Klassiskt

Fröst Martin: B.A.C.H. 2025 [CD]

Weinberg Mieczyslaw: Selected Works [3 CD]

Richard Hickox and Opera Australia's Australian premiere production of Dvorák's Rusalka opened to spectacular reviews in March 2007. 'Hickox and the orchestra capture its sudden changeability and dramatic force, elegantly shaping the luscious, sweeping melodies while inflecting the intoxicating, folk music-inspired rhythms with grace and bite', noted The Australian. Chandos recorded the performances live and here releases the opera on a 3-CD set.<br/><br/>Inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's fairy-tale The Little Mermaid, Rusalka tells of a water-spirit who falls in love with a prince. Enlisting the help of a witch, Rusalka becomes human so as to marry him. When the prince tires of her, and is unfaithful, she tries to return to the water, but a condition of her becoming human has been violated and she eventually dies together with the remorseful prince. Her story is of human desire, self-sacrifice and the search for enlightenment.<br/><br/>By the time Dvorák came to write Rusalka, he was an experienced opera composer with nine works to his credit; Rusalka was to be his last and is now a seasoned favourite. Part of the secret of the score's magic lies in the instrumental colouring. Dvorák was always inspired in his handling of the orchestra, but in Rusalka he reaches new heights of expressive scene painting. In the hands of Richard Hickox these elements are skillfully realised.<br/><br/>Taking the role of Rusalka for the first time in this production, the Australian-born soprano Cheryl Barker won deserved plaudits for her performances throughout the Australian press. 'It is hard to imagine anyone doing the title role better" (The Australian). 'Cheryl Barker gives an astonishing performance. she manages to capture the ethereal other-worldly quality of the water spirit, both physically and vocally, and her realization that her love for the prince is not returned is heart wrenching' (The Canberra Review). She is joined in leading roles by Rosario La Spina, Elizabeth Whitehouse, Bruce Martin and Anne-Marie Owens who also received excellent reviews. The Sydney Morning Herald, for example, wrote, 'Barker is not the only star. Elizabeth Whitehouse is thrillingly venal as the rival foreign princess, and Bruce Martin, as the water sprite, has insistent potency'.

2025 marks the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss, the world-famous "Waltz King" whose music has captivated audiences for two centuries. To celebrate this landmark anniversary, André Rieu - the planet's best-selling classical artist and global touring phenomenon - presents Thank You, Johann Strauss, an exclusive deluxe 3-CD and 1-DVD collection. <br/><br/>This stunning release features André Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra performing the Strauss family's most beloved works, including The Blue Danube, Kaiserwalzer, Roses from the South, Vienna Blood, Tales from the Vienna Woods, and the exhilarating Radetzky March. Each performance brims with elegance, energy, and the unmistakable joy that has made André Rieu a household name. The included DVD offers a visual feast, capturing the grandeur of Rieu's live performances - a proven driver for repeat viewing and gift appeal. Presented in a premium package, Thank You, Johann Strauss is a collector's item and a perfect impulse-buy for the holiday season. <br/><br/>With a dedicated fanbase across all age groups, a powerful international marketing campaign, and the global appeal of Strauss's timeless melodies, this title is poised for strong retail performance. Ideal for classical aficionados, casual listeners, and gift buyers alike, it offers unbeatable value with 4 discs of unforgettable music and entertainment. Join the worldwide celebration of Strauss's 200th anniversary - stock Thank You, Johann Strauss and take home the magic of Vienna's golden era.

Negro Lucia: Revived piano treasures [Digipack / CD]

Soloists/Tatarstan National Sympho: Complete... [3 CD]

The Tower of Babel of performances and recordings of Sergei Rachmaninoff's music pleases the ear and the sight of the music lover today as it has been throughout the 20th century. In that Tower one can easily distinguish the voices of Rachmaninoff's music's "native speakers" - performers who spoke Rachmaninoff's mother's tongue, breathed the same air and enjoyed the same autumnal landscapes in childhood. In fact, it is the Tower of its own: looking through the list of Rachmaninoff's works and the names of Russian and Soviet performers in the Rachmaninoff Collection offered by legendary label Melodiya on the composer's 145th anniversary, one can assume just that. To a great surprise of the scholars and amateurs, such a collection has never been assembled previously. The "Russian idiom" (if we are to continue with the metaphor) has never been presented in such a massive and powerful way, reaching the "critical mass" that may lead to important conclusions about the Russian musical style and interpretation in general. The list contains the names of great singers from the generation of Soviet classics such as Irina Arkhipova, Ivan Kozlovsky, Georgy Nelepp, Elena Obraztsova, Mark Reisen, to the most current internationally renowned stars such as Hibla Gerzmava. One can find a smorgasbord of chamber music performed by the exceptional ensembles and individuals such as David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gidon Kremer and Daniil Shafran. An unusual component in the collection is the recordings of Rachmaninoff's Russian Orthodox church music - something that was carefully shoved under the rug in the Soviet times. The operas are represented by the best that the country could give - and here, for sure, the native Russian diction raises the level of performance to the classical height. And, of course, that poetics of the piano, in which Sergei Rachmaninoff expressed himself in the most unencumbered way, is represented in the Collection by the names that do not need promotion: Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Grigory Sokolov, Vladimir Krainev, Alexei Nasedkin, Pavel Serebryakov - the list goes on until it reaches the latest acquisition on the Montparnasse of piano, Dmitry Masleev. For the connoisseurs, the Collection offers rare examples, many of them previously unreleased by Melodiya, together with those delicious brand-name tube-mic recordings that carry an unrivaled human quality and a tint of nostalgia. The edition comprises 33 CDs and 1 LP with previously unreleased recordings (Piano Concerto No. 2 performed by Vladimir Krainev and the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yuri Temirkanov; and Vocalise orchestrated by the composer and performed by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Dmitri Kitaenko). The edition includes a booklet in four languages (Russian, English, French and German).