In anticipation of the upcoming Bernstein 90th birthday celebration, Naxos releases Leonard Bernstein and the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood. Leonard Bernstein came to Tanglewood as a student under Sergei Koussevitzky in the summer of 1940. Two summers later, Bernstein was appointed as the assistant to Maestro Koussevitzky at Tanglewood. Bernstein continued to return to Tanglewood almost every summer for 50 years to teach and conduct. This performance from August of 1972 speaks to Bernstein’s passion for conducting, his love affair with Tanglewood, and his hometown Boston Symphony Orchestra’s fondness for him.
Bernstein remarked of this performance of Brahms Symphonies 2 & 4, “Every time I return to Tanglewood I’m filled with nostalgia, but this summer of 1972 I’ve had a particularly vivid memory of Koussevitzky conducting the Brahms symphonies he loved so deeply.”
A bonus film shows Leonard Bernstein talking about his relationship to Tanglewood, his early career there and of the festival’s very special culture. The DVD also features Bernstein in conversation with his students in the summer of 1972, when the material for this wonderful portrait of Leonard Bernstein was recorded.
Now celebrating its 62nd anniversary, the Julliard String Quartet was founded in 1946 to champion the cause of chamber music through pedagogy and public performance. Known for its unprecedented affinity for experimentation, the quartet has won 4 Grammy® Awards and has been String Quartet-in-Residence at the Library of Congress since 1962. Thirty years into its long history, and equipped with founding member Robert Mann on 1st violin, veteran members Earl Carlyss (2nd violin) and Samuel Rhodes (viola), and cellist Joel Krosnick, the ensemble was filmed performing these Beethoven quartets.
This unique documentation of a 1975 concert is performed in an acoustically spectacular former Augustinian Monastery in Bavaria and includes Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 4 in C minor (1799), a stellar example of Beethoven’s early works; the mid-period String Quartet No. 7 in F major, which was completed 7 years later and is regarded as one of Beethoven’s finest chamber works; and finally the last large-scale piece written by the composer, String Quartet No. 14 (Op. 131), which is considered to be one of his greatest works in any the genre.
Kenneth LEIGHTON (1929-1988) Orchestral Works, Volume 1
Organ Concerto, Op 58 / Concerto for String
Orchestra, Op 39 / Symphony for Strings, Op 3
John Scott (organ)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Richard Hickox
The medium of the string orchestra proved significant for Leighton throughout his life and is featured in a number of his important works. The three works in the first volume, each scored for string orchestra, accurately represent his compositional development, complementing one of his earliest student works, the Symphony for Strings, with two of his more mature ones. The Symphony for Strings was premiered by Gerald Finzi and his Newbury String Players while Leighton was still a student. The first major work by the composer for these forces, it was a considerable success, and sparked a friendship between the two composers which lasted until Finzi’s untimely death. Twelve years passed before the composition of the Concerto for String Orchestra. This gap represented a considerable advance in the development of Leighton’s musical language and style as he was exposed to the works of both neoclassical composers and members of the Second Viennese School. However, he retained the lyrical instinct of his earlier years. Completing the disc is one of Leighton’s most enduring orchestral works: the Concerto for Organ, String Orchestra and Timpani. The soloist is internationally-renowned concert organist John Scott, particularly acclaimed for his performances of works by 20th-century composers.
One of the most distinguished post-war British composers, Kenneth Leighton’s works are frequently performed both in the U.K. and abroad. His music maintains a compelling balance between Romantic tradition and early serialism. His lyrical and colorfully orchestrated works not only suggest a lively, if often dark, imagination, but also demonstrate a remarkable scope explored by few of his countrymen. Richard Hickox and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales present the first of two releases devoted to Leighton’s orchestral works.
Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Piano Works, Volume 3
Children’s Corner / Suite bergamasque / Danse Bohémienne /
Nocturne / La plus que lent / Mazurka / Rêverie /
Deux Arabesques / Morceau de concours / The Little Nigar /
Hommage à Haydn / Berceuse Héroïque / Page d’Album / Élégie
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet releases the third volume in his critically acclaimed series devoted to the complete works for piano by Debussy. The recording includes the two famous collections: Children’s Corner and Suite bergamasque, as well as two rarities: La plus que lente, which foreshadows the 1915 Études, and Élégie. Élégie was written in 1915 following the composer’s move to the coast. The outbreak of the First World War had initially depressed Debussy into a state of creative sterility, but the move was most productive. The Élégie was written for a charity and dedicated to Queen Alexandra, honoring the role of women in wartime. It is rarely performed nowadays, but Roger Nichols writes, “it is one of the composer’s most extraordinary works …and we are left wondering what on earth Debussy would have written in the 1920s and beyond …”
Naxos releases a new recording on ATMA-Classique by the acclaimed Montréal-based ensemble Constantinople. Ay!! Amor… Songs of Love and Songs of Women is a mosaic of love songs from Persia (modern-day Iran), Armenia, Turkey, Spain, and France and features the renowned Franco-Moroccan singer Françoise Atlan, whose own Judeo-Berber roots impart a deep affinity for Mediterranean singing traditions. She performs with the Persian members of Constantinople - Kiya Tabassian, master setar player; Ziya Tabassian, percussion; and Saeed Kamjoo, kamâncheh (a bowed string instrument).
Ay!! Amor… is the result of a rich ongoing collaboration between Constantinople and Françoise Atlan. Most of the pieces are drawn from Persian, Judeo-Spanish, Iberian, and French trouvère traditions; others are new creations by Constantinople and Ms. Atlan. Ay!! Amor… combines aspects of diverse cultures and musical modes to create a new concert experience that defies easy categorization.
Born in France to a Sephardic Jewish family in 1964 and endowed with a natural vocal talent, Françoise Atlan began to study piano with her mother at the age of six. Her Judeo-Berber roots led her to develop a passion for traditional music, particularly from the Mediterranean Basin. Her work as a singer includes both Arab-Andalusian and Judeo-Arab repertoire. Atlan has performed throughout North America, Japan, Europe, Israel, Africa, and the U.K. and is featured on a critically-acclaimed recording with Constantinople called Terres turquoise.
Founded in 1998 by Teheran-born Kiya Tabassian, Constantinople has earned an international reputation for its unique juxtaposition of medieval music and the living traditions of the Middle East. Called “one of the world’s finer early music ensembles” (The Weekend Planet, ABC), Constantinople has toured Canada, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Holland, France, Cyprus, Lebanon, Greece, and most recently, Mexico. The ensemble has recorded nine CDs for the ATMA label and has performed and with guest artists from around the world, including singers Anne Azema (France), Daniel Taylor (Canada), Ghada Shbeir (Lebanon), and ensemble En Chordais (Greece).
Aulis SALLINEN Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5
Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz; Ari Rasilainen
This sixth recording in CPO’s superb Sallinen Edition (CPO 999970) features performances of his Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5, led by conductor Ari Rasilainen and the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz.
Acclaimed Finnish composer Aulis Sallinen was born in 1935in Salmi on the northern shore of Lake Ladoga (claimed by the Soviet Union in 1944). His extensive catalogue of compositions includes eight symphonies; multiple chamber works; vocal pieces that include Songs of Life and Death (1994) and the Barabbas Dialogues, Op. 84 (2003; CPO 777077); and six important large-scale operas: The Horseman (1975); The Red Line (1978); The King Goes Forth to France (1983); The Palace (1991-3); Kullervo (1988); and King Lear (1999).
Sallinen’s early experiments in serialism were short-lived and gave way to modernism, as evidenced in Mauermusik (1962), which featured microintervals and clusters. In the early 1970s, his music underwent another dramatic change: he returned to a sense of tonality, using simple themes, clear forms, and repetition in an almost minimalist fashion. Repeated notes, recurring linear seconds, and characteristic rhythmic motifs occupy a central position in his themes. Each motif repeats many times before moving on to the next.
Symphony No. 3 was composed in 1974-75 as a commission from the Finnish Broadcasting Organization and was the first of Sallinen’s symphonies to use a multi-movement form. It is scored for a large orchestra consisting of triple/quadruple woodwinds; a full complement of brass: three percussionists playing wood blocks, side drum, tom-toms, bas drum, cymbals, marimba, vibraphone, crotales, glockenspiel, and large tam-tam; and harp, piano, celesta, and strings.
