No 戴佩妮

Kabalevsky - Piano Sonata No.3 & 24 Preludes - Pietro Bonfilio (2017) {Brilliant Classics 95256BR Official Digital Download}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44kHz - Official Digital Download (prestoclassical.co.uk) -> 234 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 156 Mb | Cover | 5% repair rar
© 2017 Brilliant Classics | 95256BR
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Piano

Once considered in the same breath as Prokofiev and Shostakovich, Kabalevsky’s star has waned somewhat (the same fate has befallen both Myaskovsky and Khachaturian), both in his native Russia and farther West, where he is primarily remembered for his exuberant orchestral potboiler, the overture he wrote to an opera on a Romain Rolland story, Colas Breugnon. The opera won both a Lenin Prize and Rolland’s approval – no small feat – but has been completely forgotten. However, the offbeat rhythms that made the overture an instant hit also lend an upbeat, funky character to the opening movement of the Third Piano Sonata.

LSO, Gardiner - Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 2, Op. 52, 'Lobgesang' (2017) {B&W Society of Sound no. 83 Digital Download 16-44.1}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44kHz - Official Digital Download (bowers-wilkins.com) -> 255 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 152 Mb
Full Artwork (jpg+pdf) -> 9 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2017 LSO / B&W Society of Sound | LSO88 / SoS no. 83
Classical / Romantic / Symphony

In October 2016, to bring his acclaimed Mendelssohn symphonies cycle to a rousing conclusion, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the London Symphony Orchestra – accompanied by Lucy Crowe, Jurgita Adamonytė, Michael Spyres and the Monteverdi Choir – gave two performances of the composer’s symphony-cantata, ‘Lobgesang’. Also known as ‘Hymn of Praise’, it sits slightly uneasily with Mendelssohn’s four other symphonies, with its extended last movement involving soloists and chorus. However, the idea was not without precedent – the work has its roots in both Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (‘Choral’), and Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette.

Mahler famously stated, that “a symphony must be like a world; it must contain everything”. Guided by this saying the British conductor Daniel Harding and the Verbier Festival Orchestra, capture the colossal spectrum of emotions in Mahler’s last completed symphony (1908–1909). Their performance of the 9th Symphony has been recorded live at the 2017 Verbier Festival and will be released on February 2. The symphony’s rustic second movement is now available to listen to.

Salvatore Accardo is an outstanding Italian violin virtuoso, best known as a master of the works of Niccolò Paganini, but equally accomplished across a wide variety of repertory for the instrument. His playing is characterized by a taut, visceral tone and a disciplined musical approach that avoids self-indulgence. Having also established himself as a successful conductor, chamber musician, and teacher, Accardo may be considered one of the most accomplished and influential musicians of his generation.

This selection received a Grammy nomination for "Best Classical Album" and "Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without Orchestra)." The comparative simplicity of Chopin's Op. 28 Preludes (when placed against his Etudes, for example) and their status as "miniatures" often hide the fact that they are, in fact, extremely demanding pieces, especially in interpretation. These works, probably written in homage to Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Well-Tempered Clavier,' have been the eminent domain of such great pianists as Artur Rubinstein, Vladimir Horowitz and Claudio Arrau. The Preludes now belong to young Evgeny Kissin.