EMI Classics and Virgin Classics February 2009 Releases
Bellini: La Sonnambula – highlights
Natalie Dessay, soprano
Carlo Colombara, Elvino Francesco Meli, Jaël Azzaretti, Sara
Mingardo, Paul Gay
Choeur et Orchestre
de l’Opéra de Lyon
CD and downloads available February 24 from Virgin
Classics
“Dessay’s artistry and intelligence … limn a
lovely reading that grows in strength as the opera unfolds.”
– Opera News review of Dessay’s
complete recording of La Sonnambula
Natalie Dessay’s scintillating
performances in bel canto operas have fueled her soaring popularity in the
United States. Virgin Classics
released her complete recording of Bellini’s La Sonnambula in fall 2007, timed to coincide with
Dessay’s season-opening performances at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in the
title role of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. In the spring, she performed Donizetti’s La fille
du régiment at the Met to ecstatic acclaim, and she returns there this
February to prepare for the title role in a new production of La Sonnambula (nine performances March 2 – April
3). To celebrate her new role at
the Met, which re-unites her with her Lucia director Mary Zimmerman, Virgin
Classics will release a single-CD highlights disc featuring great moments from
the complete recording of La Sonnambula.
This past fall, Dessay triumphed as
Massenet’s Manon at Lyric Opera of Chicago, prompting veteran critic John von
Rhein to report, “Vocally Dessay has the delicacy and agility the music
requires, along with an unerring way of matching sound to dramatic truth.” In November, Dessay was among five
great artists to receive a 2008 Opera News Award. Last month, Virgin Classics released a new album from
Dessay, featuring Bach Cantatas conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm.
Dvorák and Herbert:
Cello Concertos
Gautier
Capuçon, cello
Frankfurt
Radio Symphony Orchestra / Paavo Järvi
CD
and downloads available February 24 from Virgin Classics
“Gautier Capuçon plays the cello with the
control and wisdom of a much older musician. The lightness of his touch and the consistent clarity of his
bow strokes are quite admirable in themselves, but when combined with an
uncanny sweetness of tone in the higher registers they are breathtaking.”
– Gramophone
For his second solo recording for Virgin Classics,
Gautier Capuçon turns to Dvorák’s great and justly popular masterpiece for
cello and orchestra, coupling it with Victor Herbert’s unjustly neglected Cello
Concerto No. 2. Paavo Järvi
conducts the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, of which he has been the music
director since September 2006.
Dvorák wrote his cello concerto in 1894-95, while in
New York for his third term as the director of the National Conservatory. The work was inspired in part by the
premiere of the other work heard on the new album: Dublin-born Victor Herbert
was one of the teachers at the conservatory, and his Cello Concerto No. 2 was
premiered by the New York Philharmonic Society in March 1894.
Gautier Capuçon’s recordings for Virgin Classics
include several chamber albums, many with his violinist brother Renaud. His previous solo recording featured
Haydn’s ebullient Cello Concertos, in widely acclaimed performances with Daniel
Harding and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
MusicWeb International concludes its review with this endorsement: “The Capuçon disc is a fine
alternative to the full-bodied Rostropovich performances. Both Capuçon and Harding offer lean and
incisive performances of Haydn’s vibrant concertos. With the added virtues of an exceptional period cello and
crisp soundstage, the disc is heartily recommended to all Haydn and period
instrument enthusiasts.”
Enescu: String Octet and Violin Sonata No. 3
Valeriy Sokolov, violin; Svetlana Kosenko, piano
Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo / Lawrence Foster
CD and downloads available February 10 from
Virgin Classics
“Lawrence Foster seems to have been put on this planet
to conduct Enescu’s music. He is
clearly a true believer, and he understands every technical nuance and every
expressive twist and turn.”
