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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Lionel Bringuier & Nelson Freire Live at the Royal Albert Hall
Leading Chopin interpreter Nelson Freire is the soloist in Chopin’s lyrical and brilliant Second Piano Concerto. On the podium the young French conductor Lionel Bringuier makes his Proms debut conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and gives a sizzling performance of Roussel’s Symphony No.3 and of Ravel’s score for the ballet 'Daphnis et Chloé' - Suite No 2. Chopin wrote his concerto at the age of 19 while crazily in love with an opera singer, but it's the work itself which is the object of adoration for soloist Nelson Freire who describes himself as having something of a 'crush' on the piece after first hearing it as a teenager. The three other works on the programme chart French music over a century of changing musical tastes, beginning in 1844 with Berlioz's vivid evocation of a swashbuckling pirate adventure in his overture 'Le corsaire'. By 1912 the tides of modernism influenced Ravel's lavishly scored, pastoral ballet Daphnis and Chloë, with its famous opening soundscape of dawn breaking over the forest canopy, and by the 1930s Roussel's Third Symphony reflected the trends of neo-classicism. "It was around the beginning of the second movement of Albert Roussel's Third Symphony that the playing of the BBC Symphony Orchestra – under the outstanding 23-year-old French conductor Lionel Bringuier, making his Prom debut – moved into top gear. From that point on, the orchestra's awareness of its own sound, collectively and individually, became heightened to an unusually compelling degree. The playing stayed on this exalted level until the end of the concert, which closed with Ravel's second Daphnis and Chloé suite...shaped with a certainty of direction that never compromised the music's inherent sensuousness. It provided a sensational climax to the evening." George Hall, The Guardian 13/8/2010 Recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall, 08/2010, Running time 95 min. Booklet: French, German, English Image 1DVD9, Colour 16/9, NTSC Sound: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 “If it was a bold idea to invite this young French conductor to the BBC Proms, it was surely madness to film the concert. But thank goodness the BBC and innovative label BelAir took the chance, as this is a model of filmed music-making. Bringuier’s rapport with the orchestra (and with soloist Nelson Freire here on scintillating form) is immediately evident. Thoroughly recommended.” Classical Music, May 2013 “the least flashy of virtuosos, [Freire] conjures up a phenomenal palette of colours by the most economical means. I would urge anyone to hear this performance with Bringuier...You can sense even the oldest, most cynical hands in the band responding to his charismatic direction with enthusiasm...All in all, a tremendous concert.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2013 | 
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| |  | Ernest Ansermet conducts Roussel, Dukas & Chausson
From Roussel's delightful tribute to the animal kingdom in Le festin de l'araignee via two of Dukas' symphonic masterpieces (The Sorcerer's Apprentice in state-of-the-art sound) to Chausson's powerful and massive Symphony in B flat, this generous anthology in the Decca Ansermet Legacy features the conductor in music he knew intimately and performed inimitably. “The performance is relaxed yet has a cumulative effect: one has a feeling of real calamity before the magician hurriedly returns at the end to put right the mischief his apprentice has wrought.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Roussel - Symphony No. 3
This Albert Roussel disc is the final in a successful cycle of three Ondine releases featuring the four symphonies and two ballets by the French composer. The Third Symphony, which was given its world première in Boston in 1930, is a true masterpiece and remains the most popular of Roussel's symphonic works. Le Festin de l'araignée (The Spider's Feast) was completed in 1913 and is the second of Roussel's celebrated ballets, the other being Bacchus et Ariane, which was featured on a previous release.While there are many accounts of the symphonic fragments, this disc contains the complete ballet music.The music is energetic, melodic, original, and programmatic, helped by the choreographical annotations from the original score which are contained in the track listing of this CD.The booklet contains expert liner notes from the Centre International Albert-Roussel in France, as well as rare photographs. Both previous Roussel releases have contributed to a revival of the French composer's music and have earned high praise in the international press. “[Eschenbach] subjects [the Third Symphony] to radical scrutiny, though his take on the piece won't be to all tastes. This is a dark interpretation of a work usually considered optimistic and urbane. What we think of as a joyous explosion of rhythm often sounds savage and perplexing. There's turmoil beneath the elegant veneer of the melodic lines. He's right, of course, to argue that we shouldn't dismiss the Third as lightweight. At the same time, it's all a bit too self-consciously done, and Eschenbach seems altogether happier with the ambiguities of Le Festin de l'Araignée...Eschenbach's understanding of the mixture of surface charm and underlying malaise is marvellously acute, and the playing is often devastating in its brilliance.” The Guardian, 18th April 2008 **** “Eschenbach's understanding of Roussell is manifestly profound and his way with the music quietly compelling and persuasive. Very highly recommended.” Gramophone Magazine, April 2008 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Lionel Bringuier & Nelson Freire Live at the Royal Albert Hall
