VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Verbum caro factum est - a Christmas Greeting Bach Collegium Japan Chorus / Masaaki Suzuki (direction), Masato Suzuki (organ) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 10/Oct/2018 ] "The performances are typically classy, and punctuated by a selection of Daquin's 'Noels' for solo organ, played with peppery registrations by Suzuki" BBC Music |
FRANZ SCHUBERT / ARNOLD SHOENBERG
Can Çakmur - Schubert + Schoenberg Can Çakmur (piano) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 2/Jun/2023 ] "I am happy to report that it more than fulfils the highest expectations...This very distinguished recording should not be missed by anyone interested in fine piano-playing and heartfelt poetic utterance." Gramophone Editor's Choice Aug 2023 |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No. 8 Carolyn Sampson, Jacquelyn Wagner (sopranos), Sasha Cooke (mezzo), Jess Dandy (contralto), Barry Banks (tenor), Minnesota Orchestra [ BIS SACD / CD - released 16/Feb/2024 ] For its final concert of the 2021-22 season and Osmo Vänskä's last as artistic director, the Minnesota Orchestra chose to present Mahler's mammoth Eighth Symphony, which calls for one of the largest complement of performers in the history of music, a... |
HERBIG / MOZART / FLEISCHER / WOLFF / HAYDN
Trennung - Songs of Separation Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano) [ BIS SACD / CD - released 4/Mar/2022 ] "...with immaculate German and elegant delivery, is perfectly matched by Bezuidenhout's endlessly inventive imagination...Enjoy a long soak in this luxurious bath of classy, 18th-century suffering." BBC Music |
MARIE-JOSEPH CANTELOUBE
Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne Carolyn Sampson (soprano) / Tapiola Sinfonietta, Pascal Rophé [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 3/Sep/2021 ] "Carolyn Sampson is a delightful and highly engaging soloist. She sings the slow, lyrical songs beautifully, investing words and music with great feeling." Recording of the Month Oct 2021 MusicWeb |
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: String Quartets, Op.18 Nos 4-6 Chiaroscuro Quartet [ BIS SACD / CD - released 4/Mar/2022 ] The Chiaroscuro Quartet continue their Beethoven traversal. |
HUGO ALFVEN
At Home with Hugo Alfvén: Songs & Piano Pieces Elin Rombo (soprano), Peter Friis Johansson (piano) [ BIS SACD / CD - released 6/May/2022 ] During his lifetime, Hugo Alfvén became known as one of Sweden's principal composers of his time, with works that struck a chord with a wide audience. As a result of his popularity, a nationwide collection was held in celebration of his 70th birthday... |
HASSE / PEROTTI / VIVALDI / TORELLI
A Venetian Christmas Ewa GoliĆska, Komalé Akakpo, Ruby Hughes / Arte dei Suonatori, Martin Gester [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 10/Oct/2014 ] "Some tenuous theming here, but who cares when the music-making - tart and spicy on period-instruments - is so appealing?" (BBC Music Christmas 2014) |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas Nos 3, 8 & 9 Freddy Kempf (piano) [ BIS SACD / CD - released 4/Oct/2019 ] Sergei Prokofiev virtually grew up at the keyboard - he composed for the piano from early childhood, and the instrument was his workshop and laboratory. Well before the end of his student days he had absorbed the virtuoso techniques of Rachmaninov... |
ALBERT SCHNELZER
Schnelzer: A Freak in Burbank Ilya Gringolts (violin), Cecilia Zilliacus (violin), Jakob Koranyi (cello), David Huang & Henrik Måwe (piano) Västerås Sinfonietta [ BIS SACD / CD - released 4/Mar/2022 ] Chamber and orchestral works from a leading Swedish composer. |
J. S. BACH
Bach: The Complete Secular Cantatas Joanne Lunn, Robin Blaze, Carolyn Sampson, Katsuhiko Nakashima, Hiroya Aoki, Makoto Sakurada, etc / Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki [ BIS SACD / 10 CD Box Set - released 6/Dec/2019 ] "The SACD sound is near ideal for such music, needing as it does to balance the intimate with a sense of public rejoicing. It catches the colours of the distinctive solo voices on display." MusicWeb |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet and Trio / 6 Songs Martin Fröst (clarinet) with Janine Jansen ( violin), Torleif Thedéen (cello) Roland Pöntinen (piano) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 30/May/2014 ] "Sensuous beauty and taut sinew mingle for an interpretation whose fastidious attention to internal balance and every musical detail result in sovereign excellence, in a sovereign recording. Fröst's control of instrumental colour is superfine |
J. S. BACH
Bach: The Toccatas, BWV 910-916 Masaaki Suzuki (harpsichord) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 6/Mar/2020 ] Very little is known about the origin of J. S. Bach's seven Toccatas (BWV 910-916) or of their use. They are believed to have been written before 1717 or the end of Bach's Weimar period - but it is quite possible that at least some of them were... |
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART & RICHARD BIRCHALL
Mozart & Birchall: Clarinet Concertos Michael Collins (basset clarinet) / Philharmonia Orchestra, Robin O'Neill, Wigmore Soloists [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Apr/2022 ] "Collins elicits a delicious, resonant tone throughout; the clarinet is never upstaged by its string quartet partner." BBC Music |
