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Ildar Abdrazakov, Gianandrea Noseda, BBC Philharmonic - Dmitri Shostakovich: Words of Michelangelo (2006)

Posted By: ArlegZ
Ildar Abdrazakov, Gianandrea Noseda, BBC Philharmonic - Dmitri Shostakovich: Words of Michelangelo (2006)

Ildar Abdrazakov, Gianandrea Noseda, BBC Philharmonic - Dmitri Shostakovich: Words of Michelangelo (2006)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 269 Mb | Total time: 72:49 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Chandos | # CHAN 10358 | Recorded: 2005

The Suite on Words of Michelangelo (1974) is one of Shostakovich’s most moving late works, its spare orchestration perfectly adjusted to the mood of the texts. Preoccupation with death also haunts the Six Romances, setting of English poets composed in 1942 but not orchestrated with 1971 and characteristic of his bitter humour. Both cycles are superbly sung by the Russian-born bass Ildar Abdrazakov.

Sergei Leiferkus, Semion Skigin - Modest Mussorgsky: Songs and Dances of Death, The Nursery (1995)

Posted By: ArlegZ
Sergei Leiferkus, Semion Skigin - Modest Mussorgsky: Songs and Dances of Death, The Nursery (1995)

Sergei Leiferkus, Semion Skigin - Modest Mussorgsky: Songs and Dances of Death, The Nursery (1995)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 250 Mb | Total time: 65:57 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Conifer Classics | # 75605 51229 2 | Recorded: 1993

Sergei Leiferkus has a fine and distinctive baritone, but what makes him a truly exceptional singer is his formidable talent as an actor, and never has this been more persuasively captured on record than here. From his electrifying and chilling interpretation of Songs and Dances of Death, in which, as Death, he assumes four very different guises (vindictive, romantic, seductive and bellicose), to the bright, faux-naïf songs of The Nursery, where, with no sense of awkwardness, he affects an improbably high but convincingly childlike voice, rattling off the silly ‘ta-ta-ta-ta’s of ‘Hobby-Horse’ with aplomb, then slipping seamlessly into the familiar adult tone of the nanny or parent, he demonstrates daunting versatility.

The Florestan Trio, Susan Gritton - Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2; Seven Romances, Op. 127 (2011)

Posted By: ArlegZ
The Florestan Trio, Susan Gritton - Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2; Seven Romances, Op. 127 (2011)

The Florestan Trio, Susan Gritton - Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2; Seven Romances, Op. 127 (2011)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 244 Mb | Total time: 61:53 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Hyperion | # CDA67834 | Recorded: 2010

Here's an excellent Shostakovich chamber program, combining music from different phases of the composer's career as well as introducing two fairly unusual works in combination with a great masterwork, the Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67. This work, written in 1944 as the tide had begun to turn against Hitler's armies in Russia, is perhaps the definitive musical response to the horrors of the Second World War. Its final movement, evoking klezmer music gradually overtaken by darkness, is almost unbearably moving.

Elena Kelessidi, Malcolm Martineau - A Russian Romance (2008)

Posted By: ArlegZ
Elena Kelessidi, Malcolm Martineau - A Russian Romance (2008)

Elena Kelessidi, Malcolm Martineau - A Russian Romance (2008)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 173 Mb | Total time: 51:09 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Onyx | # ONYX4031 | Recorded: 2007

Elena Kelessidi is one of opera’s most touching and fiery artists and the most international Greek soprano of today. Here she makes her recital debut with this heartfelt programme of songs from a country whose language is natural to her.

Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet - Igor Stravinsky: Ballets, Stage Works, Orchestral Works (2001) 8CD Box Set

Posted By: Designol
Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet - Igor Stravinsky: Ballets, Stage Works, Orchestral Works (2001) 8CD Box Set

Igor Stravinsky: Ballets, Stage Works, Orchestral Works (2001) 8CD Box Set
L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; Ernest Ansermet, conductor

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 2.25 Gb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Decca | # 467 818-2 | Time: 08:27:52

All the Stravinsky recordings made by Ernest Ansermet and The Suisse Romande Orchestra, digitally remastered in an 8 CD box. The set includes all Stravinsky's major orchestral works at a bargain price in highly respected recordings dating from the late 50's and early 60's.

