All recordingsPrices shown exclude VAT. (UK tax is not payable for deliveries to United States.)
See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | R. Strauss: Orchesterlieder & Metamorphosen
Strauss, R: | Ruhe, meine Seele!, Op. 27 No. 1 Waldseligkeit, Op. 49 No. 1 Freundliche Vision, Op. 48 No. 1 Morgen, Op. 27 No. 4 Befreit, Op. 39 No. 4 Meinem Kinde, Op. 37 No. 3 Winterweihe, Op. 48 No. 4 Wiegenlied, Op. 41 No. 1 Die heiligen drei Könige aus Morgenland Op. 56 No. 6 Metamorphosen |
| | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Strauss: Four Last Songs
Strauss, R: | Four Last Songs Muttertändelei, Op. 43 No. 2 Waldseligkeit, Op. 49 No. 1 Zueignung, Op. 10 No. 1 Freundliche Vision, Op. 48 No. 1 Die heiligen drei Könige aus Morgenland Op. 56 No. 6 Ruhe, meine Seele!, Op. 27 No. 1 Meinem Kinde, Op. 37 No. 3 Wiegenlied, Op. 41 No. 1 Morgen, Op. 27 No. 4 Das Bächlein, Op. 88 No. 1 Das Rosenband, Op. 36 No. 1 Winterweihe, Op. 48 No. 4 |
| | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | R. Strauss: Lieder
Strauss, R: | Ich wollt ein Sträusslein binden, Op. 68 No. 2 Waldseligkeit, Op. 49 No. 1 Das Bächlein, Op. 88 No. 1 Winterweihe, Op. 48 No. 4 Morgen, Op. 27 No. 4 Allerseelen, Op. 10 No. 8 Cäcilie, Op. 27 No. 2 Amor, Op. 68 No. 5 Säusle, Liebe Myrte, Op. 68 No. 3 Freundliche Vision, Op. 48 No. 1 Ständchen, Op. 17 No. 2 Traum durch die Dämmerung, Op. 29 No. 1 Wiegenlied, Op. 41 No. 1 Meinem Kinde, Op. 37 No. 3 Muttertändelei, Op. 43 No. 2 Zueignung, Op. 10 No. 1 Das Rosenband, Op. 36 No. 1 Heimkehr, Op. 15 No. 5 Als mir dein Lied erklang, Op. 68 No. 4 Des Dichters Abendgang, Op. 47 No. 2 An die Nacht, Op. 68 No. 1 Lied der Frauen, Op. 68 |
“This is a performance of transcendent art” proclaimed Opera News on hearing Diana Damrau’s interpretation of Strauss’ Zerbinetta on her last Virgin Classics album, ‘Coloraturas’. In this collection of Strauss songs, recorded in the composer’s hometown, she is joined by the Munich Philharmonic and Christian Thielemann, the leading German conductor of his generation. Soprano Diana Damrau, described by The Sunday Times as “the most dazzling star to have emerged from Germany in recent years” was born in Bavaria. The region’s capital, Munich, was the birthplace of Richard Strauss, and in March 2009 a programme of the composer’s songs was presented at the city’s Gasteig Philharmonie, with Damrau accompanied by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under its Chief Conductor, Christian Thielemann. “Strauss loved female voices,” says Damrau, “and he explores some extreme possibilities in these many-layered songs, each with its different point of view. Sensitivity to the words is vital to telling the story of each song, to capturing the rapid changes of mood and all the colours.” Strauss’ operatic roles for lyric-coloratura soprano, notably Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Aithra (Die Aegyptische Helena) and Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) have played an important role in Damrau’s career. As Opera News wrote when reviewing her last Virgin Classics album, ‘Coloraturas’: “Zerbinetta … is one of Damrau's calling cards, having served for her stupendous Met debut in 2005. ‘Grossmächtige Prinzessin’ provides every opportunity to dazzle the listener, with stratospheric high notes, staccatos, roulades and trills, as Zerbinetta cajoles, berates and mocks the gloomy Ariadne. Every note and word reveals Damrau's artistry, the result of constantly questioning and probing into the composer's intentions; while the soprano has a knack for concealing or highlighting technical difficulties at will, here just enough self-absorbed delight breaks to the surface that we are as captivated by Zerbinetta's own theatrical skills as by Damrau's vocal athleticism. Damrau/Zerbinetta even seems to be commanding the orchestra's responses to her whimsical, moody outbursts. This is a performance of transcendent art.” On the new CD, favourites such as ‘Ständchen’, ‘Wiegenlied’, ‘Allerseelen’, ‘Cäcilie’ and ‘Zueignung’ feature alongside more rarely heard numbers, and six tracks recorded under studio conditions now complement the sixteen songs captured live. “Always there is delicacy and an absolute respect for the silky legato that Strauss demands from his soloist. Damrau finds drama in these songs too...the songs that demand diamond-bright coloratura, runs and trills to affright a Zerbinetta hold no terrors...Thielemann has a very special affinity with singers. He also coaxes some fine playing from the Munich orchestra.” International Record Review, January 2011 “What wins this disc the five stars are the facts that Damrau, singing in her native German, is poised ideally between dreamy haze and Schwarzkopfian fussiness...her hallowed pianissimos allow the exquisite detail Thielemann draws from his Munich players to shine...the ineffable balance between voice and orchestra, subtly assisted by the engineering, is a treat throughout.