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VIENNA JOHANN STRAUSS ORCHESTRA: Musical Journey Across Austria (A) (Blu-ray, HD) (753104)




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NEUMEIER, J.: Beethoven Project [Ballet] (Hamburg Ballet, 2019) (NTSC) (753608)




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NEUMEIER, J.: Beethoven Project [Ballet] (Hamburg Ballet, 2019) (Blu-ray, HD) (753704)




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OFFENBACH, J.: Contes d'Hoffmann (Les) [Opera] (DNO, 2018) (NTSC) (752808)




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OFFENBACH, J.: Contes d'Hoffmann (Les) [Opera] (DNO, 2018) (Blu-ray, HD) (752904)




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WAGNER, R.: Fliegende Holländer (Der) [Opera] (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 2019) (NTSC) (753808)




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WAGNER, R.: Fliegende Holländer (Der) [Opera] (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 2019) (Blu-ray, HD) (753904)




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LARCHER, T.: Jagdgewehr (Das) (The Hunting Gun) [Opera] (Bregenz Festival, 2018) (NTSC) (754208)




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LARCHER, T.: Jagdgewehr (Das) (The Hunting Gun) [Opera] (Bregenz Festival, 2018) (Blu-ray, HD) (754304)




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LA PHIL 100 - The Los Angeles Philharmonic Centennial Birthday Gala (Dudamel, Mehta, Salonen) (NTSC) (753408)




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LA PHIL 100 - The Los Angeles Philharmonic Centennial Birthday Gala (Dudamel, Mehta, Salonen) (Blu-ray, HD) (753504)




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VERDI, G.: Trovatore (Il) [Opera] (Arena di Verona, 2019) (NTSC) (754608)




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VERDI, G.: Trovatore (Il) [Opera] (Arena di Verona, 2019) (Blu-ray, HD) (754704)




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BACH, J.S.: Cello Suites Nos. 1-6 (The Bach Project) (Yo-Yo Ma) (NTSC) (754408)




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BACH, J.S.: Cello Suites Nos. 1-6 (The Bach Project) (Yo-Yo Ma) (Blu-ray, HD) (754504)




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Piano Recital: Kim, Honggi - GRANADOS, E. / RAVEL, M. / SÁNCHEZ-VERDÚ, J.M. / SCHUMANN, R. / VINE, C. (8.574232)

Honggi Kim, winner of the 2018 Jaén Prize International Piano Competition, has chosen a fascinating recital programme for his Naxos recording debut. Both Scarbo and Los requiebros are pillars of the piano repertoire, brimming with expressive and technical challenges for any performer, as is Carl Vine’s beautifully written but rarely heard Piano Sonata No. 1. Sánchez-Verdú’s Jardín de espejos (‘Garden of Mirrors’) is influenced by the multiple layers in Islamic art, the ‘mirrors’ of the title lending shape to a tradition of listening, silence and echoes. The programme concludes with Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E flat major, an outstanding work in the chamber-music literature.




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Piano Recital: Józsa, Peter - HAYDN, J. / SCHUBERT, F. / CHOPIN, F. / LISZT, F. / BRAHMS, J. (Portrait) (Gramola99213)




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Piano Music (Norwegian) - TVEITT, G. / GRIEG, E. / KJERULF, H. / BACKER GRØNDAHL, A. (Nordic Light) (Soboń-Wakarecy) (CDAccordACD267)




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MOÓR, E.: Concerto for 2 Cellos / Suite for 4 Cellos / Cello Sonata (S. Hess, D. Stromberg, Nuremberg Symphony, Piehlmayer) (OC1704)




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MICHL, J.C.W.: Quartets Nos. 1-6 for Bassoon, 2 Violins and Cello (Hoadley, The Hall String Trio) (8.574054)

Upon hearing a chamber piece by Joseph Michl in Munich in 1772 the English composer and music historian Charles Burney wrote, ‘I hardly ever heard a composition that discovered more genius and invention.’ Even though Michl achieved success writing for the operatic stage and his contemporary reputation rested on his sacred works, the Bassoon Quartets present the epitome of urbane sophistication—elegantly constructed and full of imaginative detail—and at times resembling miniature concertos.




