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

To record the Golberg Variations, the absolute pinnacle of western works on harpsichord and the apotheosis of the Baroque era, is the ultimate dream for many musicians. Lang Lang, who admits to have studied the fourth section of the Clavierübung by the Cantor of Leipzig for over twenty years, is no exception. This collection offers two interpretations of the same work. Firstly, a studio version, captured beautifully at the Berlin Jesus-Christus Kirche in March 2020 under the supervision of Christopher Alder, in which Lang Lang displays more measured tempos, particularly in the the initial aria and the first variation. This approach begins to animate itself more in the next section before the first variation in G minor which is slow, sluggish-sounding and unrelenting, taking on a stubborn and repetitive saraband rhythm - a remarkable conclusion to the first section. The outburst of the French Ouverture of Variation 16 is nothing short of spectacular. The following variations pass quickly before the second variation in G minor (Var. 21, Conone alla Settima.), with its very depressive phrasing, an imaginary Tombeau which momentarily instills an impressive gravity. Lang Lang nevertheless remains indifferent to the intrinsic structure of the Goldberg Variations, organised into ten successive groups of three variations with each group finishing with an increasingly complex canon (from the Var. 3’s Canone all’Unisono to Var.27’s Canone all Nona). For the Chinese pianist, his expressive heart seems to concentrate on the three minor key variations, and he doesn’t hesitate to project a Baroque expressionism that finishes the Golbergs with a touch of pathos and romanticism alongside a rounded and silky sound.The energy of the Leipzig public, on the 5 of March 2020, adds a welcome characteristic. During the concert, recorded by Philip Krause, who also accompanied Alder during his studio recording, Lang Lang has fun with the polyphony, beginning with the Aria. Here, he dances and injects subtle variations into the accents, thus opening up a wider and more diverse field of expression (Var. 1, Var. 7). Mischievous (Variation 23 has 2 harpsichords!), Lang Lang lets his imagination run rampant and the emotion that ensues is truly striking (Var. 21, with its obsessive delays). A certain weight is lifted, even in the way the harpsichord sounds, which bears witness to how the Chinese pianist’s sound has changed over the last fifteen years. © Pierre-Yves Lascar/Qobuz

Nicola Benedetti's Homecoming: A Scottish Fantasy is the violinist's tribute to her native land, in celebration of Scotland's Year of Homecoming 2014. Of primary interest to classical fans is Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy in E flat major, a large-scale Romantic concerto based on Scottish folk music, and Benedetti gives a transparent and brilliant performance that alleviates some of the work's heavy Germanic character. Bruch's free use of Scottish folk songs as themes, including some melodies of Robert Burns, suggested the three arrangements that immediately follow it, Ae fond kiss; My love is like a red, red, rose; and Auld Lang Syne, three of the poet's best-known songs. The rest of the program consists of other traditional Scottish tunes, and Benedetti pours her warmest expressions into these airs. In two songs, Bothan a bh'aig Fionnghuala and Coisich a Rùin, Benedetti is joined by Julie Fowlis, whose fluent delivery in Gaelic gives the songs authentic color and texture. Even though this album has been promoted in connection with public festivities, such as the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup, it is actually a personal and intimate album, thanks to Benedetti's ingratiating playing and the poignant tone of many of the selections.© Blair Sanderson /TiVo

Apart from the opera Carmen, the Symphony in C major, and the suites of incidental music for the play L'Arlésienne, the music of Georges Bizet tends toward the obscure, despite its great tunefulness and obvious technical competence. For this CD, Jean-Luc Tingaud and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra present two of the more significant minor works, the Roma Symphony and the Petite Suite, along with several shorter pieces that are infrequently played. The Overture in A major and the Marche funèbre in B minor are neglected because they are early works, though they are no worse than many French orchestral pieces of the time, and Bizet's knack for writing memorable melodies lifts them above mediocrity. The jaunty Patrie Overture has had a better track record with modern audiences and is often encountered as filler on recordings and on pops concerts. An orchestral version of five piano pieces from the collection Jeux d'enfants, the Petite Suite is usually paired on recordings with the Symphony in C major because of its similar lightheartedness. In the end, Roma is the most substantial work offered here, and Bizet's flair for dramatic scene painting and dark passions is on full display, anticipating the volatile atmosphere of Carmen. The performances of all the selections are first-rate, and this album is recommended for anyone who is curious about Bizet's less familiar music.© TiVo

Although A Perfect Circle, a collaboration between songwriter Billy Howerdel and Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan, wasn't exactly prolific, the band put out a solid series of recordings during its run in the 2000s, all of which are collected here in the four-disc set Complete Collection. Featuring 2000's Mer de Noms, 2003's Thirteenth Step, 2004's covers album eMOTIVe, and the rEMIXED disc from 2004's aMOTION DVD set, all of the band's work is gathered up into one neat box set. For fans just looking to get a sampling of A Perfect Circle's work, the greatest-hits compilation Three Sixty is a great place to start, but for listeners looking for something more in-depth, it doesn't get much more complete than this collection.© Gregory Heaney /TiVo

