Known as a piano teacher, with whose works almost every piano pupil should be familiar and possibly also as a pupil of Beethoven, Carl Czerny enjoys practically no fame as a composer today. The composing maniac (round about 800 published works) acquired a great reputation (and wealth) from piano teaching and writing educational works for the piano and compositions the market expected from him and from which he earned a lot of money. At the moment, seven quartets are recorded, four of which were probably intended for publication. Czerny composed in the tradition of Haydn and Beethoven. Echoes of Mendelssohn can be discerned as well as a romantic style full of drama and profundity of expression. The quartets have only been passed down as manuscripts from Czerny's estate, which can be found in the archives of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna.

Composers

Czerny, Carl (1791-1857)

Works

Czerny: String Quartet in A minor
Czerny: String Quartet in D Major (1851)
Czerny: String Quartet in D minor
Czerny: String Quartet in E Minor

In this latest installment of recordings focusing on the choral traditions of different country's choral music traditions launched last year by the Vokalensemble Stuttgart des SWR, we now arrive in sunny Italy, a country said to have no native choral tradition.

Giuseppe Verdi of course used choirs in his operas, but apart from that there are only a few choral works that have sustained any place in the repertoire, some of the finest of which are presented here. With the beginning of the 20th century, however, one encounters composer's that are less well known, but whom have certainly composed some very exciting music for choir, including Pizzetti, Giacinto Scelsi, Luigi Nono and Goffredo Petrassi.

They all offer poignant, poetic, funny, mysterious, ironic choral works that are original and always interesting in their structure. They show an Italy away from the operatic bel canto, but certainly not lacking in beautiful melodies. This is a most worthy addition to their on-going “country” series.

The Vokalensemble Stuttgart des SWR is one of the most internationally acclaimed choirs. Their scholarship, adventurous programming, wide range of styles and impeccable vocal performances are their trademarks. For many years, the Vokalensemble has been considered one of the top ensembles for contemporary music and has, throughout its 65 year history, presented more world premieres than any other professional choir.

Discovering Italy's Historical Choir Tradition

SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, Marcus Creed

Composers

Nono, Luigi (1924-90)
Petrassi, Goffredo (1904-2003)
Pizzetti, Ildebrando (1880-1968)
Scelsi, Giacinto (1905-88)
Verdi, Giuseppe (1813-1901)

Works

Nono: Sarà dolce tacere
Petrassi: Nonsense
Pizzetti: Tre Composizioni corali
Scelsi: TKRDG for 6 male voices, 3 percussionists and electrically amplified guitar
Scelsi: Yliam
Verdi: Ave Maria (from Quattro Pezzi Sacri)
Verdi: Laudi alla Vergine Maria (from Quattro Pezzi Sacri)
Verdi: Quattro Pezzi Sacri
Verdi: Stabat Mater (from Quattro Pezzi Sacri)
Verdi: Te Deum (from Quattro Pezzi Sacri)

Roberto Alagna is THE most well known French tenor worldwide, with 30 years of career on stage, and 60 opera roles in his repertoire.

My Life Is An Opera: 15 arias and duos reflect the significant moments in Alagna's life and career.

This new album, recorded last September in London, includes real opera hits like Che faro senza Euridice (ORPHEE ET EURIDYCE, Gluck) [12], Donna non vidi mai… (MANON LESCAUT, Giacomo Puccini) [2], Vesti la Giubba (I PAGLIACCI, Ruggero Leoncavallo) and La Danza (Gioacchino Rossini) [6].

Opera has never been more present in his life, with 4 new roles in which he will make his debut in 2015-2016.

Roberto Alagna (tenor), with Aleksandra Kurzak
London Orchestra, Yvan Cassar

Composers

Alagna, David (b.1975)
Donizetti, Gaetano (1797-1848)
Gluck, Christoph Willibald (1714-87)
Goldmark, Karoly (1830-1915)
Gounod, Charles François (1818-93)
Leoncavallo, Ruggiero (1857-1919)
Massenet, Jules Emile Frederic (1842-1912)
Puccini, Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria (1858-1924)
Reyer, Ernest (1823-1909)
Rossini, Gioacchino Antonio (1792-1868)
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich (1840-93)

