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Presto News - 22nd September 2008Songs her mother taught her |
 Every now and again a new disc comes along which speaks so directly to you that after just a few minutes you can tell you’re going to have to forget any hope you had of listening to anything else that day. I find it is often repertoire that I don't know very well and also tends to be female singers! I remember it happened last year with Anna Netrebko's Russian Album, where after 30 seconds of the first aria (from Tchaikovsky’s rarely performed Iolanta) I was entranced. This year it is Czech mezzo Magdalena Kožená who has been weaving the magic in her own native repertoire singing songs by Czech composers such as Dvorák, Novák, Janácek, Martinu, and Eben.  Magdalena Kožená Magdalena Kožená's album, out today, is named after the best known song from Dvorák´s Gypsy Melodies "Songs my mother taught me". In the booklet she says that the title is not fanciful, and that there are indeed songs on the disc that her mother sang to her as a child and which she heard in village festivals from musicians who kept alive the traditions of Czech and Moravian folk poetry and song: “Especially the Janácek. These are songs he arranged in a very particular way, and they are just the sort a mother would sing to her baby. My mother is not a professional singer, but she loved to sing and knew a lot of songs!” She has chosen a wide variety of songs for this disc with the simplicity of some of the Janácek and Martinù arrangements contrasting sharply with the much more sophisticated style of Novák, but what they all have in common is that they all sound very Czech. This is because all the composers were deeply rooted in the rich Czech folk song tradition and so, although how they treat them varies, they are all essentially using the same sort of folk melodies. What Kožená does brilliantly is that she alters her voice to match the character of the melodies and the songs, so some of them sound serene and beautiful, and others she gives a slightly rougher edge. I couldn’t decide which song to give you as a sample, so opted for two – an enchanting little Janácek (oh how Kožená must wish he had written more operatic roles for the mezzo voice) and the famous Dvorák after which the disc is named. Enjoy!
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 Songs My Mother Taught MeMagdalena Kožená
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Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
listen - Janacek: Lavecka (The little bench)New Releases22nd September 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: Violin Concertos & Gubaidulina: In Tempus PraesensAnne-Sophie Mutter (violin and conductor), Trondheim Soloists, London Symphony Orchestra, Valery GergievAnne-Sophie Mutter’s first Bach recording for DG couples his Concertos BWV 1041 and BWV 1042 with the world-premiere recording of the Concerto commissioned by her from Sofia Gubaidulina, the Russian composer who regards Bach as her greatest source of inspiration. Mutter gave the premiere performance of Gubaidulina’s Concerto at the 2007 Lucerne Festival and has now teamed up with the London Symphony Orchestra and Valery Gergiev. |
 Mozart - Complete Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin Volume 6Gary Cooper (piano) & Rachel Podger (violin)The Duo partnership of Gary Cooper and Rachel Podger has taken them worldwide. Their recordings of Mozart’s Complete Sonatas for Keyboard & Violin have received countless awards and accolades. Rachel Podger is widely recognised as one of the great violinists of her time – she won a Gramophone Award for her recording of Vivaldi’s La Stravaganza in 2003. |
 Vaughan Williams - Where Hope is ShiningJoyful Company of Singers, Peter BroadbentThese vocal works were composed from 1895 and 1954 showing Vaughan Williams' lifelong affection for the human voice. Performed by the award winning Joyful Company of Singers, under Peter Broadbent, one of Europe’s leading chamber choirs. Recorded in the approximate order of composition this recording shows how much Vaughan Williams adapted his style over about sixty years. |
 Howard Goodall - Eternal Light – A RequiemNatasha Marsh, Alfie Boe & Christopher Maltman, London Musici & Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford, Stephen DarlingtonEMI Classics is proud to release Eternal Light: A Requiem, a new work by the award-winning British composer and internationally acclaimed broadcaster, Howard Goodall. Goodall’s unusual setting of the liturgical service is performed by Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford and London Musici conducted by Stephen Darlington with soloists Natasha Marsh, Alfie Boe and Christopher Maltman. |
 Benjamin Britten – The Collector’s EditionVarious artists from the EMI archivesFollowing on from the hugely successful Elgar and Vaughan Williams Collector's Editions, this month it is the turn of Benjamin Britten. As with the other sets some recordings here are better than others, but with many top recommendations included and at such a good price, it is hard to argue against it. |
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G majorMichaela Kaune (soprano), Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Zdenek MacalFollowing the excellent reviews of the 3rd and 5th symphonies we are pleased to present this recording of Mahler’s 4th Symphony played by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted once again by Zdenek Macal. The stunning final movement is sung on this performance by soprano Michaela Kaune who gives a heart rending account of the child’s view of heaven. This is an eagerly awaited release that is sure to please. |
 Mussorgsky - Pictures At An ExhibitionCincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Paavo JärviPaavo Järvi continues his series of Russian recordings with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra with a disc entirely devoted to works by Mussorgsky. |
 5 new re-issues from the L'Oiseau Lyre archivesIncluding Christophe Coin playing the Haydn Cello Concertos, Christopher Hogwood conducting Geminiani, and other notable baroque (and earlier) recordings. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 20th September 2008 |
Building a Library - Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 in A minor Op. 56, 'Scottish' |
 First Choice(coupled with Symponies 1-2, and 4-5)Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy |
Disc of the Week |
Gubaidulina: In tempus praesens(coupled with JS BACH: Violin Concertos BWV 1041 and 1042)Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin; conductor for the Bach), Trondheim Soloists (Bach concertos), London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev (conductor) |
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