Symphony No. 5 was composed in 1984-85 as a commission from the National Symphony Orchestra Association and was premiered at the Kennedy Center under its chief conductor Mstislav Rostropovich. Consisting of five sections, Symphony No. 5 has two broad movements bearing the subtitle Washington Mosaics, which encase three shorter Intermezzi. The fifth symphony is scored for an even larger ensemble than the third, requiring a percussion group of four players. Sallinen explained the subtitle “mosaics” as follows: “Movements of a symphony usually have their own material, but in this work a few motifs recur, like matching pieces of mosaics. The title Washington Mosaics sounds beautiful to me and gives the origin of the commission at the same time.”
One of Vivaldi’s most important operas, Orlando furioso was composed in 1727 for the Teatro di Sant’ Angelo in Venice. Based on Ludovico Ariosto’s epic poem, Orlando furioso is set on the island ruled by the sorceress Alcina and narrates Orlando’s tragic love for Angelica. This performance features the acclaimed Italian conductor Federico Maria Sardelli and his prizewinning Baroque ensemble Modo Antiquo (Atenaide/Naïve).
Featured in the title role is mezzo-soprano Anne Desler. The cast also includes British soprano Nicki Kennedy as Angelica, whose performance in Handel’s Semele had one critic commenting, “Nicki Kennedy gave a convincing performance of (Semele) as a voluptuous yielding coil of flesh who is at the same time possessive and demanding … she was beguiling in her aria with the mirror in Act III, a suavely ravishing coloratura aria.” Rounding out the cast are Italian mezzo-soprano Marina de Liso (Alcina), Luca Dordolo (Medoro), Martin Kronthaler (Astolfo), Lucia Sciannimanico (Bradamante), and French countertenor and conductor Thierry Grégoire in the role of Ruggiero. Grégoire’s performance of Ottone in Handel’s Agrippina received praise from Opera News’ William Braun, who wrote “Thierry Grégoire’s da capo of Ottone’s ‘Voi che udite’ is the musical highlight.”
On May 27, 2008, Naxos will begin distribution of MN records, a label founded by the iconic British composer, videographer, and photographer Michael Nyman. The first two releases will consist of Mr. Nyman’s most recent recordings-Mozart 252, an album designed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth, and Love Counts, a chamber opera.
Founded in 2005, the label’s first release was The Piano Sings, which was the composer’s debut solo piano album. A recording of the acclaimed opera Man and Boy: Dada and the soundtrack of director Laurence Dunmore’s The Libertine followed.
Michael Nyman’s music has reached its largest audiences through his film scores, most notably for Peter Greenaway, with whom he collaborated on 11 movies between 1976 and 1991 (including The Draughtsman’s Contract and Drowning by Numbers). Nyman’s score for Jane Campion’s 1993 film The Piano is one of the most successful film soundtracks of all time. The film itself won the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993and went on to win several Oscars at the 1994 Academy Awards. Holly Hunter played Ada, an elective mute who chose to communicate via her playing. Having music feature so prominently in a film was unusual; using it to convey the dialogue of the main character was extraordinary. The soundtrack of the film went on to become a multi-million seller. Perhaps surprising for music with such strong ties to its original source, many of the pieces from The Piano were subsequently used in a variety of other settings in film, television, and advertising, making it some of the most performed/frequently heard orchestral music of the last 20years. Other directors with whom Nyman has worked include Volker Schlöndorff (The Ogre), Neil Jordan (The End of the Affair) and Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland, The Claim, 9 Songs, and A Cock and Bull Story).
MOZART 252
Composed by Michael Nyman
Hilary Summers; Andrew Slater;
The Michael Nyman Band
Mozart 252 brings together Michael Nyman’s Mozart-based scores for the first time, all newly recorded for this 11-track album. The music of Mozart has been essential to Nyman; it helped set the Michael Nyman Band on its unique course when it formed as the Campiello Band in 1977. The album features two main bodies of Mozart-derived works: the first is the soundtrack for Peter Greenaway’s Drowning by Numbers, and the second draws from Nyman’s score for Letters, Riddles and Writs (1991), the BBC2 homage to Mozart. This album was designed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart in 2006, but it seemed more appropriate to miss the boat by two years, hence the 252.