Works

Alagna, D: Il est dix heures… Encore six heures (from Le dernier jour d'un condamné)
Donizetti: Un lampo, un lampo orribile (from Roberto Devereux)
Donizetti: Un tenero cuore (from Roberto Devereux)
Gluck: Che faro' senza Euridice? (from Orfeo ed Euridice)
Goldmark: Magische Töne, berauschender Duft (from Die Königin von Saba)
Goldmark: The Queen of Sheba, Op. 27
Gounod: Faiblesse de la race humaine...Inspirez-moi, race divine (from La Reine de Saba)
Leoncavallo: Recitar!...Vesti la giubba (from I Pagliacci)
Massenet: Hérodiade
Massenet: Ne pouvant reprimer les elans de la foi (from Hérodiade)
Puccini: Addio, fiorito asil (from Madama Butterfly)
Puccini: Ah, Manon mi tradisce (from Manon Lescaut)
Puccini: Donna non vidi mai (from Manon Lescaut)
Reyer: Esprits gardiens (from Sigurd)
Rossini: Soirées musicales: La Danza
Tchaikovsky: Kuda, Kuda 'Lensky's Aria' (from Eugene Onegin)

Jonas dedicates his new album to the golden era of German music which flourished in Berlin between 1925 & 1935. He shows an undeniable mastery of this demanding repertoire, which was written for the leading tenors of the time.

'Lied vom Leben des Schrenk' by Künneke in particular has only been recorded 3 times before and is hugely challenging vocally. Jonas draws inspiration from an artistically rich and fascinating time of European musical history. The repertoire ranges from the Lehár-Tauber-Hits of the Roaring Twenties until the heyday of the mid 1930s which saw the eventual expulsion and banning of the composers, lyricists and singers who had defined the genre.

The repertoire draws from 3 strands of musical history (Talking movies, Operetta and Polystylistic composers) and shows Jonas' voice at its most flexible.

The album naturally also includes operetta evergreens by the unbeatable composer-tenor pairing of Franz Lehàr and Richard Tauber - including “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz”, “Hab' ein blaues Himmelbett ” and “Gern hab ich die Frauen geküßt”.

Jonas' favoured encores - Richard Tauber's famous self-penned “Du bist die Welt für mich” and “Ein Lied geht um die Welt” made famous by Joseph Schmidt in the movie of the same title - are also included.

Awards
BBC Music Magazine Opera Choice
Presto Recording of the Week 15th September 2014

Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Julia Kleiter (soprano)
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Jochen Rieder

Composers

Abraham, Paul (1892-1960)
Benatzky, Ralph (Rudolph Josef Frantisek) (1884-1957)
Heymann, Werner R (1896-1961)
Kalman, Emmerich (1882-1953)
Korngold, Erich Wolfgang (1897-1957)
Künneke, Eduard (1885-1953)
Lehár, Franz (1870-1948)
May, Hans (1886-1958)
Spoliansky, Mischa (1898-1985)
Stolz, Robert (1880-1975)
Tauber, Richard (1891-1948)

Works

Abraham: Diwanpüppchen (from Die Blume von Hawaii)
Abraham: Reich mir zum Abschied noch einmal die Hände (from Victor und ihr Husar)
Benatzky: Es muss was wunderbares sein
Heymann: Irgendwo auf der Welt (from Der Blonde Traum)
Kalman: Grüß mir mein Wien (from Gräfin Mariza)
Korngold: Glück, das mir verbleib 'Marietta's Lied' (from Die Tote Stadt)
Künneke, Eduard: Das Lied vom Leben des Schrenk (from Die Grosse Sünderin)
Lehár: Dein ist mein ganzes Herz (from Das Land des Lächelns)
Lehár: Freunde, das Leben ist lebenswert (from Giuditta)
Lehár: Gern hab' ich die Frau'n geküßt (from Paganini)
Lehár: Hab' ein blaues Himmelbett (Serenade from Frasquita)
May, H: Ein Lied geht um die Welt
Spoliansky: Heute Nacht oder nie (from Das Lied einer Nacht)
Stolz, R: Frag nicht, warum ich gehe (from Das lied ist aus)
Stolz, R: Im Traum hast Du mir alles erlaubt (from Das Liebeskommando)
Tauber: Du bist die Welt für mich

Awards
Gramophone Magazine November 2014 Editor's Choice

Alessio Bax returns to disc on Signum with two masterworks of Beethoven's piano repertoire, as well as a new arrangement from 'Die Ruinen von Athen'.

Pianist Alessio Bax creates “a ravishing listening experience” (Gramophone) with his lyrical playing, insightful interpretations, and dazzling facility. First Prize winner at the Leeds and Hamamatsu international piano competitions - and a 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient - he has appeared as soloist with over 100 orchestras.