Hard as it may be to believe, but Rod Stewart has gotten through five decades without succumbing to a holiday album. That streak ends in 2012 with the release of Merry Christmas, Baby, an easygoing and chipper collection of secular seasonal standards. A couple of carols are thrown in for good measure but these songs -- "Silent Night," "We Three Kings" presented as a duet with Mary J. Blige -- along with a mildly incongruous "When You Wish Upon a Star," slide by easily on the mellow big-band swing of the rest of the record. Song for song, Merry Christmas, Baby is very much of a piece with Rod's ongoing Great American Songbook series, with Stewart not straying from the familiar form of these songs and producer David Foster laying on all manner of soft, soothing sounds, whether it's acoustic guitars, synthesizers, strings, or a children's choir on "Silent Night." Very rarely does this hint at the Rod of the '70s -- and when it does on the closing "Auld Lang Syne," its intro given a spare folky treatment reminiscent of his Mercury work, it's a bracing, effective reminder of Stewart's skill as a singer -- and instead relies on a gladhanding charm that suits the season, not to mention Stewart in his crooning dotage.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

In 2002 Florilegium became involved with Bolivian Baroque and since 2003 Ashley hasbeen training vocalists and instrumentalists there. Initially solo singers, he formed Arakaen-dar Bolivia Choir in 2005. In 2008 Ashley was the first European to receive the prestigious Bolivian Hans Roth Prize, given to him in recognition of the enormous assistance he hasgiven to the Bolivian indigenous people, their presence on the international stage and thepromotion and preservation of this music.For the last 28 years of collaboration with Channel Classics my main inspiration for recording hasalways been repertoire, either to convey our individual interpretation of known pieces I am passionate aboutor to present otherwise unknown repertoire for thevery first time. This recording, however, came aboutthrough a chance encounter with a remarkable privatecollection of flutes, held in Frankfurt. This collectionincludes several hundred historical flutes, spanningthe history of the instrument from one of the earliestsurviving3-piece French flutes made by Chattillion inc.1680. Many of these are baroque and other one-keyed flutes and most of them have not been used inrecordings before. The collection includes some of thefinest examples of playable baroque flutes anywhere ininstruments at the time of their manufacture. I amgrateful to the owner for his insight, commentary andimages of each flute that follows under “The Instruments” below, allowing the listener to gain a greaterknowledge and understanding of the particular characteristics of each flute.

Here is a package that satisfies intellectual curiosity and is musically delightful. This two-disc set begins with a precise, but still musical, harpsichord performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations by Céline Frisch. Her Aria is clean, with both the melody and the bass line countermelody clear and phrased so that everything comes together well. Her ornaments fit naturally into the melodies throughout the variations, without drawing attention away from the tune, and she always has a sense of direction and forward momentum. The second disc contains the 14 canons on the first eight notes of the bass of the Aria from the Goldberg Variations and the two songs that are contained in the quodlibet near the end of the Variations. The canons are rich and warm performed by Café Zimmermann, a string sextet that includes a double bass, with excellent contrasts in the feel of each canon. The song Cabbages and Turnips Have Driven Me Away is the highlight of the two discs. Period instruments accompany Dominique Visse as he sings about a hunter bringing a girl home to meet his mother. Visse switches from a jolly, idiomatic tenor voice for the hunter to a smooth alto for the girl, and a slightly grating alto for the mother, often in mid-verse. The humor he and the musicians put into the song will produce a smile, and perhaps actual laughter from those who follow the lyrics included in the notes. The second song, Ich bin so lang nicht bei dir gewest, is a dance that begins with a slow, improvisatory violin solo over a hurdy-gurdy drone. The Baroque guitar, cittern, flute, and percussion join in as the dance goes on and accelerates, in lively spirits, stopping before reaching a dizzying speed. Altogether, as well as being a good listen, the programming and the performances of this package give a little more insight into Bach's talent and what inspired him.© TiVo

It probably surprised a few people that guitar eccentric John Fahey chose to record Christmas music. This release comprises the majority of not one but two Christmas releases from 1968 and 1975. Most of the instrumentals on both albums will be familiar, such as "White Christmas," "The First Noel," and "What Child Is This?" On The New Possibility: John Fahey's Guitar Soli Christmas Album, Fahey plays alone, using unusual harmonics and open tunings to turn in pleasant versions of classic Christmas songs. This is a relaxed album, with a pleasing version of "We Three Kings of Orient Are" and a nice fingerpicking adaptation of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Fantasy." The music from the second album, Christmas with John Fahey, Vol. 2 includes several duets with guitarist Richard Ruskin, giving this music a fuller sound and offering a nice contrast to the first album. "Oh Holy Night" presents an abundance of textures, as light and airy as the season, but more resonant due to the continuous melody line. While the material from both albums is satisfying, the later album gathers more depth and presence by the addition of Ruskin's unique but complementary guitar work. The instrumentals on the second album are also more eclectic, as with the "Russian Christmas Overture" and the 12-minute "Christmas Fantasy, Pt. 2." On this tune, Fahey uses a more eccentric approach, creating the type of Christmas music a fan would expect from him. This instrumental contains more dissonance and improvising than the other material, but nonetheless retains a seasonal air. This is a fine collection of holiday guitar music. © Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. /TiVo

In August-September 1965 (February 1967 for Op.55 No.2) Rubinstein, then 79 years old, recorded for RCA these 19 Nocturnes here reissued — following Chopin's wishes, Rubinstein never performed or recorded the two unpublished nocturnes that fill out many recorded sets. Between effusion and restraint near-ideally balanced, and in a true, fair and alert tone, Arthur Rubinstein stands apart, in addition to his incomparable rubato, by a spontaneity and youth of heart with which he animates these pieces; bathed in light and colors, they are no longer melancholic only. (Qobuz)"The set of Nocturnes Rubinstein recorded in 1965 is unmatched: a miraculous balance of singing line, tonal luster, poetic nuance, romantic fancy and classical form." (Washington Post)"A strong, eloquent version, played without pathos" (France Musique)