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Presto News - 7th June 2010Channel Classics |
 Two weeks ago I spent a fantastic day in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, at the 20th anniversary celebrations of the record label Channel Classics. They had hired the main concert venue in the city and had numerous events going on in the afternoon (such as a master-class with violinist Rachel Podger on Bach’s unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas, and a musical lecture by pianist Dejan Lazic on his piano arrangement of the Brahms Violin Concerto), and a big gala concert in the evening featuring performances from an incredible number of major musicians. I also had a chance to meet and chat with Jared Sacks (the man behind the label) and understand a bit more about how he produces such a stream of superb recordings.  Jared Sacks Whilst the major labels in general are continuing to scale back their new recordings, independent labels like Channel Classics seem to be busier and busier, and I was keen to find out their recipe for success. I think in Channel’s case there are really two key ingredients to their success. The first is their founder, director, producer and recording engineer Jared Sacks whose ears and mind are behind everything that the label does; the second is the musicians they record, and specifically the very close relationship between them and the label. Jared grew up in Boston Massachusetts, and worked as a professional horn player for 15 years before deciding to start Channel Classics in 1990 (incidentally named after the street where he lived in Amsterdam - Kanaalstraat). He has always had a talent for spotting future stars early in their careers and a number of major artists have really benefited from the support and help which Jared and Channel Classics has offered them. This philosophy of working very closely with a select group of great musicians is one of the key elements to the success of the label, and the catalogue boasts artists of true international repute, with people like Rachel Podger, Florilegium and Johannette Zomer all leaders in their fields. The label has also attracted big names away from major labels with conductor Ivan Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra producing a seemingly endless stream of critically acclaimed recordings for the label. Channel Classics now releases virtually everything in Hybrid SACD format. I know that not all readers will be aware of the benefits of SACD and if you’re happy with normal CDs then fine (as all Hybrid SACDs also work on normal CD players), but the ‘best possible natural sound’ is a cornerstone in Channel’s philosophy and SACD is a definite improvement on CD so I thought I should at least mention it here. SACD players are still manufactured, and if you choose to invest in one (and preferably also the extra speakers), you will enjoy a noticeably better sound. Looking at Channel’s future release schedule I’ve spotted a number of mouth-watering discs due out later in the year. Of particular note are a recording of Beethoven 4 and 6 with Ivan Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra (I’ve heard a bit of it and it sounds remarkable) and a long overdue recording of the Bach Violin Concertos from Rachel Podger. Much to look forward to then, as well as much to celebrate over the past twenty years. We’ve just started a special offer on the label where we’re offering 25% off, so there has never been a better time to explore the riches of the Channel Classics catalogue. Happy birthday Channel Classics! Browse Channel Classics Special Offer:
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Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
New Releases7th June 2010 |
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. |
 Vivaldi: Armida al campo d'Egitto RV699-AFurio Zanasi (Califfo), Marina Comparato (Emireno), Romina Basso (Adrasto), Martín Oro (Tisaferno), Sara Mingardo (Armida), Monica Bacelli (Osmira) & Raffaella Milanesi (Erminia), Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini (director)As part of the successful Vivaldi Edition, Naïve releases the first ever recorded version of Vivaldi’s Armida, one of his notable operas, featuring an exceptional cast of singers including Sara Mingardo and Furio Zanasi, conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini. Armida was a decisive work in Vivaldi’s life as it marked the moment when the Venetian composer became the link in musical history between Monteverdi and Rossini. Armida is the tenth opera released within the Vivaldi Edition and the second Vivaldi opera recorded by Rinaldo Alessandrini. The title role is remarkably interpreted by the contralto Sara Mingardo who is a regular performer within the Vivaldi Edition. Armida represents another successful collaboration between Sara Mingardo and Rinaldo Alessandrini following the release of Vivaldi’s Gloria last year. The exceptional cast on this release also features Furio Zanasi who sang with Sara Mingardo on the latest Vivaldi’s Farnace release in 2009. |
 Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring and Revueltas: La noche de los MayasSimon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, Gustavo DudamelGustavo Dudamel elicits high octane playing from his Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela in these two full-frontal force orchestral pieces. Both Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps and Revueltas’s La noche de los Mayas are revealed as models of revolutionary music making. In Le Sacre du Printemps, Stravinsky transformed painter Nicholas Roerich’s fleeting vision of a pagan ritual in which a young girl dances herself to death as a sacrifice to the god of Spring into a musical simulation of barbaric primality. La noche de los Mayas, originally scored for a 1939 film, is one of Mexico’s musical treasures. This concert suite, edited by José Ives Limantour, dating to 1961, evokes a mystical lost world. |
 Britten: Songs & Proverbs of William BlakeGerald Finley (baritone) & Julius Drake (piano)The unbeatable, multi-award-winning partnership of Gerald Finley and Julius Drake turn to the composer Benjamin Britten for their latest Hyperion release. Although Britten is particularly celebrated for the substantial body of music he composed for the tenor voice, the composer also left an important legacy of music for baritone. Characteristically, Britten’s output for low voice was also inspired by the talents of specific performers with whom he was closely associated, among them Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and John Shirley-Quirk. In addition to song-cycles, individual songs and folksong arrangements, Britten wrote challenging baritone roles in operas as diverse as Billy Budd (1951), Owen Wingrave (1970) and Death in Venice (1972), the title role of the second of these made very much Gerald Finley’s own in his magnificent interpretation in Margaret Williams’s 2001 television film of the opera. |
 Handel: Venus & AdonisZefiro EnsembleEnsemble Zefiro was founded in 1989 by oboists Alfredo Bernardini and Paolo Grazzi together with bassoonist Alberto Grazzi and consists of talented musicians drawn from leading Baroque orchestras. Zefiro regularly appears to great acclaim at major European, Asian and South American festivals. |
 Mahler - Symphony No. 2Ilona Steingruber & Hilde Rössl-Majdan, Akademie Kammerchor & Wiener Symphoniker, Otto KlempererA fascinating release of Klemperer conducting Mahler's 2nd Symphony. It is particularly interesting as it contains a second disc with Ambient Mastering. Ambient Mastering utilises very small frequency delays to give a sense of space and width to a mono, or very narrow stereo, recording. The amount of processing is determined by the mastering engineer. No artificial reverberation is added in this process, so that the natural acoustic of the original remains largely unaltered. |
Elgar: Cello ConcertoSol Gabetta (cello), Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Mario VenzagoThe award winning Argentinian cellist Sol Gabetta focuses her considerable talents on Late Romantic cello repertoire on her latest release on RCA Red Seal/Sony Music Entertainment. Gabetta’s sensational live recording of the Elgar Cello Concerto is the centrepiece to a stunning new album from one of classical music’s most thrilling and successful young stars. Ms. Gabetta is joined on the works by Elgar, Dvorák and Respighi by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Mario Venzago. |
 Peter Philips: Cantiones Sacrae 1612Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, Richard MarlowPeter Philips was, after William Byrd, the most published English composer of the Elizabethan-Jacobean Age. He was also, in his day, the best-known English composer on the European mainland but his absence from his homeland after the age of about twenty-one means that he remains relatively neglected at home. Richard Marlow conducts the mixed Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge. About a previous release International Record Review wrote: ‘This is a triumph for Marlow and his Trinity college choir, for Chandos, and above all, for Mendelssohn’s reputation as an inventive and deeply rewarding composer of sacred choral pieces.’ |
 Elgar: Symphony No. 1 and Sea PicturesDame Janet Baker (mezzo), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley CBEThis release is a tribute to Vernon Handley's long and valued association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra extending back over 45 years. A very special relationship exists with the music of Edward Elgar as the London Philharmonic Orchestra is often referred to as ‘Elgar’s Orchestra’. The LPO also had a special association with Vernon Handley and this release in a small way acknowledges Handley's contribution to the Orchestra's life. It marks the first re-issue onto a single disc of the acclaimed recording of Dame Janet Baker's Sea Pictures from a concert recorded by Capital Radio in 1984 and a landmark premiere release from the same concert of Elgar's Symphony No.1. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 5th June 2010 |
Building a Library - Schumann: Dichterliebe (recommended versions) |
 Gerald Finley (baritone) & Julius Drake (piano)(One of Hilary Finch's choices) |
 Ian Bostridge (tenor), Julius Drake (piano)(One of Hilary Finch's choices) |
 Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone), Jorg Demus (piano)Recorded 1965(One of Hilary Finch's choices) |
 Werner Güra (tenor) & Jan Schultsz (piano)(One of Richard Wigmore's choices) |
 Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone), Christoph Eschenbach (piano)Recorded 1976(One of Richard Wigmore's choices) |
 Peter Schreier (tenor), András Schiff (piano)(One of Richard Wigmore's choices) |
 Christopher Maltman (baritone) & Graham Johnson (piano)(One of Richard Wigmore's choices) |
Disc of the Week |
 Bach, Brahms Britten and ChopinMiklós Perényi & Dénes Várjon |
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