Nyman has written about this work: “The first Nyman/Mozart collaboration, In Re Don Giovanni, effectively samples and remixes the first 16 bars of the famous ‘Catalog Song’ from Don Giovanni, and Revising the Don (a Radio 3 commission for the 250th anniversary) is a lyrical and literal revisiting of In Re.
“The Drowning by Numbers score is derived, in accordance with Greenaway’s strict instructions, entirely from the slow movement of the Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola: Trysting Fields simply ‘lists’, in order of occurrence and each repeated three times, all the ‘unprepared’ dissonances, (appoggiaturas) from the Mozart piece, and at the end introduces the 8-chord E flat/C minor/A flat/B flat/C min/E flat/A flat/B flat ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ sequence which ends the exposition of the movement, and which, along with a kind of retrograde version, is heard throughout Sheep ‘n’ Tides, Wheelbarrow Walk, Fish Beach and Not Knowing the Ropes (so called because on the ‘Drowning’ soundtrack album it is erroneously called Knowing the Ropes!).”
“Wedding Tango is built out of a chord-by-chord alternation of both the minor key version (from the very end of the movement) and more familiar major key versions of the 8-chord sequence. Knowing the Ropes, like Trysting Fields is a musical list (though with more conscious structural organization) - this time of a wiggly semiquaver motif, which is threaded through the movement and ends with a grand statement of the theme that is accompanied by the 8-chord sequence in the Mozart original.”
“Letters, Riddles and Writs deals in general, through texts taken from Mozart’s letters and riddles (the writs have to do with my frequent theft of Mozart’s music) with his relationship with his father (O my dear Papa, a remake of ‘O Isis und Osiris’ from The Magic Flute), with his own mortality (I am an Unusual Thing, which uses the texts from one of the riddles that Mozart wrote and distributed in Vienna during the 1787 Carnival and is based entirely on extract from two of his Haydn quartets) and with his business acumen (Profit and Loss, modeled on In Re Don Giovanni). ”
A Chamber Opera
Composed by Michael Nyman
Libretto by Michael Hastings
Andrew Slater, bass
Helen Williams, soprano
Michael Nyman Band
Conductor, Paul McGrath
Love Counts is the tenth release on MN Records, and the second opera recording for the label. Commissioned by the Badisches Staatstheater, Karlesruhe, Germany, Love Counts received its premiere there on March 12, 2005, directed by Robert Tannenbaum. This recording is taken from the July 2006 Almeida Theatre (London) production, where it was performed by the Michael Nyman Band with bass-baritone Andrew Slater and soprano Helen Williams. The libretto for Love Counts was written by the award-winning Michael Hastings, who also collaborated with Nyman on Man and Boy: Dada.
Love Counts is a love story between the unlikeliest of couples: Avril, a lecturer in mathematics at a major college who has divorced a man who physically abused her, and Patsy, a middle-weight fighter at the end of his career who cannot read or recognize numbers. Michael Nyman uses Riemenschneider’s collection of 371 Bach chorale harmonizations to help Patsy find his voice: they are harmonically fragmented, sped up, slowed down, and overlaid with themselves. Just as Dr P., the Alzheimer’s-suffering protagonist of Nyman’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat, has ‘his’ Schumann, so, in Love Counts, Patsy, a parallel sufferer, has ‘his’ Bach.
Fazil Say’s international reputation continues to grow, and he has successfully made the step from child prodigy to highly successful international star. As the French newspaper Le Figaro put it: “He is more than just a brilliant pianist - he is set to become one of the greatest artists of the 21st century.” With his combination of extraordinary strength and absolute technical perfection, Fazil Say is the kind of unique character seldom found in the world of classical music. His incredible gifts and utter commitment to the music are irresistible, and he successfully unites East and West with his personality and musicality. The film shows Fazil Say making music with Turkish pop icon Sertab Erener and interpreting Bach and Beethoven in Istanbul. It also presents excerpts from his compositions Black Earth and Nazim - the latter filmed during a performance in the amphitheatre at Aspendos. BONUS: Paganini Variations & Concerto ‘Silk Road’ composed and performed by Fazil Say.
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