Kiev Chamber Choir, Mykola Hobdych - Valentin Silvestrov: Sacred Songs (2012)

Posted By: Designol
Kiev Chamber Choir, Mykola Hobdych - Valentin Silvestrov: Sacred Songs (2012)

Valentin Silvestrov - Sacred Songs (2012)
Kiev Chamber Choir; Mykola Hobdych, conductor

EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 256 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 179 Mb | Scans included | 01:15:07
Classical, Contemporary, Choral | Label: ECM | # ECM New Series 2279, 476 4990

The Book of Genesis tells us that in the beginning was the Word and that the Word was sound. But what if it was music? What if God, in contemplating the creation of Creation, sang being into being? If so, it might have sounded something like the Sacred Songs of Valentin Silvestrov. In this seventh ECM album devoted to the Ukrainian composer’s music, we thusly encounter a sense of space unique to the Russian liturgy: the more the voices unify in movement, the more they lift from one another like temporary tattoos, leaving behind mirror images that wash away with baptism into infinite oneness with the Holy Spirit. Sin as sun. Firmament as fundament.

Pierre Boulez conducts Igor Stravinsky (2010) 6CD Box Set

Posted By: Designol
Pierre Boulez conducts Igor Stravinsky (2010) 6CD Box Set

Pierre Boulez conducts Igor Stravinsky (2010) 6CD Box Set
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 1.3 Gb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 812 Mb | Scans included
Classical | Label: Deutsche Grammophon | # 00289 477 8730 | Time: 05:54:22

The years have seen Pierre Boulez record for CBS, Erato, EMI, and Philips, among other labels, but his most consistent and critically praised work has appeared on Deutsche Grammophon, where he has conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, and his own Ensemble InterContemporain in many successful performances. These ensembles are heard on this trimline, six-CD box set of Igor Stravinsky's major works, which brings together Boulez's recordings of L'oiseau de feu, Petrushka, Le Sacre du printemps, L'histoire du Soldat, the symphonies, concertos, and other works, recorded between 1980 and 1996. As one of the leading champions of modernism, first as a composer and essayist, then as a prominent conductor, Boulez is regarded as an authority on Stravinsky's oeuvre, and it is difficult to imagine many conductors who have a better understanding of the technical and stylistic issues that affect performances. Boulez is also famous for his precision and meticulousness, which make the details stand out clearly in the rhythmically complex and texturally dense orchestral scores of the ballets, and yet seem so delicate and exact in the concertos and pieces for smaller ensembles.

King's Singers - Christmas (2003)

Posted By: Designol
King's Singers - Christmas (2003)

King's Singers - Christmas (2003)
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 260 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 165 Mb | Scans included
Classical, Choral, Holidays | Label: Signum Records | # SIGCD502 | 01:10:47

Five centuries, seven languages, and six singers with 35 years of remarkable experience inform this rare collection of choral music. In the world-renowned King's Singers resplendent voices, ancient and modern choral music comes to life with all the blazing immediacy and timeliness of the gospel of the nativity. With 25 pieces of music–ranging from familiar works such as "Coventry Carol" to the obscure Tchaikovsky piece "The Crown of Roses"–the King's Singers move through this hallowed and festive set with the vocal mastery that only three-and-a-half decades of accomplished work together is capable of creating. A number of contemporary carols written in the last century by composers such as John McCabe, Philip Lawson, John Rutter, and others are balanced by pieces by Bach and a host of traditional works. Lawson's "You Are the New Day," performed with a string quartet, stands out as one of the more notable performances. Like most of their music throughout Christmas, it reminds listeners that the art of music often interprets divine aspects gladly realized here on Earth.