– Daily Telegraph (London)
Two contrasting string works by Romania’s greatest
composer, himself a legendary violinist, are performed by the soloists of the
Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo – conducted by Enescu expert Lawrence
Foster – and young violinist Valeriy Sokolov, whose international breakthrough
came with his victory at the 2005 George Enescu International Competition in
Bucharest. This new recording of
string music by George Enescu brings together two works that contrast in both
style and scale: the composer’s early Octet, in an orchestration by conductor
Lawrence Foster, and his Violin Sonata No. 3, performed by the young Ukrainian
violinist Valeriy Sokolov (profiled by director Bruno Monsaingeon on the Virgin
Classics DVD Un violon dans l’âme / “Natural born Fiddler”) and the pianist Svetlana Kosenko.
Mozart:
Symphonies Nos. 25, 26, and 29
Le Cercle de
l’Harmonie / Jérémie Rhorer
CD and
downloads available February 24 from Virgin Classics
“Gathered around
Jérémie Rhorer, Le Cercle de l’Harmonie offers a sumptuous Mozartian
feast. Impeccably executed, with
incisive energy in the chords, polyphonic clarity, beauty of tone: everything
is delectable … . Long live this circle of harmony!”
– Diapason
Conductor Jérémie
Rhorer and his orchestra, Le Cercle de l’Harmonie, accompanied dazzling German
soprano Diana Damrau on her two acclaimed releases for Virgin Classics. Now, they appear in their first purely
orchestral release for the label, performing three symphonies that Mozart
composed at age 17: Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183, Symphony No. 26 in
E-flat major, K. 184, and Symphony No. 29 in A major, K. 201. These three lively and melodically
captivating works straddle the line between lighter Italian “sinfonia” and
denser German symphonies
Rhorer founded Le
Cercle de l’Harmonie after working with renowned conductors Marc Minkowski,
William Christie, and Christopher Hogwood, deciding to focus the ensemble on
the orchestral and operatic repertoire of the late-18th century.
Monteverdi: Teatro d’amore
Philippe Jaroussky, Núria Rial, Cyril Auvity, Jan
van Elsacker, Joaõ Fernandes
L’Arpeggiata / Christina Pluhar
CD and downloads available February 24 from
Virgin Classics
“A range of styles is explored … with a genial ease
that belies the technical brilliance and musicianship without which it couldn’t
possibly work. Aside from their
superb music-making, the players convey a sense of utter conviction in what
they are doing.”
– Gramophone
For its debut recording on Virgin Classics, the
pioneering – and best-selling – vocal and instrumental group L’Arpeggiata,
under the direction of Christina Pluhar, explores the music of Claudio
Monteverdi in a sensuous fashion, blending scholarship and improvisation in an
intoxicating Baroque “jam session”.
Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, soprano Núria Rial, and other singers
join in a captivating program – described by Virgin Classics President Alain
Lanceron as “the best of Monteverdi, but with a twist” – that includes the
final duet from L’incoronazione di Poppea, often cited as one of the most sensuous and
beautiful love scenes in all opera.
Founded in 2000, L’Arpeggiata is a French-based
ensemble directed by Austrian-born harpist and lutenist Christina Pluhar. Its members, some of the leading
European soloists in their field, join forces with exceptional singers from the
worlds of Baroque and traditional music.
With particular focus on French, Italian, and Neapolitan music of the 17th
century, the group works with often-daring instrumental improvisations,
exploiting rich textures created by blending a variety of plucked instruments,
and a vocal style influenced by traditional music. Additional information about the group is available at www.arpeggiata.com.
Twelve new EMI Classics DVDs
DVDs available February 10 and 24 from EMI Classics
This month, EMI adds luster and
brilliance to its DVD catalog with the release of a dozen remarkable concert
and opera films, as well as a number of biographies, featuring some of the most
legendary artists of the 20th century – such as Benjamin Britten,
Herbert von Karajan, and Rudolf Nureyev – and the leading artists of today –
including John Adams, Cecilia Bartoli, John Eliot Gardiner, Hélène Grimaud, and
Marilyn Horne. Details of each
release follow.
Available February 12
Benjamin
Britten: The Hidden Heart
This fascinating documentary tells the story of
leading British composer Benjamin Britten, focusing on his passionate
relationships both to music and to his lifelong partner Peter Pears, and
exploring these connections through three of Britten’s major works – Peter
Grimes, the War
Requiem, and Death
in Venice. A revealing look at one of the 20th
century’s greatest geniuses.