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2011 ***** “Secure in technique, gifted in projecting drama and emotion, Damrau is a peach of a singer...The haunting music; the lyrical voice; the orchestra’s dappled array, with woodwinds curling like climbing roses and violins wafting with fragrant perfume: poesie indeed, in small doses.” The Times, 28th January 2011 **** “With a creamy-voiced soprano such as Renée Fleming, say, the results could be an excess of musical cholesterol, but Damrau’s diamantine timbre brings a welcome edge to the mix...She’s the leading Strauss soprano of the day, and her singing here shows exactly why.” Sunday Times, 30th January 2011 **** “her voice is not ideally voluptuous for Strauss, but she makes up for it by her exceptional musicality, investing every song with meaning, and her clarity of diction. The Munich Philharmonic under Christian Thielemann are splendid partners on a CD that must now be regarded as the best modern introduction to Strauss's songs” Mail on Sunday, 30th January 2011 **** “Her singing is consistently accurate and expressive. I particularly liked her 'Traum durch die Dämmerung', which caught the atmosphere of a secret tryst perfectly...She joins the group of younger sopranos such as Angelika Kirchschlager and Anne Schwanewilms among the leading lyric Strauss singers of the day.” Sunday Telegraph, 30th January 2011 **** “she is not merely a fair-weather soprano. Darker shades, more serious tones lie within her expressive scope than one might at first suppose...Familiar songs such as "Ständchen" gain new life with a smiling intimacy of approach in the first verse and an enriched suggestiveness as dusk falls in the third.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2011 “there are performances of such favourites as Morgen, Allerseelen and Wiegenlied, where her hovering, silvery soprano is heard to perfection...Not all the orchestrations are by Strauss: Christian Thielemann and the Munich Philharmonic really bring home just how marvellous his own instrumentation sounds when placed beside that of some of the other composers” The Guardian, 10th February 2011 **** “When did a German coloratura soprano last handle Richard Strauss’s orchestral songs with such grace and aplomb?...Damrau’s artistry is a combination of vocal noblesse, emotional warmth and instinctive intelligence.” Financial Times, 19th February 2011 **** “This gloriously romantic collection of orchestral settings of Strauss’s songs... shows [Damrau] at her stunning best. Outstanding tracks include Amor, with its airy, witty coloratura, and a magically slow yet gloriously alive Wiegenlied. The accompaniments, as might be expected from Thielemann’s baton, are quite superb.” The Telegraph, 25th February 2011 ***** “These songs demand a variety of vocal weights and colours, and Damrau seems to have it all...Thielemann and the Munich Phil revel in the rich orchestral colours and can be as light as air when required...Damrau brings effortless technique, beautiful tone and unfailing musical instinct to these songs.” Classic FM Magazine, April 2011 *****  BBC Music Magazine
Choral & Song Choice - February 2011 |
| | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Strauss - Four Last Songs