Cecilia Bartoli, Diego Fasolis, I Barocchisti - St. Petersburg (2014)

Posted By: ArlegZ
Cecilia Bartoli, Diego Fasolis, I Barocchisti - St. Petersburg (2014)

Cecilia Bartoli, Diego Fasolis, I Barocchisti - St. Petersburg (2014)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 457 Mb | Total time: 77:57 | Scans included
Classical | Label: DECCA | # 478 6767 | Recorded: 2014

For the later part of her career, Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli has apparently settled on a campaign of major conceptual releases covering all-but-unknown repertory, and St. Petersburg fits right in. It's a collection of arias from operas written in the second half of the 18th century for the Russian imperial court, which had imported the best Italian and German composers money could buy. The names of all but Mozart's contemporary Domenico Cimarosa are unknown today. Most of the arias are in Italian, but a couple are in Russian, and to untutored ears Bartoli brings her trademark passion to them. This is the kind of release where one can quibble with any number of details. Bartoli sounds thick in some places, strained in others. The material is a bit uneven, with especially the last two pieces creating a bit of a letdown, although much of it does indeed live up to major-forgotten-works billing.

Royal Liverpool PO, Vasily Petrenko - Dmitry Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 'Babi Yar' (2014)

Posted By: Designol
Royal Liverpool PO, Vasily Petrenko - Dmitry Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 'Babi Yar' (2014)

Dmitry Shostakovich - Symphony No. 13 'Babi Yar' (2014)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vasily Petrenko

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 205 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 139 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Naxos | # 8.573218 | Time: 00:59:36

If one function of art is to make us ponder difficult questions and thus risk causing offence, there could not be a more potent example than Shostakovich’s 13th Symphony. Setting Babi Yar, Yevtushenko’s blistering denunciation of Soviet antisemitism, in the 1960s was an act of political defiance for the composer. First heard in this country in Liverpool, it is highly appropriate that it forms the conclusion and climax of the RLPO’s riveting Shostakovich cycle. The power this performance accumulates at the climaxes of the second and third movement is lacerating; the men’s choruses may not sound totally Russian, but Alexander Vinogradov is a superb bass soloist, and Vasily Petrenko is as good at gloomy introspection as he is at brittle confrontation.

Asmik Grigorian, Lukas Geniušas - Sergei Rachmaninov: Dissonance (2022)

Posted By: ArlegZ
Asmik Grigorian, Lukas Geniušas - Sergei Rachmaninov: Dissonance (2022)

Asmik Grigorian, Lukas Geniušas - Sergei Rachmaninov: Dissonance (2022)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 174 Mb | Total time: 45:44 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Alpha Classics | # ALPHA 796 | Recorded: 2021

Having triumphed on the stage, Asmik Grigorian now brings her artistry to the recording studio with the release of her eagerly awaited first recording with pianist Lukas Geniušas, Dissonance, the first of many projects planned with Alpha Classics. Devoted to one of her favourite composers, Sergei Rachmaninov, Ms. Grigorian chose to present his intimate yet highly emotional romances written for voice and piano. “Most of Rachmaninov’s romances really demand operatic power. In fact, he wrote ‘mini-operas’ which last a few minutes.”

Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Klava - Valentin Silvestrov: To Thee We Sing - Sacred Choral Works (2015)

Posted By: Designol
Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Klava - Valentin Silvestrov: To Thee We Sing - Sacred Choral Works (2015)

Valentin Silvestrov - To Thee We Sing: Sacred Choral Works (2015)
Latvian Radio Choir, conducted by Sigvards Klava

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 200 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 151 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical, Sacred, Choral | Label: Ondine | # ODE1266-5 | Time: 00:59:59

Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov (b.1937) is an important contemporary voice in vocal music. In this new release, Silvestrov’s hauntingly beautiful vocal works are performed by the Latvian Radio Choir under their director Sigvards Kļava. During his artistic career, Silvestrov has explored a number of musical styles and techniques, such as avant-guard, post-modernism, neo-classicism, dodecaphony, aleatoric writing and pointillism. The fall of the Soviet Union, however, allowed Silvestrov to eventually compose spiritual works, inspired and influenced by his love of the Russian Orthodox Church music which Silvestrov imbues with his own unique sound and bursts of surprising harmonic moves. Silvestrov’s compositions are invested with the composer’s own unique personality, musical sensibility and sense of beauty.

