Voices of new releases

There are several new releases I am looking at and downloading after returning from some time off. Murray Perahia, Hilary Hahn, and Gustavo Dudamel have some interesting releases I cannot wait to hear.
I also saw this article from yesterday:
Hayley Westenra: classical music's fallen star
She was signed to Universal at 12 and four years later launched the fastest-selling classical debut album of all time. But behind the angelic facade, her life was far from perfect.
You can read more here. I also have some Mozart to catch up on, as well as a new Beethoven album from Alice Sara Ott. Anything you are excited about lately?
-Host John Clare

New Release from Genghis Barbie

The new cd by Genghis Barbie is a real delight!

Seeing a release of four French Horns, one might expect Robert Schumann's Concert Piece for Four Horns, or an arrangement of themes from Wagner's Ring of the Nibelungen.  You might not also guess that a group considers their arrangements right up there with their fashion sense - but this is Genghis Barbie, the "leading post post feminist feminist all female horn experience"!

This 10 track eponymous release goes from A-ha to Sisqo and includes fun outtakes, some humorous and some not so good.  The music making is a complete home run.

Especially gorgeous is a cover of Sam Phillips' Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us (made popular by Allison Kraus and Robert Plant). Their signature Thong Song by Sisqo is included as well as a charming arrangement of Toto's Africa - that is unfortunately followed by a live outtake of the Ride of the Valkyries. I actually love the Wagner but the sound is rotten, and the playing is not as stellar as the rest of the release. The spoken introduction for the Sisqo is hilarious, and certainly the charm of the Barbies lies not only in their playing but in their humor.

On the other hand, the comic who follows 57821 by Janelle Monáe is seemingly out of place before Lady Gaga's Bad Romance, unless you figure he is just plain Bad.

Overall, Genghis Barbie's debut cd is a real success and one can only expect more great things from this modern French Horn quartet! (I predict they'll be on Ellen soon.)
The Barbie's debut cd will be available here as well as iTunes.
- John Clare, TPR Announcer/Host of Classical Spotlight

Decca debut!

Decca Classics has signed an exclusive recording contract with the young Polish soprano, Aleksandra Kurzak, who, as one of the most exciting young singers on the international opera stage, has been thrilling press and public alike with performances in Europe and the US.
Aleksandra Kurzak’s debut recording with Decca – which will be released in Autumn 2011 – will be a showcase of contrasting lyric and coloratura arias. Just recorded with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, conducted by its dynamic young Music Director Designate Omer Wellber, the album will focus on roles which she has either performed or is preparing to sing on stage: Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, bel canto roles from Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Bellini’s I Puritani and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, plus the First Act scena from La Traviata, which showcases Kurzak’s effortless agility as well as the full, warm intensity of a Verdi lyric soprano. The disc also acknowledges the soprano’s roots with the key soprano aria from Straszny Dwór (The Haunted Manor) – perhaps the greatest Polish opera of the 19th Century.
Aleksandra Kurzak will also feature on the latest Decca album from Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja – to be released in Fall 2011 – in which she sings duets from Puccini’s La Bohème and Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de perles.
Aleksandra Kurzak first came to international attention in the 2004-05 season, with debuts at the Met (Olympia) and Royal Opera (Aspasia in Mitridate), followed by notable appearances at the Royal Opera in L’elisir d’amore (Adina) and Don Pasquale (Norina). She rose to international prominence in 2008 when she triumphed in the title role of Rossini’s Matilde di Shabran, also at the Royal Opera, opposite Decca tenor star Juan Diego Flórez. As The Guardian critic wrote “Flórez’s sparring partner here is Aleksandra Kurzak, his equal in technique and vocal glamour.” She returns to Covent Garden on January 18th, singing Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) with the Royal Opera.
Decca’s Paul Moseley said, “It is always a big moment when we welcome a new soprano to Decca, the singers’ label. I am convinced that Aleksandra is the new star we were seeking. Her warm, flexible voice records beautifully and above all she is a true musician as well as a phenomenal actress and singer.”
Aleksandra Kurzak said, “For me to sign a contract with a record company is a dream come true. And to be the part of the Decca family with such great singers as Pavarotti, Freni, Sutherland, Tebaldi, Bartoli and Fleming is a huge honor and happiness for me. It makes me particularly proud to be the first Polish singer to sign an exclusive contract with such a legendary company.”
In the current season Aleksandra Kurzak recently triumphed in her debut as Lucia in the new production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor in Seattle, sings Violetta (La Traviata) in Hamburg, Warsaw and Turin, Adina (L’elisir d’amore) in Valencia and Vienna (Staatsoper), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) at Covent Garden and Susanna in the new production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro in Madrid. She will also give a recital at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan.
Established over 80 years ago, Decca has long been the label of the world’s greatest singers, with a roster of exclusive artists which has included Luciano Pavarotti, Dame Joan Sutherland and Renata Tebaldi, as well as current stars of the opera stage such as Cecilia Bartoli, Renée Fleming, Jonas Kaufmann and Juan Diego Flórez.

New Release: Claremont Trio

Host John Clare recently spoke to Julia and Emily from the Claremont Trio while in NYC.



The Claremont Trio's newest cd is Beethoven & Ravel.

John's Top Violinists 2009

These are my top ten picks for violin albums that came out in 2009 - host John Clare.

#10. Rachel Podger Haydn/Mozart (Channel Classics)

#9. Jessica Mathaes (pictured right) Suites & Sweets (Centaur)

#8. Rachel Barton Pine A German Boquet (Cedille)

#7. Mark O’Connor O’Connor (OMAC)

#6. Augustin Hadelich Bartok/Paganini/Ysaye/Zimmermann (Avie)

#5. Caroline Goulding Debut Album (Telarc)

#4. Julia Fisher Bach (Decca)

#3. Anne-Sophie Mutter Mendelssohn (DG)

#2. Gil Shaham Sarasate (Canary Classics)




#1 Janine Jansen (pictured left) Beethoven/Britten (Decca)







And watch out in 2010, Hilary Hahn has Bach this next month!

Of course, you should check out SIMPLE GIFTS at TPR dot org.

Still making beautiful music together

Despite a divorce, Gheorghiu & Alagna are stellar in this new release!

Alberto Veronesi conducts Pietro Mascagni’s rarely performed opera L’amico Fritz starring soprano Angela Gheorghiu and tenor Roberto Alagna, on a new recording to be released by Deutsche Grammophon next Tuesday, November 17, 2009. The album was recorded in 2008 during acclaimed live performances at Deutsche Oper Berlin which were called “a rare musical treat” by Das Opernglas, and for which klassik.com wrote: “The soloists gave of their phenomenal best and the orchestra under Veronesi played sensationally...I can't recall the last time I heard such enthusiastic (and prolonged) applause at the Deutsche Oper.”

L’amico Fritz is Mascagni’s second opera; a light-hearted follow-up to his popular Cavalleria rusticana. The opera tells the story of Fritz (Alagna), a wealthy landowner and confirmed bachelor who falls for Suzel (Gheorghiu), the young daughter of one of his tenants, and includes The Cherry Duet (“Suzel, buon di”) – a love duet considered the best known piece from the opera which has long been part of Alagna and Gheorghiu’s repertoire. The cast on the recording is rounded out by Laura Polverelli as the gypsy boy Beppe, a rare trouser role for the time period, George Petean as David, Yosep Kang as Federico, Hyung-Wook Lee as Hanezó and Andión Fernández as Caterina.