When Maltman essays a mezza voce, his tone whitens; and sometimes, as in 'Die Nebensonnen', he sounds uncomfortable in the original key. But these drawbacks are outweighed by the beauty of Maltman's voice and his keen attention to the words...His crescendo on the last word of all, to match the forte phrase in the piano, is a brilliant touch. Admirable accompanist, excellent sound: well worth hearing.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2011 “Maltman is a likeable singer, with an easy, communicative manner, excellent diction — even when his German is less than idiomatic — and scrupulously musical instincts.” Sunday Times, 21st August 2011 *** “He gives a hard-hitting performance, and, as one might expect, it's exceptionally well characterised...Maltman roots his interpretation in the psychological specifics...Some of it is less than beautiful – as it should be...Graham Johnson is wonderful in this work. He follows every emotional utterance, beautifully illuminating Schubert's alignment of the winter landscape with the shifts and instabilities of the protagonist's psyche.” The Guardian, 8th September 2011 **** “Maltman gives a bleak, steadily paced account of Winterreise which is at once weighty and intense. This suits his dark-hued voice compared to other excellent but more febrile accounts...The thundering anguish of "Rückblick", the ghostly whispers of "Irrlicht" and the schizophrenic light-dark dreams of spring in "Frühlingstraum" mix depression, frustration and tenderness. This is true soul-singing.” The Observer, 4th September 2011 “This is a live recording made in the Wigmore Hall in February 2010, remarkable for its robustness, force and energy. Maltman is the most virile, bitterly impassioned and angry of wanderers, whose determination is evident from the first bars of Gute Nacht to the final black desolation of Der Leiermann.” The Telegraph, 18th August 2011 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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