Delos International and Dmitri Hvorstovsky continue their award-winning partnership with a splendid new release, "Heroes and Villains." Dedicated to Delos Founder Amelia Haygood, this glorious, passionate program showcases Hvorostovsky at his professional best, in an operatic treasure-trove of must-have arias.

Hvorostovsky himself feels that he has reached a milestone, both vocally and interpretively. This album gives his vast audience the chance to share such a moment in the career of a great artist. On this 73-minute CD, "the greatest Verdi baritone of our time" is partnered by Maestro Constantine Orbelian, the Philharmonia of Russia and the Spiritual Revival Choir of Russia, in eagerly-awaited audience favorites along with lesser-known discoveries.

Total Playing Time: 72:59

More Details

Price: $14.98

Issac Albéniz: Suite Iberia

arranged by the Brazilian Guitar Quartet

WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING

In Brazil they are called the Dream Team… four of that country's most brilliant guitarists. Since their first appearance outside of Brazil in 1999, the Brazilian Guitar Quartet has quickly become one of the world's most sought-after guitar ensembles, acclaimed by audiences and critics, with highly successful international tours every season.

Delos International is privileged to present the Brazilian Guitar Quartet in the recording premiere of their 4-guitar arrangement of Isaac Albéniz's piano masterpiece Suite Iberia.

Albéniz began writing Suite Iberia in 1905 and finished it in 1908. Hailed as "the masterpiece of Spanish music," this beloved composition is made up of twelve pieces, divided into four books. They embrace a kaleidoscope of motifs and moods, themes and rhythms evoking the spirit of Spain, especially the province of Andalusia.

This unique arrangement respects the essence of Albéniz's suite while presenting a new and adventurous interpretation. Albéniz, a brilliant pianist as well as composer, conjured up fabulous ways to make his piano sound like a guitar. Our Quartet returns this music to the guitar, the one instrument universally associated with Spain and its unique culture.

Total Playing Time: 76:16

Price: $14.98

Leonard Bernstein: Serenade

Michael Mclean: Elements

Brian Lewis, violin

Hugh Wolff, conductor

London Symphony Orchestra

Delos International is proud to announce a new debut release featuring violinist Brian Lewis and Maestro Hugh Wolff. This exciting offering teams up Delos International with an acknowledged masterpiece by Leonard Bernstein and a new composition by leading contemporary composer Michael McLean.

Bernstein's Serenade for Violin, String Orchestra, Harp and Percussion, a dazzling, composition originally written for Isaac Stern to play with the Israel Philharmonic, was inspired by a text by Plato. It is both a concerto and a symphonic commentary on ideas expressed in Plato's Symposium. The Inspiration for McLean's Elements was none other than the mesmerizing virtuosity of violin soloist Brian Lewis. The four movements of Elements - Earth, Fire, Air, Water - encompass a spiritual and evocative performance which perfectly highlights the artistry of Brian Lewis in tandem with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maestro Wolff.

Brian Lewis has established himself as one of today's most versatile talents and charismatic young violinists. In addition to debuts at both Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, Mr. Lewis can be heard internationally in recital. Maestro Hugh Wolff ranks among the leading American conductors of his generation. His partnership with the LSO and Delos International celebrates his admirable talents.

Total Playing Time: 67:09

Price: $14.98

Dr. Seuss' Gerald McBoing Boing

Rogers: The Musicians of Bremen

Stern: The Fairy's Gift

Kubik: Gerald McBoing Boing

Narrated by Werner Klemperer, Carl Reiner, Alecia Grebner

XTET
Adam Stern, conductor

"Your Children will love this very witty and engaging disc… fast-paced and clever"
— The Seattle Times

DDD

Price: $14.98

Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57

Schnittke: Piano Quintet

Constantine Orbelian, piano
Moscow String Quartet

More Details

Price: $9.98

Violin Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 80
Violin Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 94a

