On the first Sunday of every month, WRTI broadcasts a special edition of our program Sunday Classical focused on new releases. Join host Mark Pinto on WRTI on March 3 from 3-6 p.m. to hear highlights from each of these albums, and read his thoughts here.
Paganini: 24 Caprices
María Dueñas (violin), Itamar Golan (piano), Boris Kuschnir (violin), Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Mihhail Gerts (conductor)
The caprice or capriccio is typically a short, light and lively work written in an improvisational manner. Outstanding 22-year-old Spanish violinist María Dueñas celebrates the art of the caprice in this recording combining Paganini’s dazzling 24 solo Caprices with accompanied caprices by the likes of Sarasate, Kreisler, Wieniawski, Saint-Saëns, and Berlioz. Pianist Itamar Golan, guitarist Raphaël Feuillâtre, and the Deutsches Symphony Orchestra Berlin are among Dueñas’ collaborators here.
War Silence - Rare Italian Piano Concertos
Roberto Prosseda (piano), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Nir Kabaretti (conductor)
This album sheds welcome light on an oft-overlooked corner of the repertoire: works for piano and orchestra by Italian composers. A champion of undiscovered and contemporary Italian piano music, pianist Roberto Prosseda uncovers four piano concertos, two of which receive their first recordings. Composed between 1900 and 2015, the works traverse post-Romantic through contemporary styles.
Falla: Orchestral Works
Sarah Richmond (mezzo soprano), Clélia Iruzun (piano), Ulster Orchestra, Jac van Steen (conductor)
Next year will mark the sesquicentennial of the birth of perhaps Spain’s greatest composer of the 20th century, Manuel de Falla. The Ulster Orchestra and their honorary principal guest conductor Jac van Steen start the celebration early with performances of three of Falla’s seminal works which capture the very essence of Spain: Seven Spanish Folksongs, Nights in the Gardens of Spain for piano and orchestra, and the complete ballet, The Three-Cornered Hat. Irish mezzo-soprano Sarah Richmond and Brazilian pianist Clélia Iruzun join in the festivities.
Brahms: String Quartets
Novus Quartet
Brahms was already 40 years old when he published his first two string quartets, the specter of Beethoven’s towering works in the genre looming large and hindering Brahms’ compositional process. Brahms would eventually write three quartets, which acknowledge and break free from Beethoven’s influence while also displaying an indebtedness to Schubert. This album gives us the opportunity to hear all three works performed by one of South Korea’s leading chamber ensembles.
Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Works
Seong-Jin Cho (piano)
Seong-Jin Cho, who immersed himself in Ravel’s music while studying at the Paris Conservatoire, notes “I’ve always been fascinated by the ideas, colors and emotions to be found in Ravel’s music.” The South Korean pianist and 2015 International Chopin Competition winner marks the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth with performances of the complete solo piano works in a recording not to be missed.
Dazzling Light
Clare Brussel (soloist) Ensemble Altera, Christopher Lowrey (conductor)
The New England-based chamber choir explores the theme of light in this compelling program of short works by composers primarily from the 20th and 21st centuries. In works by Thomas Tallis, John Rutter, Jonathan Dove, Charles Wood, Eric Whitacre and others, Ensemble Altera reveals the light of morning and evening, light as the conqueror of darkness, sacred light, light as the symbol of Christ, and even the light of distant galaxies.
Mahler: Symphony No. 7
Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Simon Rattle (conductor)
Darkness and light -- along with sadness and joy -- are the themes and attractions of Mahler’s Seventh Symphony, completed in 1905 and sometimes given the nickname “Song of the Night.” Mahler’s epic and enigmatic work, which boasts a unique instrumentation and orchestral effects, is rendered in this highly praised live concert recording from Sir Simon Rattle and his Bavarian Radio Symphony.
Vivaldi 8 Volume 1: The Four Seasons & Other Concertos
La Serenissima, Adrian Chandler (violin, conductor)
Heaping praise on conductor/violinist Adrian Chandler and his much-loved early music/period instrument ensemble, The Times proclaims, “After being obsessed by the composer and his music world for more than 30 years, Chandler by now is Vivaldi incarnate.” La Serenissima serves up another helping of Vivaldi with a release showcasing the Four Seasons concertos and other concertos for solo and two violins.
Mozart: Complete Masses, Vol. 4
Cologne Cathedral Vocal Ensemble, Kölner Kammerorchester, Christoph Poppen (conductor)
Most of Mozart’s sacred works were written in the 1770s during his employment as court musician to the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. The Cologne Chamber Orchestra and Cologne Cathedral Vocal Ensemble continue their survey of Mozart’s too-infrequently-heard Mass settings with a recording that includes his only “Pastoral” Mass (associated with the Christmas season) and a sizable and dramatic Mass in C major that he wrote at age of 13.
