New Releases

Spread over nine CDs, this release represents a treasure trove of works by Dvořák, dedicated to and featuring the best of his orchestral music. The composer stands as the most popular of the Czech nationalist movement, one who despite German influences (Dvořák counted Brahms and Wagner among his inspirations) became a byword in the assimilation of folk roots into serious musical composition. Not only did he use existing melodies, but he composed his own folk‐based themes too. Apart from the nine symphonies, which of course include the enduringly popular ‘New World’, written during the composer’s sojourn in America, the compilation also features a series of overtures (such as the famous Carnival Overture, an exuberant celebration of human life at its best), tone poems (A Hero’s Song, which is a sort of Czech equivalent to Strauss’s somewhat later Ein Heldenleben, and four gruesome folk ballads which represent the composer’s Indian Summer, among others), the famous Czech Suite which has a Mozart Serenade quality about it, and the two sets of Slavonic Dances – the first of which represents a tribute from the younger composer to Brahms’s own Hungarian Dances and firmly established Dvořák as a leader of the new Czech national school. Performing these works is a trio of great ensembles: the Staatskapelle Berlin under their esteemed director of 26 years, Otmar Suitner; The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra – natural experts in this type of repertoire; and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, performing under the baton of John Farrer. The edition is an excellent addition to the Brilliant Classics orchestral catalogue and records a crucial facet of the output of one of Europe’s most famous composers.

Recordings: 1979–2004.. Contains notes on the composer and the music.

The genius of Beethoven is probably not most commonly associated with chamber music.

Indeed, for considerable stretches of his career he avoided the string quartet, a musical form with such an exalted status at the time; he mostly took on the challenge towards the ends of what are often regarded as his two ‘creative periods’. When he did, however, he was at the pinnacle of his chamber music abilities. The pieces in this collection can be grouped according to three distinct periods of Beethoven’s life. The first set are to some extent indebted to Haydn and Mozart – as the melancholic Op.18 No.6 shows in particular – but equally show Beethoven starting to forge a new path of his own. The (at the time) somewhat misunderstood middle set stretch the quartet form to nearsymphonic length, and add a level of virtuosity worthy of the concert hall rather than the traditionally private sphere of chamber music.

Finally, the last set transcend the composer’s previous quartets both in form and harmony to reach a level of technical abstraction that was not recognised for its brilliance until after the composer’s life – a quality audible especially in the quartet in B flat major, which Beethoven’s biographer referred to as a ‘monster of quartet music’. The pieces are performed by the Suske Quartett, a German quartet whose popularity was at its height in the 1970s, and for whom recording Beethoven was a staple of their musical life: the recording career of the group’s original line‐up both began and ended with Beethoven pieces.

Released for the Wagner bicentenary in May 2013, the first disc by a British organist entirely devoted to Wagner, and a major contribution to the small discography of Wagner transcriptions for a solo instrument.

Wagner’s major orchestral works, including the Overture to Mastersingers and Ride of the Valkyries, in virtuoso transcriptions for solo organ by Edwin Lemare.

Played by Jonathan Vaughn on the 1911 Harrison and Harrison organ of St Mary Redcliffe in Bristol – regarded as one of the finest high Romantic organs ever built.

Jonathan Vaughn is a former organ scholar of St John’s College, Cambridge, and is most often heard accompanying the world-class choir of Wells Cathedral in his capacity as assistant organist of the Cathedral.

This debut solo recording from Jonathan Vaughn demonstrates his supreme virtuosity in powerfully dramatic repertoire, as well as the immense range of tone colour of the Redcliffe organ, and will capture the imagination of all lovers of Wagner’s music.

Smaller stringed instruments began to be developed during the first half of the 16th century, maturing little by little into the vyollon, a term first employed at the court of Savoy in 1523.

It was at this time that violins first began to appear in paintings, one of which is the fresco by Gaudenzio Ferrari that appears on the cover of this CD.