Mikhail Simonyan, violin
Alexei Podkorytov, piano

More Details

Price: $14.98

Tribute to Amelia
Total Playing Time: 77:52

Leoncavallo: Pagliacci; Tonio’s Prolog, “Si può;” Hvorostovsky; Orbelian
Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur; “Acerba Voluttà;” Domashenko; Orbelian
Rachmaninoff: “Spring Waters;” Guryakova; Orbelian
Tchaikovsky: Queen of Spades; Yeletsky’s aria; Hvorostovsky; Orbelian
Borodin: Prince Igor; Konchakovna’s Cavatina; Podles; Orbelian
Rimsky-Korsakoff: May Night; Levko’s Song; Shtoda; Orbelian;
Villa-Lobos: Forest of the Amazon; “Sentimental Melody;” Fleming; Heller
Handel: Alexander’s Feast; “The Prince;” Auger; Schwarz
Handel: Rinaldo; “Venti turbini;” Podles; Orbelian
Verdi: Il Trovatore; “Il balen del suo sorriso;” Hvorostovsky; Bernardi
Arensky: Raffaello; Duet; Domashenko; Pavlovskaya; Grivnov; Orbelian
Tchaikovsky: Oprichnik; Natalia’s Arioso; Guryakova; Orbelian
Rachmaninoff: Aleko; Aleko’s Cavatina; Gerello; Orbelian
Puccini: Turandot; “In questa reggia;” Marc; Litton
Cordillo - Cordiferro: “Core ‘ngrato;” Hvorostovsky; Orbelian

Our 35th Anniversary Opera Gala is a tribute to Delos founder Amelia S. Haygood (1919-2007). There was nothing Amelia loved more than great singing; and this program offers familiar repertoire done to perfection, along with fresh, seldom-heard gems. The span of extraordinary singing ranges from Delos’ first great vocal artist, Arleen Auger, to superstar Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Dmitri anchors the program, which begins with the Pagliacci Prologue and soon takes us to less familiar but entrancing territory. The Duet from Arensky’s “Raphael,” written 15 years before “Rosenkavalier” foreshadows Strauss’s ecstatic Trio from the last act. Natalia’s Cavatina from Tchaikovsky’s “Oprichnik” takes us to an emotional climax within three minutes. Both Auger and Podles are stunning in Handel arias; Renee Fleming gorgeous in Villa-Lobos “Sentimental Melody;” and Alessandra Marc a magnificent Turandot. Dmitri sings the passionate encore “Core ‘ngrato.”

Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone “undoubtedly one of the voices of the century” Opera News • Marina Domashenko, mezzo-soprano “A poised, lustrous performance” The Times of London • Olga Guryakova, soprano “reminds listeners of how marvelous and glorious the lyric soprano voice can be.” Opera News • Ewa Podles, contralto “a force of nature” Opera News • Daniil Shtoda, tenor “a fabulous voice ” The Times of London • Renee Fleming, soprano “Every minute she sang was something like rapture.” The Vancouver Sun • Arleen Auger, soprano “an artistry that affords us a real glimpse of what we thought was a lost art.” Stereo Review • Tatiana Pavlovskaya, soprano “one of the most musically and dramatically scorching singers around.” Los Angeles Times • Vsevolod Grivnov, tenor “One of the most beautiful and thrilling tenor voices in the world today.” The Irish Times • Vassily Gerello, baritone “The grandeur, tonal substance and old-fashioned clout of a truly significant vocal instrument,” The Times of London • Alessandra Marc, soprano “one of the richest and most powerful voices of the age” Gramophone

Price: $16.99

New Live DVD from St. Petersburg features the great baritone DMITRI HVOROSTOVSKY singing favorite Russian romances and songs

Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone
Constantine Orbelian, conductor
Moscow Chamber Orchestra
Style of Five Folk Ensemble

The St. Petersburg Concert, live

Dmitri Hvorostovsky, “one of the voices of the century,” (Opera News) has become the foremost champion of Russian Soul in song form. “The mutual love between Dmitri and his Russian public is now legendary,” says Constantine Orbelian. “Since 1994, he has carried the title of the People’s Artist of Russia — and the title is not merely a formal one. He is the People’s Artist.”

Every summer the great Siberian baritone interrupts his international opera and concert schedule to return to Russia and embrace his own people with concerts of their favorite Russian romances and songs. Dmitri is uniquely able to raise to the highest artistic level these popular classics all Russians know and love.

On Friday evening, September 15, 2006, Dmitri appeared at the Oktyabrsky Hall of St. Petersburg before just such a live and adoring audience in just such a program. The entire event is captured vividly on this DVD.

Twelve memorable songs, romantic and tender, will be familiar to Hvorostovsky fans worldwide from his beautiful Delos albums “I Met You, My Love”(traditional Russian romances, DE 3293) and “Moscow Nights,” (classic Russian popular songs in elegant new arrangements by Evgeny Stetsyuk, DE 3339).

