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Presto News - 3rd January 2011The Genius of Mozart |
 Happy New Year, and what better way to see in 2011 than with Mozart? As UK readers will probably have realised, BBC Radio 3 are devoting the first 12 days of the year to the great composer and, from his piano concertos and string quartets to his operas and symphonies, the station will play every note that Mozart wrote, and nothing but.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The ‘Genius of Mozart’ season is not the first time that Radio 3 has used its whole schedule to celebrate the music of one composer and, after the huge successes of both ‘The Beethoven Experience’ and ‘A Bach Christmas’ back in 2005, a dedicated Mozart celebration has been a long time coming. Widely recognised as one of (if not the) greatest composers of all time, he wrote over 600 works before his death in 1791 at the age of just 35. He was rare amongst composers in that he excelled at pretty much all genres (operas, orchestral music, chamber music, vocal music, choral music etc.), and his music has an instant attractiveness which has turned him into probably the most enduringly popular of all classical composers. Now you could argue that most Radio 3 listeners will probably know most of the Mozart works they want to know already so why devote 12 days exclusively to him? Well, I always find huge value in re-visiting the well-known, as undoubtedly a different recording from the one in your collection at home will reveal something new and fresh. Personally I also like the concentrated nature of such a 12 day festival as I think you’re more likely to notice a similarity in a theme which occurs for example in both an opera aria and a movement of a symphony. Knowing what the music is about from the opera can often help you better understand the character of the music in the symphony. Not that I feel we particularly need an excuse to celebrate the music of Mozart, but to coincide with this major feat of classical music broadcasting, we’ve set up a special offer on a large range of Mozart recordings - both CDs and DVD videos - with discounts of up to 50%. There are some superb recordings in here including the ongoing René Jacobs Opera cycle on Harmonia Mundi, the Nikolaus Harnoncourt Symphony recordings, the Mitsuko Uchida Piano Sonatas and the Amadeus Quartet’s String Quartet recordings. There are also some fascinating older recordings in here like the remarkable Friedrich Gulda Sonata recordings and Anne-Sophie Mutter’s first recording with Karajan (of the 3rd and 5th Violin Concertos). Much to enjoy then. Happy New Year. The Genius of Mozart:
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Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
New Releases3rd January 2011 |
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. |
 Hindemith: The Complete Viola Music Volume 3 - ConcertosLawrence Power (viola), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, David AthertonLawrence Power’s revelatory series of Hindemith’s complete works for the viola continues into a third and final volume with the music for viola and orchestra. Hindemith was an internationally renowned viola player himself, and his legacy for the instrument is an inestimably important body of work. Throughout this series, Power’s searingly vivid and eloquent performances have left critics and the listening public in no doubt that the somewhat ‘difficult’ reputation of the composer is ill-deserved; that this is music full of striking melodic ideas, deep lyrical feeling and high drama. |
 Clemens non Papa: Requiem & Penitential MotetsThe Brabant Ensemble, Stephen RiceThe Brabant Ensemble under their director Stephen Rice presents music for the dark time of the year. Its latest disc of 16th-century polyphony features the extraordinary compositional gifts of Clemens non Papa, put to the service of the Requiem mass and a selection of motets on a penitential theme. Within this general aspect of solemnity can be found countless shades of expression and emotion. |
 The Italian Intermezzo: Music without wordsBBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Gianandrea NosedaThe intermezzi recorded on this CD are, in the main, orchestral mood-painting interludes found in the great Italian operatic repertoire of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, usually connecting acts in the opera. The music is powerfully atmospheric, designed not only to create the right mood for the ensuing action of the opera, but also providing some respite from the drama itself. |
 Gabriel Pierné: Piano ConcertoBBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Juanjo MenaThis is Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s third concerto CD for Chandos, following on from this year’s highly acclaimed accounts of the Bartók Piano Concertos (CHAN10610) and the Ravel Piano Concertos (CHSA5084). Bavouzet is a true master of the French repertoire as can be seen from his award winning complete Debussy series. He is here accompanied by Juanjo Mena – who will from September 2011 be the Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic – in this, his debut recording on Chandos. |
 Karlowicz: Serenade & Violin ConcertoWarsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni WitAlthough he left the merest handful of compositions at his seemingly accidental death in an avalanche while skiing, Mieczysław Karłowicz ranks among the most important Polish composers of his generation. |
 Bruckner: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Nowak ed.)Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Thomas DausgaardThomas Dausgaard and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra take on Anton Bruckner’s Second Symphony – a work that is often regarded as the epitome of Romantic grandeur. This is the next instalment in the ‘Opening Doors’ series where Dausgaard and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra record symphonic works. |
 Lyapunov: Violin Concerto in D minor & Symphony No. 1Maxim Fedotov (violin), Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitry YablonskySergey Mikhaylovich Lyapunov belonged to the second generation of Russian nationalist composers who were professionally trained and strongly influenced by Balakirev and his associates. His Violin Concerto has “a gorgeous solo part, big tunes, high energy, emotional Russian-romantic sweep, and a simply terrific cadenza... Maxim Fedotov sounds like he is having the time of his life” MusicWeb International. |
 Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 & 12Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano), Die Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander WillensThis disc is the first in a projected series of Mozart’s piano concertos, for which Brautigam returns to the fortepiano – a copy of an 1802 instrument by Walther & Sohn – and is joined by the experienced period band Die Kölner Akademie conducted by Michael Willens. The programme includes one of Mozart’s first early master-pieces, the ‘Jenamy’ Concerto (previously known as ‘Jeunehomme’) composed in 1777 before he had moved from Salzburg to Vienna. |
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