Festival productions can be hit or miss, depending on how much time the musicians have rehearsed together, and on the chemistry between them. This CD is an absolute hit, recorded at the 20th Rossini in Wildbad Festival. The singers beautifully embody their characters, while the orchestra (Virtuosi Brunensis with Alberto Zedda) is spirited and the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir richly supportive. The energetic overture draws the listener into the opera's world, with the requisite full orchestra crescendo one expects of Rossini; the only difficulty is that the lower voices of the orchestra are not loud enough (the orchestra may be a bit sparse). This musically spot-on introduction sets the tone for the rest of the album. All the singers have a strong sense of musicality and very clear diction (not surprising, given that many of them are singing in their native Italian): this is especially important in recitatives and in rapid-fire, chaotic, often comedic ensemble numbers that are a hallmark of Rossini. The opera is interpreted so well that the listener can easily follow along even without a libretto. Especially noteworthy are the tenor Lawrence Brownlee, who plays Lindoro, and Lorenzo Regazzo who plays the imperious Mustapha. Brownlee's tenor is very expressive with a fast vibrato, dramatic and heartfelt, even if on occasion all the notes in his melismas are not perfectly defined. Regazzo's charismatic performance recalls an earlier opera star, Tom Krause, and his character's mission and pompousness are comically conveyed. This is not to say that the other singers are any less worthy on this album, for Bruno de Simone's bass is as clear and agile as a tenor's, Marianna Pizzolato's contralto is passionate while always maintaining strong vocal control, and Giulio Mastrototaro's solo is quite enjoyable. Perhaps the only major criticism one could make of this album is that Elvira's timbre does not match the others, as it is very bright (but this is in no way a criticism of the quality of her singing). Fans of The Marriage of Figaro will most certainly like this album, as the opera deals with common themes of infidelity, separated lovers, and trickery. In sum, each element here works, from the harpsichord accompaniment to the singers to the score to the orchestra. Highly recommended and highly entertaining. © TiVo

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A young ensemble of instrumentalists and singers revives the precious historical practice of singers accompanying themselves (already brought back into currency by the soloist Vivabiancaluna Biffi), thus producing a wholly new sound in music usually assigned to unaccompanied voices. With Concerto di Margherita, self-accompanied singing becomes "collective" for the first time in our era, and is amplified in a shared gesture in which all the members of the group – playing and singing together with extraordinary coordination – produce a sonority unprecedented in this repertory. Created at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland, the group (which is named after the Duchess of Ferrara, Margherita Gonzaga) performs as a consort of five voices, theorbo, harp, viola da gamba, guitar and lutes, inspired by the "Concerto delle dame" of Ferrara. The recording debut of Concerto di Margherita presents arrangements of a wide range of instrumental and vocal works (madrigals, villanellas and canzonas), drawing on music by De Wert, Gastoldi, Monteverdi and the "blind man’s buff" scene from Giovanni Battista Guarini’s Il pastor fido (1580). © Arcana

Alexis Kossenko delves into the repertoire of one of the most admired orchestras in Europe during Bach’s lifetime. The greatest composers of the century composed for this famous ensemble, a showcase for the musical splendour of the court of the prince-electors. Combining concerti and sacred music, this album is the first volume in an exceptional series devoted to this orchestra. © Aparté

Five years after her solo debut recording, Direct Message, which programmed 20th and 21st century works for trumpet and piano, trumpet player Matilda Lloyd departs the traditional repertoire (aside from the two Arban arrangements from the Complete Conservatory Method for Trumpet). Instead of following more well-worn routes, Lloyd elects to present a program of Romantic period opera arias, mostly in arrangements for trumpet and chamber orchestra (undertaken here by the Britten Sinfonia under Rumon Gamba) by William Foster, who worked closely with Lloyd on this project. Lloyd's skill as a musician is evident throughout, though the two Arban tracks most clearly allow her abilities to shine. The arrangements throughout are good, though how much they add to the performances rather than transcriptions and transpositions is up for debate. Lloyd notes with excitement the decision to include two pieces by Pauline Viardot, and one of the highlights here is the treatment of Viardot's Havanaise. This is certainly a trumpet release aimed at a wider audience than trumpet and brass circles, and it has already found success on the retail market. Chandos delivers just the right atmosphere from the Church of St. Augustine, Kilburn, in London. The future is bright for this trumpeter, and one looks forward to where her path may take her. © Keith Finke /TiVo

A musical portrait of the young Brahms and his friendship with the Schumanns. In "New Paths", Mari Kodama explores the young Johannes Brahms and his fascinating friendship with Clara and Robert Schumann. The album derives its title from Robert Schumann’s famous essay 'Neue Bahnen", in which he heralded the young Brahms as the most eminent musical voice of the future. The programme brings together Brahms’s First Piano Sonata, his Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9, as well as his Theme and Variations, Op. 18B, made at Clara Schumann’s request. The final word is given to Clara’s arrangement of Robert’s song Widmung. "New Paths" not only explores the unique bond of these three remarkable composers, but also shows the energetic self-confidence of the young Brahms, so different from his later melancholia. Kodama performs these works on a brand new Yamaha piano that almost sounds like a period instrument, coming much closer to Brahms’s sound ideal. © Pentatone