The Norwegian Soloists' Choir, Grete Pedersen
Veni: Songs of Christmas II [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 4/Nov/2023 ] December is a time of anticipation. We wait and we hope - veni, come! The songs on this album encompass many nuances and moods - from joy and jubilant celebration to deep melancholy and longing. They move between folk tunes, English carols and... |
BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: The Complete Piano Variations & Bagatelles, etc. Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano) [ BIS SACD / 6 CD Box Set - released 6/Sep/2019 ] Between 2003 and 2015, Ronald Brautigam recorded all of Beethoven's music for solo piano - a huge undertaking resulting in a grand total of 15 highly acclaimed discs. Choosing to perform the works on the fortepiano, Brautigam began with a sonata... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 and 25 Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano) / Die Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Sep/2011 ] "Bis has given all performers excellent surround sound that is wide, deep, and comforting to the ear. A most definite recommendation." (AudAud.com) |
J. S. BACH / PURCELL / WATKINS / TRADITIONAL / FRANCES-HOAD / etc
Ruby Hughes - Echo Ruby Hughes (soprano), Huw Watkins (piano) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 4/Nov/2022 ] "An exquisite release touched with poignant pleasures and depth-plumbing reflections that echo, re-echo, linger and endure." Five Stars BBC Music Recording of the Month Feb 2025 |
ALEXANDER SCRIABIN
Scriabin: Poem of Ecstasy / Piano Sonata No. 5 / Prometheus Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Lan Shui, with Yevgeny Sudbin (piano) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 2/Sep/2022 ] One of the boldest and most radical composers of all time, Alexander Scriabin had a lifelong obsession with occult and mystical ideas. Initially under the influence of Chopin, Wagner and Liszt, his music later became more complex, taking on an... |
KREISLER / PENDERECKI / PROKOFIEV / REGER / SCHNITTKE etc
Journey Through A Century: Solo Violin Works Sueye Park (violin) [ BIS SACD / CD - released 2/Jul/2021 ] "This is sensational!...at no point in the programme do you feel that the technical and intellectual demands are in any way compromising her interpretations, which are wholly excellent." Recording of the Month - Gramophone September 2021 |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: 6 Bagatelles / Piano Sonatas Nos. 31 & 32 Yevgeny Sudbin (piano) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Mar/2019 ] Yevgeny Sudbin has previously recorded Beethoven's piano concertos - releases which have received international acclaim, for instance on the website ClassicsToday.com: 'A Beethoven experience you will not want to miss.' |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2 / etc Alexandre Kantorow (piano) / Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jean-Jacques Kantorow [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Apr/2022 ] "...this disc completes a Saint-Saëns piano concerto set that has few peers and none that are better." Five Stars BBC Music Concerto Choice July 2022 |
BEETHOVEN / BERG / LISZT / MUSSORGSKY
Perspectives 7 Andreas Haefliger (piano) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 10/May/2018 ] Since 2004, Andreas Haefliger has been devising a series of recital programmes named Perspectives, presenting them in concert and on disc. Each programme focusses on one or two Beethoven sonatas, juxtaposed with works by other composers (ranging from... |
BRETT DEAN / SOFIA GUBAIDULINA / SERGEI RACHMANINOV / RICHARD WAGNER / etc
Voices of Angels - chamber works Andrej Power (violin) Lawrence Power (viola) Christianne Stotijn (mezzo-soprano) / Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 3/Jul/2020 ] The Stockholm Syndrome Ensembleis -as the name implies -based in Stockholm, and consists of five of the city's leading musicians. Project-based and often inviting guest performers, the SSE is known for its imaginative programmes built around a... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
A Summer's Day - Swedish Romantic Songs Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano) Bengt Forsberg (piano), with Fredrik Zetterström, baritone [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/May/2012 ] Anne Sofie von Otter, accompanied by Bengt Forsberg and joined by baritone Fredrik Zetterström for two duets, performs works by four Swedish composers whose works were all composed within a century of each other. |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 9: The Contest Between Phoebus and Pan [BWV 201 & BWV 207a] Joanne Lunn, Robin Blaze, Nicolas Phan, Katsuhiko Nakashima, etc / Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 15/Dec/2017 ] Most of Johannes Sebastian Bach's secular cantatas were written for specific political, academic or private festive occasions. In the case of Geschwinde, ihr wirbelnden Winde, BWV 201, however, it may well be that Bach composed it for his own sake:... |
J. S. BACH
Bach, (J.S.): Secular Cantatas, Vol. 10 - Cantatas for contentment Bach Collegium Japan / Masaaki Suzuki, Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Robin Blaze (counter-tenor), Makoto Sakurada (tenor) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 10/Aug/2018 ] The two cantatas recorded here conclude a project that the Bach Collegium Japan and Masaaki Suzuki started in 2004, in which Bach's secular cantatas formed the basis of numerous concerts and recordings. As the team completed recording the church... |
