“

In 2007 the Dutch harpsichordist Pieter-Jan Belder finished his recording of all the keyboard sonatas in sequential order for the label Brilliant Classics. Ditto Richard Lester, for the Nimbus label. The Naxos label is currently working on a project to record all of Scarlatti's sonatas on the piano, with each disc taken by a different pianist. The Italian Stradivarius label's Scarlatti sonata project, mostly recorded with harpsichordist Ottavio Dantone, currently stands at volume 10. According to an official at the label, there are talks to continue with the project

”

“

It's not easy to conceive and successfully impose a concert-performance dynamic on the formal, square structures of Tallis' Psalm-tune settings, bringing an air of excitement to these essentially functional church pieces. In most circumstances these works merely sound, well, like formal and square hymns, albeit very well crafted with strong, sturdy melodies and occasionally interesting harmony. But if you've been paying attention to the choral music scene lately, you know to expect that Stile Antico--a conductorless British ensemble of 13 (or so) young singers--is more than capable of giving exciting new life to old music, and that's exactly what we get here. There's energy and vitality in the singing that gives unusual substance and power to these very short (most around one minute or less), text-centered settings. Of course, it was a very good programming idea to intersperse the brief Psalm-tunes with some of William Byrd's most substantial motets. Ne irascaris Domine, Infelix ego, Laetentur coeli, and Tribulationes civitatum stand among Byrd's greatest works--indeed, among the most valued treasures of choral music. As such, they are oft-performed and recorded--and not surprisingly Stile Antico's renditions join with the very best in the catalog. Although I'm not so much a fan of this ensemble's very slow tempo for Ne irascaris, these singers certainly have the control to generate and sustain the necessary momentum--and the beautifully-wrought ending (a trademark of this group!) negates all earlier reservations regarding tempo. Laetentur coeli (no holding back here!) is a highlight worthy of special mention--an example of both Stile Antico's remarkable ensemble balance and sensitive linear interplay and the exceptionally complementary sound that captures these details so clearly and vibrantly. Not to be missed! -- David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com "Stile Antico's disc displays an ingeniously programmed alternation of exquisitely simple psalm settings by Tallis alongside some of the most brilliantly and richly polyphonic works by Byrd. The most striking feature of these performances is how wonderfully varied they are. In some pieces –- Byrd’s Vigilate for example, with its imitation of a cock crowing in the middle of the night -– the presentational style almost enters the realm of musical theatre, while in Tallis’ God Grant with Grace the utterly still and simple display of the music is transporting. In their overall sense of form and local nuance this group has something that so many other ensembles noticeably lack.” -- Anthony Pryer, BBC MUSIC Magazine (March 2008)

”

“

"...is Schubert's originality a mirage? Of all people, the British pianist Graham Johnson raises the question in his anthology "Songs by Schubert's Friends and Contemporaries" from Hyperion: three CD's with 81 songs by 40 composers, running alphabetically from Carl Banck to Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg and chronologically from Haydn (1732-1809) back to Banck (1809-89)...Defining contemporaries broadly, Mr. Johnson journeys from the musical world as Schubert found it to the world he helped shape. Notable in the lineup are Schubert's teacher Antonio Salieri (1750-1825); his model Zumsteeg (1760-1802); Franz Anton Schubert (1768-1827), of Dresden; Beethoven (1770-1827), whose invention of the song cycle, with "An die Ferne Geliebte"

”

“

The hammer strokes at the beginning of his Dis-Kontur (1974) bear only a fleeting resemblance to those in Gustav Mahler’s Sixth Symphony. But Rihm’s are of an entirely different cut altogether: after all, what we hear is not a “final rage”, but a violent outburst standing at the beginning of a long musical development. “I believe that it is important today to compose music that is totally lost to the world and only knows itself,” said Rihm about Dis-Kontur in 1975. “Only such music will be able to heal the art of composing where it was bruised by buzzwords.” It was already in his next composition, Sub-Kontur (1974/75), that Rihm took yet another step in the same direction. But while he did not level the hammer strokes of Dis-Kontur, Rihm did not allow his listener to meet them head-on either. Instead, he chose subtler means to express them. “Both pieces are big chunks chewing up symphonic topoi. In a way, Dis-Kontur is a symphonic march. Sub-Kontur is a kind of adagio that pushes upward from below, or so I thought back then.” In his Unbenannt IV (2002/03), a concerto for organ and orchestra of sorts, Rihm wanders about in search of the sonically and spatially varied relationships between the solo instrument and the orchestra groups. What he is looking for here is the “organic whole” (Rihm) constituted by orchestra and organ. A particularly gripping release in the series Musica Viva! -- from col legno web site

”

“

Ormandy's 44-year tenure with the Philadelphia Orchestra began in 1936 and became the source of much of his lasting reputation and fame. Two years after his appointment as associate conductor under Leopold Stokowski, he became its music director. (Stokowski continued to conduct some concerts in Philadelphia until 1941; he returned as a guest conductor in 1960.) As music director, Ormandy conducted from 100 to 180 concerts each year in Philadelphia. Upon his retirement in 1980, he was made conductor laureate.

”

“

These are recordings i found at the web, i don´t remember where, from a guy called Uncle Meat, thanks to him for uploading.

”

Brilliant interpretation on Frédéric Chopin by czech-in-exile Josef Bulva. Includes one of the best piano compositions ever written: 'Marche funèbre - Lento' being the third movement of Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35 - the 'funeral march' that was also played at the graveside during Chopin's own burial in 1849.