|
|
 |
This month's new recordings
 |
Choral Music of the 20th Century
We start with a selection of new approaches to the choral tradition; Wolfgang Rihm's settings of the defiantly secular Friedrich Nietsche in his visceral Klangbeschreibungen II stand in contrast to Frank Martin's emotionally charged passion oratorio Golgotha or Pizzetti's introspective Requiem. Arnold Schoenberg's Kol Nidre incorporates an ancient Jewish hymn-tune, previously used by Beethoven in his Op. 131 string quartet, to great effect, tempering the twelve-tone methods of many of his works of the same period. Leonard Bernstein (left) also turned away from serialism to explore his Jewish faith in his third symphony, Kaddish, and his Chichester Psalms , the opening movement of which features here, have been a popular favourite since their first performance at Chichester cathedral. We end with a movement from Penderecki's Credo; comparison with his earlier Stabat Mater, already live on our service, demonstrates his evolution of style from dissonant clusters to expansive, monumental tonality.
|
Modern Piano Classics
Here we use 'modern' in rather a loose sense; Alban Berg's Op.1 Sonata which opens this playlist was written 96 years ago, but it still presents an aural challenge to many listeners. Although it proclaims itself to be in the key of B minor it is no surprise that it is Berg felt no need to allot subsequent works a tonality. Nikolai Demidenko gives a superb rendition, as he does with Gubaidulina's Ciaccona. Also included are Tatiana Nikolayeva playing Dimitry Shostakovich's Three Fantastic Dances and movements from his 24 Preludes and Fugues, originally inspired by Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. Included too is Stephen Osbourne playing part of Olivier Messiaen's Vingt Regards, all of which makes for fascinating comparisons with the Angela Hewitt playlist below!
|
 |
 |
Vingt Regards, Quatre Études, 48 Preludes and 48 Fugues
Possibly the most renowned interpreter of Johann Sebastian Bach's keyboard works since Glenn Gould, Angela Hewitt shares her fellow Canadian's love of the challenging tonalities of the twentieth century. While Gould found parallels between the contrapuntal approaches of Bach and Schoenberg, the connection between Hewitt's take on Bach and her recordings of the works of Olivier Messiaen seems to be timbral, drawing meliflous sounds from the interwoven lines from the former and the sonorous chords of the latter. Hear movements from Bach's 48 and Messiaen's Préludes, Quatre Études de Rhythme and Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus in the playlist below.
|
Classical's second Mahler cycle
Few people would be bold enough to name any recording of a Gustav Mahler symphony as definitive; as a composer he loaded his works with ambiguous significance and a compelling mix of conviction and irony. At the start of this year we offered our first complete Mahler cycle from Artemis-Vanguard and are pleased to announce a second from Hänssler with Michael Gielen conducting SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg. Both are fine recordings in their own right, but the chance to compare the two is to be welcomed. This month's playlist showcases some lesser-known movements from a set of symphonies which contain a consistency and depth rarely matched in the repertoire.
|
 |
 |
Hyperion: The Romantic Piano Concerto Series
One might be forgiven for thinking that corners of the musical establishment had been trying to sweep the romantic era discreetly under the carpet, no more so than with the piano concerto. While various romantic symphonies have been rehabilitated through their virtues of form, the concerto has always smacked of a composer's self-indulgence, even in the hands of arch-intellectuals like Ferruccio Busoni (left). Thankfully Hyperion have rediscovered the ebullient joy of this neglected section of the canon, and here at Classical we intend to bring you their entire 38-disc survey, as showcased in the below playlist which includes works by Mendelssohn and Weber .
|
|
|