GUSTAV HOLST / EDWARD ELGAR
Holst: The Planets / Elgar: Enigma Variations Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra / Andrew Litton [ BIS SACD / CD - released 5/Jul/2019 ] "The sound reproduction BIS provides on this SACD is vivid and well balanced, quite state of the art. Now as for comparisons with the very plentiful competition, I can say Litton finishes very high in each work." MusicWeb |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: The Symphonies / Scythian Suite / Romeo and Juliet, Suites Nos 1-3 / etc Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton [ BIS SACD / 5 Hybrid SACD - released 3/Sep/2021 ] "Litton and the Bergen players brilliantly point up the wit, elegance and joy of this great work, turning out one of its finest performances on record...this superb set of Prokofiev's symphonies. Highly recommended!" MusicWeb Recommended |
ANTON BRUCKNER
Bruckner: Symphony No. 3 (original 1873 version) Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 6/Aug/2021 ] Bruckner's 'Wagner Symphony' from Bergen and Dausgaard. |
ANTON BRUCKNER
Bruckner: ymphony No. 6 in A Major, WAB 106 (1881 Version) Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 7/Feb/2020 ] "This persuasively played work could be no better served. I look forward with relish to the subsequent releases in this cycle." MusicWeb Recommended |
GYORGY LIGETI
Ligeti: Concertos Joonas Ahonen (piano) Christian Poltera (cello) / Bit20 Ensemble [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 16/Dec/2016 ] Described as 'one of the most innovative and influential among progressive figures of his time', György Ligeti (1923 - 2006) was able to constantly reinvent himself. In his earliest works, written in Communist Hungary, the musical language is often... |
BERG / KORNGOLD / MAHLER / SCHOENBERG / ZEMLINSKY
Jugendstil - Songs 1898-1916 Camilla Tilling (soprano) Paul Rivinius (piano) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 3/Jan/2020 ] Vienna around 1900 was a melting-pot in several ways: a city attracting artists from the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire where bohemian writers and musicians rubbed shoulders with aristocrats and establishment figures, and where late-Romanticism... |
HUGO WOLF
Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Allan Clayton (tenor), Joseph Middleton (piano) [ BIS SACD / CD - released 1/Jul/2022 ] Composed in feverish bouts interrupted by long periods of inaction, Hugo Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch was brought to completion in 1896. The 46 songs are settings of poems in German by Paul Heyse, after Italian folk songs - miniatures with a... |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Elysium - A Schubert Recital Carolyn Sampson (soprano) / Joseph Middleton (piano) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 3/Mar/2023 ] "The last years of Schubert's life were clouded by illness, so thoughts of the afterlife cannot have been far from his mind. For their latest recital for BIS, Carolyn Sampson and Joseph Middleton present an all-Schubert recital themed around Elysium,... |
PURCELL / SCHUMANN / QUILTER / etc
Fleurs Carolyn Sampson (soprano) / Joseph Middleton (piano) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 20/Feb/2015 ] "A sweetly scented posy, this...Perfect, too, for all who love Sampson's fragrant, light-filled, warmly communicative soprano." (Gramophone Award Nomination 2015 - Solo Recital) |
SCHUBERT / SCHUMANN / BRAHMS / STRAUSS / etc
Reason In Madness Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Joseph Middleton (piano) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 10/Mar/2019 ] "All performed with Sampson's wonted freshness of tone, superb control and subtle sensuality, with Middleton offering vibrant support." The Guardian |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Cantatas (Vol 41) (Nos BWV56, 82, 84, 156) Carolyn Sampson (soprano) Peter Kooij (bass) / Bach Collegium Japan / Masaaki Suzuki [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Oct/2008 ] Masaaki Suzuki here concentrates on the so-called solo cantatas, providing an opportunity for two of the highly acclaimed soloists of this series, Carolyn Sampson and Peter Kooij, to shine even more brightly. |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saëns: Violin Sonatas Cecilia Zilliacus (violin), Christian Ihle Hadland (piano), Stephen Fitzpatrick (harp) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 3/Feb/2023 ] "Wonderfully vivid, alive and completely committed - but most importantly beautiful - Saint-Saëns performances from violinist Cecilia Zilliacus and colleagues. " Gramophone Editor's Choice May 2023 |
WILHELM STENHAMMAR
Stenhammar: Sangen [symphonic cantata] / Reverenza / Romeo and Hulia / Romances Charlotta Larsson (soprano) Martina Dike (alto) Lars Cleveman (tenor) Frederik Zetterstrom (baritone) / Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra / Paavo Jarvi (c [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Sep/2018 ] In a way it is odd that Stenhammar may be best known for a comparative trifle - the Entr'acte from the huge cantata Sången ('The Song'). This is an encore for basically all Swedish orchestras touring abroad. So why limit oneself to recording just... |