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Voice of Rachmaninoff

John-Henry Crawford

Classical - Released June 9, 2023 | Orchid Classics

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Nobody thinks of Rachmaninov when it comes to the cello, but the Sonata in G minor for cello and piano, Op. 19, that is recorded here, was the only sonata he wrote for any instrument other than the piano. Transcriptions fill out this album by cellist John-Henry Crawford and pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion, but they work so well that one might suppose the works to have been written for the cello; Rachmaninov gravitated toward glorious melodies that fit easily in the cello's range. Even those who feel the tension of a voice is important to the realization of the Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14, will probably not be able to resist the version here. Crawford has an exceptionally rich, songful tone, and he brings to the piano pieces and songs on the program a true lyricism. There is one variation from the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, heard here, and one might sample that for a taste of Crawford's cantabile. The role of Asuncion is important here; he hangs back, adding mystery but never stepping into the spotlight, except in the perilous keyboard part of the Cello Sonata, written by Rachmaninov for himself and quite adeptly handled. Neither of these performers is a household name, but this makes one want to hear more from both of them. © James Manheim /TiVo
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Songs In A Minor

Alicia Keys

R&B - Released September 3, 2001 | J Records

Alicia Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, made a significant impact upon its release in the summer of 2001, catapulting the young singer/songwriter to the front of the neo-soul pack. Critics and audiences were captivated by a 19-year-old singer whose taste and influences ran back further than her years, encompassing everything from Prince to smooth '70s soul, even a little Billie Holiday. In retrospect, it was the idea of Alicia Keys that was as attractive as the record, since soul fans were hungering for a singer/songwriter who seemed part of the tradition without being as spacy as Macy Gray or as hippie mystic as Erykah Badu while being more reliable than Lauryn Hill. Keys was all that, and she had style to spare -- elegant, sexy style accentuated by how she never oversang, giving the music a richer feel. It was rich enough to compensate for some thinness in the writing -- though it was a big hit, "Fallin'" doesn't have much body to it -- which is a testament to Keys' skills as a musician. And, the fact is, even though there are some slips in the writing, there aren't many, and the whole thing remains a startling assured, successful debut that deserved its immediate acclaim and is already aging nicely.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Bach-Abel Society

Les Ombres

Chamber Music - Released September 30, 2022 | Mirare

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In 1765, Johann Christian Bach, who had settled in London, established with his friend Carl Friedrich Abel the prestigious "Bach Abel Concerts". Surrounded by some of the most talented artists of their generation, Margaux Blanchard and Sylvain Sartre invite us to rediscover the music that enlivened the luxurious London salons of the late 18th century. A chance to be admitted, for a moment's listening, into the very select Bach Abel Society. © Mirare
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Mendelssohn: Songs without words, Vol. 2

Peter Donohoe

Classical - Released April 14, 2023 | Chandos

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Similar to his first volume of Songs without words (Lieder ohne Worte), published in January 2022, the British pianist Peter Donohoe is again incorporating Felix Mendelssohn pieces into his 2nd Volume. It opens with what is perhaps considered the German composer's piano masterpiece, the Variations Sérieuses, op. At Franz Liszt’s request, a total of 54 were composed in 1841 for the inauguration of the Beethoven statue. They owe their inspiration as much to Bach as they do to Beethoven, with the creation of a pure Mendelssohn piece combining classicism and romanticism.La Fantaisie sur un Chant irlandais, op. Song number 15 dates back to 1827 before Felix's first visit to the British Isles. It is based on the famous ‘Last Rose of Summer’ melody, attributed to the Irish poet Thomas Moore. The young Mendelssohn, then just 18 years old, certainly seems to have been overcome by this song’s nostalgia, which exhibits moods ranging from sadness to unbridled joy.These two works offer an obvious stylistic link with the Songs without words that Peter Donohoe strives to play with ease, grace, and continuous virtuosity. His choice purposely ignores the chronology of the pieces to offer a kind of colourful and changing musical bouquet. Like an elf pitter-pattering over the piano keys, he ends this collection of Songs with a devilish arrangement that Sergei Rachmaninoff left behind the Scherzo of A Midsummer Night's Dream. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Purcell : Devotional Songs & Anthems

