That globetrotting composer Camille Saint-Saëns wrote La Princesse jaune in 1872, exemplifying the current craze for all things Japanese. Kornélis, played by the tenor Mathias Vidal, dreams only of the Land of the Rising Sun. Under the influence of a hallucinogenic potion, he becomes infatuated with Ming, a fantasy princess. His cousin Léna – the soprano Judith van Wanroij – despairs of this passion and does not dare to confess her own feelings to Kornélis, who eventually comes to his senses. The running time of this opera enables us to offer a coupling in the shape of a previously unrecorded version of Saint-Saëns’s six Mélodies persanes, thus extending the guiding thread of a yearning for exotic horizons in another direction. Leo Hussain conducts the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse in both works. © Bru Zane

Bertrand de Billy's live 2011 performance of Dialogues des Carmélites at Theater an der Wien is notable for the vigor of his conducting and his dramatic highlighting of the score's contrasts, which have rarely sounded so stark and tension-filled. He doesn't stint on conveying the music's generous lushness, in scenes such as the first, which is characterized by the composer's typically suave Gallic urbanity in its depiction of Blanche's aristocratic family. What comes as a revelation, though, are the outbursts of Stravinskian ruggedness in the orchestration and harmonies that de Billy does nothing to soften, which are especially evident in the orchestral interludes between scenes. His rhythmic control is crisp and precise, and points up the score's evocations of Baroque French opera, but he also gives the music plenty of room to breathe. The ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien delivers the drama of de Billy's vision with urgency and plays the more lyrical sections with limpid, sumptuous tone. The vocal casting is not consistently persuasive. Sally Matthews' voice is large and her vibrato is more pronounced than that of the rest of the cast, making her Blanche a far-from-typical characterization. The fact that her voice is so powerful in relation to the voices of the other singers makes for an imbalance that's at odds with the premise that Blanche is the opera's most timorous and tentative character. In a more vocally distinguished ensemble she could be highly effective because her characterization is intensely personal and deeply felt. Here, though, the other singers simply pale in comparison. The roles of the other nuns are sung without much distinctiveness, except for Hendrickje van Kerckhove's warm, luminous Sister Constance. Yann Beuron is strong and sympathetic as Blanche's brother, Le Chevalier de la Force. The sound is generally full, detailed, and clean, but the theatrical realism of the live performance doesn't compensate for the variability of balance and volume as the singers move around the stage. The excellent orchestral playing and fine choral singing by the Arnold Schoenberg Chor, and especially de Billy's assured, insightful conducting make this a recording that anyone who loves the opera will want to hear, but it would not make the best introduction for newcomers. © TiVo

International bestselling band The Buena Vista Social Club introduced Son Cubano, the first Afro-Cuban sound, to music lovers across the globe. However, their record was lucky to have ever come into existence at all. This album (which went on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide) was recorded in 1996 at the Egrem studio in Havana and was organised at the very last minute, replacing another session. Initially, the plan was to bring together Cuban and Malian musicians, but it later transpired that the African musicians had not received their visas. The altered project saw Nick Gold, founder of the British label World Circuit, Ry Cooder, the famous American producer and guitarist, and Juan de Marcos González, conductor of the Afro-Cuban All Stars who had just released their first tribute album to the biggest Cuban bands of the 50s, record an album with local musicians⁠—possibly one of the wisest decisions of their career.The record features some of the best Cuban musicians, including bassist Orlando 'Cachaíto' López, trumpeter Manuel 'Guajiro' Mirabal and Barbarito Torres, an expert on the laúd, a small Cuban lute, as well as some veteran singers who came out of retirement to record these tracks. Compay Segundo (89), Pio Leiva (80), Ibrahim Ferrer (69), Omara Portuondo (66) and Eliades Ochoa (50) all gathered around the piano played by Ruben Gonzalez (78), who was also recording another album during this time.Called the Buena Vista Social Club in reference to the famous Havana club where traditional musicians used to meet prior to the 1930s, the album was discreetly released in 1997. Gradually, glowing reviews and positive word-of-mouth attracted the attention of the general public, which was further heightened by the Grammy Award they won that same year. The alchemy between the seasoned vocals, the genius of the musicians and the ever-fresh flavour of these forgotten hits is simply perfect. The result is strikingly authentic, and it’s impossible not to feel the genuine joy felt by these talented and mischievous musicians.In 1998, the original BVSC line-up put on three concerts: two in Amsterdam and one in Carnegie Hall in New York. Wim Wenders, friend of Ry Cooder, was behind the camera during these exceptional performances. He was also behind the recording sessions in Cuba for Ibrahim Ferrer’s first solo album, which was the main source of material for the film Buena Vista Social Club. Released in 1999, this documentary served to cement this short-lived group’s status as legends.For most of these artists, this album marked the start of short, international careers. Compay Segundo and Ruben Gonzalez died in 2003, Ibrahim Ferrer in 2005 and Orlando 'Cachaíto' López in 2009. Some of the original band members continued to tour the world under the name Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club and, in October 2015, they were the first Cuban musicians to be welcomed at the White House following the decline of the relationship between Cuba and the USA, demonstrating the huge cultural importance of this record. © Benjamin Minimum/Qobuz

