New Releases for April 28, 2009

Pianist Joel Fan is noted for his work with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project albums and for the wide range of music he performs. His latest album on the Reference label is called West of the Sun/Music of the Americas. He performs works by composers from North and South America, including fun pieces by Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Ernesto Nazareth and Astor Piazzolla. The CD also includes larger works such as piano sonatas by Alberto Ginastera and Samuel Barber.

Martha Argerich performs yearly in a festival of concerts on the shore of Lake Lugano in Switzerland, joined by a group of outstanding musicians. Some of them are well-established artists, old friends of hers, while others are young musicians whose careers she wishes to enhance. The 3- CD set of Martha Argerich and Friends from 2008 has just been released. It features familiar chamber music by composers such as Mozart, Schumann, Rachmaninov and Shostakovich along with more rarely heard pieces. For example, the Piano Quintet in D by Anton Arensky on this CD has been only infrequently recorded. We look forward to this set every year.

We also recommend the new CD by Maurice Steger and his ensemble, called Venezia 1625. Steger plays the recorder wonderfully, and the recording is technically superb, as expected in a Harmonia Mundi release. It is the choice of selections that really elevates this CD, though. Thoughtfully chosen from the golden age of Venetian instrumental music , these are some of the best examples of music by such composers as Marco Uccellini, Tarquinio Merula and Giovanni Battista Fontana. The disc is a pleasure to listen to.

Polish composer Henryk Górecki wrote his third symphony in 1976. Though widely known in Poland, it wasn’t until 1992, when Dawn Upshaw released a recording of it with the London Sinfonietta and David Zinman, that the work became a hit in the rest of the word. It climbed to the top of the classical-music sales, and even did well on pop charts. A new recording of the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs has been released by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Donald Runnicles with Christine Brewer as the soprano. This is still profound and appealing music, well performed here, but it’s difficult not to compare it to Dawn Upshaw’s magnificent rendition.

NEW RELEASES FOR APRIL 14, 2009

Guitarist Sharon Isbin has long been a fan of Joan Baez, and said that her “magical voice has moved me to tears for as long as I can remember.” In her new CD, Journey to the New World, Sharon Isbin performs a suite written for her by the late English composer John Duarte based on some classic Joan Baez songs. Written in 2002, the seven-movement Joan Baez Suite is recorded here for the first time. Joan Baez herself joins Sharon Isbin to perform on a couple of tracks of traditional folk songs. Also on the CD are some Renaissance lute works, English folksongs, and an arrangement of Mark O’Connor’s Strings and Threads Suite for guitar and violin, in which O’Connor joins Sharon Isbin to perform.

Violinist Nikolaj Znaider joins with Valery Gergiev and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for a new recording which pairs the Brahms Violin Concerto and the Korngold Violin Concerto. Both concertos are in the key of D, and both were written for famous virtuosi – Joseph Joachim and Jascha Heifetz. Both also combine sweeping, lyrical parts with stirring rhythms.




After two extremely successful recordings, the outstanding vocal group Stile Antico offers a new CD with beautiful renditions of pieces which have their texts inspired by the Old Testament book, Song of Solomon. The CD, Song of Songs, presents pieces by Palestrina, Gombert, Lassus and other Renaissance composers.

Grammy-nominated classical cellist Sol Gabetta has a simultaneous release of two new CD’s. With the Münchner Philharmoniker under Marc Albrecht she performs the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 2. And on the same CD plays the Shostakovich Cello Sonata in d minor with pianist Mihaela Ursuleasa.

A very different CD is her new Cantabile, in which she has recorded orchestral arrangements of songs and arias by Russian French and Spanish composers. In this recording Sol Gabetta performs with the Prague Philharmonic under the direction of Charles Olivieri-Munroe.

CREATIVE ZONE SPOTLIGHT

The YouTube Symphony Orchestra, the world’s first orchestra selected entirely through on-line auditions, performs in Carnegie Hall on April 15th, under the direction of the San Francisco Symphony Music Director, New World Symphony Artistic Director, and London Symphony Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas. The musicians will travel from 30 countries and territories around the world to New York City, to participate in a classical music summit on April 12-15, concluding with the concert at Carnegie Hall.

The winners were chosen from videos submitted to YouTube, which were first screened by a panel of judges, then voted on by the YouTube online audience. The final selections were made by Michael Tilson Thomas.

Among those chosen from more than 3,000 videos submitted was Devin Howell of Harrisburg. He has been both a section player and acting principal with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, and assistant principal bassist with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. He also performs with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Lake Placid Sinfonietta in upstate New York.

Here’s his winning YouTube audition video.




And here are the winning auditions of two other American winners. Alisa Seavy is from Wayne, Pennsylvania. Dr. Calvin Lee is a surgeon from Modesto, California, who had barely touched his violin for fifteen years before deciding to audition for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra.

NEW RELEASES FOR APRIL 7, 2009

Mark O’Connor’s career has gone from folk-style fiddling competitions and swing jazz performances with Stéphane Grapelli to performances of his own original orchestral works with major orchestras in venues like Carnegie Hall and the Library of Congress. Now he has reached another milestone with the release of his first symphony, The Americana Symphony. The work draws on one of O’Connor’s signature pieces, “Appalachia Waltz”, with each of the six movements being a variation on a theme from that piece.

Cary Burkett had the opportunity to talk to Mark O’Connor about the new symphony and you can listen to that full interview at the link here: Interview with Mark O'Connor

A new cycle of Beethoven symphony recordings continues with the release of a new CD with conductor Paavo Järvi leading the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. The latest disc pairs the Symphony No. 1 and the Symphony No. 5. The New Yorker review described the performances as, “vivid phrasing, a grainy, gutsy sound quality from the musicians, no-nonsense tempos from Järvi.”