Hélène Grimaud: Living with Wolves
Pianist Hélène Grimaud is known across the globe for
her magnificent skill at the keyboard – described by the New York Times as “coiled energy eventuating in
unbridled excitement” – but this new documentary chooses to focus not just on
her musical talents, but also on her equally passionate efforts in the
conservation of wolves. This DVD
offers an insightful look into the life of an extraordinary woman, with musical
excerpts from Rachmaninov, Beethoven, and more!
Herbert Von Karajan: A Profile
Perhaps the most dominant figure in post-war
classical music, Herbert von Karajan continues to stand as one of the most
charismatic, enigmatic musical figures of the last century. A man of both unprecedented public
presence and intense personal privacy, praised and dismissed for his focused
dedication to the beauty of sound, and forever darkened by the shadow of the
Third Reich, this documentary explores the life of this remarkable man through
interviews, anecdotes, and musical excerpts.
John
Adams: American Classic
John Adams is America’s most frequently-performed
living composer, managing the considerable feat of composing music that is
always interesting and surprising, yet still accessible and instantly
appealing. His music presents a
fascinating synthesis of nearly every style, from minimalism to romanticism,
rock to jazz, and pop to baroque, yet always sounds distinctly like Adams. This film looks at his musical
development and progression, and also explores his controversial, genre-bending
operas.
Marilyn Horne: A Portrait
Easily the most acclaimed mezzo-soprano of the 20th
century, Marilyn Horne was renowned for her magnificent voice and its
unparalleled range. From grand
opera to song and dance routines to pirate recordings of pop singles, Horne
brought her rich musical talents to everything she touched. This program looks back over her long
and storied career, celebrating her formidable achievements and offering
insight into her singular musical abilities.
Maurice Béjart’s Nutcracker
In this striking interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s
beloved score, choreographer Maurice Béjart transforms the storyline into a
stunning evocation of the memories, emotions, and feelings of his own life’s
journey, flooded with allusions to his actual and imaginary history. A vibrant new look at an old favorite.
Nureyev:
A Biography of the Russian Dancer
No performer on the world stage received so much
acclaim and publicity as Rudolf Nureyev, and no one gave away so little about
their private life and thinking.
In this definitive documentary, made some twelve months before his death
in 1993, Nureyev tells his own story in his own words and recalls turning
points in his career, with extensive footage of his greatest roles and the most
important events in his life.
D’Albert:
Tiefland
Matthias
Goerne, László Polgár, Petra-Maria Schnitzer
Chor und
Orchester der Oper Zürich / Franz Welser-Möst
One of the most successful European operas of the
first half of the 20th century, D’Albert’s Tiefland has had a long history. Enormously popular at the beginning of
the century, the opera had the misfortune of being Hitler’s second favorite
work after Wagner’s Meistersinger. Since then,
it has slowly made its way back to the stage, and this minimalist new staging
by Matthias Hartmann and Franz Welser-Möst gives it a welcome revival.
Mozart:
Le nozze di Figaro
Erwin
Schrott, Martina Janková, Malin Hartelius, Michael Volle
Chor und
Orchester der Oper Zürich / Franz Welser-Möst
Universally praised as a
near-perfect example of ensemble performance, this production of Mozart’s Le
nozze di Figaro
caused a sensation when it first came out, stunning critics and audiences alike
with its perfect balance of joyous humor, improvisatory brilliance, and always
subtle music-making.
Available February 24
Viva
Vivaldi!
Cecilia
Bartoli
Il
Giardino Armonico / Giovanni Antonini
A full-length concert from the Théatre des
Champs-Élysées, Paris, featuring the program of rare and beautiful arias from
Vivaldi’s operas that catapulted Cecilia Bartoli to worldwide stardom!
Gluck: Alceste
Anne
Sofie von Otter, Paul Groves, Dietrich Henschel
Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists / John Eliot
Gardiner
A stark yet powerful production of Gluck’s Baroque
masterpiece Alceste, with Anne Sofie von Otter, Paul Groves, Dietrich Henschel, and early
music legend John Eliot Gardiner leading the English Baroque Soloists.
Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice
Magdalena
Kozena, Madeline Bender, Patricia Petibon
Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
/ John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner conducts Hector Berlioz’s 1859
revision of Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice, with the expressive and virtuosic singing of
Magdalena Kozena, Madeline Bender, and Patricia Petibon – three young stars in
the new generation of operatic talent!
Reissues and special
compilations:
Altus: From Castrato to
Countertenor
Specially-priced
three-CD set and downloads available February 24 from Virgin Classics
The male voice hits
an all-time high with this new collection from Virgin Classics. Starting as far back as 1902 with the
last of the castrati, Alessandro Moreschi, Altus
comes right up to the present with superstar countertenors Philippe Jaroussky,
David Daniels, and more
The new three-CD set
features a roll-call of virtually all the leading countertenors of recent
history, hailing from continental Europe, the UK and the US. Each has his own special vocal color
and style, from the quintessentially British restraint of Alfred Deller,
probably the first great countertenor of the modern era, to the lushness of the
American Daniels, the elegance of the French Jaroussky, the fire of the
middle-European Cencic, and the clarity of the German Scholl.
The bonus track is
the “Crucifixus” from Rossini’s Petite Messe solennelle,recorded
in the Sistine Chapel, Rome by actual castrato Alessandro Moreschi. Dating from 1902, this is the only
known audio recording of a genuine castrato, and it makes for a fascinating
aural contrast with the countertenors of today.
Track List:
CD One
1. Vivaldi: “Vedrò con mio diletto” from Il Giustino (Philippe
Jaroussky)
2. Handel: “Frondi tenere” and “Ombra mai fù” from Serse (Gérard Lesne)
3. Vivaldi: “Stabat Mater dolorosa” from Stabat Mater (David
Daniels)
4. Bach: “Es ist vollbracht” from St. John Passion (Andreas
Scholl)
5. Bach:
“Vergnügte Ruh’, beliebte Seelenlust” from Vergnügte Ruh’, beliebte
Seelenlust,
BWV170 (René Jacobs)
6. Handel: “He was despised” from Messiah (James Bowman)
7. Handel: “Sincero affetto” from Fernando (Max Emanuel
Cencic)
8. Handel: “Minicciami, non ho timor” from Amadigi (Xavier
Sabata)
9. Handel: “Amor, tiranno Amor” from Serse (Lawrence
Zazzo)
10. Bach: “Bereite dich, Zion,
mit zärtlichen Trieben” from Christmas Oratorio (Michael
Chance)
11. Handel: “O Lord, whose
mercies numberless” from Saul (Paul Esswood)
12. Handel: “Conservate,
raddoppiate” (Brian Asawa)
13. Monteverdi: “Pur ti miro,
pur ti godo” from L’incoronazione di Poppea (Derek Lee
Ragin)
14. Anonymous, attrib. Henry
VIII Greensleeves (Alfred Deller)
CD Two
1. Pergolesi: “Stabat Mater dolorosa” from Stabat
Mater (Gérard Lesne)
2. Pergolesi: “Ad te clamamus” from Salve Regina (Gérard Lesne)
3. Vivaldi: “Cum dederit dilectis” from Nisi Dominus (David
Daniels)
4. Vivaldi: “Alleluia” from Longe mala, umbrae,
terrores (David Daniels)
5. Legrenzi: Ave Regina coelorum (Philippe
Jaroussky)
6. Vivaldi: Cor ingrato dispietato (Philippe
Jaroussky)
7. Bach: “Et misericordia” from Magnificat (Philippe
Jaroussky)
8. Handel: “Madre … Son nata lagrimar” from Giulio
Cesare in Egitto (David Daniels)
9. Handel: “Chi è nato alla sventure” from Admeto, re
di Tessaglia (James Bowman)
10. Handel: “M’opporrò da
generoso” from Fernando (Lawrence Zazzo)
11. Charpentier: “Ecce quomodo”
from Leçons de ténèbres: Office du mercredi saint (Gérard
Lesne)
12. Mozart: “Venga pur, minacci
e frema” from Mitridate (David Daniels)
13. Rossini: “Eccomi alfine in