Between the groups of songs, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra under Constantine Orbelian, accompanied by Style of Five, Russia’s premier folk ensemble, plays five instrumental favorites, including Shostakovich’s “Spanish Dance” from “The Gadfly” and Khachaturian’s “Waltz” from the “Masquerade Suite.”

Three contrasting encores begin with an emotional “O Sole Mio,” and a tempestuous “Dark Eyes.” The final encore is the touching “Evening Song — Leningrad,” also from Dmitri’s album ”Moscow Nights.” This moving tribute to the spirit of the heroic Leningraders who defended their city in the Second World War is the emotional climax of the concert. The camera captures members of the audience, deeply moved, many in tears, as Dmitri eloquently recalls their sacrifices and love for their city.

This all goes to make up a most felicitous late summer night event, and the audience response is tremendous: cheers, bows, much love and lots of flowers. Dmitri is his usual charismatic self in radiant voice, a truly gracious artist.

During November/December 2007 Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Constantine Orbelian, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the Style of Five are touring Europe, Mexico, Canada and the USA in a program that has much in common with this new DVD, featuring Russian classic and popular music.
Program:

The White Acacia’s Fragrant Flakes (Basner- Stetsyuk)
Style of Five and Orchestra
Misty Morning (Abaza- Turgenev)
Do not Awaken Memories (Bulakhov)
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Style of Five and Orchestra
Tapestry (Tamarin)
Style of Five and Orchestra
Bright is the Night (Shishkin)
Only Once (German- Fomin)
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Style of Five and Orchestra
In Memory of Sergei Esenin (Gorodovskaya)
Style of Five and Orchestra
The Lonely Coach Bell Rings (Gurilov – Makarov)
Troika (Bulakhov – Vyazemski)
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Style of Five and Orchestra
Do not Hurry (Babadzhanian – Yevtushenko)
I’m Grateful to You (Babadzhanian – Rozhdestvensky)
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Style of Five and Orchestra
Spanish Dance from the Film “Gadfly“ (Shostakovich)
Orchestra
Tenderness (Pakhmutova)
The Whisper of Birches (Orbelian – Lazarev)
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Style of Five and Orchestra
Waltz from “Masquerade Suite” (Khachaturian)
Orchestra
You Are My Melody (Pakhmutova- Dobronravov)
How Young We Were (Pakhmutova – Dobronravov)
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Style of Five and Orchestra
‘O Sole Mio (Di Capua – Capurno)
Dark Eyes (Traditional)
Evening Song - Leningrad (Soloviev Sedoi)
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Style of Five and Orchestra

Arrangements by Evgeny Stetsyuk

Price: $19.95

(Platero and I)
Music by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Text by Juan Ramón Jiménez

Emanuele Segre, guitar
Moni Ovadia, narrator

Price: $14.98

Sonata BWV 1038
Sonata BWV 1039
Sonata BWV 1079
Sonata BWV 1032
Canon Perpetuus BWV 1079 No. 9

Raffaele Trevisani, flute
Piet Koornhof, violin
Paola Girardi, piano

More Details

Price: $14.98

George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759)
The Eight “Great” Suites, 1720

Suite in A Major, HWV 426
Suite in F Major, HWV 427
Suite in D Minor, HWV 428
Suite in E Minor, HWV 429
Suite in E Major, HWV 430
Suite in F Sharp Minor, HWV 431
Suite in G Minor, HWV 432
Suite in F Minor, HWV 433
Chaconne in G Major, HWV 435

Jory Vinikour, harpsichord

Specially Priced Two-Disc Set

More Details

Price: $19.98

Raffaele Trevisani, flute

Constantine Orbelian, conductor
Moscow Chamber Orchestra

Saverio Mercadante (1795-1870)

Concerto in D Major for Flute and Orchestra
Concerto in E Minor for Flute and String Orchestra
Concerto in E Major for Flute and Orchestra

More Details

Price: $14.98

Music to lift the spirits and set the imagination dancing

Andrea Gullickson, oboe
Mark Weiger, oboe
Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
Paul Polivnik, conductor

program

Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto in D Minor, RV 535
Tomasso Albinoni: Concerto in C Major, Op. 9, No. 9
Federigo Fiorillo: Sinfonia Concertante
for Two Oboes in F Major
George Frideric Handel: Entrance of the Queen of Sheba,
from “Solomon”
Johann Friedrich Fasch: Concerto in D Minor
François-Joseph Garnier: Simphonie Concertante

Total Playing Time: 62:29

“The first time I heard Mark Weiger play the oboe I was captivated by the beauty of his sound, rich and vibrant – filled with warmth – filled with life. Twenty years later, after hundreds of shared performances, thousands of hours of rehearsals, recording sessions and travels across the globe, I continue to be amazed and inspired by the joyful spirit he brought to his music-making, so full of imagination, compassion, tenderness and playfulness.

