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Presto News - 3rd March 2008Rattle and Gergiev on Mahler |
 Two of the world's greatest living conductors release recordings of Mahler symphonies this month. Simon Rattle, having already recorded the entire cycle once, now goes back to the Ninth Symphony, this time with his current orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic (his earlier version being with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra). And at the end of the month Valery Gergiev releases his debut recording on the LSO's own label with his first ever commercial recording of a Mahler symphony. No. 6 marks the start of a complete cycle of the composer's symphonies under Gergiev on the label.  Sir Simon Rattle Simon Rattle has already built a distinguished reputation as a Mahler interpreter, and here he further enhances that. It can't be often that the playing of the Vienna Philharmonic is shown up by another orchestra, but comparing Rattle's earlier 1993 recording with this one suggests exactly that, particularly in the last movement where the strings play with such passion and the wind solos are so beautifully characterized and phrased. It may be more due to the fact that Rattle has matured in this time but either way this is surely one of the greatest recordings of that work to have ever been made.  Valery Gergiev It is surprising that Gergiev has not recorded any Mahler before, as he seems so naturally suited to this style of Romantic music. He brings his inevitable intensity and drama to it (possibly all the more so because it is a live recording) and it looks likely to be the start of what will become one of the outstanding Mahler Symphony cycles on record. It is also included in our new LSO Live special offer so comes at an astonishingly low price. Following No. 6, three further releases will appear during 2008 with the remainder to follow in 2009. With these two releases we're also launching a new feature on the site in the form of short videos about the recordings. I know people enjoy the sound samples when we put them in and hopefully the videos will prove equally popular (you'll be pleased to hear we're currently negotiating with many labels the rights in order include both sound samples and videos much more frequently). The videos are of course slightly one sided as they are commissioned and paid for by the record labels, but they do provide valuable insights into how the conductors are approaching these works, and the Gergiev one also has good amusement value provided by his gruntings at the beginning! On a rather boring (but necessary) technical note I should mention that the videos are in the form of a 'flash' file. Most people have flash installed so we expect this to work seamlessly for the majority. If you don't currently have flash installed it should prompt you to download and install it (which is free). Also, finding the appropriate compromise between a good sound and picture quality, while maintaining a small enough file size to download it quickly is not easy, and we'd be interested to hear any positive and negative experiences in this respect.
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 Mahler: Symphony No. 9 in D majorBerliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon RattleOut today - March 3rd |
 Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A minor 'Tragic'London Symphony Orchestra, Valery GergievReleased March 31st - but you can pre-order your copy now |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
watch a 6 minute videoNew Releases3rd March 2008 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 A Mozart AlbumStephen Hough (piano)An eagerly awaited recital disc from Stephen Hough. This fascinating programme begins with some of Mozart’s most audacious and forward-looking piano works. Mozart’s Fantasia in C minor K475 is a wonderfully unfettered and uninhibited work, suffused with high drama and a sense of constantly shifting moods. The Piano Sonata in B flat major K333 is a similarly ground-breaking piece, developing in scale and drama from its lyrical, gentle opening. The second part of the disc features Mozart as seen by others, from the homage of a near-contemporary right up to the modern day, with Hough’s own irresistibly quirky Mozart imaginings, and from elegant miniatures to Liszt/Busoni’s virtuosic Figaro Fantasy. This disc is full of surprises, and demonstrates the full range of Hough’s extraordinary artistry. |
 Bainton - Orchestral WorksMargaret Fingerhut (piano), BBC Philharmonic, Paul DanielAll premiere recordings from one of England's early 20th century composers. Rich and Romantic in style they're fairly typical of their time, but overall some very good music well worth hearing. |
 Bach - Cantatas Volume 38Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Peter Kooij (bass) & Gerd Türk (tenor), Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki SuzukiThe four cantatas on this recording come from 1726-1727, Bach’s fourth year of service at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. During this time Bach showed a preference for solo cantatas, entrusting the text to a single solo voice. Three of these cantatas are of this type, while the fourth (BWV58) is scored for two voices. |
 Polish Baroque - Pekiel and his ContemporariesEnsemble Européen William Byrd & Ensemble Ventosum, Graham O'ReillyThe first half of the 17th century is considered to be an 'Age d'Or' of music in Poland. The best Italian musicians were invited to Krakow and Warsaw while talented young Poles studied with the best masters in Rome, Venice and Florence. Around Bartolomiej Pekiel and his fellow composers, Ambronay rediscovers this golden age entwining Italian influences with the quest for a specific Polish identity. |
 Chopin - PreludesAlexandre TharaudTwo years after his CD devoted to the Waltzes, Alexandre Tharaud returns to Chopin, the composer he has played most often and who has never failed to move him deeply. In addition to the Preludes in A flat and Op.45 and the Trois nouvelles études, he has provided the cycle with a more recent echo in music by Federico Mompou. In their personality, their careers, their exclusive relationship with the piano, their attention to sonority, and their inward melody, the two composers have much in common. |
 Boccherini - Six Quintets For Flute And Strings Op. 19Auser Musici: Carlo Ipata (flute), Luca Ronconi, Francesco La Bruna (violins), Teresa Ceccato (viola), Luigi Puxeddu (cello)This disc of Boccherini’s flute quintets focusses on some of the lesser-known chamber works by the composer. The six Op 19 quintets cover a wide range of character and display all the resources, technical as well as expressive, common in the composer’s major works. Boccherini writes virtuoso parts for all instruments, including the cello, and the flute writing recalls his masterly use of the instrument in the orchestration of his symphonies. |
 Ernst - Violin MusicIlya Gringolts (violin), Ashley Wass (piano)As virtuoso violinist, the Moravian Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst was a legend in his own lifetime. He died before the era of sound-recording, and his personal wizardry and magnetism can only dimly be recaptured in the written testimony of his contemporaries. Yet to a significant extent it lives on in his own works for his instrument: for he was a composer who significantly extended the boundaries and meaning of bravura technique. |
 Shostakovich & Rachmaninov SongsIris Oja (mezzo) - Roger Vignoles (Steinway piano)Iris Oja here lends her voice to the soul of two major composers of 20th-century Russia, swept along by their friendships and their loves, their assertions of national identity, their feeling for politics and their respect for folk traditions. |
 Donizetti: Imelda de’ LambertazziNicole Cabell, James Westman, Massimo Giordano, Frank Lopardo & Brindley Sherratt, Geoffrey Mitchell Choir & Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Mark ElderAnother Donizetti rarity from Opera Rara. Excellent cast and complete with the usual lavishly illustrated book including a complete libretto with an English translation. ‘Musically muscular and forceful’ Rupert Christiansen, The Daily Telegraph, reviewing Opera Rara’s concert performance |
 Fauré - RequiemElin Manahan Thomas, Roderick Williams, Ruth Massey & Mark Dobell, The Sixteen & Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Harry ChristophersRecorded at the 2007 Mostly Mozart Festival at London’s Barbican Hall, this disc reflects the unique live experience of a concert performance that captivated its audience. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 1st March 2008 |
Building a Library - Poulenc: Gloria |
 First Choice(coupled with Honegger: Symphony No. 3, H186 'Liturgique')Luba Orgonásová (soprano), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons |
CD of the Week |
 Treasures of Tudor EnglandThe Sixteen, Harry Christophers |
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