2020

Hauser: Classic 2020 [CD]

Beethoven: Variations (Angela Hewitt) [CD]

Idenstam Gunnar: Metal angel/Fifteen pieces... [CD]

Sometimes bad things can bring along something good. Many people used the corona lockdown as a welcome opportunity to unwind. Jonas Kaufmann took advantage of it to do something he had relegated to the back burner in recent years: to record lieder songs. Together with Helmut Deutsch, his longstanding partner at the piano, he used the time between April and June to record a good many lieder dear to the hearts of this stellar German tenor and his veteran accompanist.

Ólafsson Vikingur: Debussy / Rameau 2020 [Digipack / CD]

Maier Amanda / Ethel Smyth: Rendezvos Leipzig [CD]

Igor Levit's double album "Encounter" seeks sounds that give inner strength and support for the soul. In works by Bach to Max Reger, based on poignant vocal compositions, the desire for encounters and human togetherness is given expression - at a time when isolation is the order of the day. The result is a very personal recital.<br/><br/>The 33-year-old once again steps beyond the limits of pure piano repertoire: in the Busoni transcriptions of Bach's chorale preludes and the late Brahms, which are rarely heard as complete cycles, Levit assumes the role of an organist who fills vast church spaces. In Johannes Brahms's Vier ernste Gesänge, he lends instrumental eloquence to overcoming the torments of fearing death. On the other hand, the gentle shimmer produced from its very few notes makes Morton Feldman's extremely quiet work for piano, Palais de Mari (1986), the epitome of a sensuous, transcendental realm of possibilities.<br/><br/>The repertoire presented by Levit here reflects the album's title. The works create a community of experience for many individuals forced to maintain distance from one another. They establish contact with religious and inward spirituality. In addition, the inner connections between the composers and their respective aesthetics make "Encounter" a journey offering astonishing discoveries, even on ostensibly familiar terrain.