KARITA MATTILA
The Irresistible Karita Mattila (Incls 'Song to the Moon' & 'Round Midnight') Karita Mattila (soprano) with Ilmo Ranta (piano) / Turku Philharmonic Orchestra / Finnish Radio Symphony [ Ondine / CD - released 20/Apr/2010 ] Celebrated soprano Karita Mattila has proved herself to be irresistible in any musical genre. |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Liebeslieder Aldis Liepiņš & Dace Kļava (pianos) Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Klava [ Ondine / CD - released 10/Jul/2015 ] "Under Sigvards Kļava these singers don't wallow in over-sentimentality but give an impressive interpretation of this glorious music, aided by two superb pianists." Choir & Organ |
MAGNUS LINDBERG
Lindberg: Al Largo, Cello Concerto No. 2 & Era Anssi Karttunen (cello) / Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu [ Ondine SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Mar/2017 ] Magnus Lindberg (b. 1958) is among the most important European contemporary voices in classical music. This recording includes some of Lindberg's most recent orchestral works written during and after hiscomposer-in-residence years with the New York... |
HEINO ELLER
Heino Eller: Violin Concerto / Symphony No 2 / etc Baiba Skride (violin) / Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Olari Elts [ Ondine / CD - released 9/Nov/2018 ] "Estonian composer Heino Eller was a wonderful orchestrator, as revealed in these beautiful, if slightly forgettable, works. Skride, Elts and co, however, give the strongest advocacy for them with terrific playing" BBC Music |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH / SERGEI PROKOFIEV / KURT WEILL
Shostakovich: Preludes / Prokofiev: Visions Fugitives / etc Benjamin Schmid (violin) Lisa Smirnova (piano) [ Ondine / CD - released 2/Feb/2015 ] "What cannot be denied is the passionate engagement of the soloist, a big-toned player…[and] an accomplished jazz musician…this long-gestated project has a dangerous exuberance all its own" (Gramophone) |
UUNO KLAMI / EINAR ENGLUND
Klami / Englund: Violin Concertos Benjamin Schmid (violin) / Oulu Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Gustavsson [ Ondine / CD - released 27/Sep/2016 ] "A vital imagination is evinced by every aspect of this disc" MusicWeb |
RICHARD STRAUSS / RICHARD WAGNER
Transfiguration - Wagner and Strauss Scenes Camilla Nylund (soprano) / Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra / Hannu Lintu [ Ondine / CD - released 27/Feb/2011 ] "Nylund is temperamentally suited to this kind of thing - Isolde's so-called Liebestod is the disc's big success...yet she manages the conversational tone of [the Arabella scene] well, and her long address to the tree in Daphne is attractive too" BBC |
JOSEPH MARTIN KRAUS
Kraus: Viola Concertos David Aaron Carpenter (viola) / Tapiola Sinfonietta, Janne Nisonen [ Ondine / CD - released 1/Nov/2012 ] "Carpenter is a sensitive and knowledgeable guide through these works, which he plays as if they've always been with him. Viola players will surely rejoice that their concerto repertoire now has three challenging and beautiful... |
MAGNUS LINDBERG
Lindberg: Tempus Fugit / Violin Concerto No 2 Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin) / Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu [ Ondine SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 14/Sep/2018 ] "Under Hannu Lintu, the Finish Radio Symphony Orchestra plays with such clarity and insight that is feels like a beautifully balanced clockwork mechanism - albeit one with a mightily exuberant spirit." The Strad |
ARMAS JARNEFELT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Jarnefelt: Song of the Scarlet Flower [Full score to the 1919 film] Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Jaakko Kuusisto [ Ondine / 2 CD - released 11/Jan/2019 ] "This is lushly orchestrated music with dramatic flourishes that occasionally paint quite an emotional picture" BBC Music |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Piano Quartet in G Minor (orch. Schoenberg) Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Jaime Martín [ Ondine / CD - released 13/Apr/2019 ] "Jaime Martin revels in these marvellously lurid sonorities, pushing the woodwinds to the fore, and generally eliciting incisive, articulate playing from the Gävle orchestra." Gramophone |
SCHUMANN / BACH
Schumann: Adventlied & Ballade vom Pagen und der Königstochter & JS Bach: Cantata BWV 105 Helsinki Baroque Orchestra & Estonian Philharmonic Chamber, Aapo Hakkinen [ Ondine / CD - released 11/May/2019 ] Helsinki Baroque Orchestra and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir led by Aapo Häkkinen join their forces together with an impressive vocal cast, Carolyn Sampson, Benno Schachtner, Werner Güra, Jonathan Sells and Cornelius Uhle, in this unique... |
RAUTAVAARA / HANSON / PROKOFIEV / RESPIGHI / REVUELTAS / etc
The Earthquake Experience: The Loudest Classical Music Of All Time / Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Leif Segerstam, with Kari Jussila (organ) [ Ondine / CD - released 10/Feb/2017 ] This disc brings together some of the loudest, most exciting music ever written - neither music, nor your hearing, will ever be the same! An explosive collection of great tunes, driving rhythms, and sonic thrills. The 140 piece Helsinki Philharmonic... |
OLLI VIRTAPERKO
Olli Virtaperko: Romer's Gap Joonatan Rautiola (knifonium), Joonatan Rautiola (baritone saxophone), Perttu Kivilaakso (amplified cello) / Jyväskylä Sinfonia, Ville Matvejeff [ Ondine / CD - released 13/Dec/2017 ] "Amplified cello and orchestra sounds iffy on paper, but in practice there's something rather striking about this rock-meets-classical concerto" BBC Music |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 5 'Emperor' Lars Vogt (piano/conductor) / Royal Northern Sinfonia [ Ondine / CD - released 1/Jul/2018 ] "Vogt's playing in the slow movement [of the Emperor] is suitably rapt, and the whole performance radiates that sense of well-being which the piece demands" BBC Music |
ERKKI-SVEN TUUR
Tuur: Illuminatio / Whistles and Whispers from Uluru / Symphony No 8 Lawrence Power (viola), Genevieve Lacey (recorders) / Tapiola Sinfonietta, Olari Elts [ Ondine / CD - released 16/Feb/2019 ] "Brought vividly to life under fellow Estonian, conductor Olari Elts all three works share a kinship in dynamic, flowing structures generated from often small motifs, lush with post-Romantic, post-serial chromaticism." BBC Music |
BERND ALOIS ZIMMERMANN
Zimmermann: Violin Concerto, Photoptosis, Die Soldaten Vocal Symphony Leila Josefowicz (violin), Anu Komsi (soprano), Jeni Packalen (soprano), Hilary Summers (contralto), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu [ Ondine / CD - released 8/Feb/2019 ] "An outstanding release, in terms both of music and performance and, indeed, recorded sound." MusicWeb |
EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rautavaara: Concerto for Harp and Orchestra; Symphony No. 8, The Journey (with bonus CD sampler) Marielle Nordman (harp); Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Leif Segerstam [ Ondine / CD - released 21/Feb/2005 ] "Sound is excellent. A disc well worth hearing, and having." - MusicWeb July 2004 |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms-Glanert: Four Serious Songs Michael Nagy (baritone), Kari Kriikku (clarinet) / Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Olari Elts [ Ondine / CD - released 13/Jan/2017 ] "[Glanert's arrangement] manages to be teasing and stirring at the same time...Kriikku's playing is a delight." BBC Music |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 5 Olli Mustonen (piano) / Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu [ Ondine / CD - released 6/Jul/2017 ] "The performance does include a spectacular Toccata at its centre, and the Larghetto has grandiosity" International Piano |