Releases this week cast light on an unheralded English woman composer (Madeleine Dring) in works for oboe, selections for harp by Marcel Tournier, plus a tribute to a great 20th century singer, mixed cello repertoire, and albums exploring the musical ranges of Rachmaninoff and Mendelssohn.
New Releases May 27: Harp, Oboe, Rachmaninoff
Yunchan Lim (Photo: James Hole)
Yunchan Lim’s electrifying interpretation of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 at the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the age of 18 is one of the most talked-about performances in recent classical music history. Lim, now 21, first gained international recognition with this very performance, which conductor Marin Alsop described as showing “an old soul, rather than a young performer.” Competition juror Anne-Marie McDermott shared, “About halfway through the first movement… we just knew: we’re experiencing something magical here.” Lim’s Van Clibunr performance has become the most-watched version of the concerto on YouTube, with over 17 million views. Following Yunchan Lim’s highly acclaimed debut album of Chopin Études, Decca Classics now releases a live recording of his Van Cliburn-winning performance with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Marin Alsop.
John Wilson and Sinfonia of London complete their cycle of Rachmaninoff symphonies with this recording of the First Symphony and the Symphonic Dances. The 1897 premiere of the First Symphony in St. Petersburg was a disaster. Rumor had it that the conductor was drunk; in any case he seems to have had little interest in the piece, and the performance was met with scathing reviews. This setback affected Rachmaninoff profoundly, and he left the score in Russia when he fled the revolution in 1917, after which it was lost. Two years after his death, it was reconstructed from a set of orchestral parts in the Leningrad Conservatory, and given its second performance in 1945, going on thereafter to gain its place in the standard orchestral repertoire. Written towards the very end of the composer’s life, the Symphonic Dances reference the theme from the final movement of the First Symphony. In this recording, Sinfonia of London plays from John Wilson’s own performing edition of the work.
Madeline Dring was born into a musical and theatrical family and gained an exhibition scholarship to the junior department of the Royal College of Music at the age of nine. Her focus changed from violin to piano and composition, which she studied with Herbert Howells, Gordon Jacob, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Her dedication to the theater opened up a career writing music and songs for theater, radio and television – some contemporaries compared her facility and wit to Gershwin. It is perhaps because of the nature of her work (commissions and performance-specific compositions) that a great deal of her output has been lost. Dring was married to Roger Lord, long-time principal oboe of the London Symphony Orchestra, for whom she wrote a number of works and arrangements that have been recorded here. These works are championed by oboist Nicholas Daniel joined by pianist Antonio Oyarzábal, flutist Adam Walker, and bassoonist Amy Harman.
Virtuoso harpist Emmanuel Ceysson served as principal harp with the Opéra national de Paris for fifteen years and the Metropolitan Opera of New York for five years. He has been principal harpist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel since 2020.
On this album, he pays tribute to Marcel Tournier (1879-1951), one of the greatest harpist-composers in the history of the instrument. The majority of Tournier’s works are for solo harp or voice and harp, but he later added other instruments to certain pieces and transformed them into chamber works. The works recorded here date from his mature years and show the influence of Debussy, Satie, and Ravel. Included are several previously unpublished versions of some of Tournier’s works, the manuscripts of which have only recently come to light, performed passionately by Ceysson with soprano Véronique Gens and Quatuor Voce.
This tribute album from baritone Benjamin Appl and pianist James Baillieu honors Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s centenary. “The first time I heard his voice was at school when I was twelve,” says Appl. “In 2009, I applied for his master class at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg which was the start of a long and transformative relationship. I was fortunate to work with him on my entire repertoire over countless hours in his homes in Berlin and Berg.”
For Dieter, a CD and book of 140 pages with personal text written by Appl alongside numerous previously unpublished photos and letters, offers a look at a more private Fischer-Dieskau, outside his public successes and accolades. The repertoire is structured to reflect the major stages of his life, including compositions by family members Albert and Klaus Fischer-Dieskau, repertoire he sang as a soldier during the Second World War and as a POW in Italy, commissions composed especially for him, and some of his favorite Schubert lieder.
Pablo Ferrández describes his Moonlight Variations program as “night followed by day.” The latest album from the star Spanish cellist is a realization of his dream to record Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, the centerpiece of the program, recorded here with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra led by Martin Fröst. The orchestra also joins Ferrández for his own transcription of the “Song to the Moon” from Dvořák’s Rusalka and Tchaikovsky’s Nocturne in D minor. Pianist Julien Quentin is the collaborator for the remainder of the album of night-themed music by Debussy, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Ponce, and Robert Schumann.
As a piano soloist, Lahav Shani made his debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and legendary conductor Zubin Mehta when he was just 18 years old. As a double bassist, Shani became a regular sub with the IPO, and in 2020, was chosen overwhelmingly by his colleagues to succeed Mehta as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s music director. Lahav Shani has also been chief conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic since 2018. Under his direction, the RPO’s new all-Felix Mendelssohn album centers the “Scottish” Symphony No. 3, inspired by the rugged beauty of Scotland. The album also features the Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Overture and three the composer’s Songs Without Words, orchestrated by Shani himself.