Composers

Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827)

Works

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 'Moonlight'
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106 'Hammerklavier'
Beethoven: The Ruins of Athens Overture, Op. 113
Beethoven: The Ruins of Athens: Chorus of Dervishes
Beethoven: Turkish March (from The Ruins of Athens)

Wakako Nakaso (soprano), Sabine Czinczel (alto), Alexander Yudenkov (tenor), Mikhail Shashkov (bass)
Südwestrundfunk Vokalensemble Stuttgart, Marcus Creed

Composers

Glinka, Mikhail Ivanovich (1804-57)
Gubaidulina, Sofia (b.1931)
Rachmaninov, Sergey Vassilievich (1873-1943)
Schnittke, Alfred (1934-98)
Taneyev, Sergei Ivanovich (1856-1915)
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich (1840-93)

Works

Glinka: Hymn
Gubaidulina: Hommage à Marina Tsvetayeva
Rachmaninov: O Theodokos, immer wachend im Gebet
Rachmaninov: Vespers, Op. 37
Schnittke: Drei geistliche Gesänge
Schnittke: Three Sacred Hymns
Taneyev, S: The Twelve Choruses, Op. 27
Tchaikovsky: The Cherubic Hymn

Antonín Dvorák's Cello Concerto is one of the absolute masterpieces of the genre, and every world-class cellist naturally takes it into his repertoire. This is also the case for Daniel Müller-Schott, who will be performing it in the great concert halls of Europe in 2014 and in the Lincoln Center in New York: thus in the very same city where Dvorák worked as conservatory director and where he wrote the concerto.

Dvorák began his work in passionate, stormy mood, but completed it in lyrical, elegiac vein under the shadow of the illness and death of his sister-in-law Josefina, who had been his own first love.

Müller-Schott's new recording also includes several chamber music works and arrangements that offer insight as to how Dvorák gradually accustomed himself to the cello, up to the point when he composed his concerto in 1894-5. There is the catchy 'Rondo' that Dvorák wrote in 1892 for a chamber music tour, and 'Silent Woods', an arrangement made for the same tour, heard here in Dvorák's own orchestral versions. Together with the pianist Robert Kulek, Müller-Schott has also recorded arrangements of the four Romantic Pieces op. 75 and of 'Songs my mother taught me' from the Gypsy Songs cycle. The latter is perfectly suited to the cello's cantabile character and Daniel Müller-Schott's interpretation.

Daniel Müller-Schott (cello), with Robert Kulek (piano)
NDR Sinfonieorchester, Michael Sanderling

Composers

Dvořák, Antonín (1841-1904)
Works

Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104
Dvořák: Gypsy Melodies (7), Op. 55 (B104)
Dvořák: Romantic Pieces (4) for Cello & Piano, Op. 75
Dvořák: Rondo in G minor for cello & orchestra, Op. 94, B. 181
Dvořák: Rondo in G minor for cello & piano, Op. 94, B. 171
Dvořák: Slavonic Dance No. 8 in G minor, Op. 46 No. 8
Dvořák: Songs My Mother Taught Me, Op. 55 No. 4
Dvořák: Waldesruhe (Silent woods) for cello and orchestra, Op. 68 No. 5

The SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart is one of the few choirs enjoying an international reputation. Their latest recording has “America” as its subject - and presents a tremendously wide range of forms and expressions, from music written under the influence of European masters to works that boldly explore experiments in aesthetic reorientation. The big names of the U.S. composers are of course represented, including Leonard Bernstein with his single a cappella work, the “Missa Brevis”, Steve Reich with his minimalist “Proverb” and John Cage with some of his late “Number Pieces”. Everything is presented at the highest artistic level, with ravishing sonics that cannot be beat.

Gramophone Magazine August 2014 Editor's Choice

Works

Barber: A Stopwatch and an Ordnance Map, Op. 15
Bernstein: Missa Brevis
Cage: Five
Copland: Four Motets
Copland: Have mercy on us, O my Lord
Copland: Help us, O Lord
Copland: Sing ye praises to our King
Copland: Thou O Jehovah, Abideth Forever
Feldman, M: Rothko Chapel
Reich: Proverb

Russian soprano Olga Peretyatko was born and raised in St. Petersburg. She started her musical career at the age of 15, singing in the children's choir of the Mariinsky Theatre. She completed a course as a choirmaster and then enrolled to study singing at the Hanns Eisler-Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. Between 2005 and 2007 Olga Peretyatko was a member of the opera studio at the Hamburg State Opera. Engagements at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Berlin and Munich state operas, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, La Fenice in Venice, at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, and at the Festival La Folle journée de Nantes followed.

Olga Peretyatko gained international attention as Stravinsky's Rossignol in the acclaimed Robert Le Page production premiered at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2010, followed by performances in Toronto, New York, Lyon and Amsterdam. She achieved great success in her role debuts as Adina in L'elisir d'amore in Lille, as Lucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro Massimo Palermo, as Gilda in Rigoletto at La Fenice in Venice, as well as at the Festival Avenches.

