Coming Soon,
Delius's A Mass of Life from Sir Mark Elder and other forthcoming highlights
Photograph of Sir Mark Elder: Benjamin Ealovega.
First performed in its entirety under Sir Thomas Beecham in 1905, Delius's largest and most ambitious concert-work sets passages from Nietzsche's Also sprach Zarathustra, which Delius had first encountered during a stay in Norway; the work received its Norwegian premiere in Bergen last September, marking the beginning of Elder's tenure as Principal Guest Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic. Elder remarks: 'Delius was a great original, but it's the nature of his harmonic movement that is the outstanding quality of A Mass of Life.'
Released 24th November.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Schumann: Piano Quartet & Piano Quintet
Isabelle Faust, Anne-Katharina Schreiber (violins), Antoine Tamestit (viola), Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Alexander Melnikov (fortepiano)
Melnikov, Faust and Queyras collaborated on a superb series of Robert Schumann's piano trios (each one coupled with a concerto) back in the mid-2010s, with International Piano describing their account of No. 2 as 'top-quality chamber playing in a reference recording' and Record Review praising the 'intelligence and mutual sympathy' of their playing. Now they are joined by two distinguished guests for two slightly larger works from 1842, both of which received their public premieres with Clara at the piano.
Released 24th November.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
The French harpsichordist told us last year that The Art of Fugue was a work which he never expected to record until the lockdowns of 2020 left him with an unexpectedly empty diary: 'I had so much time to crack open the score, study it and consider it afresh, and after all that I finally felt ready to get into the studio. I used one of my own harpsichords, an anonymous instrument which has such a beautiful sound and so many different colours. It was the most wonderful project.'
Released 1st December.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
After a first instalment centring on the Eroica Variations and also featuring music by Mozart, Schumann and Webern, the second volume of Tiberghien's Beethoven project has a distinctly American accent: the 32 Variations on an Original Theme in C minor are complemented by works by John Cage, George Crumb and Morton Feldman. The programme also includes Sweelinck's Six Variations on ‘Mein junges Leben hat ein End’ and Brahms's transcription of the Chaconne from the Partita No. 2 in D minor.
Released 12th January .
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
A year on from his Gramophone Award-winning recording of the great viola-player's transcription of Elgar's Cello Concerto, Ridout presents a recital which opens with York Bowen's Viola Sonata No. 1, premiered by Tertis and the composer in 1905. The programme also includes Bridge's Allegro appassionato and Pensiero (edited by Tertis), Tertis's own Sunset and Hier au soir, and his transcriptions of Brahms's Minnelied, Fauré's Élégie and Ireland's The Holy Boy.
Released 26th January.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Following albums dedicated to Falla and Mompou, the Spanish pianist presents Granados's Goya-inspired suite from 1911; the work was premiered by the composer himself, who enthused that he had created 'great flights of imagination and difficulty'. This is Perianes's second Granados recording, eight years on from what Gramophone hailed as a 'luminous, animated, sensitive' account of the Piano Quintet with Cuarteto Quiroga.
Released 1st December.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
A Most Marvellous Party with Noel Coward and Friends
Mary Bevan (soprano), Nicky Spence (tenor), Joseph Middleton (piano)
Bevan, Spence and Middleton mark the fiftieth anniversary of Coward's death with a witty and wonderful recital including 'Any Little Fish', 'Parisian Pierrot', 'I Went to a Marvellous Party', 'The Party's Over Now' and 'Don't Put Your Daughter on the Stage, Mrs Worthington', plus songs by Britten, Quilter, Ned Rorem, Liza Lehmann, Gershwin, Weill and Messager. Middleton contributes solo piano pieces by Poulenc, Stravinsky and Satie.
Released 17th November.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
The soprano's 100th recording ranges far and wide, covering Lieder (Schubert, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Richard Strauss and Hugo Wolf), mélodies (Gounod, Paladilhe, Strohl, Poulenc and Franck) and English song (Parry, Gurney, Frances-Hoad, Wallen); also included is Deborah Pritchard's 'Everyone Sang', written especially for Sampson and due to receive its live premiere at Wigmore Hall in December.
Released 17th November.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
