HANDEL
Handel in Italy - solo cantatas Emma Kirkby (soprano) / London Baroque [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Jun/2008 ] This exciting programme is presented by Emma Kirkby and London Baroque, household names in the sphere of 'early music' and beyond, and certainly no new-comers to the works of Handel. |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: The Music for String Quartet Emperor Quartet [ BIS SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Jul/2022 ] Between 2010 and 2014, the British Emperor Quartet released the three discs gathered here, with all of Benjamin Britten's published music for string quartet - as well as his one work for string quintet, the Phantasy in F minor. |
BRITTEN
String Quartets / Three Divertimenti / Miniature Suite Emperor Quartet [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Jun/2010 ] Benjamin Britten always enjoyed performing with small ensembles - he played the viola as well as the piano - and his natural facility in writing for strings was evident from a very early age. |
BRITTEN
Simple Symphony / String Quartet in F / Rhapsody for String Quartet / etc The Emperor Quartet [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 3/Mar/2014 ] the quartet have gathered five works from the composer's earliest period, from the String Quartet in F, by a fourteen-year old schoolboy, to Simple Sym"The Emperor hony, composed six years later and the work which may be regarded as his breakthrough. |
GRIEG / SIBELIUS / TOMMESSEN
String Quartets Engegård Quartet [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 20/Feb/2012 ] In 1878, while composing this string quartet, Grieg wrote that 'it aims at breadth, to soar, and, above all, at vigorous sound', and the amplitude of the sound is indeed striking: the generous use of double-stops creates an almost orchestral effect. |
TOMMIE HAGLUND
Haglund: Flaminis Aura Ernst Simon Glaser, cello Gothenburg Symphony / David AfkhamTrio ZilliacusPerssonRaitinen; Julia Kretz-Larsson, violinMalmö Symphony Orchestra [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 30/Jun/2017 ] This composer portrait opens with Tommie Haglund'sfirst score for full orchestra -the cello concerto Flaminisaura. Composed in 2001 and rewarded 13 years later with Sweden's most important composition prize, the work is in a single movement with a... |
KALEVI AHO
Aho: Concertante works for recorder, saxophone and accordion Esa Pietilä, Eero Saunamäki, Janne Valkeajoki / Saimaa Sinfonietta, Erkki Lasonpalo, conductor [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 15/Sep/2023 ] Concertante works featuring the recorder, tenor saxophone and accordion are few and far between. Stimulated by daring soloists, the prolific Finnish composer Kalevi Aho has composed such works, contributing in his own way to the development of an... |
SAMUEL BARBER / CHARLES IVES
Barber & Ives: String Quartets Escher String Quartet [ BIS SACD / SACD - released 6/Aug/2021 ] An American ensemble performs quartets by two compatriots |
DVORAK / TCHAIKOVSKY / BORODIN
Dvorák: String Quartet No. 12 / Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 1 / Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 Escher String Quartet [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 2/Feb/2018 ] "After the elfin opening of the scherzo the second of these is gorgeous. Cellist and leader sing the melodies of the notturno with autumnal warmth and silvery clarity respectively, and the finale fairly sprints." The Strad |
MENDELSSOHN
String Quartets Nos. 1 & 4 / String Quartet in E flat Escher String Quartet [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Jun/2015 ] With their début disc on BIS, the Eschers launch a three-disc cycle of Mendelssohn's string quartets, including the unnumbered String Quartet in E flat major and - on coming instalments - the four pieces for string quartet Op. 81. The quartet genre... |
MENDELSSOHN
String Quartets Nos. 2 & 3 / etc Escher String Quartet [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 20/Aug/2015 ] "this is full-blooded quartet playing in the grand, classic manner; extrovert and eloquent. Rich tone, good balance and a particularly noteworthy expressiveness from the first violin" (BBC Music on Vol 1) |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Mendelssohn: String Quartets Nos. 5 & 6 Escher String Quartet [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Sep/2016 ] "this is full-blooded quartet playing in the grand, classic manner; extrovert and eloquent. Rich tone, good balance and a particularly noteworthy expressiveness from the first violin, Adam Barnett-Hart, who offers that rare ability not only to sing... |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Liturgy of St John Chrysostom Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir / Kaspars Putniņš [ BIS SACD / CD - released 25/Feb/2022 ] The music of the Russian Orthodox Church was an essential part of Sergei Rachmaninov's musical background. As a boy he was deeply moved by the sound of St Petersburg's cathedral choirs, and phrases reminiscent of liturgical chant permeate his music.... |
ALFRED SCHNITTKE / ARVO PART
Schnittke / Pärt: Choral Works Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Kaspars Putniņš [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 15/Dec/2017 ] "This work has been waiting for choirs able to do this, because the technical challenges are not the most important thing about this music" Gramophone Award WINNER 2018 - Choral |
ALFRED SCHNITTKE / ARVO PART
Schnittke, Pärt - Choral Works 2 Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Kaspars Putniņš, conductor [ BIS SACD / CD - released 4/Jun/2021 ] "The music of Pärt is stitched into the choir's DNA...The Niguliste's acoustic is Putniņš's trump card, further nourishing the choir's enveloping sonorousness - which he expertly contours to explore Schnittke's subtlety and ear for choral colour" BBC |
ULO KRIGUL
Ülo Krigul: liquid turns Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra Kaspars Putniņš (conductor) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 5/Aug/2022 ] Ülo Krigul studied in Tallinn and Vienna, and has written music in a wide variety of genres. |
VITO PALUMBO
Palumbo: Woven Lights Francesco D'Orazio (violin, electric violin), Vito Palumbo (electronics), Francesco Abbrescia (electronics), London Symphony Orchestra, Lee Reynolds [ BIS SACD / CD - released 3/Feb/2023 ] The critically acclaimed Italian composer Vito Palumbo has had works performed all over the world by leading orchestras. He began his career with postmodern experimentation, going on to different forms of music theatre. In recent years Palumbo has... |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos 1 & 2 Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin) / NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestrer, Alan Gilbert [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 25/Nov/2016 ] "stunningly performed and recorded, Zimmermann's inspiring release on BIS deserves substantial praise." MusicWeb Feb 2017 |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 2 Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 6/Oct/2023 ] Since the mid-1980s, Frank Peter Zimmermann has earned recognition as one of the world's leading violinists, admired not only for his technical skill and interpretive intelligence, but also for his versatility in a wide-ranging repertoire. His... |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol.1 Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin) [ BIS SACD / CD - released 25/Feb/2022 ] Since the mid-1980s, Frank Peter Zimmermann has earned recognition as one of the leading violinists, admired not only for his technical skill and interpretive intelligence, but also for his versatility in a wide-ranging repertoire. His extensive... |