“Our intention with this recording was to capture and share the sheer delight found in music-making that was so central to Mark’s personality, work and life. I share this now with the sincere hope that this music might open up that space that welcomes the very best from within you – that space that fills hearts and minds with compassion, peace and joy and sets the imagination dancing.”

— Andrea Gullickson

Mark Weiger (1959-2008) performed as a soloist throughout the United States, Canada, England, Mexico, Brazil, Austria, France and Italy. The first solo oboist to serve as an American Artistic Ambassador. he toured Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, India, Greece, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Andrea Gullickson, whose passionate and creative music-making has won her universal critical acclaim, is Professor of Music at Butler University. Mark and Andrea were both founding members of the highly acclaimed chamber ensemble, WiZARDS! A Double Reed Consort. A brilliant and impassioned conductor, Paul Polivnick serves as Music Director of the New Hampshire Music Festival shaping it into one of New England’s premier musical organizations. 

Price: $14.98

Italian Saxophone Quartet
Federico Mondelci, soprano
Mario Marzi, tenor
Marco Gerboni, alto
Massimo Mazzoni, baritone
with Paolo Zannini, piano

program

Astor Piazzolla: The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas
Autumn/Otoño Porteño
Winter/Invierno Porteño
Spring/Primavera Porteño
Summer/Verano Porteño

Astor Piazzolla: Fugata (from the suite “Silfos y Ondina”)

Anibal Troilo: Contrabajeando

Pedro Iturralde: Suite Hellénique

George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

George Gershwin: Rialto Ripples Rag

Total Playing Time: 56:08

In this album for Delos, The Italian Saxophone Quartet — “musicality to burn-and technique likewise” (Il Messergero, Rome) — features the Piazzolla Four Seasons. Their performance here is a musical outgrowth of both the ISQ’s brilliant first recording for Delos (The Sound of the Italian Saxophone Quartet DE 3333), and lead saxophonist Federico Mondelci’s “rich, jazzy… hauntingly beautiful” (New York Times) Delos album of Piazzolla Tangos with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra (Piazzolla Tangos arranged for saxophone and orchestra DE 3252).

For those who have seen the ISQ — or Mondelci — on stage, their uninhibited, informal, fun-loving performance style translates beautifully to the audio-only format. Their albums never fail to capture even the casual listener’s attention. From one of their recent tours, the Monterey Peninsula Herald summed up this phenomenon very well: “Think you don’t like saxophone quartets? Oh my, think again! …A revelation . . . knocked me out from the first notes.”

Price: $14.98

JOSHUA SMITH, flute
JORY VINIKOUR, harpsichord


Sonata in B Minor, BWV 1030
Sonata in G Minor, BWV 1020
Sonata in E-flat Major, BWV 1031
Partita in A Minor for solo flute, BWV 1013
Sonata in A Major, BWV 1032


This album is dedicated to the memory of Delos founder Amelia S. Haygood, who especially loved Bach, and would have celebrated these fresh and invigorating performances.
— Carol Rosenberger

Joshua Smith is aptly known for his “gorgeous sound, bracing virtuosity, and breathtaking lyricism.” His collaborator Jory Vinikour — whose new Delos set of Handel suites has already received raves from Gramophone and others — remarks on Joshua’s “innate musical sensitivity and his absolutely unparalleled range of dynamics and articulation.”

“Baroque music is a highly personal, even improvisational style that can and should be approached with a sense of lightness and cheer,” Joshua writes in his album commentary. “Bach’s sonatas for flute and keyboard are wonderful dialogues, equally demanding of the musicianship of both partners. Working with Jory Vinikour is a pleasure because we respond to each other in ways that transform our performances into unrestrained conversations. We have tried to capture this spontaneity in these recordings.”

