La Passion de Simone is an oratorio for solo soprano, choir, orchestra, and electronics by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. Originally premiered in a stage version directed by Peter Sellars, this oratorio about the life and work of French philosopher Simone Weil, has been developed in a new version for live video by Jean-Baptiste Barriere. This new version premiered at the occasion of the 60th birthday celebration of Kaija Saariaho, offered to her as a surprise gift in Helsinki’s Musikkitalo earlier this month.
Brad Wilson is an experienced Californian guitarist with several self-produced CDs to his name over the last ten years or so. This CD is his first for an ‘official’ label and he wrote all the material, reprising seven songs from his last independent CD “Blues Magic”…
Joanne Shaw Taylor embodies all the elements of modern blues, even if she sings with a distinctively British accent. Given her extraordinary dexterity as a guitarist and well-developed vocal chops, Taylor was already a sensation on the blues festival circuit in both the U.S. and Great Britain. Songs From The Road embodies the life and soul Taylor and band put into their music. It has the deep contrast of vibrancy and tenderness that sums up her career to date. It is a performance to be proud of.
Der niederländische Walzerkönig André Rieu ist wieder da. Nachdem er 2012 pausieren musste, veröffentlicht der derzeit erfolgreichste Tourneekünstler der Welt endlich sein lang erwartetes Doppelalbum André Rieu Celebrates ABBA & Music Of The Night. Während der Arbeit an Music Of The Night, einer wunderbaren Sammlung bisher nicht aufgenommener klassischer Songs aus der Welt der Musicals, Filme und Romanzen, entdeckte André Rieu das beeindruckende Repertoire der schwedischen Supergruppe ABBA und widmet sich nun zum ersten Mal dieser Musik. ABBA Fans weltweit können ihre Lieblingssongs jetzt endlich in noch nie gehörten, wunderschönen Orchesterarrangements erleben.
Russian soprano Olga Peretyatko is the latest in a group of young performers championed by the revived Sony Classical label. She's got personality to spare, and, from the looks of the pictures, charisma, too. Arabesque seems to be an album designed to showcase her suitability for a wide variety of roles; the program runs from Mozart forward through the 19th century and includes the Italian, French, and German languages (not that you get any of the texts in the CD booklet).