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Presto News - 7th April 2008Paul Lewis's Beethoven |
 “Only three weeks until the completion of the one of the greatest Beethoven Piano Sonata cycles ever committed to disc.” As you can imagine it is a highly competitive field and such a statement can’t be made lightly. Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas are the cornerstone of almost every pianist’s repertoire and there are many truly outstanding cycles already in the catalogue. Dating right back to Arthur Schnabel who made the very first complete set in the 1930s, through the likes of Solomon and Wilhelm Kempff (who made two cycles although his earlier mono cycle from the 1950s is generally regarded more highly). Then there is one of my favourites Emil Gilels who unfortunately died just five sonatas short of the complete set but still leaves a great legacy. Alfred Brendel recorded three complete cycles and then there is Richard Goode and Stephen Kovacevich who both come very highly recommended. There are several pianists currently in the middle of cycles – most notably András Schiff and Mitsuko Uchida. Last year Uchida released a stunning account of the Hammerklavier which is up for a BBC Music Magazine award this week and I think might just do rather well. We’ve put a page together on the website which summarises some of the best options to consider when looking at Beethoven Piano Sonatas.  Paul Lewis It is fair to say that joining such illustrious company is not easy, yet such is the excitement and widespread critical success enjoyed by the first three volumes of Paul Lewis’s cycle on Harmonia Mundi, that the release of the fourth and final volume on April 28th will put him very much up there. He is such a complete musician and his performances are utterly compelling. Every phrase and tempo seems so well considered. Speeds are I suppose often slightly more measured than some but with his deep understanding of the structure and the harmonic rhythm they can afford to be, while he never loses sight of the power or beauty of the music. You’ll be pleased to hear that over the next three weeks we’re making the first three volumes of the Paul Lewis cycle the Harmonia Mundi Golden discs – I suppose a sort of countdown to the release of the final volume at the end of the month. So this week Volume 1 is available at 50% off, next week it will be volume 2 and the week after that volume 3. And with a special price on pre-orders for Volume 4 as well this month is definitely the time to top up your Beethoven selection. I’ll leave you with this fabulous quote from Gramophone critic Bryce Morrison on Volume 2: "Faced with such excellence a mere critic can only abandon paper and pencil and listen to this heroic but deeply moving young artist with awe and amazement. These are early days but Paul Lewis's superbly recorded and presented Beethoven may well turn out to be the most musically and ultimately satisfying of all recorded Beethoven piano sonata cycles."
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 Beethoven - Piano Sonatas Volume 4Paul Lewis (piano)Released April 28th - but you can pre-order your copy now |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
New Releases7th April 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. |
 Bach - Partitas Nos. 2, 3 & 4Murray Perahia (piano)One of the greatest living Bach interpreters, Perahia’s long-time affinity for the music of Bach is reflected in his discography, which features critically acclaimed performances of the solo Keyboard Concerti, the Goldberg Variations and English Suites. Perahia’s previous Bach recordings have garnered a Gramophone and Grammy Award as well as several nominations for both. |
 Bach - Sacred CantatasDorothee Mields (soprano), Matthew White (alto), Hans-Jörg Mammel (tenor) & Thomas Bauer (bass), Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe HerrewegheThe four works assembled on this recording by Philippe Herreweghe offer a magisterial demonstration of the musical development of the Bach church cantata over a period of some twelve years. |
 From Jewish Life - |
 Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72Christa Ludwig, Gundula Janowitz, Jon Vickers, Walter Berry, Walter Kreppel, Waldemar Kmentt & Eberhard Wächter, Wiener Staatsopernchor & Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Herbert von KarajanNever before released (we do not acknowledge pirate productions!), recorded at a single evening's performance (25 May 1962), this Fidelio, under the baton of Herbert von Karajan (who was also responsible for the acclaimed stage production), is remarkable for its spontaneity and sense of theatrical presence. |
 Karajan / Mutter - Complete DG RecordingsAnne-Sophie Mutter (violin), Herbert von KarajanFrom 1976, when Herbert von Karajan - the most famous conductor in the world - met the prodigiously gifted 13-year-old Anne-Sophie Mutter, until his death 13 years later, she was the only violinist to appear with him in concert and on disc. These discs contain all the concertos they recorded together for Deutsche Grammophon during that period. |
 Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G majorLuba Orgonasova (soprano), Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, David ZinmanThis is the fourth release in David Zinman & Tonhalle Zurich’s Mahler Symphony cycle, which is set to be complete by 2010. Having completed several cycles, among them the complete Beethoven symphonies (with over 1 million copies sold internationally), the orchestral works of R. Strauss and Schumann, in 2007 the orchestra embarked on this Mahler Symphony cycle. The previous release in the series, Symphony No.3, has received staggering praise from the critics and the series is heralded as one of the most important Mahler cycles of all time. |
 Schumann: MelancholieChristian Gerhaher (baritone) & Gerold Huber (piano)Following the success of his previous lieder recordings, exclusive RCA Red Seal baritone Christian Gerhaher returns to the studio to record a disc of Schumann lieder, including the great song cycle Liederkreis alongside lesser-known works. Gerhaher’s previous recording of Schubert’s Abendbilder (82876777162) was a Record of the Year Finalist at the 2006 Gramophone Awards. |
 Three new Royal Opera House re-issuesWagner, Verdi and GluckIncluding a 1997 Die Meistersinger under Haitink, Un ballo in maschera under Edward Downes from 1962 and Sir Charles Mackerras's 1981 performance of Alceste starring Janet Baker and Robert Tear. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 5th April 2008 |
Building a Library - Scriabin: Le Poème de l'extase, Op. 54 (The Poem of Ecstacy) |
 First Choice(coupled with Symphonies 1-3)Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti |
 Highly RecommendedLondon Symphony Orchestra, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Evgeny Svetlanov |
CD of the Week |
 Haydn: The Creation (sung in English)Ruth Massey, Paul Harvey, Mark Padmore, Miah Persson, Neal Davies & Sandrine Piau, Gabrieli Consort, Gabrieli Players & Chetham's Chamber Choir, Paul McCreesh |
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