January’s heavyweights include comprehensive collections of the music of two Alessandros (Rolla and Scarlatti), a landmark survey of the English and Italian madrigal from The Consort of Musicke, previously unreleased recitals by Claudio Arrau, and the radio broadcasts of Mozart which Ferenc Fricsay made with the RIAS Symphony Orchestra (the first orchestra to be founded in post-War Berlin) in the early 1950s.
Debussy: The Complete Works
Artists include Martha Argerich, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Samson François, Renaud Capuçon, Natalie Dessay, André Cluytens
This 33-disc set includes performances by the composer himself, as well as several world premiere recordings such as the fragments from the unfinished Poe opera La Chute de la maison Usher and his own piano reductions of Khamma and Jeux; it was recently described in The Guardian as 'a scrupulously assembled and documented collection'.
Available Formats: 33 CDs, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Rolla: Chamber Music
Isabelle Faust (violin), Thomas Riebl (viola); Il Trio Concertante & La Camerata Ducale di Parma, Ruggero Marchesi
A teacher of Paganini (whose flamboyant writing built upon techniques which he developed) and musical director of La Scala as well as a virtuoso violist, Alessandro Rolla (1757-1841) produced a significant body of chamber-music which blends Viennese and Italianate elements; this collection includes his duos for violin and viola, a violin concerto, and a selection of attractive string trios and quartets.
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
The first release of the recitals which Arrau gave in Ludwigsburg (1954 and 1960) and Schwetzingen (1963), including Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas Nos. 23 and 28, Chopin’s 24 Preludes Op. 28 and Piano Sonata No. 3, Schumann’s Carnaval and Fantasie Op. 17, Brahms’s Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, and excerpts from works by Ravel, Debussy and Liszt.
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
The six volumes of Douglas’s acclaimed Brahms series on Chandos are brought together here at an attractive price and with their original booklets; the recordings were praised for their ‘skill, perception and dignity’ (The Observer), ‘magnificently orchestral textures (BBC Music Magazine), and ‘hefty, full-bodied sound’ (Gramophone).
Available Formats: 6 CDs, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
This 7-CD celebration of the career of the Swiss soprano (whose 80th birthday falls next month) includes arias from Bach cantatas (plus a complete performance of Jauchzet Gott), the St. Matthew Passion, Haydn’s Creation and Mozart’s arrangement of Messiah, as well as excerpts from six Mozart operas, Fidelio, Der Freischütz and Der Rosenkavalier and a substantial selection of songs by Schumann, Wolf and Brahms.
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
These radio broadcasts from 1951 and 1954 represent a crucial moment in the rebuilding of cultural life in post-War Berlin; unavailable since the 1950s, they appear here newly remastered and supplemented with notes by Fricsay himself detailing his personal relationship with Mozart’s music; the repertoire includes seven of the early symphonies, the bassoon concerto and Sinfonia concertante for Winds, and a selection of divertimenti and serenades.
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
