Semyon Bychkov and Wiener Philharmoniker prove worthy advocates of Franz Schmidt's second symphony. Vocal releases include Christian Gerhaher's new recording of Brahms's Die schöne Magelone and excerpts of Richard Strauss and Wagner from Johan Botha, live at Wiener Staatsoper.
Schmidt: Symphony No. 2 & Strauss: Dreaming by the Fireside
Wiener Philharmoniker, Semyon Bychkov
Franz Schmidt was a cellist of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, who premiered his symphony in 1913. The work has remained in the orchestra’s repertoire ever since. It is coupled with Träumerei am Kamin, an interlude from Richard Strauss's opera, Intermezzo.
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Johann Sebastian Bach: The Complete Organ Works Vol. 4
David Goode (organ)
David Goode continues his highly-acclaimed survey of the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach with this fourth volume, consisting of the eighteen Leipzig Chorales, BWV 651-668. He performs on the organ of Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge.
Available Formats: 2 Presto CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Brahms: Die schöne Magelone, Op. 33
Christian Gerhaher (baritone), Gerold Huber (piano)
Johannes Brahms's cycle Die schöne Magelone is one of the most beautiful song cycles of the Romantic era. The fifteen poems that Brahms sets are taken from a novella by Ludwig Tieck, which tells of the love of the valiant knight Peter of Provence for Magelone, the daughter of the King of Naples.
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Tasmin Little plays Franck, Szymanowski, and Fauré
Tasmin Little (violin) & Piers Lane (piano)
Tasmin Little and Piers Lane returns with a unique recorded programme at the centre of which stand the violin sonatas of Szymanowski and Franck. Their joined expert musicianship reveals the intimacy and magic of these passionate works, which are performed alongside Fauré’s [i]Romance[/i], and other works by Szymanowski.
Available Formats: Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Johan Botha: Wiener Staatsoper Live
Johan Botha (tenor)
Johan Botha’s unfailingly radiant voice established him over many years as a Strauss and Wagner singer par excellence. He died on September 8, 2016 – aged just fifty-one. This disc presents excerpts of operas such as Parsifal, Lohengrin, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Daphne, Ariadne auf Naxos, and others.
Available Formats: CD, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Brian Elias: Electra Mourns
Roderick Williams (baritone), Susan Bickley (mezzo-soprano), Iain Burnside (piano), Nicholas Daniel (cor anglais), Britten Sinfonia, Clark Rundell
The title work on this disc sets text from Electra, a fifth-century BC play by the Greek dramatist Sophocles. Other works include two song cycles set to English texts, performed by Susan Bickley and Roderick Williams.
Available Formats: CD, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Seiji Ozawa: The Complete RCA Recordings (6 CDs)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa
Between 1965 and 1968, Seiji Ozawa and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra made a series of remarkable albums for RCA, collected here for the first time. Featured are three cornerstones of the repertoire: Beethoven and Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphonies and Schubert's “Unfinished”, all remastered from the original analogue tapes.
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