Phoenix Chorale & Kansas City Chorale, Charles Bruffy - Serge Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil (2015)

Posted By: Designol
Phoenix Chorale & Kansas City Chorale, Charles Bruffy - Serge Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil (2015)

Sergey Rachmaninov: All-Night Vigil (2015)
Phoenix Chorale & Kansas City Chorale, conducted by Charles Bruffy

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 293 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 175 Mb | Artwork included
Genre: Classical, Choral | Label: Chandos | # CHSA 5148 | Time: 01:15:33

Sergey Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil, also known as the Vespers, is among his most admired works, and it was one of the composer's own favorites, along with The Bells. This 2015 Chandos release by Charles Bruffy and the combined voices of the Phoenix Chorale and the Kansas City Chorale presents the music in the super audio format, so the richness of the divisi choral parts and the depth of the basso profundo come across fully in the multichannel reproduction. Bruffy is the musical director of both groups, so his special rapport with them creates an even ensemble blend that balances the largely homophonic textures, and brings a consistency of approach to the three styles of chant Rachmaninov imitated, Kievan, Greek, and Znamenny. The beauty of the a cappella voices and the surprisingly lush harmonies make this setting immediately appealing and ultimately moving, and listeners who enjoy sacred choral music for inspiration or meditation will find the All-Night Vigil's smooth flow and expressive warmth well-suited to those purposes.

Gurzenich-Orchester Cologne, Cologne Opera Chorus, Dmitrij Kitajenko - P.I. Tchaikovsky: Iolanta (2015) 2CDs

Posted By: Designol
Gurzenich-Orchester Cologne, Cologne Opera Chorus, Dmitrij Kitajenko - P.I. Tchaikovsky: Iolanta (2015) 2CDs

Pjotr Iljitsch Tschaikowsky: Jolanthe (2015) 2CDs
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Chor der Oper Köln; Dmitrij Kitajenko, conductor

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 469 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 250 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: OEHMS | # OC963 | Time: 01:47:27

The world premieres of Iolanta and The Nutcracker took place on 18 December 1892 at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre. “The execution of both,” wrote the composer to his brother Anatoly the next day, “was magnificent, and that of the ballet perhaps too magnificent – its brilliance made one’s eyes tired.” Gustav Mahler conducted the first performance of the one-act opera outside Russia on 3 January 1893 in Hamburg and also directed the Viennese premiere of Iolanta on 22 March 1900.

Basil Poledouris - The Hunt for Red October: Music From The Motion Picture (1990) Expanded Remastered Edition 2013

Posted By: Efgrapha
Basil Poledouris - The Hunt for Red October: Music From The Motion Picture (1990) Expanded Remastered Edition 2013

Basil Poledouris - The Hunt for Red October: Music From The Motion Picture (1990)
Expanded Remastered Edition 2013
EAC | FLAC (Tracks) + cue.+log ~ 371 Mb | Mp3, CBR320 kbps ~ 160 Mb | Scans ~ 141 Mb
Soundtrack, Score | Label: Intrada | # Special Collection Volume 257 | 01:10:11

World premiere expanded CD of Basil Poledouris soundtrack for John McTiernan film from Tom Clancy novel, starring Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones, Sam Neill. Sensational action-suspense tale is film introduction of Jack Ryan (Baldwin), working with CIA intelligence to determine if Soviet commander piloting nuclear super-sub heads towards U.S. waters to defect… or launch attack. Best of four films featuring Jack Ryan to date, Poledouris brings inspired mood, color to exciting tale by weighing anchor with magnificent, massive "Hymn To Red October" for large orchestra, chorus, then taking off with vivid cues for orchestra, layers of electronics plus his chorus. Score literally provides rhythm, pulse of movie as well as underlines intense action sequences. Interestingly, one of score's few moments of respite comes with reflective "Two Wives", a gentle cue dropped from finished film. Entire score remains one of composer's most important works, and earns it's place as a classic of nineties motion picture music! Original MCA label CD was mere 30-minute sampling of score. Intrada CD offers over an hour of masterful music including first release of "End Title" given significance in one point by powerful presentation of main hymn melody via orchestra sans choir in dynamic manner.