Chopin: Pierscien (The Ring), Op. 74 No. 14 (La bague)

The Polish soprano Urszula Cuvellier has studied both singing and the violin. Since 2001, she has been a soloist in the Choeur Symphonique de Paris. Anne Bozek teaches vocal accompaniment at the Paris Conservatoire and regularly gives masterclasses in Europe and Asia.

Both singers are closely connected with the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Covent Garden. Last year they recorded a set of Chopin Songs for the Frederyck Chopin Institute. Nelson Goerner is a great figure among contemporary pianists and is well known for his performances of the works of romantic composers, particularly Chopin’s.

The lied and Chopin’s world are not as far removed from each other as one might think at first. The Romantic lied, bel canto and Chopin’s piano works are in fact different ‘dialects’ derived from the the same style or mindset. Likewise of a vocal origin, the nocturnes, the folk-like mazurkas and the other small forms rendered immortal by the “poet of the piano”, can be regarded as songs without words. The appeal of works with words lies in the fact that frequently they offer the key to the closed world of a composer – maybe not the whole one but at least a small corner of it. Although it would be in vain to seek in Chopin’s songs for cues to the contextual background of his mysterious instrumental works belonging to the category of absolute music, the some twenty pieces throw new light on his well-known piano works.

“I want my singing to have drama, to send a message, sometimes people cry when they hear me-this is what's important. I want people to love me or hate me because of the emotion of my singing” Ewa Podles

Wigmore Hall Live proudly presents an all-Russian and Polish recital by the enigmatic Ewa Podles, widely regarded as the world’s leading contralto and one of the true great singers of our time.

Recorded live at Wigmore Hall on 23 January 2008, this release marked Ewa Podles´ return to the Wigmore Hall stage after an absence of sixteen years.

With her unique, dramatic voice of staggering range, agility and amplitude, Ewa Podles gives the kind of towering performance that has come to be expected of an artist who has acquired cult status and a near-fanatical following within the operatic world.

In addition to her rigorous operatic calendar, which notably includes her highly-publicised return this year to the Metropolitan Opera Stage after twenty-four years, Podles´ is one of the most acclaimed recital and concert performers in the world.

Accompanying Podles´ is the distinguished Garrick Ohlsson, whose solo performance of Szymanowski’s Masques “was a mastery display of sustained and imaginative virtuosity, matching the singer’s” Opera Now

A completely reworked version of the 1999 DG Edition, now split between DG and Decca recordings.

17 CDs, non-limited, in capbox.

Pollini recordings backbone of collection (Etudes, Sonatas, Polonaises, Scherzos)

New DG Highlights: Zimerman's Concertos, Blechacz's Preludes, Pires's Nocturnes

New from Decca: Arrau - Piano Works with orchestra, Ashkenazy - Mazurkas and Waltzes.

Available for the Chopin 200th anniversary in March 2010.