June Newsletter CDs of the Month
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With persistent buzzes and bonks in the keyboard . . . and whistling, icy scrapes from the fiddle, the piece ebbs, flows and builds slowly in a mesmerizing way . . . A fascinating new album -- where two opposite and unlikely musicians meet in a special place to make music of the unknown.
$20
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Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Orchestra bring their unique energy to one of the summits of the orchestral repertoire - Beethoven’s mighty Symphony No.3, the “Eroica”.
$20 |
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1612 Italian Vespers follows the ensemble’s acclaimed 2011 debut of Striggio’s Mass in 40 Parts.
The recording includes the first appearance on disc of Viadana’s four-choir Vesper Psalms, a reconstruction of Giovanni Gabrieli’s 28-voice Magnificat, a reconstitution of his In Ecclesiis and other lost treasures from the High Renaissance and early Baroque.
$20
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In June 2012 Deutsche Grammophon releases an 82-CD box set of Karajan's complete Deutsche Grammophon recordings from 1959 to 1970. The box includes original cover art, a lavish, richly-documented 200-page book, an extra Karajan showcard portrait and memorabilia from the archives.
$199
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Adrian Chandler and La Serenissima’s
10th release for Avie — coinciding with the label’s 10th anniversary — has all the hallmarks that have made the Vivaldi specialists one of the best-selling and acclaimed period-instrument bands performing today.
As with the chart-topping French Connection 2 (AVR 2218), which featured the world-premiere recording of the flute concerto “Il Gran Mogol,” Adrian has once again unearthed numerous works from this period, recorded for the first time.
$30 |
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Miklos Spanyi continues his traversal of the keyboard concertos of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, a series which Gramophone has called a 'unique monument to one of the 18th century's most underrated composers'. Once again Spanyi has joined forces with the Hungarian period band Concerto Armonico, and together they offer us the first four works in a set of six, the Sei Concerti per il cembalo concertato.
$30 |
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On his new disc, Jean-Jacques Kantorow plays two works intended for the great violin virtuoso Pablo de Saraste: the brief Fantaisie-ballet on themes from Lalo's ballet Namouna, and the large-scale Concerto russe. The latter borrows themes from two wedding songs included by Rimsky-Korsakov in his collection 100 Russian Folk Songs. Two shorter violin works are included here, but the disc closes with another concerto, the Piano Concerto from 1888. It was the composer's final major work.
$30 |
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The arresting clarinet glissando at the start of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue is probably the most famous opening in American music. It becomes even more significant through the fact that it wasn't even in the score when the composer first started rehearsals with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. Before the premiere in 1924 this particular feature, oozing of smoky jazz clubs, was arrived at in collaboration with the clarinettist of the orchestra. On the present recording, Freddy Kempf and the conductor Andrew Litton have opted for the original orchestration by Ferde Grofe, allowing the musicians of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra to revel in the role of a classic American big band.
$30 |
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'A humble attempt to build a metaphysical time bridge' is how Vadim Gluzman describes his latest recording project: a disc which combines two partitas by J S Bach with two works by Eugene Ysaye and Lera Auerbach, each representing a view of Bach through the prism of the 20th and 21st century respectively. Gluzman opens with Partita No 2 in D minor, followed by Lera Auerbach's par.ti.ta. Highly regarded by reviewers worldwide, Gluzman is regularly compared to the great violin virtuosos of the early 20th century, both for the sound he makes on his ex-Leopold Auer Stradivarius violin and for a playing with is wholly committed.
$30 |
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The first complete Brahms cycle with Mariss Jansons. One year after the successful release of the 2nd and 3rd symphonies by Johannes Brahms, the present double CD now completes the full cycle of Brahms’s symphonies, as performed by the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under the direction of Mariss Jansons. Mariss Jansons finished the recording of the 4th symphony in Munich’s Herkulessaal in February 2012. Along with his 1st symphony ("Beethoven’s Tenth"), it puts the finishing touch on the complete performance of Johannes Brahms’ symphonic works, compositions oriented around the creativity of his great role model, yet in many ways also forward looking and innovative.
$40 |
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A national monument in Spain, Manuel de Falla’s La vida breve is perhaps the greatest opera ever written in the Spanish language. A kind of ‘tragic zarzuela’, it unites verismo atmosphere, Andalusian local colour and a score shimmering with reminiscences of French Impressionism.
La vida breve is the story of a poor gypsy and her lover, who is engaged to wed a wealthy girl. “Simply a stroke of genius” wrote Spain’s Opera Viva about Guancarlo del Monaco’s austere, minimalist staging at Valencia’s Palau de les Arts Reine Sofia.
$45
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The Great Service, consisting of settings of liturgical texts from Matins, Communion, and Evensong, is among the finest music by William Byrd for the Anglican Church. The endless variety with which Byrd played with the available combinations gives the Great Service a kaleidoscopic character, which is very rare in late Renaissance music. Musica Contaxta who aims to present Renaissance music in the context of its original conception and function are joined on this recording by The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble, and the harpsichordist Steven Devine.
$20 |
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With her winning combination of consummate technical brilliance, fine musicianship, and personal verve, the pianist Xiayin Wang captures the hearts of audiences wherever she appears. This is Wang's second disc for Chandos Records. Her previous disc, of piano music by Earl Wild, was an 'International Piano Choice' in International Piano. The six Moments musicaux constitute a set of solo piano pieces, each representing a different but complementary musical form, such as the nocturne, song without words, barcarolle, virtuoso etude or variations. The Variations on a Theme of Corelli was the last original solo piano work that Rachmaninov wrote, and the only one he composed outside Russia.
