Britten & Shostakovich: Violin Concertos

“Ehnes is a very fine violinist and there is barely a moment here when his playing is anything but silken in tone and sinuously refined...Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra make cultured colleagues but there is not much danger in their ostinato rhythms or edge to their attack.” --Gramophone Magazine, August 2013

“Ehnes is brilliantly supported by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, with Kirill Karabits totally at one with the soloist. This superb performance is coupled with one of the finest modern performances of Shostakovich’s glorious A minor Concerto that I have ever heard.” --International Record Review, September 2013

“it's the way that James Ehnes closes the opening movement [of the Britten] that most impresses, essaying a gossamer thread of such subtlety it becomes almost transparent.” --The Independent, 10th May 2013 ***

“Karabits and Ehnes share a powerful idea of [the Britten's] narrative, and each scene is vividly realised...Karabits draws searing clarity, balance and detail from the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra...his treatment of the Shostakovich Concerto is riveting” --BBC Music Magazine, July 2013 ****

“The partnership between Ehnes, Karabits and the BSO comes across as a true meeting of minds, and these outstanding performances cannot be recommended highly enough.” --The Telegraph, 14th June 2013

“Everything hits the mark here...The Britten has never opened with such cool poise...the stuff of record critics’ dreams...Possibly the greatest recording that this concerto has received...Ehnes’s Shostakovich is just as good...Essential listening.” --The Arts Desk, 22nd June 2013

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Shostakovich: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

“there is little doubt that the present performance of the First Concerto is even more incisive than its predecessor...Petrenko draws out a wealth of fascinating detail from the orchestral accompaniment...The Second Concerto, on the other hand, doesn't convince me to the same extent.” --BBC Music Magazine, July 2014 *****

“the cleanness and accuracy of the orchestral playing bring out in more than usual detail the remarkable economy of the scoring [of the First Concerto]...Mork is more forthright at the opening of [the first movement] than many of his rivals, but his playing is high on emotional content.” --International Record Review, May 2014

This is the premiere recording of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra under their new artistic director Vasily Petrenko.

Vasily Petrenko is renowned as a star conductor of the younger generation and one of the foremost interpreters of Shostakovich’s symphonies.

Truls Mørk is one of the most respected and prestigious cellists playing today, forged by a reputation of fierce intensity and grace in performances throughout the world. A committed performer of contemporary music, Mørk gave the UK premiere of Rautavaara’s cello concerto Towards the Horizon and whose recording on Ondine won both the Gramophone and ICMA Awards.

Shostakovich’s cello concertos were written for Mstislav Rostropovich during the 50s and 60s. Besides dashing virtuosity, the concertos also include substantial symphonic elements.

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Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14

“…with bold sound and detailed booklet-notes this would be a thrilling investment at any price. Let’s not forget the singers’ fresh-sounding contribution. Alexander Vinogradov…is one of those Russian basses whose rich, sepulchral tones, easily produced, belie a boyish frame. Gal James…throws herself into the proceedings with striking commitment. Strongly recommended.” --Gramophone, June 2014

“Vinogradov is the genuine bass article but his pitches can be approximate...Orchestral double basses, though, have terrific impact.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2014 *** 

“this performance demonstrates Petrenko's and the Liverpool orchestra's fine grasp of the composer's evolving idiom, with the result that this is a deeply impressive issue all round... Gal James's timbre might be considered a shade (no more than that) light...but her intonation and diction are fine and her phrasing is excellent...Vinogradov is also most impressive.” --International Record Review, May 2014

"This is a sensational performance, the first that truly vies with the classic Rostropovich/Vishnevskaya/Reshetin for supremacy. Vasily Petrenko enjoys the distinct advantage of two absolutely fabulous young soloists. …Petrenko is more than gripping. …Petrenko captures every mood, from the feverish waltz of Malagueña, to the urgent yearning of O Delvig, Delvig! In Petrenko’s hands, we become supremely conscious of how Shostakovich achieves moments of exquisite beauty using the simplest of means—a wandering string line in De profundis or The Death of the Poet—or passages of sardonic humor with the militant rhythm of the tom-toms in On Watch." --ClassicsToday.com, April 2014

Album Reviews

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Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos 1 & 3

“Few performances capture [the First's] gawkiness as brilliantly as this new reading by Vasily Petrenko...[He] surely has the full measure of the music's timbral transgressions...At the same time, Petrenko brings out the formal transgressions, too, sharpening the music's breaks in continuity. Nor are the music's emotional incongruities tamed...[The Third] is a musical maelstrom, and Petrenko charges into the swirl without trepidation.” --International Record Review, April 2011

“Every young composer needs the sensitive skill of Vasily Petrenko to join the dots of fits-and-starts inspiration, and I've never been more convinced by the whole, rather than just the isolated gestures, of the teenage Shostakovich's First Symphony. You hear more than ever how prophetic it is of things to come” --BBC Music Magazine, May 2011 *****

