Since 1952, the ARD—the organization of German radio
stations—has run an annual competition for young musicians. Winners have
included Jessye Norman, Maurice André, Heinz Holliger, and Mitsuko
Uchida. Starting in 2015, the CD firm GENUIN has offered, as a separate award,
the chance for one of the prize winners to make a CD that can serve as a kind
of calling card to the larger musical and music-loving world. In 2016, the
second such CD award was given to the Aris Quartett (second-prize winner in the
“string quartet” category).
Category: Recordings
Emalie Savoy: A Portrait
Detlev Glanert : Requiem for Hieronymus Bosch
Detlev Glanert’s Requiem for Hieronymus Bosch should be a huge hit. Just as Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana appeals to audiences who don’t listen to early music (or even to much classical music), Glanert’s Requiem for Hieronymus Bosch has all the elements for instant popular success.
A Falstaff Opera in Shakespeare’s Words: Sir John in Love
Only one Shakespeare play has resulted in three operas that get performed
today (whether internationally or primarily in one language-region). Perhaps
surprisingly, the play in question is a comedy that is sometimes considered a
lesser work by the Bard: The Merry Wives of Windsor.
A Resplendent Régine Crespin in Tosca
There have to be special reasons to release a monophonic live recording of a
much-recorded opera. Often it can give us the opportunity to hear a singer in a
major role that he or she never recorded commercially—or did record on
some later occasion, when the voice was no longer fresh. Often a live recording
catches the dramatic flow better than certain studio recordings that may be
more perfect technically.
Karine Deshayes’s Astonishing New Rossini Recording
Critic and scholar John Barker has several times complained, in the pages of
American Record Guide, about Baroque vocal recitals that add
instrumental works or movements as supposed relief or (as he nicely calls them)
“spacers.”
Knappertsbusch’s Only Recording of Lohengrin Released for the First Time
Hans Knappertsbusch was one of the most renowned Wagner conductors who ever
lived. His recordings of Parsifal, especially, are near-legendary
among confirmed Wagnerians.
Kathleen Ferrier Remembered
Kathleen Ferrier Remembered, from SOMM Recordings, makes available on CD archive broadcasts of British and German song. All come from BBC broadcasts made between 1947 and 1952. Of the 26 tracks in this collection, 19 are “new”, not having been commercially released. The remaining seven have been remastered by sound restoration engineer Ted Kendall. Something here even for those who already own the complete recordings.
Color and Drama in Two Choral Requiems from Post-Napoleonic France
The Requiem text has brought out the best in many composers. Requiem
settings by Mozart, Verdi, and Fauré are among the most beloved works
among singers and listeners alike, and there are equally wondrous settings by
Berlioz and Duruflé, as well as composers from before 1750, notably Jean
Gilles.
Matthias Goerne – late Schumann songs, revealed
Matthias Goerne Schumann Lieder, with Markus Hinterh‰user, a new recording from Harmonia Mundi. Singers, especially baritones, often come into their prime as they approach 50, and Goerne, who has been a star since his 20’s is now formidably impressive. The colours in his voice have matured, with even greater richness and depth than before.
LALO and COQUARD: La Jacquerie
La Jacquerie—here recorded for the first time—proves to
be a wonderful opera, bringing delight upon delight.