$20 |
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This disc comprises some of cinema’s most memorable musical moments, as chosen and arranged for four guitars by the members of the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet.
Music from the Academy Award-winning scores for Frida, Titanic, Schindler’s List, and Il postino rubs shoulders with ‘Minor Swing’ from Chocolat. Also on this disc is the Theme from the score for A Summer Place by Max Steiner, music from The Piano and many more.
$20 |
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The three works in this Tavener set reflect two major influences on the composer's music: the culture of Greece, and the tradition of the Greek Orthodox Church.Tavener describes the orchestral Theophany as 'an attempt to redefine the presence of God in all things as seen from the earliest days of creation to the Psalmist'.
$20 |
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The works on this disc all date from the first half of the composing life of Saint-Saëns – with one exception, the Marche du couronnement, which he wrote for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902. Saint-Saëns's writing for large orchestra brings with it a pure, raw energy.
$20 |
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Although he writes in all genres, René Clausen is today one of America’s most popular choral composers, and for more than twenty years he has been the conductor of the internationally acclaimed Concordia Choir of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. On this release, choral works by Clausen are performed by the Kansas City Chorale:‘Set me as a Seal’ arguably the composer’s best-known work, ‘All that hath life and breath’ an earlier work and 'The Mass for Double Choir' (which was commissioned by the Kansas City Chorale) among other works are found on this recording.
$20 |
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This is the first complete collection of Carl Nielsen’s masterly chamber works available on CD. Here all the String Quartets, Violin Sonatas and Works for Wind appear in definitive recordings by top young Danish musicians. The piano works are played in unique fashion by Herman D. Koppel, who as a young man rehearsed them all with the composer himself.
This unique collection consists of prizewinning recordings by the Danish String Quartet, which has preserved the authentic playing style since Carl Nielsen’s time.
$50 |
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This recording, including Schubert's Piano Trios in B flat major and E flat major as well as his 'Arpeggione' Sonata, features three artists renowned for their interpretations of Schubert: pianist András Schiff, violinist Yuuko Shiokawa and cellist Miklós Perényi. Their performance of these
three great masterpieces of the chamber music repertoire
is by turns joyful, lyrical and melancholy, but they are sensitive throughout to the subtle nuances of the music
and to each other.
$40 |
Classical releases
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This Opera Australia production of Don Giovanni features the charismatic Teddy Tahu Rhodes in the title, libertine role, Conal Coad as Leporello, Daniel Sumegi (Commendatore), Rachael Durkin (Donna Anna) and Jacqueline Dark (Donna Elvira).
It is available as a
3CD set $30
DVD $40 or
Blu-ray $45 |
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Following the success of Mad Rush: the Piano Music of Philip Glass, Sally Whitwell takes us on a journey through the magical worlds of movies that have touched our hearts. Gently seductive, teasingly affectionate, starkly beautiful, this enchanting album captures in music the unforgettable characters – good, bad and awkward – whose lives and loves have shaped the great films of our time, from Amélie, The Hours and Portrait of a Lady to Twilight and The Hunger.
$25 |
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The 3CD set is the ninth in a series celebrating the musical fruits of a project in which young artists join seasoned performers. Recorded in the summer of 2011, Martha Argerich is joined by familiar names from previous Live from the Lugano Festival releases including pianists Lilya Zilberstein, Sergio Tiempo and Polina Leschenko as well as Virgin Classics’ inimitable violin- and cello-soloist brothers, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon and violinists Lucia Hall and Lida Chen.
$25 |
Popular releases
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Cartagena! features 19 tracks sourced from a period when musicians effortlessly combined the swing of cumbia with the driving bass of salsa, Cartagena! un-wraps a period of musical history seldom heard beyond the tropical coast of South America.
Compiled by Roberto Gyemant with the help of Colombian resident Will ‘Quantic’ Holland and Miles Cleret, Cartagena! focuses on the extraordinary life and career of Curro Fuentes, the youngest brother of the family responsible for the Discos Fuentes label. $25
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Featuring performances by the London Symphony Orchestra, this music is a beautiful eclectic presentation, sparse yet possessing great emotional impact and depth. His intent is to celebrate the music of his country for its people as well as offering it to all music lovers in the world.
$30
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Sabil is the work of the highly respected Palestinian oud player Ahmad Al-Khatib and the extraordinary percussionist Youssef. Hbeisch, born in Galilee, is a specialist in Oriental percussion. This album invites us to follow the two master musicians on a Sabil - a path that leads the audience to new musical experiences, to places filled with nostalgia.
$30
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Melbourne collective The Bamboos new studio album Medicine Man is big on collaborations with guest spots from Aloe Blacc, Megan Washington, Tim Rogers and Daniel Merriweather. Their funk and soul roots remain intact on this new outing.
$25 |
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Miss Higgins’ returns with her third album The Ol' Razzle Dazzle, still brimming with the painfully honest lyrics seen of her previous efforts but this time matched with more playfulness and joy. A welcome return after a temporary hiatus from the music industry. $20
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Official Release Series Discs 1-4 includes Neil's first four solo albums: Neil Young, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After the Gold Rush and Harvest.
$37
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The New Broadway Cast recording of the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess has been well received by eager fans. It features the vocal stylings of Tony Award nominees Norm Lewis and Audra McDonald in the title roles.
$30 |
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A brilliant recording of the 2012 London Cast of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. Starring Michael Ball as Sweeney Todd and Imelda Staunton as Mrs Lovett.
$32
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