Guitarist David Russell’s success is such that a street has been named after him in the town in Minorca where he grew up. That success has also drawn a number of composers to write pieces for him. David Russell’s new recording, For David, contains some of the finest works written for him, a great showcase for his brilliant musicianship. The composers include Sergio Assad, Francis Kleynjans, Steve Goss, Ben Verdery and Phil Rosheger.

The ensemble Europa Galante, led by Fabio Biondi, has recorded music of Luigi Boccherini in the past, and their latest offering presents chamber music by the Italian composer. All Music Guide had this to say about the recording: “Whereas most ensembles seem to hold to the idea that Boccherini was a more charming but less profound Haydn, Europa Galante play Boccherini like he's a sophisticated composer who was a moody and mercurial master in his own right.”

WITF/Borders Pick-of-the-Month for April , 2009

Harlen Coben is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of a series of critically-acclaimed mystery-thrillers. He is the first author to have won all three of the top mystery writer awards, the Edgar Award, Shamus Award and Anthony Award . His books have appeared on the top of all the major bestseller lists including the New York Times, London Times, Le Monde, Publishers Weekly, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and USA TODAY -- and many others throughout the world.


His newest thriller, Long Lost, brings back his popular protagonist, sports agent and troubleshooter Myron Bolitar. It is the WITF/Borders pick-of-the-month for April. Find it on special display at Borders stores throughout Central PA.

WITF's Cary Burkett had a chance to talk to Harlan Coben about the new book and his writing career. You can hear the interview by clicking here.

And here’s the book-jacket description of the story:

Myron Bolitar hasn’t heard from Terese Collins since their torrid affair ended ten years ago, so her desperate phone call from Paris catches him completely off guard. In a shattering admission, Terese reveals the tragic story behind her disappearance—her struggles to get pregnant, the greatest moment of her life when her baby was born…and the fatal accident that robbed her of it all: her marriage, her happiness and her beloved only daughter.


Now a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband in Paris, Terese has nowhere else to turn for help. Myron heeds the call. But then a startling piece of evidence turns the entire case upside down, laying bare Terese’s long-buried family secrets…and the very real possibility that her daughter may still be alive.


In grave danger from unknown assailants in a country where nothing is as it seems, Myron and Terese race to stay a step ahead of Homeland Security, Interpol, and Mossad. Soon they are working at breakneck pace, not only to learn what really happened to Terese’s long-lost little girl— but to uncover a sinister plot with shocking global implications.

New Releases for March 31, 2009

Violinist Lisa Batiashvili says she draws a lot of strength from the history of her homeland of Georgia. She and her parents left there in 1991 because of the political situation. Her father had been second violinist in the Georgian String Quartet. Lisa Batiashvili’s new CD features six Miniatures by her countryman, Sulkhan Tsintsadze, pieces inspired by the folk music of Georgia. At her request, Lisa’s father arranged the pieces, originally written for string quartet, for violin and chamber orchestra. It’s clear that she has a lot of personal excitement in sharing these pieces with a western audience. The new CD also includes Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, which she performs with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

Pianist Mari Kodama has had a stellar career, performing with fine orchestras all over the world. She is a founding artistic director of the Musical Days at Forest Hill, a festival of chamber music presented by Mari Kodama and conductor Kent Nagano near their home in San Francisco. The two of them have just released a new recording of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, performing with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.

The Elaris Duo is made up of violinist Larisa Elisha and cellist Steven Elisha. In their new CD, Duo Virtuoso, they perform a variety of pieces ranging from selections by Mozart, Beethoven and others to the twentieth century Duo for Violin and Cello by Zoltan Kodály. Some of the pieces were originally written for this combination of instruments, while others are transcriptions or alternate instrumental versions of pieces.

The Spanish Piano is the latest CD release from pianist Geisa Dutra. She performs works by Spanish composers from the Romantic period to the twentieth century, including Albeniz, Granados and Turina as well as Frederic Mompou and Ernesto Lecuona, a Cuban composer of Basque descent. You can either sample tracks or buy the entire album on Geísa's CD Baby Page for The Spanish Piano.

New Releases March 24, 2009

Antonin Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in b minor is considered one of the great masterpieces in the on repertoire. In composing it, Dvořák was influenced by the second cello concerto of Victor Herbert. Herbert and Dvořák both taught at the National Conservatory of Music in New York City and became friends there. It’s a natural coupling for cellist Gautier Capuçon to include both concertos on his latest disc for Virgin Classics. Here’s a link to a review of the CD, and check out the YouTube video below to see Gautier Capuçon performing the work with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pavo Järvi.



Pianist Vassily Primakov tackles some pieces by Tchaikovsky that are not recorded that often, particularly the Grand Sonata in G, in his new Bridge release. Here’s a link to a review of the new CD.




Artistled is a label that exists to distribute the recordings of the husband and wife team of pianist Wu Han and cellist David Finckel of the Emerson String Quartet. In the newest release, the two are joined by violinist Philip Setzer, also of the Emerson, to offer the late piano trios of Franz Schubert. The recording has been warmly welcomed, such as in this review.





The press release for the new Reference release of the Pièces de clavecin en concerts describes the CD as “a collection of Rameau’s greatest hits”. Jean-Philippe Rameau was a big star of the French Baroque, famous for his operas and ballets. And these suites are arrangements he made of some of his most popular movements. They are performed by Baroque Nouveau, an original-instrument ensemble.