“in the First Symphony, besides rapier-like flair and precision, there's a reflective streak behind the passionate lyricism that beautifully brings out the music's Tchaikovsky connection...This latest installment in Petrenko's Shostakovich cycle with the RLPO more than maintains the superb standard they've set already.” --Classic FM Magazine, July 2011 ****

“Petrenko and the Royal Liverpudlians give us as fine a performance of the Third as we are likely to hear, and if they can’t make something more loveable from this symphony, it’s not their fault. The conducting is thoughtful, but with the salt of spontaneity. The chorus is excellent, with good body and diction. The orchestra sparkles.” --MusicWeb International, January 2012

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Great Violin Concertos (10-CD Box Set)

The essence of a concerto is the contrast and combination of a solo instrument with a larger instrumental ensemble. Having developed out of the Baroque concept of concerto grosso, the concerto genre was fully established in the eighteenth century, and many works dating from this period are still a key part of the repertoire today. The opportunity for virtuosic display from the soloist has resulted in the concerto becoming a vital musical force on the concert platform.

Great Piano Concertos · Great Opera · Great Baroque Masterpieces

The violin concerto owes a great deal of its development to the technical achievement of performers, and to this day many works are renowned for their fierce technical demands. Indeed, many composers who have written for the instrument were superlative players themselves—Wieniawski and Paganini among them. The fascinating history and capabilities of the instrument can be traced through the compositions contained herein; from the gossamer threads of Vivaldi to the exhilarating fireworks of Prokofiev, via the lilting swagger of Lalo and Saint-Saëns and nationalistic panache of Sibelius and Glazunov.

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Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No 1; Rachmaninov: Cello Sonata

Wherever internationally acclaimed cellist Sol Gabetta plays, she impresses with her captivating interpretations, her passionate, full-bodied play and her charismatic, conquering personality. Her great versatility of style and repertoire distinguishes her and she can grip an audience through her music. Her performances amaze whether in concert with great symphony orchestras, baroque ensembles or in recitals with chamber musicians.

 

On this new, live album, Sol Gabetta plays with the Munich Philharmonic under the baton of Lorin Maazel. No stranger to the music of Dmitri Shostakovich, it was with the Russian composer’s Concerto No. 2 that she had her international breakthrough with the Vienna Philharmonic, winning the renowned Credit Suisse Young Artist Award. Rounding out the album is the only cello sonata from Sergei Rachmaninov, on which she is joined by Rachmaninov piano specialist, Olga Kern.

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Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4

“Since Vasily Petrenko and the Liverpudlians haven't disappointed in any instalment of their Shostakovich cycle so far, the chances were they would excel here. And they do. A special coup at the start is the high-frequency shock...Petrenko drives weird sounds to appropriate extremes...The many wild climaxes are exceptionally vivid.” --BBC Music Magazine, December 2013 *****

Gramophone Magazine Disc of the Month - November 2013

“Petrenko makes following its thought processes, its phantasmagorical journeying between worlds so much easier. He makes perfect sense of the seemingly senseless...The skewed logic of the piece is made gripping, the disparate and the enigmatic reconciled.” --Gramophone Magazine, November 2013

“the Liverpool players get around the enormous technical challenges with great verve, and the self-destructive climaxes are never shirked. But there's a brittleness to how Petrenko treats some of the episodes...Much of his reading, though, is spot-on” --The Guardian, 3rd October 2013 ****

“Haitink has acknowledged that the Fourth “is a difficult work to handle and has to be kept on a leash”. Petrenko echoes that view in this performance; the proportions and sometimes wild discourse are held in perspective. But it also tempers punch with sensitivity” --The Telegraph, 31st October 2013 ****

“Petrenko’s exhilarating and powerfully emotional performance maintains the high standard of earlier instalments of this remarkable cycle.” --Sunday Times, 3rd November 2013

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Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 15

“Petrenko's hallmark of winning careful but always meaningful articulation from his Liverpool players is as apparent in the outlines of the woodwind and brass uproar at the centre of the early collage as it is in the last Symphony's skeletal solos...As so often, Petrenko shows the deepest sensitivity in going straight to the heart of the matter, and forward sound-balances for violins and celesta especially serve him well.” --BBC Music Magazine, June 2012 *****

“the accepts the symphony's puzzles and paradoxes, playing down its moments of aggression...and highlighting, instead, its erratic bursts of wonder and its uneasy sense of bewilderment. I don't mean to suggest that Petrenko is in any way weak-willed. There's plenty of gravity in the second movement...In the end, though, you're likely to remember this performance for its moments of disorientation...another splendid release in an exceptional cycle.” --International Record Review, June 2012

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