Principal Flute of the Cleveland Orchestra since 1990, Joshua Smith enjoys a multi-faceted career as a leading soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, teacher, and clinician.

In the album notes James A. Winn provides a fitting summary: “As these fresh performances show, the sonatas themselves are an endlessly renewable resource, an opportunity for the flutist and the harpsichord player to engage with a composer whose creative gift, though shaped by his particular time, continues to resonate in ours.”

Total Playing Time: 66:21
DDD

Price: $14.98

DMITRI HVOROSTOVSKY, baritone
IVARI ILJA, piano

Operatic superstar Dmitri Hvorostovsky has become the supreme interpreter of the Russian Romance, with its rich resource of music and poetry. In this generous program the great baritone soars vocally and plumbs emotional depths as he delivers definitive performances of a wide range of Tchaikovsky’s masterpieces.


program
None but the Lonely Heart / Net, tol’ko tot, kto znal
Night / Noch
At Bedtime / Na son Griadushchiyi
I Opened the Window / Rastvoril ya okno,
My Genius, My Angel, My Friend / Moy geniy, moy angel, moy drug
Not a Word, O My Friend / Ni slova, o drug moy
Why? / Otchevo?
To Forget So Soon / Zabit’ tak skoro
The Heroic Deed / Podvig
Death / Smert
I Should like in a Single Word / Khotel bi v edinoye slovo
Oh, If Only You Could / O, esli b ti mogla
The Love of a Dead Man / Lyubov’ mertvetsa
On the Golden Cornfields / Na nivi zhyoltiye
Tell Me, What in the Shade of the Branches / Skazhi, o chom v teni vetvey
The Fearful Moment / Strashnaya Minuta
Reconciliation / Primiren’ye
Does the Day Reign / Den’ li tsarit
Frenzied Nights / Nochi bezumniye
Serenade (O Child, beneath thy window) / Serenada “O, ditya”
It Was in The Early Spring / To bilo ranneyu vesnoy
Dusk Fell on the Earth / Na zemlyu sumrak pal
I Bless You, Forests / Blagoslavlyayu vas, lesa
Don Juan’s Serenade / Serenada Don-Zhuana

Total Playing Time: 80:54
(two discs for the price of one)

“The sheer beauty of Hvorostovsky’s voice approaches legendary status” — San Francisco Examiner

“some of the most beautiful and eloquent sounds that can currently be heard from any human throat… His voice is redolent of luxury: beautiful tone, pinpoint intonation, elegant, and impassioned delivery.” — The New York Times

Price: $14.98

New Perspectives in Guitar Sound
Smaro Gergoriadou

Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757): Harpsichord Sonata L23
Guitar with scalloped frets & movable back/ high tuning
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Lute Suite BWV 995
Triple-double-single course guitar/ re-entrant tuning (recording premiere)
Antonio José (1902-1936): Sonata para guitarra (1933)
Classical guitar with metallonylon trebles
Yorgos Kertsopoulos (1952): Some Colour's Rhythms
Classical guitar with metallonylon trebles
Smaro Gregoriadou (1969): Balkan Dances
Balkan Dance No. 1 on a Bulgarian folk theme
Guitar with scalloped frets & movable back/ high tuning
Balkan Dance No. 2 on a Greek epic song
Classical guitar with metallonylon trebles/ low tuning
All works arr. Smaro Gregoriadou

More Details

Price: $14.98

SHOSTAKOVICH FILM SERIES, Vol. 1:
Suites from the Film Scores
The Young Guard
Zoya

Byelorussian Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra
Minsk Chamber Choir
Walter Mnatsakanov, conductor

(DDD)
(re-release from Russian Disc)

Total Playing Time: 61:37


In its heyday in the 1990s, Constantine Orbelian’s Russian Disc label offered many unique and highly prized recordings of Russian repertoire. Among the most successful were four programs of Shostakovich film scores. Although the Russian Disc label closed its doors in the late ‘90s, a number of RD titles are still sought-after; and even used copies have escalated in price. In 2010, Delos is re-releasing all four of the Shostakovich Suites from Film Scores recordings, beginning in February, with the other three series titles slated for March, June and August.

Shostakovich is regarded as a pioneer of Soviet film music, and wrote scores for 30 films between 1929 and 1971. Annotator Maya Pritsker points out that in every one of his film scores, Shostakovich “remained a great symphonist, dedicated mostly to the dramatic and expressive… He preferred recreating and evoking emotions to merely making colorful sound pictures.”

