Virgin Venue

In Le Havre, a small town in the French countryside, there was no one who had heard of AMT, let alone me. The local so-called intelligentsia and the promoter may have been expecting fans of experimental music and free jazz, but my music fits easily into neither category and they had a tough time understanding what I was doing. As my set wound towards its conclusion in a fury of drone-noise, they were shocked as I ruthlessly blew out all the speakers in the venue. The noise you hear at the end of the disk is that of the speakers exploding.

Beethoven - Complete Sonatas For Violin & Piano - Renaud Capuçon & Frank Braley (2010) {3CD Virgin Classics 50999 642001}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 966 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 530 Mb
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© 2010 Virgin Classics / EMI Records | 50999 642001
Classical / Sonatas / Piano / Violin

Among the many genres Beethoven used to build on his reputation upon his arrival in Vienna, the violin sonatas allowed him not only to demonstrate his own prowess on the keyboard, but also played to the increasing popularity of chamber works that might be attempted by sophisticated amateurs. Following Mozart's trend of liberating the violin from a mere secondary role, Beethoven continued to bring about the equality of both instruments in all of his duo sonatas. Performing these 10 sonatas is the splendid duo of violinist Renaud Capuçon and pianist Frank Braley. The recordings take place in la Chaux de Fonds concert hall in Switzerland, a venue that offers listeners an exceptionally wonderful, intimate sound quality even on a CD.

‘Essential Tavener’ provides an opportunity to reflect upon Tavener’s unique composing career which featured some surprising and dramatic spiritual and stylistic changes since the early success of his cantata The Whale in 1968. He was best known for his choral masterpieces such as ‘The Lamb’, ‘Funeral Ikos’ and ‘The Veil of the Temple’ – all featured in this collection.

John Tavener's music has the ability to make time stand still. 'The Protecting Veil' was the first of Tavener's instrumental pieces to become widely known. Tavener, an Orthodox mystic, wrote the solo line as a spiritual improvisation on the Mother of God. The cello stays mainly in the tessitura range, calling songfully into the atmosphere. Sometimes rhythmic and sometimes placid, the music never really touches ground.

This disc forms part of our ongoing Spanish Music series, performed by the BBC Philharmonic and its Chief Conductor, Juanjo Mena. Here the focus is on the orchestral works of the composer Joaquín Turina, one of the two leading Spanish composers of the twentieth century, the other being Manuel de Falla.

Whether glowing with lyric charm or smouldering with dark and dangerous passion, Rolando Villazon proves irresistible in his vocal and dramatic intensity. From such popular favourites as Rigoletto and La traviata to the epic tragedy of Don Carlo and the soaring spirituality of the Requiem, he brings each of these glorious Verdi scenes and arias grippingly to life.

This re-release is another addition to David Hill and Westminster Cathedral Choir’s glorious Victoria catalogue. In these exemplary performances the choir demonstrate their sublime musicianship, sensitivity and faultless intonation.

By any reckoning this is a most impressive debut recording. Nicola Benedetti, since becoming BBC Young Artist of the Year last May, has won a major contract with DG. Born in Scotland of Italian stock, she studied at the Menuhin School before deciding at 15— against advice — to study on her own and then with a new teacher, Maciej Rakowski. Her firmness has certainly paid off. At 17 she displays in each of these items the temperament, concentration and imagination of a great artist in the making, quite apart from her virtuoso technique. The centrepiece is the Szymanowski First Violin Concerto, the work she played in the final of the BBC competition, and the passion of her performance is remarkable, even suggesting a parallel with the young du Pre. Daniel Harding draws intense playing from the LSO and the impact of the performance is heightened by the relatively close balance of soloist and orchestra, hitting home very hard in the exotic climaxes.