The dream team: Renee Fleming and Christian Thielemann, today's foremost interpreters of Richard Strauss, in a brand new recording of the Four Last Songs, plus other arias and songs by R. Strauss. Renee Fleming, the world's leading lyric soprano, records the exquisitely beautiful Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss in a brand new recording. Fleming recorded these songs once before, ten years ago before she had ever sung them live. Since then, these enduringly popular showcases for the soprano voice have become signature pieces for Fleming and a regular and much-loved part of her concert repertoire. With years of experience of live performances behind her, Fleming is ready now to revisit these works, bringing more insight, fresh interpretations and greater maturity. She is conducted by Christian Thielemann, a renowned interpreter of Strauss. The disc also includes other Strauss scenes from his operas Ariadne auf Naxos and Die Agyptische Helena as well as Richard Strauss's songs Freundliche Vision, Verfuehrung, Winterweihe and Zueignung, several of which Fleming has sung live to critical acclaim. “[Fleming's] voice is perfectly suited to [these 'magical late songs'] demands, less of range than of tender, expressive feeling…a must for more than merely Straussians” Anthony Holden, The Observer, 7th September 2008 “Renée Fleming's first recording of the Last Songs, made in 1996 (on RCA), was distinctly mixed. Here Christian Thielemann is a much more natural Straussian, powerful and luxuriant, and Fleming's voice has gained in distinctiveness and diction, to splendidly dramatic effect, often with a real 'float' at the top.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2008 **** “As Fleming explains in a note, the Four Last Songs has become the work that she has performed most often. Throughout the four songs, Fleming not only lavishes every resource of tonal richness at her command, but she seems to be urging all sorts of extra details from the text. The sound is stupendous, Fleming's voice complemented by the Munich Orchestra, with Thielemann bringing out every detail in Strauss's nostalgic orchestration.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2008 “[Thielemann] gives her voice space to soar and swoop in its illimitable fashion, but refuses to indulge her much-discussed habit of dropping consonants half the time...this is a strikingly fretful interpretation that contemplates mortality with profound unease as well as resignation...Elsewhere, she gives a ravishing account of Verführung and the finest performance of Winterweihe I can think of.” The Guardian, 10th October 2008 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Strauss - Metamorphosen
Strauss, R: | Metamorphosen Ruhe, meine Seele!, Op. 27 No. 1 Waldseligkeit, Op. 49 No. 1 Freundliche Vision, Op. 48 No. 1 Morgen, Op. 27 No. 4 Befreit, Op. 39 No. 4 Meinem Kinde, Op. 37 No. 3 Winterweihe, Op. 48 No. 4 Wiegenlied, Op. 41 No. 1 Die heiligen drei Könige aus Morgenland Op. 56 No. 6 |
| | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Richard Strauss: The Complete Songs 3
Strauss, R: | Nichts, Op. 10 No. 2 Die Zeitlose, Op. 10 No. 7 Die Verschwiegenen, Op. 10 No. 6 Sechs Lieder, Op. 17 Wozu noch, Mädchen Op. 19 No. 1 Schön sind, doch kalt die Himmelssterne, Op. 19, No. 3 Hoffen und wieder verzagen Op. 19 No. 5 Ach weh mir unglückhaftem Mann, Op. 21 No. 4 Die Frauen sind oft fromm und still Op. 21 No. 5 Heimliche Aufforderung, Op. 27 No. 3 Fünf Lieder, Op. 32 Für fünfzehn Pfennige Op. 36 No. 2 Anbetung, Op. 36 No. 4 Winterweihe, Op. 48 No. 4 Winterliebe Op. 48 No. 5 Freundliche Vision, Op. 48 No. 1 |
“Andrew Kennedy is an eager, bright-eyed lover: the bloom and the tenderness of the middle range of his voice, in particular, knows just how to bring a luxuriant Straussian intimacy to a song such as 'Seitdem dein Aug' in meines Schaute.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2008 *** “Vignoles's playing continues to achieve a maximum of freshness and invention… Kennedy's voice is young, sweet, fluent and has what some commentators call "sap". A lot of work and study has gone into this disc and the readings attain a consistently high standard of beautiful music-making.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2008 “Hyperion is an old hand at programming attractively playable discs that make up complete Lied editions. Kennedy's selection has the earlier material, with the Opp 17 and 32 groups given complete. Strauss's choice of poets at this stage in his Lied career may not have been as sophisticated as it became but he never chose a text that didn't inspire a clear musical portrait. Especially well pointed are two Des Knaben Wunderhorn songs ('Himmelsboten' and the droll love-onthe- cheap story of 'Für fünfzehn Pfennige') and the dark, serious 'Sehnsucht'. The better-known 'Ständchen' and what Roger Vignoles's notes call the 'ebullient barnstormer' 'Heimliche Aufforderung' are placed cunningly within the recital order.
