Airboss II (1998)

Some of Stephen Hough’s most exquisite recordings come from his collaborations with EMI and Virgin Classics during this early period, offering a taste of the pianist’s impeccable touch, his musical and intellectual rigor, and his fondness for the short showpieces that filled late 19th-century salons and peppered the 78 rpm records of golden-age pianists. In the two all-Liszt recitals, Stephen Hough is also in his element, creating atmospheric colors, with notes flowing like streams of pearls, shaping and magnifying the dramatic depth of these works. From Mozart to Schumann, Brahms to Britten, looking back at the great virtuoso tradition while looking forward through his own arrangements, Stephen Hough presents, through these early recordings, a fascinating portrait of a young artist whose brilliant, artistic intellect and appetite for creativity remains unmatched today.

The changes in musical style that were taking place in Italy in the late 16th century came to a head in 1600, with the performance and publication of three path-breaking works: two settings of Rinuccini's libretto for Euridice by Giulio Caccini and Jacopo Peri, and Cavalieri's Rappresentatione. All three composers were associated with the Medici court in Florence, and they were bitter rivals in their claims to the "marvelous invention" of drammi posti in musica per recitar cantando, dramas in music in recitative style. Emilio de' Cavalieri (c1550-1602), a Roman nobleman who had been appointed superintendent of Lorenzo I's musical establishment, had lost ground in Florence to the other two and the Rappresentatione was first produced in Rome, probably as a challenge to the others, and its innovative nature was immediately recognized and warmly received.

Spanish edition of Italian Parent Label: New Age Music And New Sounds. Digital high quality recordings of pure nature sound blended with the beautiful music inspired by the nature. Listen and enjoy!

As Decca’s minimalist booklet notes fail to mention the fact, readers may be interested to know that in these recordings – made 1975-7 – the Fitzwilliam Quartet consisted of Christopher Rowland, Jonathan Sparey, Alan George and Joan Davies. They enjoyed a personal relationship with Shostakovich, who allowed them to give the Western premieres of his last three string quartets. Shostakovich had come to the medium relatively late, when the Soviet newspaper Pravda had already denounced his music as ‘unSoviet, unwholesome, cheap, eccentric, tuneless’.

Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665-1729) - The Complete Harpsichord Suites - Carole Cerasi (1998) {Metronome MET CD 1026}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 538 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 186 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 48 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1998 Metronome Recordings Ltd. | MET CD 1026
Classical / Baroque / Harpsichord

Elisabeth Jacquet (Couperin’s senior by three years) was a remarkable girl. A member of a family of musicians, at the age of only five she attracted the benevolent attention of Louis XIV by her harpsichord playing, and subsequently was taken under the wing of his favourite, Mme de Montespan. At 18 she married the organist Marin de la Guerre and became famous for the concerts she gave at her home, in which her powers of improvisation were greatly admired. She wrote trio sonatas, an opera (the first one by a woman to be produced in France), violin sonatas that include double-stopping, and two books of Cantates francaises on Old Testament subjects.

"Alexander Balus" has a poor reputation that is at least partly undeserved. Although the plot is adapted from Macabees, the title suggests its basis in history. This makes it an anomaly among Handel’s dramatic oratorios, whose sources are usually Greek myth or the Bible. The title also makes it easy to confuse it with one of the operas. What sticks most in memory is that it’s not supposed to be very good, and for that reason I ignored it for a long time while building my Handel collection. When I finally decided to check it out I was pleasantly surprised.