La Rêveuse

Sacred Vocal Music - Released September 3, 2015 | Mirare

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions 5 de Diapason - Choc de Classica - Choc Classica de l'année
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Mendelssohn: Piano Rarities

Christopher Williams

Classical - Released November 24, 2023 | Naxos

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Russian Roots

Katharina Konradi

Mélodies - Released February 25, 2022 | Chandos

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"Russian Roots" is the debut recording of Trio Gaspard for Chandos Records, for which the group is joined by the soprano Katharina Konradi in a diverse and rewarding programme that explores the Russian influence across almost 200 years of music. A selection of Russian folksongs set by Beethoven, Shostakovich’s First Piano Trio and Seven Romances on Poems by Blok, and Weinberg’s Jewish Songs form the backbone of the recital. These are complemented by vocalises (wordless songs) by Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Gubaidulina, and Auerbach. Katharina Konradi is the first soprano from Kyrgyzstan to have achieved an international career as a Lieder, concert, and opera singer. A BBC New Generation Artist, she won the Deutsche Musikwettbewerb in 2016 and became a member of Staatsoper Hamburg in 2018, where she sings the major soprano roles. Founded in 2010, Trio Gaspard has become one of the most sought-after piano trios of its generation, whose members are praised for their unique and fresh approach to the score. The Trio is regularly invited to perform at leading concert halls throughout the world. It has an impressive history of international festival appearances, and each member also continues to pursue a successful solo career. © Chandos
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Songs In A Minor (Deluxe Edition)

Alicia Keys

Pop - Released June 5, 2001 | J Records - Legacy

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Songs Against Loneliness

Eva Klesse Quartett

Jazz - Released October 21, 2022 | Yellowbird Records

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France Romance

Kotaro Fukuma

Classical - Released April 5, 2019 | Naxos Japan

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Bohemian Tales

Augustin Hadelich

Classical - Released April 24, 2020 | Warner Classics

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Violinist Augustin Hadelich turned a lot of heads and ears with his recording of the Brahms Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, and he does it again with this collection of Czech pieces, featuring and flowing from Dvořák. The Bohemian Tales title is not just a marketing concept but describes his approach: the Dvořák Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53, is not a clean essay in Brahmsian style, but one of Dvořák's most Czech pieces, with a very folkish (and folk-fiddle) finale and a discursive, narrative touch throughout. Hadelich's shorter pieces for violin and piano (he is ably backed by Charles Owen) are designed to continue with the contrasts set up in the concerto. In the Janáček Violin Sonata, he expertly catches the tension between Dvořák's lyricism and the edgier material in which Janáček decisively departs from that. The other pieces showcase Hadelich's ability to touch the heartstrings: shorter Dvořák works, the highly melodic Four Pieces, Op. 17, of Josef Suk, and the ending, with his own transcription of the fourth of Dvořák's Seven Gypsy Songs, Op. 55, and lastly No. 7 from the Eight Humoresques, Op. 101, in the arrangement by Fritz Kreisler. This is about as familiar as a classical violin piece can be, but all earlier memories are swept away in an entrancing finale. Hadelich is looking like a major star in the making.© TiVo
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Mendelssohn: Piano Pieces

Bertrand Chamayou

Classical - Released May 6, 2008 | naïve classique

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Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 3 - Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words

Glenn Gould

Classical - Released June 27, 1995 | Sony Classical

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Brahms: Clarinet Quintet, Trio in A Minor & 6 Songs

