1 September 2020

Beethoven: The Piano Concertos
Studio Master: CDA68291/3  3CDs  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘A singular synthesis of extraordinary solo playing, exceptional conducting and exquisite orchestral performance’ (The Whole Note, Canada)» More
1 September 2020

Cleve: Missa Rex Babylonis & other works
Studio Master: CDA68241  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘These singers are always nicely in tune and effectively blended, especially in the slower movements of the Mass where they strongly project the chordal colouring in the 'Qui tollis' and perfectly intensify the false relations in the first Agnus’ (BBC Music Magazine)
PERFORMANCE
RECORDING
1 September 2020

Musique?
Studio Master: CDA68287  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Here we have a cohesive, effective, taut programme of 20th-century harpsichord works that builds surely in density, complexity and philosophical provocation as it proceeds. In terms of programming, it’s a winner … there’s a lot here to get your teeth into’ (Gramophone)
1 September 2020

Musique?
Studio Master: CDA68287  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Harpsichord soloist Mahan Esfahani has made something of a name for himself as an enfant terrible of early music. His dazzling performances and imaginative recital programmes have forged his reputation as an artist to be reckoned with, and this compelling new disc of contemporary music—described by Esfahani as 'the culmination of years of thinking about under-served areas of harpsichord repertoire'—finds him on suitably fiery form … a passionate and gifted advocate of new music’ (BBC Music Magazine)
PERFORMANCE
RECORDING
1 September 2020
Classica, France, Jorge Morales
Palestrina: Lamentations
Studio Master: CDA68284  Temporarily out of stock  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

«Cet enregistrement est une véritable prouesse esthétique et musicale … après leurs éblouissants enregistrements de Willaert (2010) et Lassus (2015), les chanteurs de l'ensemble Cinquecento accomplissent de nouveau un travail musical exceptionnel, redonnant ses lettres d'or à ce répertoire méconnu» (Classica, France)

1 September 2020

Rubbra & Bliss: Piano Concertos
Studio Master: CDA68297  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Edmund Rubbra's Piano Concerto in G is something special … Piers Lane's solo playing throughout is a phenomenon of tireless technical strength, always beautifully aligned to each work's different style, and with classy orchestral support at every point’ (BBC Music Magazine)
PERFORMANCE
RECORDING
1 September 2020

Rubbra & Bliss: Piano Concertos
Studio Master: CDA68297  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Here’s a terrific new version of the dashing Piano Concerto that Bliss wrote for Solomon … Piers Lane dispatches those fearsome double octaves at the outset with thrilling bravura swagger, his contribution throughout evincing both sinewy strength and fine rhythmic snap, while at the same time extracting every ounce of lyrical beauty from the many more introspective passages … a most impressive display, this, and genuine tonic to boot … with its admirably realistic sound and truthful balance, this represents a most stimulating and enjoyable addition to Hyperion’s invaluable Romantic Piano Concerto series’ (Gramophone)
29 August 2020
BBC Record Review, Andrew McGregor
Liszt & Thalberg: Opera transcriptions & fantasies
Studio Master: CDA68320  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Marc-André Hamelin is just the kind of pianist you need to make the most of some of the great nineteenth-century virtuoso pianists’ entertaining operatic transcriptions … making light of Liszt’s virtuosic demands in—well, everything here; all these operatic transcriptions and fantasies. Such prodigious technique that he always has time to make musical sense when lesser pianistic mortals would be happy just to play the dots. You need pianism of this elevated quality to fully appreciate the genius of Liszt and the imagination of Thalberg’ (BBC Record Review)
29 August 2020
BBC Record Review, Andrew McGregor
Shostakovich: Cello Concertos
Studio Master: CDA68340  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘You want intensity, passion, drive and hard-won exaltation? You certainly get them all in this new recording of the Shostakovich Cello Concertos from Alban Gerhardt. Sweetness and toughness in the solo cello sound; he’s prepared to dig into the strings for the edge he wants, spurred on by the urgency of the orchestral playing from the West German Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste. They take Shostakovich’s ‘Moderato’ marking for the middle movement [of No 1] seriously: a flowing tempo, not too slow, but it's still shot through with nostalgic melancholy, and Gerhardt delivers the great solo cadenza into the Finale with soulful introspection. The second concerto reaches darker places, and the recording frames them with a kind of claustrophobic depth that’s really effective.’ (BBC Record Review)
28 August 2020
colinscolumn.com, Colin Anderson
Dunhill & Erlanger: Piano Quintets
Studio Master: CDA68296  20% off chamber music and strings  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Wonderful discoveries … I am smitten by these scores. The Potton Hall recordings (February 2019) are superb, ideally capturing the trusted partnership of Piers Lane and the Goldner Quartet—musicians who seem totally convinced of these works’ considerable worth’ (colinscolumn.com)» More
28 August 2020
Presto Classical, Katherine Cooper
Liszt & Thalberg: Opera transcriptions & fantasies
Studio Master: CDA68320  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘[A] flabbergasting new recording … [Hexaméron] makes for an arresting opening on this album, with Hamelin revelling in the diversity of each composer-pianist’s technical strengths … his wry acknowledgement of Liszt’s desire to have the last word genuinely made me chuckle: the gloves truly come off for the home straight as he races towards the finishing-line with a crazily accelerating flurry of double-octaves, then smashes through it in a thunderous closing chord which hangs in the air for a good five seconds. It’s jaw-dropping pianism’ (Presto Classical)» More
26 August 2020
British Music Society Journal, Kevin Mandry
Dunhill & Erlanger: Piano Quintets
Studio Master: CDA68296  20% off chamber music and strings  Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available

‘Performances are committed throughout … an eminently desirable and rewarding disc’ (British Music Society Journal)» More
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