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MARTINI, G.B.: Azione teatrale / Richiami degli ambulanti al mercato di Bologna (Contro, Troilo, Coro da Camera Euridice, Circe, Scattolin) (TC701307)




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KRČEK, J.: String Quartets Nos. 1-4 (Czech Philharmonic Quartet) (UP0214)




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Impressions of China - Winning Works from the 2018 Huang Zi International Chinese Piano Composition Competition (G. Luisi) (8.579070)

All of the works in this programme were prize winners in the hotly contested 2018 Huang Zi International Chinese Piano Composition Competition, an event marking the 80th anniversary of the death of this influential composer and educator. Themes explored include the charm and unpredictability of China’s landscape, alongside elements of Chinese musical and theatrical aesthetics. Joint First Prize winners were Emile Naoumoff, whose Celestial Parade describes the composer’s wonderful experiences while in Shanghai, and Zhiliang Zhang, whose Qiao Ling Liu Dan portrays six widely differing ‘Dan’ or female characters in Sichuanese opera.




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HERNÁNDEZ, S.: Piano Music Initiation to the Shadow / Terra Santa / Fantasia for Piano / Don't Forget About That (S. Hernández) (8.579072)

The distinguished Spanish composer and pianist Sira Hernández is known especially for her involvement with multi-discipline arts projects at major international festivals and cultural events. Many of her works are inspired by Italian artists as can be heard on this album. Minimalist techniques and the significance of tonality and timbre in communicating darkness and light are heard in Iniciación a la sombra and the sewing-machine ostinatos of Fantasía para piano. The presence of God amidst the bleak spaces of madness are expressed in Terra Santa, and the intensity of Don’t Forget About That invites us to resist oblivion.




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Harp Recital: Plachá, Barbora - KRUMPHOLTZ, J.-B. / DUSSEK, J.L. (Works for Harp) (UP0216)




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HANDEL, G.F.: Messiah (1742 version) (Mields, Schachtner, Kristjánsson, Berndt, Gaechinger Cantorey, Rademann) (ACC-30499)




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Guitar Recital: Egholm, Jonas - BERGNER, Y.L. / CHRISTENSEN, J.J. / FRANDSEN, J. / GLERUP, R. / HEGAARD, L. / HOLMEN, J. / NIELSEN, M. (Educate-S) (8.226615)




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FISCHER-DIESKAU, Dietrich: Lied Edition, Vol. 1 - ZELTER, C.F. / REICHARDT, J.F. / SPOHR, L. / WOLF, H. / PFITZNER, H. (C992205)




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DOHNÁNYI, E.: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (Gülbadamova, Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic, Matiakh) (C5387)




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COUPERIN, F.: Harpsichord Music (L'Unique) (Vinikour) (CDR90000-194)




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COLLINS, W.: No Name (Unabridged) (NA0415)

Magdalen and Norah Vanstone have known only comfort and affluence for their entire lives. Orphaned suddenly following the unexpected deaths of their parents, the illegitimate sisters find themselves flung into the other extreme of living: their father had neglected to amend his will following their parents’ recent marriage, leaving them with nothing, and their bitter, estranged uncle, the legal inheritor of the family fortune, mercilessly refuses them support. They have no money, no rights and no name. Norah, the elder of the two, looks for work as a governess and accepts her fate. Fiery and headstrong Magdalen, however, does not. She vows revenge and schemes a series of traps to recover the fortune, no matter the cost…




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ČIURLIONIS, M.K.: Sea (The) / In the Forest / Kęstutis Overture (Lithuanian National Symphony, Pitrėnas) (ODE1344-2)




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CHOPIN, F.: Scherzos Nos. 1-4 / Impromptus Nos. 1-3 / Fantasy-Impromptu / Allegro de concert (Mao Fujita) (8.574052)

Chopin turned the Scherzo into a new form of piano composition: an independent virtuoso work which he laced with drama, Polish folk song, tranquillity and nuance. With their rhythmic lilt and filigree ornamentation the Impromptus are infused with Romantic freedom, while the Allegro de concert, Op. 46 was originally conceived as a movement for a projected piano concerto but was instead revised for solo piano.




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Cello, Soprano and Piano Recital: Ruh, Janina / Kusnezow, Boris - POULENC, F. / DEBUSSY, C. / FRANCK, C. (Dialogues) (SWR19030CD)




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CATHER, W.: My Ántonia (Unabridged) (NA0457)

Orphaned at the age of 10, Jim Burden moves to Nebraska to live with his grandparents. There he meets Ántonia Shimerda, the daughter of an immigrant family from Bohemia, who have come to carve out a life for themselves in the harsh and bountiful Nebraskan landscape. At the urging of her father, Jim teaches Ántonia English and together they share adventures that will bind them throughout their lives, despite the vicissitudes of time and fate, and years of separation. The final book in Willa Cather’s Great Plains trilogy, My Ántonia is a lyrical tribute to the bygone pioneer life and the struggles and successes of America’s early settlers.