Martin Fröst

Chamber Music - Released July 1, 2014 | BIS

Booklet
Swedish clarinetist Martin Fröst released a fine recording of Brahms' late clarinet sonatas and clarinet trio, and the intention was apparently to capitalize on that with this version of the Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115. Oddly, the trio from the earlier disc is simply reprised, with the result that the album consists of three performances separated from each other in time (and in two cases space); the six song transcriptions that serve as a very subtle entr'acte were recorded separately from the quintet. Given how well Fröst interacts with his ensembles and accompanist here, one might have wished to hear the music recorded in a single creative act, not to mention avoiding duplication in a recording that's top-of-the-line pricewise. When listeners get to the main attraction, however, all is well. Fröst is not the most expressive of clarinetists, but the Clarinet Quintet fares just fine without the "late" autumnal flavoring it is sometimes given; Brahms wasn't planning on dying. The work is one of the most intricate ever composed by Brahms or anyone else, with the ability to make listeners feel that once they've entered, they may never emerge. It is this complexity of motivic interplay that Fröst, with a very fine set of collaborators that includes the celebrated Janine Jansen on first violin, captures. His approach is quiet, making the clarinet an almost spectral presence at times, but never without a reason to do that. This is the kind of recording that can be put on at 1 a.m., after everyone else has gone to bed, and find deep revelations in. BIS engineers do well at reconciling the varying sonic environments.© TiVo

Earl Wild: [Re]Visions - Piano Transcriptions

Vittorio Forte

Classical - Released March 26, 2021 | Odradek Records

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Earl Wild was a prodigiously talented American pianist who became as famous for his transcriptions as for his dazzling performances, representing a vital link with 19th-century exponents of the pianist-composer tradition such as Liszt, Rachmaninov and Busoni. For Vittorio Forte, “Earl Wild was the perfect example of a marvellous blend between academism and modernity in an ever-changing world”, a combination audible in the array of works chosen for this recital. We hear Wild’s transcriptions of two elegant Baroque pieces: Handel’s Harmonious Blacksmith and the Adagio from Marcello’s Oboe Concerto, contrasted with the Russian passion of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. Then to 20th-century America with Wild’s breathtaking Seven Virtuoso Etudes on Songs by George Gershwin and his Improvisation in the Form of a Theme and Three Variations on "Someone To Watch Over Me". © Odradek Records
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After a dream

Emmanuel Ceysson

Duets - Released July 3, 2020 | NoMadMusic

Booklet
Emmanuel Ceysson and Frédéric Chatoux have worked alongside the pit of the Paris Opera for ten years, thus they have created a magnificent musical bond. "After a dream" is their first duo project, bringing together a selection of original pieces and transcriptions, with French music and its dreamlike tones as a common thread. Alongside Fauré, Cras, Ibert and Saint-Saëns, Bach, Rossini and Gluck, the two musicians colored this program in the form of sweet reverie. © nomadmusic

Rachmaninoff 150

Berliner Philharmoniker

Classical - Released September 15, 2023 | Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings

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Träumerei

Robert Schumann

Classical - Released April 11, 2014 | Blaricum CD Company (B.C.D.) B.V.

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Virtuoso Favorites

Erick Friedman

Classical - Released January 1, 1963 | Sony Classical

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Without Words

Bruce Levingston

Classical - Released September 22, 2023 | Sono Luminus

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There is certainly no shortage of recordings of Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, but this 2023 release has some unusual features. It is a bit broader than the usual subtle, delicate variety; pianist Bruce Levingston admits that "[w]hile their subtle, ornamental qualities certainly shine brightest in more intimate settings, closer inspection reveals an unexpected depth and complexity to these miniature masterpieces." Sono Luminus backs him up with a rather expansive acoustic in its versatile studio. Perhaps the main attraction here, though, is the set of seven new Songs Without Words by Cecil Price Walden, commissioned by Levingston at the behest of a physician who wanted to memorialize his co-workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike many contemporary works whose titles make reference to 19th century genres, Walden's clearly derive from Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words. The tonal palette is slightly expanded (and just slightly), but the basic configuration of Mendelssohn's works, with an evocative but elusive melody enhanced by fleeting pieces of commentary in accompaniment and ornamentation. In addition to the COVID aspect, there are hints of other social meanings in Walden's work; one of his pieces is entitled "Protest," but these do not fundamentally inflect his compositional language in what is essentially an elegant little album of Romantic and neo-Romantic music. Mendelssohn lovers will certainly find this release of interest.© James Manheim /TiVo