Vignoles's playing continues to achieve a maximum of freshness and invention and a chameleon- like closeness to his singer's tone and line. Kennedy's voice is young, sweet, fluent and has what some commentators call 'sap'. Greater naturalness (and especially inwardness) will come in his live and later performances of this repertoire. In the meantime, a lot of work and study has gone into this disc and the readings attain a consistently high standard of beautiful music-making.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Glenn Gould: The Schwarzkopf Tapes
Strauss, R: | Wie erkenn' ich mein Treulich vor andern nun?, Op. 67, No. 1 Guten Morgen 's ist Sankt Valentinstag, Op. 67, No. 2 Sie trugen ihn auf der Bahre bloss, Op. 67, No. 3 Wer lieben will, muss leiden Op. 49 No. 7 previously unreleased Morgen, Op. 27 No. 4 previously unreleased Winterweihe, Op. 48 No. 4 previously unreleased Burleske for Piano and orchestra in D minor Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Golschmann |
plus rehearsal-footage of Burlesk with Glenn Gould ‘playing & singing’
An extraordinary encounter: in January 1966 eminent soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and eccentric pianist Glenn Gould met in an overheated New York studio to record songs by Richard Strauss. Two extreme worlds were bunched together and, as a result, the recording session was a spectacular failure. Contained on this CD are three previously released songs from this legendary meeting, three previously unreleased Strauss songs, as well as more music by the composer Gould valued so highly. “Not a collaboration, more a collision. Schwarzkopf’s fruity soprano fights to a draw against Gould’s stern minimalism...The stylistic clash — both frightful and fascinating — is immediately apparent with the first of the three Ophelia songs...All riveting stuff, this, at least if you consider Gould a genius. And if you count him too eccentric for words, well, you could always file away this CD as a comedy album.” The Times, 12th October 2012 *** | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Richard Strauss: Songs
Strauss, R: | Der Stern, Op. 69 No. 1 Einerlei, Op. 69 No. 3 Schlechtes Wetter, Op. 69 No. 5 Muttertändelei, Op. 43 No. 2 Ruhe, meine Seele!, Op. 27 No. 1 Cäcilie, Op. 27 No. 2 Blauer Sommer, Op. 31 No. 1 Das Rosenband, Op. 36 No. 1 Leises Lied, Op. 39 No. 1 Wiegenlied, Op. 41 No. 1 Des Dichters Abendgang, Op. 47 No. 2 Winterweihe, Op. 48 No. 4 Ständchen, Op. 17 No. 2 Meinem Kinde, Op. 37 No. 3 Drei Lieder der Ophelia Op. 67 Ich wollt ein Sträusslein binden, Op. 68 No. 2 Zueignung, Op. 10 No. 1 Die Nacht, Op. 10 No. 3 Die Verschwiegenen, Op. 10 No. 6 Die Zeitlose, Op. 10 No. 7 Allerseelen, Op. 10 No. 8 Waldseligkeit, Op. 49 No. 1 Ach, was Kummer, Qual und Schmerzen, Op. 49 No. 8 Morgen, Op. 27 No. 4 |
This delightful recital of Strauss songs by Dame Felicity Lott focuses on songs composed between 1885 and 1901, the years of Strauss’s richest song-writing genius. Partnered by her long-time collaborator, Graham Johnson, Dame Felicity sings various Nocturnes and Fantasies, songs about flowers, and then, grouped as “Valedictions and Lullabies”, some of Strauss’s best-known songs, including Allerseelen and Muttertändelei. The disc concludes with one of his best-loved songs, ‘Morgen’. This is the last of the four Op.27 wedding-gift songs for his wife, Pauline de Ahna: “…breathless rapture turned into music, one of the great songs of the world…” [Michael Kennedy, 2003] Dame Felicity Lott is considered one of the greatest sopranos of the 21st Century. Her operatic repertoire ranges from Handel to Stravinsky; and her formidable international reputation is as an interpreter of the great roles of Mozart and Strauss. Graham Johnson is recognised as one of the world’s leading vocal accompanists. He was made an OBE in the 1994 Queen's Birthday Honours list and he was also made an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society in February 2010. “Lott was still at her peak when these recordings were made in 2002, and has a background of great affinity with the Strauss muse...Her voice and phrasing are still at their glorious finest, and so is her partnership with Johnson. The result is a magical recital, naturally recorded.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2012 “With Johnson's charmingly modest and unfailing attendance, this is a recital peppered with exquisite moments of Olympian power and heroic breath control from Lott. These qualities give the lie to the fact that her remarkable voice is into its sixth decade! It is almost ideal for Strauss here: warmly lyrical, clear, lithe and sensuously intoned, majestic in its dynamic and emotional colourings.” MusicWeb International, August 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Edita Gruberova & Friedrich Haider sing Strauss