The works recorded here put this period into a clear musical context and provide a fine array of contrasting works for these first violins: on one hand, there are not only works from the Franco-Flemish school that had been flourishing in Italy since the middle of the 15th century, but also works from the pure Italian style that was in the process of being reborn. Motets, ricercars, counterpoints, madrigals and dances are all discovered anew and extend our knowledge of period instruments even further.

This, after all, is one of Ricercar’s principal aims. This recording introduces the Miroir de Musique, an ensemble of young players, the majority of whom studied at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. We are proud to present an exciting programme of works performed by musicians who are able to ally musicology with emotion.

After the conquest of the Americas, Spanish and Portuguese clergymen and musicians brought their entire polyphonic tradition to these new lands. Some of these musicians settled in Latin America, with Juan de Araujo in Peru and Tomas de Torrejon y Velasco in Argentina. Others were born in the New World: Gaspar Fernandez was born in Mexico and remained there during his entire career. The extensive libraries of music of the great churches of Latin America also preserved a large number of manuscripts that often contained pieces that had completely disappeared from European collections.

Although the above musicians introduced their polyphonic skills to the New World, they were also seduced by local popular traditions, going so far as to adapt texts used in Roman Catholic liturgy to the local native languages. Hanacpachap, recorded here, was the first sacred work in a native language to be published in Latin America. This developmental shift in the Iberian polyphonic tradition is demonstrated by the works on this CD, one of them being Cererols’ Missa de batalla: this was composed for three choirs and is one of the most important Spanish Masses from the beginning of the 17th century. This recording, an exploration of sacred and secular music in the New World during the first years of the Baroque period, was made at the conclusion of a successful concert tour that formed part of the Festival de Wallonie 2012.

This is the first collaboration of these two musicians since 1986, when they recorded the very successful Double Vision record. The new album is a straight and relaxed jazz album with James Genus on bass and Steve Gadd on drums. The album is a musical tribute to Dave Brubeck, especially of his recordings with Paul Desmond. Both artists have been extremely successful as solo recording artists. The career of Bob James is long, varied and continues to evolve at every turn. Bob was discovered by Quincy Jones at the Notre Dame Jazz Festival in 1963. He has recorded 58 albums and received innumerable awards through five decades. He has worked on albums for artists like Hank Crawford, Grover Washington, Jr, among others.  While with CTI, James found great popular success overseeing significant hits for Paul Simon, Neil Diamond, Maynard Ferguson, and Kenny Loggins. One of the most commercially successful American saxophonists to earn prominence since the 1980s, David Sanborn has released 24 albums, won six Grammy Awards, and has had eight Gold albums and one Platinum album. Having inspired countless other musicians, Dave has worked in many genres which typically blend instrumental pop, R&B and lately, more and more traditional jazz.

"Through its dynamic co-operation TrondheimSolistene (the Trondheim Soloists) and 2L have always sought to stretch the boundaries of what is possible to convey to the listener, aiming for the ultimate recorded listening experience. With the Serenade the team has taken things one step further, with the TrondheimSolistene truly justifying their name. By placing each individual next to someone from a different musical voice rather than sitting in conventional sections we are working at the very outer limits of what is possible and creating chamber music at the highest level" - Øyvind Gimse.

This 2CD set is devoted to songs performed by the popular soprano Melanie Holliday, a singer who continues to have a successful and varied career on stage and in television. It includes music from light opera and musicals and features famous duets with the likes of René Kollo and Rudolf Schock. The soprano Melanie Holliday has achieved her greatest popularity in Japan, where she was seen as embodying in song the light entertainment of Europe and the USA represented by Viennese operetta and Broadway musicals. In Japan, she also became the face of the global company Seiko, which has sent sales of her recordings to stratospheric levels.

Carole Dawn Reinhart was the first woman to make a name for herself worldwide as a trumpet soloist. This 2CD set features her as soloist with the Munich Philharmonic in the trumpet concertos of Leopold Mozart, Hummel, Telemann and Haydn. It also includes important works from the Baroque era, in which she is joined by the German Bach Soloists and the Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra.

Born in America, the trumpet virtuoso Carole Dawn Reinhart began her European career in Vienna and Berlin. The performances presented here are still considered to be of a very high standard.