John Cage's admiration for the music of Erik Satie is well known; Cage organized a Satie festival early in his career, and even casual listeners will detect a spirit of experimentation and a certain irreverence common to the two. Perhaps no one has explored the relationship in greater detail than pianist Bertrand Chamayou on this 2023 release, which hit classical best-seller lists in the autumn of that year. There are several real finds here. One is a rare Cage piece, All Sides of the Small Stone, that was actually dedicated to Satie's memory, and another is a work by Satie specialist James Tenney, Three Pages in the Shape of a Pear (In Celebration of Erik Satie), which suggests lines along which this compositional axis might be extended. In the main body of the program, Chamayou balances Satie and Cage nicely, picking some Cage works that sound quite a bit like Satie and tying the development of the prepared piano closely to these. This is a fresh interpretation. The overall effect has both charm and humor, qualities that aren't always associated with Cage. However, after hearing this album, listeners will feel that maybe they should be. Chamayou has, up to now, been better known for mainstream French and German repertory, but this release reveals him as a talented interpreter of 20th century music as well.© James Manheim /TiVo

Khruangbin's  A LA SALA is billed as a return to basics. Made with minimal overdubs and in only the company of the band's longtime engineer Steve Christensen, the mostly-instrumental trio's fourth record is a quieter, more introspective affair. The measured first track "Fifteen Fifty-Three," which starts with crickets and ends with birds chirping, sets the tone for an album where several tunes include ambient or found sounds. In the sweet and gentle flow of "May Ninth," bassist Laura Lee Ochoa quietly sings, "Oh what a dream to me/ Memory burned and gone/ A multicolored grey/ Waiting for May to come/ Happy for the rain." Her whispers can be heard in several tracks including "Pon Pón," a classic example of the instinctual way that the trio mind meld into a groove—here spiced with a dash of West African bounce.Khruangbin have routinely sought out vocal collaborators (like fellow Texan Leon Bridges) but have now mastered the art of adding ghostly, often near wordless  background vocals.  Lee purrs in the sinuous "Todaviá Viva," a funk jam paced by drummer Donald "DJ" Johnson's rim shots and high hat.  "Hold Me Up (Thank You)" is firmly in the pocket from the opening notes, with Speer darting in and a more assertive Lee singing simple lyrics that conclude with, "Thank your father, thank your mother/Hold me up." With his instantly recognizable guitar tone always submerged in reverb, Mark Speer continues to refine his playing, trending more towards the jazz improvisations while also being able to savor shorter, less challenging moments like in "Caja de la Sala."  He stretches a solo into a song in the dance track "A Love International."  A LA SALA (a phrase Lee used as a child to summon her family into the same place) closes on the slow, reflective "Les Petits Gris," set to a repeated keyboard phrase before it dissolves into the sound of crickets in full thrall.  Khruangbin continue to find new ways to make instrumental-centered music consequential. © Robert Baird/Qobuz