Recently, Olga Peretyatko debuted successfully as Giulietta (I Capuleti e I Montecchi) in Lyon and Paris. In Lausanne she made her debut in the title role of Handel's Alcina, and in Amsterdam her role debut as Fiorilla (ll Turco in Italia). Substituting for a colleague at the last minute, her performance of Adina in L'elisir d'amore during the Pfingstfestspiele in Baden-Baden was highly acclaimed by the media and the public, as was her debut Lucia di Lammermoor at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She also received the highest acclaim at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro as Matilde di Shabran in summer 2012 which will be released on DVD.

Besides her opera career she continuously gives recitals and concerts throughout Europe. In 2015 Olga Peretyatko will debut as Violetta in La Traviata at the Opéra Lausanne, followed by a new production of the same title at the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden.

Olga Peretyatko (soprano)
NDR Sinfonieorcheste

Composers

Acqua, Eva dell' (1860-1930)
Alabiev, Alexander (1787-1851)
Alyabyev, Alexander Alexandrov (1787-1851)
Arditi, Luigi (1822-1903)
Bellini, Vincenzo (1801-35)
Bizet, Georges (1838-75)
Gounod, Charles François (1818-93)
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-91)
Rossini, Gioacchino Antonio (1792-1868)
Strauss, Johann (1825-99)
Verdi, Giuseppe (1813-1901)
Works

Acqua: La Villanelle
Alabiev: Solovej moj (The Nightingale)
Arditi: Il Bacio
Bellini: Qui la voce sua soave...Vien, diletto (from I Puritani)
Bellini: Son vergin vezzosa (from I Puritani)
Bizet: Vasco da Gama: Ouvre ton coeur
Gounod: Ö légère hirondelle (from Mireille)
Mozart: Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle, K538
Mozart: Deh vieni, non tardar (from Le nozze di Figaro)
Mozart: Non mi dir (from Don Giovanni)
Rossini: Le nozze di Teti - cantata : 9. Aria: Ah non potrian resistere
Strauss, J, II: Spiel' ich die Unschuld vom Lande from Die Fledermaus

Introducing the first collection of its kind from Universal, an album from the soul of Russia featuring the world-renowned Red Army Choir. With over two hours of choral hits from Russian favourites like Moscow Nights, Dark Eyes and Kalinka to “O Fortuna” and “Nessun Dorma”, as well as two digital Bonus Tracks: “Bella Ciao” and “Ode to Joy”.

Composers

Agapkin, Vasiliy Ivanovich (1884-1964)
Alexandrov, Alexander Vasilyevich (1883-1946)
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)
Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827)
Davis, Katherine Kennicott (1892-90)
Glinka, Mikhail Ivanovich (1804-57)
Hermann, Florian
Larionov, Ivan (1830-89)
Orff, Carl (1895-1982)
Puccini, Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria (1858-1924)
Rachmaninov, Sergey Vassilievich (1873-1943)
Shaporin, Yuri Alexandrovich (1889-1966)
Solovyov-Sedoy, Vasily Pavlovich (1907-79)
Verdi, Giuseppe (1813-1901)
Weber, Carl Maria von (1786-1826)

Works

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral'
Davis, K K: The Little Drummer Boy
Hermann, Florian: Les yeux noirs
Larionov: Kalinka
Orff: Carmina Burana
Puccini: Nessun dorma (from Turandot)
Solovyov-Sedoy: Moscow Nights
Verdi: Ernani
Verdi: Nabucco
Weber: Der Freischütz

2013 marks the 100th birthday of Benjamin Britten and EMI pays tribute to this key figure of 20th century music with the release of a brand new recording of his War Requiem, with a stellar line up of soloists - Anna Netrebko, Ian Bostridge and Thomas Hampson.

Considered to be Britten's crowning choral work, and for some possibly the pinnacle of his entire output, it was commissioned for the festival marking the consecration of the new cathedral at Coventry.

Anna Netrebko (soprano), Ian Bostridge (tenor) & Thomas Hampson (baritone)
Orchestra dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Coro dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Voci Bianche dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano

Composers

Britten, Benjamin (1913-76)

Works

Britten: War Requiem, Op. 66

One of the first African American singers to become an international singing sensation, Leontyne Price's voice is showcased in this Regis release through wide ranging repertoire from Verdi and Puccini opera to Mozart and Gershwin and the music of her roots.