Babilonia … Ah, quel giorno” from Semiramide (Max Emanuel
Cencic)
14. Britten: “Welcome, wanderer
… I know a bank” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (James
Bowman)
CD Three
1. Purcell: Music for a while (David
Daniels)
2. Purcell: “Sound the trumpet, sound, till around” from Come
ye sons of art (James Bowman)
3. Bach: “Agnus Dei” from Mass in B minor (Charles Brett)
4. Bellini: Malinconia, Ninfa gentile (David
Daniels)
5. Gluck: “Ahimè! Dove trascorsi? … Che farò senza
Euridice” from Orfeo ed Euridice (David
Daniels)
6. Schubert, arr. Ogden: Ave Maria (David
Daniels)
7. Schubert: Nacht und Träume (David
Daniels)
8. Du Buisson: Plainte sur la mort de Monsieur Lambert (Gérard Lesne)
9. Berlioz: “Sur les lagunes” from Les Nuits d’été (David
Daniels)
10. Orff: “Olim lacus colueram”
from Carmina Burana (James Bowman)
11. Gruber: Silent Night (Derek Lee
Ragin)
12. Rossini: Duetto buffo di due
gatti (Duo des chats) (Gérard Lesne)
13. Lesne: Maladresse (Gérard Lesne)
14. Anonymous: Shenandoah (David
Daniels)
15. Martini: Plaisir d’amour (David
Daniels)
Bonus Track: Recording of the
last castrato Alessandro Moreschi, recorded in 1902
16. Rossini: “Crucifixus” from Petite
Messe solennelle (Alessandro Moreschi)
20th
Century Classics
series
Ten
new budget-priced two-CD sets and downloads available February 24 from EMI
Classics
The second installment of EMI Classics’ handsomely
packaged and attractively priced 20th Century Classics series features ten two-CD sets
offering a snapshot of the enormous stylistic and emotional range of European
music in the last century.
Featured composers include Sergei Rachmaninov and Dmitri Shostakovich
(Russia), Manuel de Falla and Joaquín Rodrigo (Spain), Ottorino Respighi
(Italy), Arvo Pärt (Estonia), Hans Werner Henze (Germany), Maurice Ravel
(France), Leos Janácek (Czech Republic), and John Tavener (Great Britain).
Featured performers include many of the leading
artists from both the EMI Classics and Virgin Classics labels, including Leif
Ove Andsnes, Janet Baker, Carlo Maria Giulini, Riccardo Muti, Ian Bostridge, Paavo
Järvi, Mariss Jansons, Antonio Pappano, and Simon Rattle. Details follow.
Pärt:
Stabat Mater, I Sümfoonia, Missa
Syllabica, Seven Magnificat Antiphons
Kaia Urb, Tiit Kogerman, Ene Salumae
Paavo Järvi, Andrew Parrott, Tönu
Kaljuste
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1, Piano
Concerto No. 2, Violin Concerto No. 1, Cello Concerto No. 1
John Ogdon, Sarah Chang,
Han-Na Chang
Mariss Jansons, Lawrence
Foster, Simon Rattle, Antonio Pappano
Henze: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 9, Barcarola per grande orchestra, Three Auden Songs
Ian Bostridge, Julius Drake
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker / Simon
Rattle
Rodrigo:
Concierto de Aranjuez, Concierto serenata, Concierto Pastoral, Concierto
heroico
Alfonso Moreno, Nancy Allen, Lisa Hansen, Jorge Federico Osorio
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Enrique Bátiz
Tavener: The Protecting Veil, The Last Sleep of the Virgin,
Choral Music
Steven Isserlis, Chilingirian Quartet,
Winchester Cathedral Choir
London Symphony Orchestra / Gennady
Rozhdestvensky, David Hill
Janácek: Glagolitic Mass,
Sinfonietta, Piano Works, Songs
Ian
Bostridge, Thomas Adès, Mikhail Rudy
Simon
Rattle, Charles Mackerras
Ravel:
Boléro, Piano Concerto in G, Daphnis et Chloé, Gaspard de la
nuit,
Shéhérazade
Arturo
Benedetti Michelangeli, André Gavrilov, Janet Baker
Respighi: Roman Trilogy, Gli Uccelli, Trittico Botticelliano,
La sensitiva
Christine Rice, Janet Baker
Antonio Pappano, Riccardo Muti, Neville Marrine
Rachmaninov:
Symphony No. 2, Piano Concerto No. 3, Symphonic Dances
