New Releases

2013 sees a series of Wagner reissues on Eloquence from complete operas and highlights to Wagner singer portraits and even an audiobook!

Bayreuth is the holy grail of Wagner lovers and this outstanding disc captures great choral moments from Wagner’s operas over a period of nearly 30 years, with key ‘big’ moments from seven operas, from the Sawallisch Tannhäuser (1962) to Peter Schneider’s Lohengrin (1990). The choruses are among the glories of Wagner’s stage works. They are central, not extraneous, to the action, and the mood and style of each reflect the dramatic imperatives of the work concerned. This anthology includes the Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin, the Sailors’ Chorus from The Flying Dutchman, the Pilgrims’ Chorus from Tannhäuser as well as the Guild Choruses from Die Mesitersinger and the dark Vassals’ Chorus from Götterdämmerung, as well as three defining moments from Wagner’s farewell to the world – Parsifal.

Indisputably one of the cornerstones of the string quartet repertoire, as well as one of the masterpieces of the 20th century, Bartók’s six string quartets have been labeled ‘the greatest quartets since Beethoven’. Now, for the first time, the six quartets have been compiled onto two (rather than three) CDs with scholarly notes by Arnold Whitall. When issued as a set on LP, it won the Gramophone Award for Best Chamber Music Recording.

Dance Mix represents the breathtaking diversity of contemporary classical music. Each of these eleven composers, all American, has treated a dance form differently. ‘They’ve added a symphonic dimension to the dance,’ says David Zinman. ‘They’re using the dance as a source for whatever expression they want to make. It’s not just dance music: it’s similar to what Picasso did with images.’ The dances themselves come from popular genres seldom found in the traditional orchestral concert hall. The thrilling performances are vividly captured in big, bold Argo sound.

On this 3CD set noted German violinist Linus Roth and the Argentinean piano virtuoso José Gallardo become the first pairing to perform a complete anthology of Mieczyslav Weinberg’s music for violin and piano. Weinberg had an unbelievably tragic life, full of struggle and pain. As a Polish Jewish composer during the 2nd World war he fled from the Nazi’s to Russia, got imprisoned by Stalin and was saved at the last minute by his good friend and colleague Dmitri Shostakovich.

The music of the 20th century Polish composer Mieczyslav Weinberg's is characterised by its depth of emotional content. As a Jew persecuted first by the Nazi’s, and later in Russia under the regime of Joseph Stalin, performance of his works was largely prohibited during his life. He is a great master of contrasts, and his compositions can move suddenly from the very dark, to the very bright, from shattering climaxes to a sound world that is barely audible.

In 1992 Linus Roth won First Prize at the German national competition "Jugend musiziert" and during his consequent studies he received support from Anne-Sophie Mutter and her foundation. In 2006 he received the Echo Klassik Award of the German Phonoacademy as "Best Newcomer" for his debut CD of sonatas by Brahms, Debussy, Ysaye and Mendelssohn on EMI Classics. Previous releases for Challenge Classics with pianist José Gallardo include recordings of music by Brahms (CC72382), and Schumann (CC72341).

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.

Since the early 1980s, the ensemble Sequentia’s name has been closely linked with the music of Hildegard von Bingen, the visionary abbess whose musical compositions are among the most astonishing and unique creations from the dynamic milieu of 12th-century Benedictine monasticism.

For this recording, a multi-generational ensemble of seven women’s voices has been assembled, together with the flautist Norbert Rodenkirchen and Bagby playing harp.

Sequentia is one of the world’s most respected and innovative ensembles for medieval music. It is an international group of singers and instrumentalists – united in Paris under the direction of the legendary performer and teacher Benjamin Bagby – dedicated to the performance and recording of Western European music from the period before 1300.

Based on meticulous and original research, intensive rehearsal and long gestation, Sequentia’s virtuosic performances are compelling, surprising in their immediacy, and strike the listener with a timeless emotional connection to our own past musical cultures.

Founded by Benjamin Bagby and the late Barbara Thornton, Sequentia can look back on 35 years of international concert tours, performing throughout Europe, North and South America, India, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australia.

Sequentia has brought to life over seventy innovative concert programmes that encompass the entire spectrum of medieval music, in addition to the creation of music-theater projects such as Hildegard von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum, the Cividale Planctus Marie, the Bordesholmer Marienklage, and Heinrich von Meissen’s Frauenleich (several of which were filmed for television).

Sequentia’s comprehensive discography of more than thirty recordings spans the entire Middle Ages. In 1981, the ensemble began to release the first of many LP's and CD's which encompass the entire spectrum of medieval musical practice.

Many of these recordings – including the complete works of Hildegard von Bingen (7 CDs) have received awards: the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis (for Vox Iberica, 1993), two Netherlands Edison Awards (for Hildegard von Bingen recordings, 1987 and 1998), a French Disque d'Or (1996), the CHOC of Le Monde de la Musique (2002) and Diapason d'Or (1995 and 1999). Sequentia's best-selling CD, Canticles of Ecstasy, has sold more than 500.000 copies worldwide and was nominated for a Grammy Award as best choral recording. Recordings made by Sequentia have been integrated into the soundtracks of several major films.