The winners of the 2014 Gramophone Awards are announced!

As well as the category winners announced late last month, special awards have been presented at a ceremony in London last night to Sir Neville Marriner, Sir James Galway, violinist Leonidas Kavakos and Riccardo Chailly, with the Scottish Delphian Records being named 'Record Label of the Year'.

Riccardo Chailly's recording for Decca of the Brahms Symphonies was named Recording of the Year - a deserved winner, this superb set also includes other orchestral works, overtures and the popular Haydn Variations.

BRAHMS: THE SYMPHONIES
Gewandhausorchester
Riccardo Chailly







The Lifetime Achievement Awards was given to Sir James Galway, and a timely new compilation from RCA celebrates this legendary flute player's work.

THE ESSENTIAL JAMES GALWAY









A special award for Outstanding Achievement was presented to Sir Neville Marriner, who also celebrates his 90th birthday this year.

NEVILLE MARRINER
The Argo Years








Artist of the Year is voted for by the public and this year was awarded to the Greek Violinist Leonidas Kavakos; his recordings of the Brahms Violin Concerto and Brahms Violin Sonatas for Decca have been highlights this year. Last year's winner, Alison Balsom, presented the award.

LEONIDAS KAVAKOS
Brahms Violin Concerto








Young Artist of the Year was presented to the Nightingale String Quartet. Their two recordings for Da Capo of the String Quartets by Rued Langgaard have received universal praise.

NIGHTINGALE STRING QUARTET
Langgaard String Quartets Vol. 1

NIGHTINGALE STRING QUARTET
Langgaard String Quartets Vol. 2









For the main category winners all on special offer please see our 'Monthly Offers' icon on our homepage.

It has been a while since a recording has changed my perspective on a great masterwork, but a new recording by the period instrument orchestra ‘Les Siecles’ does just that. They are performing two great ballet scores by Stravinsky, the ‘Rite of Spring’ and ‘Petrushka’.

‘Les Siecles’ are an orchestra on a mission to present music in a refreshing and new way, selecting instruments from the period to create the most authentic performance possible. Their aim, to get back to the sounds that may have accompanied the dancers on that famous premiere night in Paris of the ‘Rite’. This is the only recording of the ‘Rite’ on period instruments and the results are stunning, revealing much of the score hitherto unheard in my previous listening. The gut strings have a different timbre, altering the balance and shifting it towards the woodwind. Whilst listening to this recording I became far more aware of how revolutionary this score must have been back in 1913. The wind writing is exposed and sounds like a beautifully barbaric free-for-all. The opening of the work is now so familiar to us - a lone bassoon playing in a high register, sounding like a fish out of water, a familiar instrument in unfamiliar territory. The bassoonist of Les Siecles uses an instrument that predates the modifications of the modern bassoon, making life a little more difficult for the player!

The complex layers of rhythm and texture in Petrushka are also given a different quality. The decision to use an Erard piano really adds a sparkle to the score. Once again the strings are less prominent revealing Stravinsky delicate scoring. Really recommended!!

Stravinsky: Rite of Spring – Petrushka

Francois-Xavier Roth / Les Siecles

Actes Sud ASM15

Jason Hatton, August 2014

"BRAZIL" – QUATOUR EBENE

Fun in the sun! I should tango!

It is hot. I am hot and at the moment under-cheered. With the door shut it is stifling, yet with the door open, in wanders the noise of the street, exhaust fumes and even more heat. On the CD player is the album Brazil by Quatour Ebene with chums Bernard Lavilliers, Stacey Kent and the Brazil Choir and String Orchestra. It is the quartet's latest recording and is the second of their ‘fusion’ projects. This one is firmly camped in the rhythms and atmosphere of South America, samba, bossa nova and the tango.

Their choice of repertoire for this recording runs from Piazzolla to Stevie Wonder, Sting to Chaplin, taking in lesser-known Brazilian composers along the way and a collaboration with the extraordinary Bernard Lavilliers – a ruggedly handsome,  smokey-voiced French singer/songwriter, ex-steel worker, boxer, ex-con, traveller and sometime reporter with a fascination for the music of South America and Africa.