Leif
Ove Andsnes
Mariss
Jansons, André Previn, Paavo Berglund
Falla: Spanish Songs, Noches en los
jardines de España, Concerto for Harpsichord and Five Instruments
Victoria de los Angeles,
Gonzalo Soriano
Rafael Frühbeck de
Burgos, Carlo Maria Giulini
Best
100 Encores
Various
artists
Six-CDs-for-the-price-of-one
set available February 24 from EMI Classics
The 19th installment of EMI
Classics’ enormously popular Best Classics 100 series features a
collection of 100 favorite encores, divided up into six categories: violin
encores; piano encores; encores for other solo instruments such as harp, cello,
organ, and more; orchestral encores; song recital encores; and operatic
encores.
Artists included in this release are
among the finest ever to grace the concert or opera stage: Nigel Kennedy,
Yehudi Menuhin, Martha Argerich, Leif Ove Andsnes, Maurice André, Herbert von
Karajan, Sir Simon Rattle, Dame Janet Baker, Natalie Dessay, Plácido Domingo,
and more – more than seven hours of performances in all.
Driven by major TV advertising, the Best
Classics 100 series has experienced outstanding sales and chart results in
Japan, the UK, and France, with total series sales worldwide at over two
million sets.
Brahms: String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2
Belcea Quartet, Thomas Kakuska
Brahms: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3
Kyung-Wha Chung, Peter Frankl
Janácek: Sinfonietta, Operatic Preludes;
Weinberger: Schwanda the Bagpiper (Polka); Smetana: Overture to The Bartered Bride
Pro Arte Orchestra / Sir Charles Mackerras
Joplin: The Easy Winners and other ragtime music; Previn:
A Different Kind of Blues
Itzhak Perlman, André Previn
Kiri Sings Berlin, Gershwin, and Kern
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
London Sinfonietta / John McGlinn
Liszt: Piano Sonata in B minor, Six Paganini
Etudes, Mephisto Waltz No. 1
Agustin Anievas
Scarlatti: Te Deum; Stabat Mater; Magnificat; Laetatus Sum
Choir of King’s College, Cambridge / Stephen Cleobury
Schubert: String Quartets Nos. 10 & 13
(“Rosamunde”), Quartettsatz
Belcea Quartet
Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 1, Fantasie in C
Leif Ove Andsnes
Tippett: Concerto for Double String Orchestra;
Piano Concerto; Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli
John Ogdon, Rudolf Barshai, Sir Colin Davis, Sir
Michael Tippett
Critical
acclaim for recent EMI Classics and Virgin Classics releases
Furore! – Handel Opera Arias
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano; Les Talens Lyriques /
Christophe Rousset
Released January 2009 on Virgin Classics
“DiDonato
struts her Handelian stuff … excels in this schizoid stuff … a genuine
theatrical intellect drives the performance … the singer effectively alternates
heartbreak and pathos with outbreaks of slashing scales of anger.”
–
Opera News
J. S. Bach:
Piano Concertos
David
Fray, piano; Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Bremen
Released January 2009 on Virgin
Classics
“One album that I return to time and time
again is French pianist David Fray’s debut album, a highly original and
thought-provoking program of Bach mixed with Boulez. Fray has stuck with Bach for his second disc, this time
picking a collection of the keyboard concertos. Whilst the program itself is less quirky (no sneaky
injections of Boulez or the like this time around), Fray’s recording still
stands out from the crowd; it seems that intelligent individuality mixed with
technical prowess are going to be this young French pianist’s hallmarks … . I
can only await with baited breath the fruits of the next stage of his ambitious
musical game plan.”