Leading Chopin interpreter Nelson Freire is the soloist in Chopin’s lyrical and brilliant Second Piano Concerto. On the podium the young French conductor Lionel Bringuier makes his Proms debut conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and gives a sizzling performance of Roussel’s Symphony No.3 and of Ravel’s score for the ballet 'Daphnis et Chloé' - Suite No 2. Chopin wrote his concerto at the age of 19 while crazily in love with an opera singer, but it's the work itself which is the object of adoration for soloist Nelson Freire who describes himself as having something of a 'crush' on the piece after first hearing it as a teenager. The three other works on the programme chart French music over a century of changing musical tastes, beginning in 1844 with Berlioz's vivid evocation of a swashbuckling pirate adventure in his overture 'Le corsaire'. By 1912 the tides of modernism influenced Ravel's lavishly scored, pastoral ballet Daphnis and Chloë, with its famous opening soundscape of dawn breaking over the forest canopy, and by the 1930s Roussel's Third Symphony reflected the trends of neo-classicism. "It was around the beginning of the second movement of Albert Roussel's Third Symphony that the playing of the BBC Symphony Orchestra – under the outstanding 23-year-old French conductor Lionel Bringuier, making his Prom debut – moved into top gear. From that point on, the orchestra's awareness of its own sound, collectively and individually, became heightened to an unusually compelling degree. The playing stayed on this exalted level until the end of the concert, which closed with Ravel's second Daphnis and Chloé suite...shaped with a certainty of direction that never compromised the music's inherent sensuousness. It provided a sensational climax to the evening." George Hall, The Guardian 13/8/2010 Recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall, 08/2010, Running time 95 min. Booklet: French, German, English Image 1BD25, Colour 16/9, 1080i Full HD Sound PCM Stereo, DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 “the least flashy of virtuosos, [Freire] conjures up a phenomenal palette of colours by the most economical means. I would urge anyone to hear this performance with Bringuier...You can sense even the oldest, most cynical hands in the band responding to his charismatic direction with enthusiasm...All in all, a tremendous concert.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2013 “If it was a bold idea to invite this young French conductor to the BBC Proms, it was surely madness to film the concert. But thank goodness the BBC and innovative label BelAir took the chance, as this is a model of filmed music-making. Bringuier’s rapport with the orchestra (and with soloist Nelson Freire here on scintillating form) is immediately evident. Thoroughly recommended” Classical Music, May 2013 |
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| |  | Roussel: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4
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| |  | Albert Roussel: Complete Symphonies
France’s symphonic tradition may not compare to the immensity of Germany’s, but it has produced a number of impressive works. This release is dedicated to those by Albert Roussel, one of classical music’s most distinguished late-starters. The compilation begins with the delightful Poème de la forêt – Roussel’s first great work of importance and one whose strong Impressionist flavour is revealed through the use of picturesque movement titles. From the Second Symphony’s powerful proportions to No.3’s cyclic nature, we encounter a composer whose music was beginning to harbour a fierce and concentrated energy. His final work in the genre, written three years before his death in 1937, represents for many the apex of his achievements. Roussel may never have gained the popularity of Debussy and Ravel, but he was an important and compelling composer whose symphonies combined both 20th-century style and colour with Classical structures. Tracing the entire development of his style, this assured recording by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France brings Roussel’s distinctive voice to life. “It is Janowski’s exquisite nuancing of melody (timing as well as shaping) that catches the ear as often as the correctly achieved balances, the purity of tone and the general limpidity of the sound.” Gramophone Magazine, June 1996 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Roussel: Symphony No. 3
“The ballet bounces along with tremendous colour, and some elegant woodwind phrasing while Denève's ear for detail pays dividends. He maintains a relentless drive in the Symphony… keeping up a headlong assault throughout.” BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2008 **** “The Third is the most sheerly exciting of Roussel's four symphonies. The RSNO's performance is fully alive to the music's sweep and irrepressible joie de vivre as well as its more lyrical aspects. There is an edge-of-the-seat quality to the interpretation that is winning, although music director Stéphane Denéve's tempi are slower than Dutoit's... it is with its sound and orchestral balance that this newcomer scores, making audible a wealth of detail often submerged. The woodwinds in particular benefit and their superb playing illuminates Bacchus et Ariane. Highly recommended.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2007 “The Third is the most sheerly exciting of Roussel's four symphonies. The pounding, soaring opening Allegro vivo has become iconic but there is far more to the symphony than that, with an Adagio of great emotional range, two scherzos (one embedded in the slow movement) and a whirlwind finale that fuses all the expressive elements together by its close.
The RSNO's performance is fully alive to the music's sweep and irrepressible joie de vivre as well as its more lyrical aspects. There is an edgeof- the-seat quality to the interpretation that is winning. In the third span, Vivace, Denève pushes on and here, as in the Allegro con spirito finale, he outpaces his rivals. But it is with its sound and orchestral balance that this newcomer scores, making audible a wealth of detail often submerged.
The woodwinds in particular benefit and their superb playing illuminates Bacchus et Ariane. The cover states that the complete ballet is being presented whereas the track listings show Suites Nos 1 and 2. There is little appreciable difference, the suites mirroring the two acts and published this way after the lacklustre premiere. Suite No 2 has become a warhorse for Francophile conductors but there is much to enjoy in the First. If you are coming new to Roussel, this is the perfect introduction.
Highly recommended.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “Denève does justice to a dazzling piece of work, fresh and vigorous, a mix of Stravinskyian rhythms and Debussyian colours… this is a thrilling reminder of an underperformed composer.” Classic FM Magazine “The most recent digital set on Naxos is, on balance, perhaps the best [Roussel cycle], and is certainly well on its way to being the most comprehensive...With the third CD, one comes to...two of the most colourful and vibrant scores of the twentieth century. This is undoubtedly exciting music, and Deneve catches the mood perfectly. The pounding rhythms of the opening of the Symphony No. 3 are perhaps the best captured on CD” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | (also available to download from $6.00) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Roussel - Symphonies Nos. 1-4
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Gramophone Magazine