One of the difficulties facing a composer of movie music is finding the happy middle between the unobtrusive, but dull, and the stirring, but distracting. In a recent BBC survey, some of the composers capable of staking out that elusive territory include the legendary Max Steiner, Bernhard Herrmann, John Barry, John Williams, and the late Ennio Morricone, whose scores for the so-called "spaghetti westerns” brought him fame, though he did not restrict his talents to that genre alone.Violinist, arranger, and conductor Marco Serino worked with Morricone in his latter years creating concert suites from his earlier movie scores, some of them released on Morricone: Cinema Suites for Violin and Orchestra. In this sequel, Cinema Rarities for Violin and String Orchestra, Serino has delved into the late composer's lesser-known scores, including some for pictures never released outside of Italy. The titles were chosen, as the excellent and thorough booklet informs us, for their rarity and "distinctly Italian character.” About half of the arrangements are by Morricone, the rest by Serino.There is no disputing this is gorgeous music and few will fail to note the soaring themes and lush arrangements. The playing by both the soloist and orchestra is superb, polished, and refined. The same lushness, polish, and dolcissimo might prove excessive for some listeners, as it eventually did for this one, who by recording's end, found himself strangely craving the sound of a brass band and the juice of a lemon. © Anthony Fountain/Qobuz

Dvořák’s works for solo piano are in the main an unexplored landscape even for many a pianist and musicologist. This segment of his music lacks Chopin’s sway and finely nuanced emotionality, nor does it possess Liszt’s osten­tatious virtuosity. Just as he did in his entire oeuvre, in his piano works too Antonín Dvořák eschewed flashiness, focusing instead on tender intimate lyricism, teeming with ideas, and shaping even his miniatures with the sensibility of a genius. Such music is certainly worthy of a new complete album. Upon the initiative of Supraphon and the Classical Music Academy, the challenging task was undertaken by Ivo Kahánek, an artist whose recording of Dvořák’s Piano Concerto made with the Bamberger Symphoniker conducted by Jakub Hrůša has deservedly gained critical acclaim. The present set encompasses larger cycles and occasional pieces, as well as several little-known works, recorded for the very first time. The album of Dvořák’ piano works provides yet another precious insight into the abundant world of the composer’s soul. Ivo Kahánek recalled the creation of the new recording as follows: “Preparations actually began back in the autumn of 2020, when I gave a concert featuring Dvořák’s music at Dvořák Prague and was the patron of the marathon of Dvořák’s pieces for solo piano within the self-same international festival. Yet I would only learn most of the repertoire in the spring of 2021, directly for the purpose of this recording. The most difficult thing to cope with was the time pressure, since due to the availability of the hall and the team we had to record five hours of music within a mere three months. The most gratifying aspect was discovering some little-known gems among Dvořák’s numerous piano works and having the opportunity to view the better-known pieces in a new way”. The album was made with the generous support of the Karel Komárek Family Foundation, the Classical Music Academy, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Faculty of Music of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. © Supraphon

Handel's Rodelinda, regina de' Longobardi, HWV 19, was a hit at its first performance in 1725 and has dropped out of the repertory only during periods when all of Handel's operas did. It is absolutely loaded with great Handelian tunes and also has a more-than-coherent plot involving an imprisoned queen in a conquered Milan, the intrigue that swirls around her among her lustful conquerors, and her disguised husband, Bertarido, who attempts to rescue her. The lead role has drawn star sopranos from Joan Sutherland on down, but many listeners will be drawn to the singing here of Lucy Crowe, who really inhabits the role. She sang it with the Dutch National Opera, and here, she returns with convincing delivery that will keep listeners' heads out of the libretto. She is aided by the clean playing of the English Concert under Harry Bicket, who leads from the harpsichord, and a strong supporting cast, including the ideal Iestyn Davies as Bertarido. This performance was planned for the English Concert's annual live concert at Carnegie Hall in New York; that was canceled due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, but Bicket and the group decided to record the opera instead, inaugurating a new series of Handel operas. The socially distanced playing and singing at St. John's Smith Square is a little rusty in spots, and the venue is somewhat airy for the music, but all in all, this is a Handel opera performance that makes one anxious for more of the same for the performers.© TiVo

