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Presto News - 6th October 2008Americans in Pyongyang |
 North Korea doesn’t often come up on classical music radar but it did earlier this year when the New York Philharmonic made an historic 48-hour trip to North Korea's capital, Pyongyang. It is a remarkable story and as you can imagine took many months of intensive preparation and negotiations before it could happen. Many of the musicians initially had concerns and doubts when the idea was first put to them (not surprising considering that it is one of the most inaccessible countries in the world, a country that consistently violates human rights and that had been categorised by George Bush as a key member in the 'axis of evil').  Group photo at the airport However, the trip went ahead and turned out to be a huge success, with the centrepiece being the concert. It was broadcast live on North Korean TV and radio (a condition insisted on by the New York Philharmonic), and has just been released on DVD and Blu-ray. Despite the lack of diplomatic ties, the orchestra played both "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the North Korean national anthem, while the two nations' flags flanked the stage. Conductor Lorin Maazel introduced each piece in the concert using both humour and the odd Korean phrase and, while the audience seem to sit there rather cold much of the time, by the end it is clear that they have both enjoyed it and very much joined in with what turned out to be a remarkable experience for all. When talking about George Gershwin's "An American in Paris" Maazel suggested that someday a composer might write a song titled "Americans in Pyongyang” to which the audience clapped enthusiastically. The most heart-warming moments though come at the very end when the orchestra played 'Arirang', a lilting folk song emblematic of both the North and South Korean people, accompanied by more than a few misty-eyed members amongst the audience. Then, after a sustained standing ovation, as the orchestra reluctantly started to leave the stage, the audience began to wave to them, and the Orchestra waved back. You see both smiles and tears and you can’t help but be emotionally moved by it. I think it is fantastic how music can achieve things that politicians can’t and that people from completely different cultures and countries can be brought a little closer to each other by virtue of music. The accompanying documentary shows some of the other events that took place during the visit, as well as giving a clue to what life is really like in North Korea. Both fascinating and enjoyable, this comes warmly recommended.
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 The Pyongyang Concert (and Documentary) - DVDNew York Philharmonic, Lorin MaazelHundreds of millions watched the historic concert on television. Now exclusively on DVD: the New York Philharmonic concert in Pyongyang. |
 The Pyongyang Concert (and Documentary) - Blu-rayNew York Philharmonic, Lorin MaazelBlu-ray offers much improved picture and sound quality, but you must have a Blu-ray player to watch this disc as it will not work on a normal DVD player. |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
New Releases6th October 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. |
 Joyce DiDonato - Furore (Handel Opera Arias)Joyce DiDonato (soprano), Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe RousseThis gripping recital of Handel ‘mad scenes’ is the first release from American mezzo Joyce DiDonato as an exclusive artist for Virgin and EMI Classics. Over the past five years DiDonato has enjoyed an uninterrupted series of triumphs as an opera singer and recitalist in Europe and the USA. As the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s magazine Opera News wrote: ‘The buoyant progress of DiDonato’s career... has been one of the happiest opera events of the past decade’. |
 Bach - Sonatas for flute & harpsichord (complete)Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Trevor Pinnock (harpsichord) & Jonathan Manson (cello continuo)In addition to the sonatas BWV 1020, 1030-1035 and the Trio Sonata BWV 1039, Pahud performs the popular Partita for Solo Flute in A Minor, BWV 1013. His partner at the harpsichord is the renowned period instrument soloist and conductor Trevor Pinnock. "Pahud’s playing is always crisp and stylish, whether in virtuoso display or in more tender passages where the flute traces a line of filigree delicacy." The Daily Telegraph |
 John Adams - A Flowering TreeJessica Rivera, Russell Thomas, Eric Owens, London Symphony Orchestra, John AdamsCommissioned to mark the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth and first heard in Vienna in late 2006, A Flowering Tree has already been seen and heard in Berlin, San Francisco and, last August, in London's Barbican Hall, from where this live recording hails. Taking its thematic inspiration from The Magic Flute, A Flowering Tree reunites Adams with his longtime collaborator, Peter Sellars, both of whom contributed to the libretto. |
 Daniel Taylor - The Voice of BachDaniel Taylor (counter tenor), Theatre of Early MusicSony BMG Masterworks is delighted to announce the release of the debut CD on RCA RED SEAL by Canadian counter tenor, Daniel Taylor. ‘The Voice of Bach’ showcases some of the most famous and best-loved examples of J.S. Bach’s superlative writing for the human voice. |
 Myung-Whun Chung conducts MessiaenOrchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Myung-Whun ChungTo coincide with Messiaen’s 100th anniversary, DG presents this recording of rarely heard spiritual works of the beloved French composer. Religiosity and Catholicism have been important sources of inspiration for Olivier Messiaen throughout his artistic life and form the key aspect of the repertoire selected for this album. |
 Neeme Järvi conducts Taneyev & Rimsky-KorsakovLydia Mordkovitch (violin), Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme JärviTwo seldom heard works by Taneyev and Rimsky-Korsakov. The Suite de concert is a relatively late, and the only, work for violin and orchestra by Taneyev and this recording, only its second, is currently the only one available. This monumental work for the violin is here coupled with the Fantasy on Russian Themes by Rimsky-Korsakov, his only substantial work for violin and orchestra. |
 Bruckner: Mass No. 3 in F minorRIAS Kammerchor & Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, Philippe HerrewegheThe Mass in F minor, composed 1867-68, shortly after the First Symphony, was one of his first large works with orchestra. It is also the one which best lends itself to concert performance, divorced from a liturgical function. This Mass ushers in his output of the 1870s, a point of equilibrium between a secularised style, influenced by Wagnerian harmony, and the religious academicism of his early works. |
 Mstislav Rostropovich - The Complete EMI RecordingsMstislav Rostropovich (cello)This collection brings together all the recordings with cello that Mstislav Rostropovich made for EMI Classics and also includes the 13CDs of recordings which Rostropovich brought to EMI entitled “The Russian Years”, and the Bach Cello Suites on both CD and DVD. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 4th October 2008 |
Building a Library - Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor |
 First Choice(including libretto) - MONOMaria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Raphael Arié, Coro e Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Tullio Serafin |
 First Choice(no libretto) - MONOMaria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Raphael Arié, Coro e Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Tullio Serafin |
Disc of the Week |
 Un Frisson Français - A century of French songSusan Graham (mezzo soprano) & Malcolm Martineau (piano)Part of our ONYX special offer |
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