Now, I love this album. I’m not usually a big fan of classical musicians adventuring beyond their customary boundaries and comfort zones – it just never sounds all that convincing.  I don’t cringe very easily but classical-jazz/samba/rock crossovers will usually have me blushing and wondering where to put myself before realising that it’s the CD that needs to be put somewhere else, out of its-and my-misery.  But this… the first track I heard was their take on Libertango – not a piece that is under represented in the world of recorded music. After an enigmatic introduction the cello begins with the familiar ostinato rhythm, crisp and unwavering, which is passed between instruments throughout. One of the reasons I think that this works so well is the quality of the sound that the quartet produces. It doesn’t have the over refined aura which could mark them out as 'classicos' on a rather self-conscious holiday. It has a wonderful edginess, bordering on but never tipping over into abrasiveness. You can believe that you are listening to string players who have never left Brazil and are steeped in the culture.

Something else that sets this recording apart is the outstanding quality and inventiveness of the arranging. Brave choices that push at the harmonic structure of the pieces but don’t undermine the original versions; a keen awareness of how string instruments blend with one another and as part of a larger group, and always managing to sound fresh and spontaneous, almost improvised. The two voices are both husky and sultry. Both accomplished and evocative of times and places beyond the tawdry here and now of a Friday afternoon. Both of whom you will gladly let take up residence in your soul to provide the soundtrack for a landscape to which you can transport yourself when the world encroaches…

The sheer joy of life that these young men and their collaborators exhibit is the main reason that I love this CD. This is joyful music, reveling in the heat and intense feeling and rhythms of South America. At the beginning I said that I was hot and cheer-lite - I am still hot but I can imagine the heat to be the heat of a Brazilian beach after dark with its compelling beats and seductive voices. I’m off home now to put this CD on again and pour myself a caiparinha and let the abundant cheer wash over and through me. I suggest you do the same.

Brazil - Quatuor Ebene

Erato 2564632043

Blog: Matthew Greswell 

Martha Argerich and friends – Live from Lugano 2013

Martha Argerich, and a very long list of friends are back in another release from Warner Classics, recorded at the Lugano Festival in 2013. One of the most interesting features of this series is the inclusion of rare repertoire; this issue is no exception and includes an intense performance of Respighi’s violin sonata from 1917. Other highlights include the Shostakovich Cello Sonata and a glittering performance of the ‘Carnival of the Animals’ (Note the humourous, badly played scales in the ‘pianistes’). The pianist/arranger Carlo Maria Griguoli has made several contributions to previous volumes, and  this time he presents a terrific arrangement of Offenbach ‘Gaite Parisienne’. When all is said and done, this is most entertaining and thoroughly rewarding.  Highly recommended.

Argerich is joined by Renaud and Gautier Capucon, Gabriela Montero, Mischa Maisky, Lilya Zilberstein amongst others, and although mostly chamber music recitals, the set does include a performance of Beethoven’s first Piano Concerto with Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana under Hubert Soudant.

“With Martha at the keys, Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto sparkles and winks, with friendly assistance from the Dutch conductor Hubert Soudant and the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana... But as usual the special treats come in the lighter items, when hair is let down and feet stomp.” (The Times)

Martha Argerich & Friends

Warner Classics: 2564 631220 (3CDs)

On Special Offer

Jason Hatton (Bath CDs)

The 2014 BBC Music Magazine Awards – The Winners!

This year’s award winners were announced on 8^th April, and it was no surprise to find Alisa Weilerstein’s moving recording of Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Daniel Barenboim named ‘Record of the Year’.

The awards are unique in the Classical world in that the winners are voted for by the public; they vote on twenty one shortlisted recordings which have been chosen by an expert jury. These shortlisted recordings represent the best of all the many recordings reviewed by the magazine during the year.

The recordings chosen are indeed a good representation of the best of last year’s releases. All the winners had universally good reviews, not just from BBC Music, and were significant highlights of 2013 here at the shop.

We have the winners on special offer until the end of June 2014:

Record of the Year

Elgar Cello Concerto, Elliott Carter Cello Concerto

Alisa Weilerstein; Staatskapelle Berlin; Daniel Barenboim

DECCA 4782735 OFFER £11.99

Chamber Music Category Winner

Felix & Fanny Mendelssohn String Quartets

Quatuor Ebene

VIRGIN 4645462 OFFER £11.99

Choral Music Category Winner

Britten War Requiem

Choir of New College, Oxford; Gabrieli Consort & Players; Paul McCreesh

SIGNUM SIGCD340 OFFER £17.99

Instrumental Category Winner

Guardian Angel

Rachel Podger (violin)

CHANNEL CLASSICS CCSSA35513 OFFER £11.99

Opera Category Winner

Britten Peter Grimes ('Grimes on the Beach')