Contents:
Music from the Film The Young Guard, Op. 75 (1947-8)
Introduction
By the River
Scherzo
Turbulent Night
The Song of the Young Guard
Death of the Heroes
Apotheosis

Music from the Film Zoya, Op. 64 (1944)
Song About Zoya
Invasion
Execution
Victory
Apotheosis

Price: $14.98

The AMBAR Music Group
Sasha Rozhdestvensky, violin
Francisco Gonzalez, guitar - voice
Nelson Gomez, guitarron
Juan Fernando Garcia, percussion - flute

1. El Diablo Suelto (vals) Heraclio Fernandez
2. Mimi (bambuco) Carlos Alberto Rozo Manrique
3. Segura Ele (choro) Pixinguinha
4. Patasdilo (pasillo) Carlos Vieco
5. El Alegre Pescador (cumbia) José Barros
6. Ambar (bambuco) Juan Carlos Guio Andrade
7. Lucerito (bambuco) Luis Mariano
8. Um a Zero (choro) Pixinguinha
9. Vou Vivendo (choro) Pixinguinha
10. A Pacheco (pasillo) Carlos Vieco
11. Paçoca (choro) Celso Machado
12. A los Toros (bambuco fiestero) Emilio Murillo
13. Momposina (porro) José Barros

with
Joaquin Riaño, guitar (2-6 and 8-13) Ricardo Sandoval, mandolina – cuatro (1, 7)
Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Constantine Orbelian, conductor (5, 13)

What does acclaimed violin virtuoso Sasha Rozhdestvensky do for fun, between concerto appearances and recordings with major orchestras worldwide? This delightful and infectious album is the answer. Sasha and his three Colombian-born, classically-trained colleagues who form the group Ambar play South American dances – the Colombian Bambuco and Pasillo, the Venezuelan Vals, the Brazilian Choro, and the Colombian/Venezuelan Porro and Cumbia.

Based in Paris, Ambar has caught on with European audiences, and performs at prestigious festivals and concert venues such as the Salle Gaveau in Paris. Two of the group are also experts in ethnomusicology; and all are passionate about Latin American music, as evidenced by these lively and sometimes nostalgic performances.

Guitarist/recording artist Francisco Gonzales also gives presentations at music conferences about guitar and Latin American music. Guitarron virtuoso Nelson Gomez also founded the group Quimbaya in Mexico before moving to Paris. Flutist/percussionist Juan Fernando Garcia is also a professor at the Erik Satie Conservatory in Paris, and often gives master classes in Brazil.

Price: $14.98

SHOSTAKOVICH FILM SERIES, Vol. 2:
Music from the Film Alone

Byelorussian Radio and TV
Symphony Orchestra
Minsk Chamber Choir
Walter Mnatsakanov, conductor

(DDD)
(re-release from Russian Disc)

Total Playing Time: 71:27


Music from the film “Alone” is the second in the highly successful Shostakovich Film Music series, which originally appeared on Russian Disc, and is now being re-released by Delos.

Annotator Maya Pritsker points out that in this score “some of the episodes are quite lengthy and display a truly symphonic development and brilliant use of orchestral resources… We have here an excellent piece of film music, created by the composer in his youthful prime when he was excited at working in a new field…” One of the scenes is reminiscent of “the tragic orchestral interludes of the opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District,” which Shostakovich completed shortly after the film Alone was released.

Shostakovich is regarded as a pioneer of Soviet film music, and wrote scores for 30 films between 1929 and 1971. Pritsker observes that in every one of his film scores, Shostakovich “remained a great symphonist, dedicated mostly to the dramatic and expressive… He preferred recreating and evoking emotions to merely making colorful sound pictures.”