– BBC Radio
Debussy,
Fauré, Ravel: String Quartets
Ebène
Quartet
Released
October 2008 on Virgin Classics
“Five
Stars out of Five. It is always a
pleasure to encounter French musicians in their native repertoire, and the
young Quatuor Ebène clearly have special things to say about this rapturous
music. We live in a golden age of
string-quartet playing, but I have rarely heard the Debussy and Ravel works – a
classic coupling on disc played with such a combination of virtuosity,
refinement, and intensity. They
employ a bold palette of colors and dramatic accents. The performance of Fauré’s quartet is the finest I know, self-effacing
yet eloquent, and bringing an unimagined degree of sensuality to the sinuous
chromaticism of the allegro finale.”
– Sunday Times [London]
EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists on
tour – Winter / Spring 2009
Feb 18 Alison Balsom at St. Cecilia Music Center (Grand
Rapids, MI)
Feb 21 Alison Balsom at First Flight High School (Kill
Devil Hills, NC)
Feb 22 Evgeny Kissin recital at Orchestra Hall (Chicago,
IL)
Feb 23 Alison Balsom at Sunrise Theater (Southern Pines,
NC)
Feb 24 Alison Balsom at Elon University (Elon, NC)
Feb 27,
28 Alison Balsom at Lyric Theatre (Kansas City, MO)
Mar 1 Evgeny Kissin recital at the Kennedy Center
(Washington, D.C.)
Mar 1 Alison Balsom plays Haydn and Tomasi Trumpet
Concertos with Kansas City Symphony (MO)
Mar 2 Natalie Dessay sings title role in Bellini’s La
Sonnambula at Met, through Apr 3 (NYC)
Mar 5 Evgeny Kissin recital at Carnegie Hall (NYC)
Mar 5 Alison Balsom at Brooks Center for the Performing
Arts (Clemson, SC)
Mar 11 Evgeny Kissin recital in Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco, CA)
Mar 14 Alison Balsom at Germantown Performing Arts Centre (Germantown,
TN)
Mar 16 Evgeny Kissin recital at Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles,
CA)
Mar 24 David Daniels sings Bach with English Concert / Harry Bicket at
Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los
Angeles, CA)
Mar 26 David Daniels sings Bach with English Concert / Harry Bicket at
Herbst Theatre (Pittsburgh, PA)
Mar 27-29 Han-Na Chang plays Brahms (San Antonio, TX)
Mar 28 Ian Bostridge sings all-Schubert recital at Carnegie Hall (NYC)
Mar 29 David Daniels sings Bach with English Concert / Harry Bicket at
Harris Theater (Chicago, IL)
Mar 30 Ian Bostridge at the Savannah Music Festival (Savannah, GA)
Mar 31 Angela Gheorghiu sings Donizetti’s Elisir
d’amore at the Met, through Apr 15 (NYC)
Apr
1 David
Daniels sings Bach
with English Concert / Harry Bicket at Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall
(NYC)
Apr 3 Ian Bostridge at Jordan Hall (Boston, MA)
Apr 4, 5 Han-Na Chang plays Brahms (Orange County, CA)
Apr 5 Ian Bostridge at Shriver Hall (Baltimore, MD)
Apr 7 Ian Bostridge at McCarter Theatre Center
(Princeton, NJ)
Apr 9 Ian Bostridge at Spaulding Auditorium(Dartmouth, NH)
May 7-9 Joyce
DiDonato with New
York Philharmonic / Alan Gilbert (NYC)
May 7-10 Ian Bostridge sings Britten’s Les Illuminations with CSO / Haitink (Chicago, IL)
May 19 Han-Na Chang plays Brahms (Saint Paul, MN)
For further
information contact:
Glenn
Petry, 21C Media Group: (212)
625-2038, [email protected]
Mariko
Tada, EMI Classics: (212)
786-8964, [email protected]
# # #
– February 10, 2009