Alan Oke; Giselle Allen etc; Britten-Pears Orchestra; Steuart Bedford

SIGNUM SIGCD348 OFFER £17.99

Orchestral Category Winner

Brahms Complete Symphonies

Gewandhausorchester; Riccardo Chailly

DECCA 4785344 OFFER £24.99

Vocal Category Winner

Jonas Kaufmann sings Wagner

DECCA 4785189 OFFER £11.99

Newcomer Category Winner

Beethoven Late Piano Sonatas

Igor Levit

SONY 88883747352 OFFER £12.99

Premiere Category Winner

George Benjamin Written on Skin

Christopher Purves; Bejun Mehta etc; George Benjamin

Nimbus NI5885 OFFER £11.99

DVD (Performance) Category Winner

Puccini Tosca

Angela Gheorghiu; Jonas Kaufmann; Bryn Terfel; Antonio Pappano

EMI/WARNERS 4040639 OFFER £13.99

Kaufmann and Finley in two new recordings of Schubert's Winterreise. 

After a long winter that seemed like it would never end, we all look forward to the spring. So winter as a subject for a spring blog may seem a little unseasonal and just a tad retrospective, and if you take Schubert's 'Winter Journey' literally, you might be right. However it is more often viewed as a beautiful yet tragic metaphor for an inner journey of self-discovery, concluding with 'Der leiermann' (the hurdy-gurdy man), a symbol of inexorable misery and dejection. This last song is asymmetrical, giving it an unfinished quality, its drone perfectly encapsulating a mood of utter futility; here there is no light, it is all darkness, devoid of hope. We have to remember this is a work by a young composer barely in his thirties at the height of his powers. By any standards this work is a magnificent achievement.

There are currently many versions on disc of 'Winterreise', and these two new recordings join the pantheon of great interpretations. Tenor Jonas Kaufmann’s recent forays into Wagner and Late Romantic opera have given his voice a ferocity and dramatic intensity, so his reading of Schubert's cycle is full of 'heart-on-sleeve' passion and drama, aided in no small way by Helmut Deutsch at the piano. It is important to mention the pianist as they are as much part of the interpretation as the singer; in Schubert's songs the piano provides the background and comments on the text, with the music demanding more of a partnership than just a singer/accompanist relationship.

The baritone voice of Gerald Finley gives the work a darker hue, finding the introspective aspect of the cycle. Perhaps this is more of a soliloquy, a confession of  dark thoughts. Finley has a wonderful hushed quality to his voice in the final song. We are left feeling at the end of the cycle that the winter may be over but this is a troubled soul in need of absolution. 

Jason Hatton

3rd March 2014

Schubert: Winterreise D911

Jonas Kaufmann & Helmut Deutsch        Sony   88883795632

Gerald Finley & Julius Drake       Hyperion  CDA68034

“A countertenor voice in its prime.”

So says The Daily Telegraph in a recent review of Iestyn Davies’ new album of Handel Oratorio arias for the Vivat label, entitled ‘Your Tuneful Voice’. If you have been impressed by his sublime countertenor voice, you will love this new collection. We even have a free signed photo from Iestyn Davies when you order this new album.

'Your Tuneful Voice’ is an outstanding programme of arias from Handel oratorios including the lyrical ‘O sacred oracles of truth’ (from Belshazzar), the exquisite ‘Tune your harps’ (Esther), with its vocal and oboe duet set over a delicate bed of pizzicato strings, ‘Eternal source of light’ (featuring supreme trumpet playing from Crispian Steele-Perkins), the melodious ‘Your tuneful voice’, and a virtuoso performance of the warlike ‘Mighty love now calls to arm’. Rarities include two arias from The Triumph of Time and Truth: ‘On the valleys, dark and cheerless’, and an especial jewel, ‘Mortals think that Time is sleeping’, with its gentle, inexorably tick-tocking orchestral accompaniment. 

Iestyn is also joined in two duets by soprano Carolyn Sampson: the ecstatic ‘Welcome as the dawn of day’ (from Solomon) and the ghostly ‘Who calls my parting soul from death’ (Esther). The orchestral accompaniment from The King’s Consort is full of varied colours: the disc also includes the vividly characterised overture to Jephtha, and the bucolic overture to Samson, featuring splendid natural horn playing. 

The disc was recorded in the wonderful acoustic of The Menuhin Hall, bringing great clarity to the sound. The album includes a 36 page booklet with an authoritative liner note by renowned Handel scholar Professor Donald Burrows, together with full texts and translations.

Your Tuneful Voice - Iestyn Davies

VIVAT105