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Recordings by Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman are a rare event, and eagerly awaited by his many fans. They surely won’t be disappointed with this new opus that brings together Szymanowski, Zimerman and legendary pianist Arthur Rubinstein.Returning to his roots, Krystian Zimerman pays tribute to his compatriot Karol Szymanowski on the 140th anniversary of the composer’s birth. This selection of little-known works testifies to the importance of Szymanowski within the piano repertoire. A long twenty-eight years separate Zimerman's recording of Masques, Op. 34 (made in 1994 in Copenhagen) from the rest of the programme, which was recorded in 2022 in the exceptional acoustics of the Fukuyama Concert Hall near Hiroshima.Nevertheless, the considerable lapse of time between these recordings doesn’t detract from the album's coherence. This is thanks to Zimerman's fluid, clear and readable sound, which—as we know—leaves nothing to chance. This fascinating recording reveals various facets of Szymanowski's compositional genius and features both his mature and early works, all of which were influenced by the great Chopin.Composed during the First World War whilst staying at the family estate in Ukraine, the three parts of Masques evoke Debussy, Scriabin and Stravinsky. However, each movement is overlaid with the orientalist perspective so typical of the Polish composer. A few carefully chosen Préludes and Mazurkas stand alongside the splendid Variations on a Polish Folk Theme for piano, Op. 10, composed by a young Szymanowski still in the process of mastering his mother tongue. © François Hudry/Qobuz

Of the various young cellists contending for the crown these days, Bruno Philippe is among the strongest, with a highly varied palette of tone production. He applies the full power of the instrument sparingly, keeping a light touch in lyrical sections and making details clear even at the growling bottom of the instrument's range. The large pieces here are perhaps of varying quality, but they serve Philippe well. The Violin Sonata in A major of César Franck was transcribed for cello with the composer's approval, but it is a different work lower down, losing the soaring quality of the finale's melodies. Still, it fits Philippe's way with a tune nicely, and he applies a good deal of tempo rubato in a way that holds the interest. Philippe keeps the cello lines clear in Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33 (the mix of cello-and-piano works with a cello concerto is entirely characteristic of what might have been offered in these composers' own era), featuring the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Francis Poulenc's Cello Sonata was sketched out by the composer in 1940, laid aside, and completed only reluctantly in 1948. The composer disparaged it, and no one would pick it as top-grade Poulenc, but for all that, it has a remarkable Cavatine slow movement that displays Philippe's lyrical gifts to the hilt. Serving as intermezzi among these works are short pieces by Fauré, and these, too, show Philippe as the possessor of a remarkable cantabile. Philippe is ably accompanied by the veteran pianist Tanguy de Williencourt; they make an effective pair, with the pianist's restrained style seeming to keep the young Philippe within bounds. Harmonia Mundi contributes idiomatic chamber music sound from the Hessische Rundfunk studios in Frankfurt on an album that will appeal to any lover of French chamber music.© James Manheim /TiVo

Pianist Nathanaël Gouin explores the caprice as it has evolved, with works that fall squarely into that form and some that, as Gouin discusses in the booklet interview, fit the mold. Gouin's phrasing and style seem best suited to the Romantic and Post-Romantic periods, and that is where he excels here, especially in the Valse-Caprice No. 2, Op. 38, of Fauré and Alkan's Le festin d'Ésope, Op. 39/12. Another draw is the premiere of Reynaldo Hahn's Mignouminek from 1943, an unpublished work that was dedicated to and later found in the library of François Lang, a pianist and collector who died in Auschwitz in 1944. There are countless recordings of Rachmaninov's Rhapsodie sur theme de Paganini, Op. 43, and this one is worth considering. The freedom associated with the caprice form is necessarily reined in owing to the presence of the orchestra here. The Sinfonia Varsovia under conductor Aleksandar Markovic is a good stylistic match with Gouin. The juxtaposition of the Rachmaninov variations with those of Brahms' first book of his Variations sur un theme de Paganini, Op. 35, for solo piano, allows listeners to hear the extra freedom given to the pianist in the Brahms. The inclusion of Bach's Caprice sur le depart de son frère bien-aimé, BWV 992, makes sense given the title and the overarching theme of the album. Gouin is less convincing in this Baroque master's work as his playing is sometimes uneven and loses a bit of momentum in the slower movements, but the quicker, lighter movements are better matched to his playing style.© Keith Finke /TiVo

For his last season at the helm of the Opéra de Bordeaux, Marc Minkowski—always keen to conduct forgotten works which have, in some way, marked the history of music—sets his sights on Robert le Diable, Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera which was a true social phenomenon in 19th century France. The Palazzetto Bru Zane - Centre de musique romantique française has followed suit by officially publishing this concert version, which also features some excellent vocal soloists. Admired by Balzac, Sand and Dumas, this ‘grand opéra à la française’ (great French opera) faded into obscurity after the First World War. Its creator became a sort of pariah – one met with both condescension and mockery. With its ‘seductive and haunting melodies’ (Alexandre Dratwicki), it’s nevertheless a flamboyant work that greatly inspired his contemporaries, such as Verdi, who referred to it in La Traviata. The extraordinary impact of Robert le Diable was such that it was performed a great many times on every continent. A true one-man band, Marc Minkowski has invested himself entirely in this undertaking, learning this vast score practically by heart and conducting it with his usual power and conviction. The international cast is full of surprises thanks to their deep understanding of the work and the protagonists’ fantastic pronunciation. This new release, to the credit of the Bru Zane label, revitalises our knowledge of this work that’s scarcely mentioned in specialised dictionaries. © François Hudry/Qobuz