CARL MARIA VON WEBER / FRANZ SCHUBERT
Weber - Piano Sonata no.2 op.39 / Schubert: Piano Sonata op.posth.147 D.575 Paul Lewis (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 8/Feb/2019 ] "Harmonia Mundi's full-bodied and vividly detailed engineering accounts for Lewis' every move, each dynamic adjustment, each attack, release, and pedal effect." ClassicsToday |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Für Elise and Bagatelles Opp. 33, 119 & 126 Paul Lewis (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 1/Aug/2020 ] "All told, another hugely impressive disc from one of our greatest Beethovenians" Gramophopne Editor's Choice Sept 2020 |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas Paul Lewis (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / 10 CD - released 1/Oct/2009 ] "one of the most highly prized recording marathons of recent years…an unmissable benchmark." Gramophone |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Late Piano Works, Opp. 116-119 Paul Lewis (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 28/Jan/2022 ] Paul Lewis explores the world of late Brahms. The old master, far from growing more sedate, deploys a palette of infinite colours and sensibilities in his last four collections for solo piano. By turns tender and dazzling, intimate and tempestuous,... |
MODEST MUSSORGSKY
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (with Schumann - Fantasie Op 17) Paul Lewis (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 20/Dec/2014 ] In 1870, the architect, sculptor and painter Viktor Hartmann (born in 1834) was invited by Vladimir Stasov, the most influential Russian art critic of his time, to join the 'Group of Five', a St Petersburg-based circle of composers that, in addition... |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms - Piano Concerto no. 1 / Ballades op. 10 Paul Lewis (piano), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 22/Jun/2016 ] "Lewis brings all the requisite power to the 'sturm and drang' octaves and trills, but maintains flow and a wonderful feeling for inner voicing in the chorale theme…memorable" (BBC Music Five Stars) |
BÉLA BARTÓK
Bartok: Piano Concerto No 3 / Concerto For Orchestra Javier Perianes (piano), Münchner Philharmoniker, Pablo Heras-Casado [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 5/Jan/2018 ] The inexhaustible strength of a genius Neither the disillusionment that set in after his exile to the United States nor his declining health stopped Bartók from fulfilling his commission for the Concerto for Orchestra nor from writing the Third Piano... |
J.S. BACH
Bach: Cantatas for solo bass (BWV 56, 82, 158) Peter Kooy (bass) La Chapelle Royale, Philippe Herreweghe [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 18/Nov/2022 ] These three cantatas for bass solo are based on episodes from the life of Christ (the healing of the lame man, the presentation in the temple, scenes from the Passion) with implications of the benevolence and consolation of death. |
HENRY PURCELL
Purcell: Funeral Sentences Philippe Herreweghe, Collegium Vocale Gent [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 9/Aug/2019 ] Camerata Obscura is harmonia mundi's first collection aimed at exploring the connection between photography and music. In collaboration with the National School of Photography in Arles, a foursome of young artists was invited to take a fresh look at... |
TRADITIONAL / ANONYOUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: A Portrait of Anonymous 4 Anonymous 4 [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 15/May/1997 ] "Whatever these four women sing, you're promised a sound as beautiful and pure and clear as the human voice can make..." CD Review |
ROBERT SCHUMANN / ALBAN BERG / GYORGY KURTAG
Schumann / Berg / Kurtag: String Quartets Quartet Gerhard [ Harmonia Mundi / Harmonia Nova Series / CD - released 6/Oct/2017 ] "They are very talented performers with an intriguing sense of programming and the disc itself (the whole Harmonia Nova series) is economically priced and well worth your attention." AudAud.com Jan 2018 |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Debussy…et le jazz - Preludes for a quartet Jean-Philippe Collard Neven (piano), Vincent Peirani (accordion), Franck Tortiller (vibraphone), Jacky Terrasson (piano) Quatuor Debussy [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 24/Aug/2018 ] A century after his death on 25 March 1918, many harmonia mundi artists are eager to pay tribute to Claude Debussy, the magician of melody and timbre, the great 'colourist' and father of modern music. |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Mendelssohn: Choral Works (Lieder) Op. 41, 48, 59, 88, & 100 RIAS Kammerchor, Hans-Christoph Rademann [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / CD - released 10/Aug/2018 ] "This is first-class singing, captured in equally first-rate sound (from Berlin's Jesus-Christus-Kirche)-and if you want to fall in love with Mendelssohn's choral writing, this is where it will happen. Highly recommended!" 10/10 Classics Today |
ALFRED SCHNITTKE
Schnittke: Penitential Psalms / Three Sacred Hymns RIAS Kammerchor, Hans-Christoph Rademann [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 4/Mar/2016 ] "The demands [of the Penitential Psalms] on intonation and colouristic range are intense. The Berlin-based RIAS Chamber Choir cope admirably with all and with the Russian texts…the three Sacred Hymns are a small but not unattractive bonus" Gramophone |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: Choral Works [Incls 'Hymn to St. Cecilia] RIAS Kammerchor, Justin Doyle [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 25/Jan/2019 ] "Under the British director Justin Doyle, the impeccably drilled (and accented) Berlin RIAS chamber choir bring to these supremely idiomatic pieces a gratifying array of rich colours" The Sunday Times |
BRUCKNER
Mass in F minor RIAS Kammerchor / Orchestre des Champs-Elysees / Philippe Herreweghe [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 20/Sep/2008 ] "Herreweghe paces the music with regard to the long line as well as to short term detail, and passages such as the 'Et Resurrexit' blaze with fervour, yet even more telling are the hallowed 'Benedictus' or the wonderfully-conceived 'Et Incarnatus'"... |
TRADITIONAL
Stille Nacht - German Christmas Carols RIAS Kammerchor / Uwe Gronostay [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / CD - released 20/Sep/2009 ] "a very classy alternative to Carols from Kings." The Independent on Sunday |
POULENC
Poulenc: Figure Humaine/Motets RIAS Kammerchor / Marcus Creed [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / 2 CD - released 3/Jun/2013 ] |
BRAHMS / BRUCH / BRUCKNER / POULENC / PRAETORIUS / etc
Christmas! Noël! Weihnachten! RIAS-Kammerchor, Hans-Christoph Rademann [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 16/Nov/2013 ] "The sound, from the Jesus-Christus Kirche in Berlin, is an ideal match of choir and venue. If you're looking for a Christmas program that honors the traditional yet is far from ordinary, don't miss this. Highly recommended." 10/10 ClassicsToday |