Strauss, R: | Rote Rosen, AV76 Zueignung, Op. 10 No. 1 Nichts, Op. 10 No. 2 Die Nacht, Op. 10 No. 3 Allerseelen, Op. 10 No. 8 Wer hat’s getan Op. 10 No. 6 bis Barkarole, Op. 17 No. 6 Breit' über mein Haupt Op. 19 No. 2 Du meines Herzens Krönelein, Op. 21 No. 2 Cäcilie, Op. 27 No. 2 Morgen, Op. 27 No. 4 Blauer Sommer, Op. 31 No. 1 Wenn ..., Op. 31 No. 2 Liebeshymnus, Op. 32 No. 3 Wir beide wollen springen, AV 90 Glückes genug Op. 37 No. 1 Leises Lied, Op. 39 No. 1 Junghexenlied, Op. 39 No. 2 In der Campagna Op. 41 No. 2 Weihnachtsgefühl, WoO. 94 Ein Obdach gegen Sturm und Regen, Op. 46 No. 1 Morgenrot, Op. 46 No. 4 Einkehr, Op. 47 No. 4 Malven, AV 304 Blick vom oberen Belvedere, Op. 88 No. 2 Der Stern, Op. 69 No. 1 Der Pokal, Op. 69, No. 2 Lied der Frauen, Op. 68 Amor, Op. 68 No. 5 Als mir dein Lied erklang, Op. 68 No. 4 Säusle, Liebe Myrte, Op. 68 No. 3 An die Nacht, Op. 68 No. 1 Ich wollt ein Sträusslein binden, Op. 68 No. 2 Blindenklage, Op. 56 No. 2 In goldener Fülle Op. 49 No. 2 Waldseligkeit, Op. 49 No. 1 Winterweihe, Op. 48 No. 4 Kling! Op. 48 No. 3 |
“Gruberova, at the peak of her career, is a technically superb and perceptive interpreter in this extensive 1991 selection, matched by Haider's accompaniment. His original notes and translations are sadly lacking.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2009 **** | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Waltraud Meier sings Strauss and Schubert
Schubert: | Dem Unendlichen, D291 (Klopstock) Wehmut, D772 (Collin) Die Forelle, D550 Gretchen am Spinnrade, D118 Nachtstück, D672 (Mayrhofer) Erlkönig, D328 | Strauss, R: | Cäcilie, Op. 27 No. 2 Winterweihe, Op. 48 No. 4 Wie sollten wir geheim sie halten, Op. 19 No. 4 Morgen, Op. 27 No. 4 Die Nacht, Op. 10 No. 3 Befreit, Op. 39 No. 4 Zueignung, Op. 10 No. 1 Four Last Songs Piano reduction by Max Wolf and Ernst Roth |
What’s Waltraud Meier’s secret to her 30 years of international success on stage? "Authentic empathy for the respective part", she tells us, "This is the only way for the audience to understand its essence." But it is more than that, it’s her charismatic acting intensity, her acting skills, her elaborate vocal technique, as well as her frenetic singing culture. She is constantly taking up new challenges, working on herself and trying to intuitively grasp a new vocal part. Only when she can fully identify with the song or the part, when the boundaries between the part and the self are blurred, only then can the performance be convincing, says the artist. With Joseph Breinl, she has found an ingenious partner whose primary concern is to equally learn, develop, and improve new things. They both aim to grasp what is written in the music, what the composer wanted to express. "We are servants of music, not self-exposers!" “If there is a thrilling story to be told, such as 'Gretchen am Spinnard' or even more so in 'Erlkönig', Waltraud Meier launches into the dramatics of the story, and just as she is on the stage performing opera, she is a pure actress.” Frankfurter Neue Presse “Accompanied by Joseph Breinl, who provides a richly colourful interpretation, in the piano version by Wolf and Roth, she makes Strauss’s "Vier letzten Lieder" the high point of the whole-hearted and exciting recital, a genre in which she has much experience. […] She almost makes mini-operas out of the songs, using the whole spectrum of theatrical colours right up to the dramatic scene of Schubert’s 'Erlkönig'” Opernwelt “great potential and presentation possibilities […] Each word of the poetry is felt with emotion and meaning through the music. Schubert’s 'Erlkönig' is in itself an experience, in how Meier interprets the roles of the King of the Elves and also of the little boy trembling with fear.” Main-Post “excellent vocal and lyrical presentation. An 'Erlkönig' brilliantly graduated in terms of colour becomes the highlight of the CD” Das Opernglas “Meier... is accompanied by Joseph Breinl, a young pianist whose interpretation already possesses a wonderful maturity. He accentuates the orchestral side of Schubert’s piano setting just as colourful as the intimate chamber musical moods so that... Schubert’s songs are rendered in an outrageously dense and tonally beautiful way. […] Finally, in the evergreen "Zuneigung", Waltraud Meier shows the wide range of her voice, which even in extremely slow passages retains its inner cohesion.” klassik.com | | | This item is currently out of stock at the UK distributor. You may order it now but please be aware that it may be six weeks or more before it can be despatched. |
|
|
| |
|
Gramophone Awards 2011
Gramophone Magazine