Contents: Music from the Film Alone, Op. 26 (1930-31): Seven Suites, corresponding to the seven parts of the film • 29 tracks

Price: $14.98

VERDI ARIAS
Sondra Radvanovsky, soprano
Constantine Orbelian, conductor
Philharmonia of Russia
Academy of Choral Art, Moscow

Il Trovatore: “Tacea la notte” • “D’amor sull’ali rosee”
Un ballo in Maschera: “Ecco l’orrido campo… Ma dall’arido stelo divulsa”
Il Corsaro: “Non so le tetre immagini”
La Forza del destino: “Pace, pace, mio Dio!” • “La vergine degli Angeli”
Ernani: “Ernani, Ernani involami”
Aida: “O patria mia”
I vespri siciliani: “Arrigo! Ah, parli a un cor” • “Bolero”

Sondra Radvanovsky has been hailed as one of the great Verdi singers of the new generation, and this magnificent debut album from the American soprano demonstrates what all of the excitement is about. As George Loomis puts it, “At a time when genuine Verdi sopranos seem rarer than heldentenors, Sondra Radvanovsky is cause for joy. Her brightly lustrous voice of generous proportion can amply fill out Verdi’s arching phrases and is backed by an interpretive flair that brings the composer’s heroines to life.”

Sondra has been called “the ‘Leonora’ of our time” (San Francisco Sentinel), “today’s most exciting Verdian spinto” (Opera Canada), and “a true Verdian, with a big, juicy, vibrato-rich sound” (London Times). “The evening’s stand-out performance came from Sondra Radvanovsky, an impassioned, big-voiced Leonora,” wrote Edward Seckerson in London’s The Independent. “Firstly, it’s a real Verdi colour, plangent, open, with bags of reach. But she’s not all about big notes, this singer (though heaven knows she has them); her way with Verdi’s expressively exacting hairpin dynamics was arresting and affecting in both her big arias.”

Sondra has sung in every major opera house in the world including Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, and numerous others. Her home is the Metropolitan Opera, where she has recently sung Stiffelio with Domingo conducting.

Price: $14.98

PUSHKIN ROMANCES
Romances on Poems by Alexander Pushkin

Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone
Ivari Ilja, piano

Operatic superstar Dmitri Hvorostovsky has become the supreme interpreter of the Russian Romance, with its rich resource of music and poetry.

“The sheer beauty of Hvorostovsky’s voice approaches legendary status” San Francisco Examiner

“…some of the most beautiful and eloquent sounds that can currently be heard from any human throat… His voice is redolent of luxury: beautiful tone, pinpoint intonation, elegant, and impassioned delivery.” The New York Times

This album offers seventeen songs, or “romances,” all composed to texts from works of Alexander Pushkin, Russia’s greatest poet. The composers represented here have helped define the true meaning of the Russian Romance, and have created some of the world’s greatest song literature. Choosing only romances inspired by Pushkin texts, Hvorostovsky has upped the ante to make a musical statement no other singer has attempted.

Program
GLINKA
I Recall a Wonderful Moment / Ja pomnu chudnoe mgnovenie...
Declaration / Priznanie
The Fire of Longing Burns in My Heart / V krovi gorit ogon zhelania
The Night Zephyr / Nochnoi Zefir
DARGOMYZHSKIY
The Youth and the Maiden / Yunosha i deva
BORODIN
For the Shores of Thy Far Native Land / Dlya beregov otchizny dalnei
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
The Clouds Begin to Scatter / Redeet oblakov, Op. 42 No. 3
On the Hills of Georgia / Na kholmax Gruzii lezhit nochnaja mgla, Op. 3, No. 4
CUI
The Statue at Tsarskoye Selo / Tsarskosel’skaja statuja, Op. 57 No. 17
I loved you / Ya vas ljubil
MEDTNER
Gone Are my Heart’s Desires / Ya perezhil svoi zhelania, Op. 3, No. 2
Winter Evening (The Snowstorm Covers the Sky with Darkness) / Zimnii vecher (Buria Mglou nebo kroet), Op. 13, No. 1
To a Dreamer / Mechtatelu
VLASOV
To the Fountain of Bakhchisarai Palace / Fontanu Bakhchisarajsogo dvortsa
TCHAIKOVSKY
Nightingale / Solovei, Op. 60, No. 4
RACHMANINOFF
Don’t Sing To Me, Fair Maiden / Ne poi, krasavitsa, pri mne, Op. 4 No. 4
SVIRIDOV
The Crimson Forest Sheds its Attire / Roniayet les bagrianiy svoi ubor

Price: $14.98

Special Limited Release of the original LP!

