New Releases

This hybrid SACD features the improvising trumpeter and composer Eric Vloeimans in the world premier recordings of five of his own works, including his first trumpet concerto, “Evensong”, orchestrated by Martin Fondse. The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Jurjen Hempel. The other pieces presented on the disc are “Lex”, “Requiem”, “Your Majesty”, and the five movement suite “Waterfront”.

Eric Vloeiman’s work is characterised by melodic and lyrical power and a distinctive individual sound. Between 1982 and 1988 Vloeimans studied at the Rotterdam Conservatory, and in 1989 he took lessons in the USA with Donald Byrd and formed part of the big bands of Frank Foster and Mercer Ellington. Between 1992 and 1998 he led his own quartet with guitarist Anton Goudsmit, bassist Arnold Dooyeweerd and drummer Pieter Bast, and in 1998 released the Edison-winning “Bitches and Fairy Tales” with pianist John Taylor, bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joey Baron. He has performed as a soloist with several leading classical ensembles including the Matangi Quartet, the Metropole Orchestra, the Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra, the Holland Baroque Society and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.

World-famous tenor Christoph Prégardien continues his series of recordings for Challenge Classics of Schubert song-cycles, with what many consider to be the composer’s greatest work in the genre “Winterreise”. As with the previous critically acclaimed release of “Die Schone Mullerin” the pianist on this hybrid SACD is Michael Gees.

Christoph Prégardien has made almost 200 recordings for all the major labels, amongst which are several for Challenge Classics. These include recordings released in 2008 of Schubert’s “Die Schone Mullerin” with Michael Gees, (CC72292), which was a Gramophone Editor’s Choice, and the same composer’s “Schwanengesang” with Andreas Staier (CC72302). Prégardien and Gees also released the award winning ‘Between Life and Death’ in 2009, which featured songs and arias by composers including Mahler, Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, Brahms, and Mozart.

This recording of Winterreise is also available on DVD and Blu-ray, featuring a studio performance of the cycle, and a documentary with artist interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of the studio recording process.

Liszt was the first, but pianists of later generations also journeyed through the gigantic cosmos of the Wagnerian music drama with paraphrases and transcriptions for the piano. Severin von Eckardstein has brought together the best of these on his latest SACD. The result is a fascinating look at the reception history of Wagner’s music.

Mahler initially had a hard time of it. When Das klagende Lied finally met with his own critical favor, he stated, “My first work in which I have found myself as ‘Mahler’!” Here it is heard in colorful contrast to the fragment from his last symphony and the “Blumine” andante originally intended for the first symphony. The Beethoven Orchestra of Bonn under its resourceful conductor Stefan Blunier is in top form on this fascinatingly detailed look at Mahler’s compositional techniques.

Following on from their recent success at this year’s 2013 BBC Music Magazine Awards where they won the Award for Technical Excellence for their recording of Parsifal, PentaTone is delighted to bring you the next installment, Das Rheingold.

This is the 7th release in PentaTone’s successful Wagner Edition and the 1st one in the Wagner Year. Das Rheingold is the first release of the cycle: Der Ring des Nibelungen. The other 3 “Ring recordings” will follow in the course of 2013.

Continuing with their critically acclaimed Wagner series, the attached images show previous releases which have received unprecedented critical acclaim.

The recordings have various been awarded The Sunday Times CD of the Week, The Opera Choice of the month in BBC Music Magazine, the Recording of the month also in BBC Music Magazine and several Gramophone Editor’s Choices.

PentaTone’s Wagner Edition is an unprecedented project and we aim at supporting it with a lot of attention in the media throughout the year. In the Wagner year there will be a lot of attention for Wagner through articles in the media and performances of his opera’s. We expect therefore the interest for the PentaTone Edition (especially as a collector’s item) to increase substantially.

This next release will be supported by advertising in various magazines.

This album is a follow up to the album ‘ If a Song be Worth a Smile’. The composers and lyricists are (same as for the previous album) all American and still alive. Many of the songs were specially written for Lisa Delan and some are world premiere recordings.

Lisa Delan wrote for the CD-booklet :

“When I recorded the partner CD to The Hours Begin to Sing – And If the Song Be Worth a Smile – I was delighted to include four premiere recordings, one of which I commissioned for the CD. I am thrilled with The Hours Begin to Sing to introduce four more premiere recordings, three of which were written specifically for this disc. And although I cannot claim parentage in this drama of creation, I am honoured to have been cast in the role of midwife.”

Das Lied is considered the most personal of Mahler’s works. It represents a synthesis of the two great pillars in Mahler’s oeuvre, the symphony and the song. On the face of it, it is cycle of six orchestral songs. But at the same time, it features three protagonists: not just the two solo voices, but the orchestra as well, and its formal structure is symphonic in nature.

The two soloists on this recording are the best known for this work. They sing it all over the world with top orchestras to fabulous reviews and PentaTone is delighted to welcome them to their label. The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra has a splendid reputation for its Mahler performances mainly under previous Music Director Harmut Haenchen.

Robin Ticciati cements his reputation as an outstanding Berliozian with his latest recording, ‘Berlioz: Les nuits d’été’, which includes excerpts from Roméo & Juliette and La Mort de Cléopâtre.

A pupil of Sir Simon Rattle and the great Berliozian Sir Colin Davis, Robin’s reputation as one of this generation's best conductors was assured when he was announced as the next music director of Glyndebourne, taking over from Vladimir Jurowski in 2014.

Named one of the top ten young ‘conductors on the verge of greatness' by Gramophone Magazine, Robin delivers fresh insights and vivid colours into this luminous work.

The recording features Kathleen Ferrier prize-winning mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, who has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, New York and won acclaim as Cleopatra, a role she reprises here: ‘...the core of this stunning concert was a shattering, heart-rending performance by Cargill in awesome voice.’ (The Herald)

The works of Berlioz have featured prominently in Ticciati’s programmes with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra since he became their principal conductor in 2009.

Ticciati’s recording debut, ‘Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique’, received rave reviews: it was named Critics' Choice 'Sound of 2012' (The Independent), 'Classical CD of the Week' (The Sunday Times), 'Disc of the Week' (BBC Radio 3 'CD Review') and No. 3 in The Sunday Times’ Best Classical Albums of 2012 list.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is internationally recognised as one of the finest chamber orchestras in the world with a multi award-winning catalogue of recordings under Robin Ticciati, Sir Charles Mackerras, Alexander Janiczek and Joseph Swensen.

This landmark series is nearly at its end in this antepenultimate recording. The three cantatas on this recording come from the first half of the 1730s and clearly show Bach’s affinity for instrumental colour and expressive melodies rich in syncopation and suspensions.

All three works are choral cantatas based on well-known hymns and are therefore more choral in style.

Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4 are poles apart in their musical style and make a highly interesting pairing for this new release. Symphony No. 1 is rooted in the symphonic tradition and has a particular tunefulness reminiscent of Tchaikovsky, whereas Symphony No. 4 is highly original and introverted, often being seen as modern and ‘cubist’ by listeners in the 1890s.

The Minnesota Orchestra and its music director Osmo Vänskä were highly praised for their previous release of Symphonies Nos. 2 & 5 (BISSACD1986), being called ‘a fine start to what may be the benchmark cycle for the 21st century’ by Gramophone, and nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance.

Vänskä has really enhanced the quality of the Minnesota Orchestra since he took the position of musical director in 2003. He has since had his tenure extended many times and continues to carve an international reputation for the ensemble.

This release has advertising planned in Gramophone magazine as part of a ‘new orchestral features on BIS’.