"alain Parson"

This generous song recital of Debussy Mélodies features soprano Sophie Karthäuser and baritone Stéphane Degout, accompanied by pianists Eugene Asti and Alain Planès. Drawing on Symbolist and Impressionist poets, this program, including Trois Ballades de François Villon and Cinq poèmes de Baudelaire, showcases some of the composer's finest cycles. For Debussy, the artistic journey is first and foremost a matter of color.

This recording marks the beginning of the collaboration between the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and its new music director, the French conductor Alain Altinoglu, who conducts the leading European and American orchestras and has made a reputation for himself in every repertory – not forgetting opera at Salzburg, Bayreuth, and La Monnaie in Brussels, where he is music director. Their first disc pays tribute to a composer whose bicentenary is celebrated in 2022, César Franck, with the famous Symphony in D minor and two less well-known works, presented in new editions: the symphonic poem Le Chasseur maudit (1882) and the large-scale symphonic interlude from the oratorio Rédemption, composed in 1872 after the Paris Commune, performed here in its first version, long considered lost.

World-renowned tenor Roberto Alagna stars in the most passionate of French operas, conveying the young poet’s journey from naïve hope to the agony of the much-loved aria ‘Pourquoi me réveiller?’ and the shattering final tragedy.
Massenet’s glorious opera, based on a novel by Goethe, is regularly performed all over the world and its central role is one in which Roberto Alagna has been celebrated for more than a decade. The role of Werther’s beloved Charlotte is sung by American mezzo Kate Aldrich (an acclaimed Carmen at ‘The Met’), who has sung the role to critical acclaim in Europe and Japan. Filmed live at the Teatro Regio in Turin, the powerful stage production is the work of another member of the Alagna family – the tenor’s younger brother, David.

Critics of funky, R&B-flavored jazz and fusion argue that electric jazz cannot swing, but in fact, electric bassist Alain Caron swings hard on the electric Play. Backed by his Montreal-based outfit Le Band, the French-Canadian improviser brings a lot of passion to this CD. A diverse effort that emphasizes Caron's own compositions, Play ranges from groove-oriented soul-jazz ("P.A.C. Man," "D-CODE") to fusion pieces that can be abstract ("In & Out," "B 12") or sentimental ("Apres la pluie," "Ton Jardin"). The only songs on the album that Caron didn't write himself are Leni Stern's cerebral "Trouble" and John Coltrane's often-recorded "Impressions," which gets an unusual funk-jazz treatment.

The Go-Go-Goraguer sessions are a rare opportunity to discover what a potent jazz pianist Alain Goraguer was before he embarked on a new career as an arranger and a composer that would take him away from the realm of jazz. He would have been part of a great generation of French jazz pianists that includes fine stylists such as René Urtreger, Martial Solal, or Georges Arvanitas. The program is comprised of standards, songs from the French repertoire, and two originals. Classically trained, Goraguer's technique is beyond reproach, and his quite marvelous touch can be enjoyed on a wide range of material - from his tender version of "Darn That Dream" to a percussive reworking of "What Is This Thing Called Love?." Regardless of the tempo, his playing has a sparkling quality that does not fail to draw the listener in…