Pianist Saskia Giorgini found both critical and commercial success with her 2022 recording of Liszt's Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, and this 2023 release, which immediately climbed onto classical best-seller charts, follows directly on the earlier album, with the same Bösendorfer piano and the same recording location, the Lisztzentrum in Raiding, Austria. Listeners will not be disappointed, for Consolations has all the virtues of her first Liszt album and adds a few more. The wonderfully controlled lyricism of the Harmonies poétiques et religieuses recurs in the heavily programmatic title work, where Giorgini's playing hints at the presence of all kinds of stories. She plainly excels in the religious, late Liszt, and there are two wonderful examples here, the Deux Legends, portraits of St. Francis of Assisi praying to the birds, and of St. François de Paule. These are difficult works that combine mysticism with Lisztian virtuosity; annotator Mark Berry is right to stress that Liszt did not fully renounce the virtuosity in his later years, but that is not all. Giorgini is just as good in the flashy Three Caprices-Valses and the reflective Liebesträume, the best-known music on the album. In the Valse-Impromptu, she has an uncanny way of suggesting the feeling of spontaneity that seems to have marked Liszt's own playing. Will Giorgini go on with Liszt? She certainly has the technical and emotional wherewithal to do so and to take on more famous works than these.© James Manheim /TiVo

Trumpeter Erik Truffaz's releases inspire excitement, debate, and concert attendance in Europe and Asia. Back in 2020, film director Marie-France Brière approached him about collaborating with her and composing music for a documentary film (Les îles de Napoléon). Following post-production and its entry on the competition circuit, Brière requested the trumpeter's quartet play a concert of themes from French cinema to close the Angoulême film festival. The band enjoyed the process and gig so much, trumpeter/producer Truffaz approached Blue Note -- his longtime label -- about releasing two albums of themes. Rollin' is the inaugural release, Clap is due at the end of the year. Bassist and co-producer Marcelo Giuliani and Truffaz -- the only remaining member of the trumpeter's quartet -- chose Rollin's personnel together: percussionist Raphaël Chassin, keyboardist Alexis Anérile, and guitarist Mathis Pascaud. Also included here are two vocal selections, "One Silver Dollar" sung by Camélia Jordana and "Cesar et Rosalie" delivered by actress and partner Sandrine Bonnaire.It opens with a tender, impressionistic read of Nino Rota's title theme "La Strada." With finger-plucked electric guitar strings introducing the changes, Truffaz, slowly offers the melody with minimal embellishment. The electric piano colors the space between as a minimal bass drones in the backdrop. "Route de Nuit" was composed by Michel Magne for George Lautner's comedy Les Tontons Flingueurs. The original tune is a I-IV-V surf boogie progression. Truffaz's band keeps the bluesy changes, but otherwise turns it inside-out to become a wooly, distorted, funky, guitar-and-trumpet-driven fusion jam. Magne also composed the dark, carnivalesque "Theme de Fantomas," rendered with pathos, counterpoint, noisy electric pianos and guitars, and a swinging snare and hi-hat shuffle. "One Silver Dollar" (sung by Marilyn Monroe in Otto Preminger's 1954 western River of No Return opposite Robert Mitchum) is delivered by Jordana with the same deadpan eros as the original. Pascaud's tremolo bar work is exceptional, and that goes double on John Barry's theme from the Persuaders TV series. Bonnaire's appears on the theme from "Cesar et Rosalie" was composed by Phillipe Sarde. Truffaz uses a stone mute in the intro before a rippling piano introduces the progression. Bonnaire enters halfway through, speaking dryly yet passionately from the script. There is a version of "Ascenseur Pour L'echafaud," the theme from Luis Bunuel's film of the same name -- Miles Davis and his band composed and recorded the music while watching the rushes. Truffaz's take is reverent but more mysterious. His trumpet is the narrator, probing and questioning amid the gorgeous yet tentative melody while Anérile's electric piano hovers in the margin, adorned by guitar and bass. Also beautifully and unexpectedly rendered is Ennio Morricone's title theme "Le Casse" (The Burglars). The lyric interplay between Pascaud and Giuliani behind Truffaz's elegant horn is resonant. Rollin' furthers Truffaz's well-established reputation as an innovator; his quartet manages to imbue each of these selections with bracing new elements yet remains completely faithful to their sources.© Thom Jurek /TiVo