Heras second album for Deutsche Grammophon is the deeply personal result of an existential confrontation of Hera's with the foundation of her being, resulting in her determination to embrace life: "As I contemplated death, I found my soul infused with the magnificence of life. A profound sense of gratitude began to fill my soul." Presenting operatic favourites by Massenet ("Meditation"), Delibes ("Flower Duet" w/ Emily D'Angelo), Humperdinck ("Abends wenn ich schlafen geh") side by side with contemporary works by Luke Howard, Cecilia Livingston, Hyowon Woo and Bernat Vivancos. A spectacular under water shot music video for "While you live" will accompany the album release.
From the timeless plainchant Veni Emmanuel via Jonathan Harvey to a riotous Jingle bells: Owain Park presents a programme of Christmas treats which effortlessly spans the centuries.
At the end of a career spent between his native Korea and Germany, during which he produced works that span the musical traditions of both countries, Isang Yun expressed a wish to limit himself ‘to what is substantial, in order to transmit more peace, more goodness, more purity and warmth into this world’.
Dvořák, a most personal symphonist: David Patrick Stearns assesses how Dvořák’s greatness was bound up with the way he saw the world.