Carol Rosenberger
Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand Piano

Critic’s Choice, Gramophone
All Time Great Recording, Billboard
Best Classical Compact Disc, Stereo Review

“defines the state of the art in piano recordings.” CD Review

“Rosenberger provides the cascading musical flow that effectively brings the music flooding into your listening area.” American Record Guide

Complete Contents

Franz Liszt:
Les Jeux d'eaux a la Villa d'Este

Charles Griffes:
The Fountain of the Acqua Paola

Maurice Ravel:
Jeux d'eau
Ondine

Claude Debussy:
La Cathédrale engloutie
Jardins sous la pluie
Reflets dans l'eau
Poissons d'or
Ondine

Original Digital Recording

Price: $12.99

Stephen Buzard, organ

Recording Premiere, Buzard Pipe Organ, Op. 37
Second Presbyterian Church, Bloomington IL

Mendelssohn: Sonata IV
Schubert-Buzard: “Du bist die Ruh”
Paulus: “Blithely breezing along”
Vierne: Symphonie III, Op. 28: Adagio • Final
Howells: Psalm-Prelude Set. II No. 2
Reubke: Sonata on the 94th Psalm


If you want to be an outstanding young organ virtuoso, choose an organ builder as your father and an organist/choirmaster as your mother. Grow up absorbing their musical passion and knowledge and developing an intimate familiarity with the noble instrument. Build on that background and stay connected with it, while further refining your art and making musical explorations on your own. And so it is with young Stephen Buzard, who presents the Recording Premiere of the Buzard Pipe Organ, Op. 37.

This is a stunning program, designed to allow the Op. 37 to be heard in its wide range of colors. Stephen’s brilliance as a performer, with a deep understanding of the music and the instrument, is unmistakable. But a surprise standout gem that lingers in the memory is Stephen’s own transcription of “Du Bist die Ruh.” In its eloquent simplicity, this well-loved art song sounds as if the composer might have meant for it to be played just this way, in a quiet church on just such a beautiful organ. (“You are the quietness / The mild peace / You are longing / And what stills it.”)

Stephen is the winner of the 2009 Joan Lippincott Competition for Excellence in Organ Performance. In his final year at Westminster Choir College, studying organ performance with Ken Cowan, he serves as Organ Scholar at Trinity Episcopal Church, Princeton, as well as Director of Music for the Episcopal Church at Princeton University. He has been appointed Senior Organ Scholar at Wells Cathedral in England for 2010-2011.

This instrument of 43 Stops and 56 Ranks of pipes is the 37th new organ built by Buzard Pipe Organ Builders of Champaign, Illinois. The Church’s downtown Sanctuary was completed in 2005, and the new organ arrived in June of 2008, being completed by the first of August.

Price: $14.98

Raffaele Trevisani, flute and piccolo

Piet Koornhof, violin  
Roberto Duarte, conductor
Constantine Orbelian, conductor
Moscow Chamber Orchestra

Hendrik Hofmeyr: Double Concerto for Flute,
Violin and Strings

Alberto Colla: Quasi una Romanza, Concerto for Flute
and Strings

Carlo Galante: I Sospiri di Ariel, Concerto for Flute and Strings

Ernani Aguiar: Concertino for Piccolo and Strings


Italian flute virtuoso Raffaele Trevisani celebrates the music of the 21st Century in this delightful program of new concertos for flute and piccolo. The concertos were written especially for Trevisani and/or dedicated to him; all four works are fresh and inviting. The program is truly a “Raffi and friends from around the world” creation, with American conductor Orbelian, Brazilian conductor Duarte, South African violinist Koornhof, and music by Italian, Brazilian and South African composers.

Trevisani is recognized as one of the outstanding flutists of his generation, and has been praised consistently for his style, musicality and beautiful tone quality. “I do not hesitate to say that he belongs to the best of the flutists of the day,” remarked Sir James Galway. “Trevisani’s interpretation has, besides the sheen of its sparkling virtuosity, a quality of sound, a fineness of expression, elegance and lightness of phrasing. A musical freshness that makes it truly significant.” (Amadeus magazine.)

“Raffi” Trevisani has an impressive array of recordings on Delos, including Italian Flute Concertos (DE 3332), C.P.E. Bach Flute Concertos (DE 3312), and Mercadante Flute Concertos (DE 3372), all with Constantine Orbelian and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. Bach Trio Sonatas with Piet Koornhof, violin (DE 3391), The Virtuoso Flute (DE 3340), and Raffi’s own arrangements of Mozart Violin Sonatas for Flute and Piano (DE 3367) are all with Paola Girardi, piano.

Price: $14.98