Ivan Fischer conducting Mahler's Third Symphony with his Budapest Festival Orchestra, Prokofiev from the DSO Berlin and Tugan Sokhiev, and Kazuki Yamada conducting Falla with the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande are amongst the orchestral highlights this week, while Saint-Saëns Proserpine and Schoenberg's Moses und Aron are amongst the opera highlights.
Mahler: Symphony No. 3
Gerhild Romberger (alto), Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer
Gustav Mahler’s Third Symphony is not only his longest work but at the same time an exuberant and sunny ode to nature, mankind, the world and indeed life itself. Iván Fischer adds to his acclaimed Mahler discography with this new recording, for which he is joined by contralto Gerhild Romberger.
Available Formats: Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kije Suite & Symphonies Nos. 1 & 7
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Tugan Sokhiev
Tughan Sokhiev and the DSO Berlin follow their previous recording of Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 with this new disc of Symphonies Nos. 1 and 7 as well as the Lieutenant Kijé Suite. The First Symphony, known as the Classical, is full of joyfulness, while the Seventh might surprise listeners with its style reminiscent of the music of Joseph Haydn.
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Manuel de Falla: Noches en los jardines de Espana; El sombrero de tres picos
Mari Kodama (piano), Sophie Harmsen (mezzo-soprano), Orchestra de la Suisse Romande, Kazuki Yamada
Manuel de Falla’s richly evocative music erupts in a riot of colour in this vibrant new recording. The sultry warm atmosphere of an Andalusian night is almost palpable in Noches en los jardines de España, while in the ballet El sombrero de tres picos, Falla conjures up music that is boisterous, full-blooded, and urgent.
Available Formats: SACD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Decades: A Century of Song Vol. 2 1820 - 1830
John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Sarah Connolly (mezzo), Christopher Maltman (baritone), Malcolm Martineau (piano)
The second volume in a series presenting, decade by decade, a century of song, including music by Bellini, Glinka, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, and others. The three principal singers here are mezzo Sarah Connolly, tenor John Mark Ainsley and baritone Christopher Maltman, all accompanied by pianist Malcolm Martineau.
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Saint-Saëns: Proserpine
Véronique Gens (Proserpine), Marie-Adeline Henry (Angiola), Frédéric Antoun (Sabatino), Andrew Foster-Williams (Squarocca), Jean Teitgen (Renzo), Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Ulf Schirmer
The protagonist of Saint-Saëns’s Proserpine is a Renaissance courtesan well versed in culpable amours. According to the composer, she is a damned soul for whom true love is a forbidden fruit. Saint-Saëns indulges in unprecedented orchestral modernity, piling on the dissonances beneath his characters’ cries of rage or despair.
Available Formats: 2 CDs + Book, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Lucerne Festival Historic Performances Vol. XI - Brahms & Mozart
Robert Casadesus (piano), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Carl Schuricht
This release of two live recordings made in 1961 and 1962 pays tribute to Carl Schuricht, a renowned conductor who was a master of the Classical and Romantic repertoire. These two Lucerne recordings demonstrate the compelling persuasiveness of his inspired objectivity, especially when performing alongside celebrated Mozart interpreter Robert Casadesus, whose choice of tempi is particularly striking.
Available Formats: CD, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Schoenberg: Moses und Aron (DVD)
Thomas Johannes Mayer (Moses), John Graham-Hall (Aron), Nicky Spence (A Youth), Orchestre et Chœurs de National de L'Opéra de Paris, Philippe Jordan (conductor)
This glorious and poetic staging of Schoenberg’s masterpiece by Romeo Castellucci and conducted by Philippe Jordan is now available on DVD and blu-ray. The Paris Opera Chorus and Orchestra reveal with grace and accuracy all the emotion contained in this anxious, overwhelming and unforgettable work.
Available Format: DVD Video