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BRUCKNER, A.: Symphony No. 4, `Romantic` (1886 version, ed. L. Nowak) (Bavarian Radio Symphony, M. Jansons) (900187)




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BRAHMS, J.: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Handel Variations (Vogt, Royal Northern Sinfonia) (ODE1346-2)




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BOITO, A.: Mefistofele [Opera] (F. Furlanetto, Filianoti, Theodossiou, Zaramella, Palermo Teatro Massimo Chorus and Orchestra, Ranzani) (CDS581)




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BEETHOVEN, L. van: Symphonies Nos. 1-9 (Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Kord) (CDAccordACD075)




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BEETHOVEN, L. van: Symphonies (Complete) (Stuttgart Radio Symphony, Norrington) (SWR19525CD)




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BEETHOVEN, L. van: String Quartets Nos. 13 and 15 / Grosse Fuge (Tetzlaff Quartet) (ODE1347-2D)




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BEETHOVEN, L. van: Mass in C Major / Vestas Feuer / Meeresstille und Glückliche Fahrt (Chorus Cathedralis Aboensis, Turku Philharmonic, Segerstam) (8.574017)

The custom of marking the name-day of Princess Esterházy with a newly composed Mass began in the 1790s and for many years was carried out by Joseph Haydn. In 1807 Beethoven was commissioned and responded with his Mass in C major. Coolly received at court, it is a celebratory work of large-scale brilliance. The cantata Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt is set to Goethe’s poems and contrasts calm with exuberance. In 1803 Beethoven set two numbers from Vestas Feuer, written by Emanuel Schikaneder, the librettist of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.




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BEETHOVEN, L. van: Chamber Music - Piano Quartet, Op. 16 / Minuets and Dances (Sofia Kim, Kroh, Segal, Sarid, IU Wind Ensemble, Dorsey) (8.574040-41)

In his first decade in Vienna, Beethoven seems to have been preoccupied with music for wind instruments. The best-known example is his Quintet in E flat major, Op. 16, which he arranged at the same time for piano quartet. He also wrote music for dances and settings of folk songs, and reflected the public’s interest in automata by writing for musical clock. The Napoleonic wars were mirrored in Beethoven’s music of the period, especially in his military compositions such as a series of Marches and the Equali, scored for trombones, which were later played at his funeral.




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BEETHOVEN, L. van: Celebrate Beethoven - Music from His Late Compositional Period (c.1815–1827) (9.30207)




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ADÈS, T.: Piano Solo Works (Han Chen) (8.574109)

Composer, conductor and pianist Thomas Adès has been described by The New York Times as ‘among the most accomplished all-round musicians of his generation’. His Concert Paraphrase on Powder Her Face reflects the glamour of the opera’s subject in the grand manner of Liszt or Busoni, while Still Sorrowing and Darknesse Visible explore John Dowland’s haunting lute works. Heard here in its world premiere recording, competition piece Blanca Variations is lyrical and flowing in character, and Traced Overhead is a vivid description of ascent and flight. Adès captures and transforms Polish style in his Mazurkas, and the spirit of Satie and Ravel in a Souvenir from the film Colette.




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Vocal and Piano Recital: Fingerlos, Rafael / Mouissi, Sascha el - BRAHMS, J. / SCHUBERT, F. / WOLF, H. / STRAUSS, R. / SCHUMANN, R. (Fremde Heimat) (OC1711)




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VIVALDI, A.: Four Seasons (The) / VERDI, G.: I vespri siciliani: Le quattro stagioni (R.M. Minasi, La Scintilla Orchestra) (PHR0112)




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TCHAIKOVSKY, P.I.: Sacred Choral Works - Vesper Service / Hymn in honour of SS Cyril and Methodius (Latvian Radio Choir, Kļava) (ODE1352-2)




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SINIGAGLIA, L.: String Quartet Works (Complete), Vol. 1 - String Quartet, Op. 27 / Brahms Variations / Hora Mystica (Archos Quartet) (8.574183)

The renowned Italian composer and mountaineer Leone Sinigaglia wrote a fascinating series of pieces for string quartet that reflect his powers of characterisation and elegance. Flowing melodies can be heard throughout, not least in the Concert-Étude, Op. 5, while the more substantial Variations on a Theme of Brahms, Op. 22 display his technical skill and expressive variety, whether reflective, sombre or exuberant. His String Quartet in D major, Op. 27 exemplifies his dual inheritance: a commanding central European facility, combined with a natural Italian lyricism.




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SCRIABIN, A. / PASTERNAK, B.: Piano Works (Samson-Primachenko) (UP0213)