Composers

Gershwin, George (1898-1937)
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-91)
Puccini, Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria (1858-1924)
Schubert, Franz Peter (1797-1828)
Verdi, Giuseppe (1813-1901)

Works

Gershwin: Summertime (from Porgy and Bess)
Mozart: Exsultate, jubilate, K165 - Alleluia
Mozart: In quali eccessi ... Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata (from Don Giovanni)
Puccini: Chi il bel sogno di Doretta (from La Rondine)
Puccini: Madama Butterfly
Puccini: Signore, ascolta! (from Turandot)
Puccini: Tu che di gel sei cinta (from Turandot)
Puccini: Tu? Tu? Piccolo iddio (from Madama Butterfly)
Puccini: Turandot
Puccini: Un bel di vedremo (from Madama Butterfly)
Puccini: Vissi d'arte (from Tosca)
Schubert: Ave Maria, D839
Verdi: Libera me (from Requiem)
Verdi: O patria mia (from Aida)
Verdi: Ritorna vincitor! (from Aida)
Verdi: Tacea la notte (from Il Trovatore)

The piano brothers Arthur and Lucas Jussen undoubtedly no longer need an introduction. Since they put themselves in the spotlight, everything they do has turned into gold. It earned them the Edison Audience Award in 2011. Rightly so.
After CDs with works by Beethoven and Schubert, they now again prove their qualities with a wonderful CD full of French repertoire by Fauré (the beautiful 'Dolly'), Poulenc and Ravel, among others.

Composers

Fauré, Gabriel Urbain (1845-1924)
Poulenc, Francis (1899-1963)
Ravel, Maurice (1875-1937)

Works

Gabriel Fauré: Dolly Suite, Op.56
Francis Poulenc: Mélancolie
Maurice Ravel: Jeux D'Eau

Elin Rombo (soprano), Stella Doufexis (mezzo), Tilman Lichdi (tenor), Tareq Nazmi (bass)
Munchener Kammerorchester, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Peter Dijkstra

Composers

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-91)

Works

Mozart: Mass in C minor, K427 'Great'

Acclaimed Polish-born tenor Piotr Beczala pays tribute to the Austrian singer Richard Tauber (1891-1948), one of the most widely celebrated musical celebrities of his time. Recognized by many as one of the greatest tenors in the world, Piotr is regularly praised for his artistry, immaculate musicianship, keen interpretive intelligence, and flawless, elegant delivery. A perfectly cultivated and stylish singer, he is currently at the pinnacle of his career

A prominent exponent of popular song and operetta, Tauber's career is closely associated with operetta's golden age in pre-war Europe

In this recording Beczala shares his deeply honed affinity for this timeless, eternally popular music - a delightful recital of operetta favourites by Lehár, Kálmán, Robert Stolz, Johann Strauss II, among others - and continues the tradition set forth by legendary predecessors like Fritz Wunderlich and Nicolai Gedda

Features special guest appearances from Anna Netrebko (“Lippen schweigen”), The Berlin Comedian Harmonists, Avi Avital, Austrian soprano Daniela Fally and a unique “duet” with Richard Tauber himself, using special 21st century technology and a recorded master from 1934.

Composers

Bohm, Carl (1844-1920)
Erwin, Ralph (1896-1943)
Grieg, Edvard Hagerup (1843-1907)
Kalman, Emmerich (1882-1953)
Lehár, Franz (1870-1948)
Romberg, Sigmund (1887-1951)
Rotter, Fritz (1900-84)
Siecynski, Rudolf (1879-1952)
Stolz, Robert (1880-1975)
Tauber, Richard (1891-1948)

Works

Bohm, C: Still as the Night
Grieg: Ich liebe Dich, Op. 5 No. 3
Kalman: Komm, Zigány! [Countess Mariza]
Kalman: Wenn es Abendd … Grüß mir mein Wien (from Gräfin Mariza)
Lehár: Dein ist mein ganzes Herz (from Das Land des Lächelns)
Lehár: Freunde, das Leben ist lebenswert (from Giuditta)
Lehár: Gern hab' ich die Frau'n geküßt (from Paganini)
Lehár: Lippen schweigen (from Die Lustige Witwe)
Romberg, S: Serenade (from The Student Prince)
Rotter: Ich küsse Ihre Hand, Madame
Siecynski: Wien, du Stadt meiner Traüm
Stolz, R: Das Lied ist aus (The Song is Over)
Stolz, R: Ich liebe dich!
Stolz, R: O mia bella Napoli
Stolz, R: Ob blond, ob braun, Ich liebe die Frau'n
Tauber: Der singende Traum
Tauber: Du bist die Welt für mich