Russian conductor Semyon Bychkov is a life-long Tchaikovsky devotee, and the Tchaikovsky Project is a personal homage to the composer with whom he first fell in love. The Project consists of performances in London and New York (initially), plus recordings with the Czech Philharmonic for Decca. The first of these is the monumental “Pathetique”, a musical autobiography of Tchaikovsky’s short life of 53 years. Its devastating final movement has been the source of much speculation, but for Bychkov, “it’s obvious to me the whole piece is a protest against death… the last movement tells us that the triumph [of the previous movement] is just an illusion. Death can’t be avoided, but the anger in the music tells us Tchaikovsky refuses to accept it.” It’s paired with another slice of doom-laden anguish, the instantly recognisable and gorgeously lyrical Fantasy Overture, inspired by art’s most famous lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Bychkov immersed himself in Tchaikovsky’s letters and other archival material and insisted on “unusually luxurious” recording conditions in order to “invest everything” in these sessions. The result is a robust, lush reading, deeply Romantic with well-paced climaxes rich in emotional intensity. Beautifully recorded in the Rudolfinum in Prague and accompanied by effusive…

Shostakovich wrote his First Violin Concerto in 1947-48 while persecuted and bullied by Andrei Zhdanov. The Soviet Central Committee secretary announced his decree on music, condemning formalism and naming Shostakovich specifically, while the composer was writing the Scherzo, imprinted with the jagged musical motif based on his initials, DSCH, used here for the first time. The concerto – written, like the second, for David Oistrakh – wasn’t performed until 1955, once Zhdanov and Stalin were dead. It is these tensions, fears and anxieties that German violinist Peter Frank Zimmermann brings to the fore in his agonised performances of Shostakovich’s Violin Concertos with the NDR Elbphilharmonie – the renamed NDR Sinfonieorchester – led by Alan Gilbert and recorded live at the Laeiszhalle, Hamburg in 2012 and 2015 respectively. In the First Concerto Zimmermann bases his performance of the solo part of the autograph manuscript – which includes Shostakovich’s own metronome marks and bowing instructions – rather than the often heard version edited by Oistrakh. He also uses the composer’s preferred opus number – 77 – in keeping with the work’s date of composition rather than publication.  Above the restive strings of the opening Nocturne, Zimmermann’s sound has a rich, pained quality…

Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča’s voice has only been growing in power and weight since she first came onto the scene in 2001, unaccountably missing out on the top prize at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition. Now, several albums later and with many role successes at the Met and Royal Opera under her belt, she returns with a new recording and a new sound. Well, perhaps not entirely new. Garancˇa has been heading towards this heavier repertoire for a while, trading her signature bel canto for Verdi, verismo and the swoonier French 19th-century repertoire. Scenes from Samson et Dalila and Werther are inevitable, but arias for Eboli, Santuzza and Didon (let alone Marina’s Skuchno Marine… from Boris Godunov) feel more exploratory, more like first steps in a new journey. No Amneris or Azucena yet, but Garanča’s programme note makes clear that it’s only a matter of time. The theme underpinning this wide-ranging collection of scenes and arias is an interesting one: strong women at moments of crisis. It’s not a concept that reduces very tidily to a tagline, but musically it amounts to an album of beautifully managed contradictions. Garanča finds the girlish frailty in Santuzza as well as…

The tolerant opera buff will be rewarded with this latest volume in Desiree Records’ Great Voices of Australia series.

A turquoise background offsets seven pin-up girls juxtaposed into the letters P-O-P C-O-R-N. The playful album matches The 7 Sopranos’ spirit in this compilation of songs from stage and screen. A luscious bloom of strings and brass introduces the disc, quickly heralding us into an overture before the words “I got rhythm” ring out in all-female voices. They aren’t always perfectly in tune, and the balance of the ensemble could be better approached, however, when listening to such classics as these, perhaps the addition of some ‘human’ qualities helps you to believe in the dream of romance. Dubin and Warren’s Keep Young and Beautiful is crisp and maybe a little deliberately pompous. In Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend, soloist Clarissa Spata comes to the fore in a rich and glamorous rendition. It’s a fairly simple ride, but the 16 tracks are well spaced with swooning, slower tunes interspersed with upbeat toe-tappers. Other highlights include I Enjoy Being a Girl by Rodgers and Hammerstein and Howard’s Fly Me to the Moon, modestly featuring soloist Deborah Rogers. The 7 Sopranos pays homage to this golden era with grace and authenticity. As they state in their sleeve notes: “We believe in making…

A dignified performance, but does it come close to Bernstein's Enigma?

Mozart started work on his incomplete opera Zaide in 1779 at the age of 23, finishing just 15 numbers before setting it aside to write Idomeneo. Its two acts – there would have been three – are however filled with some wonderful music including two melodramas and the most famous number, Zaïde’s Ruhe sanft. Act One finds Gomatz (Allan Clayton) among the slaves of Sultan Soliman (Stuart Jackson). He sleeps to forget his plight and, as he does, Soliman’s favourite odalisque Zaide (Sophie Bevan), sings Rest gently by his side. Soon enough, Gomatz, Zaide and sympathetic guard Allazim (Jacques Imbrailo) plan their escape. Act Two sees the hapless lovers recaptured and condemned to die. This is yet another superlative addition to Ian Page’s period ensemble Classical Opera’s critically acclaimed complete cycle of Mozart operas. The brilliance of the orchestral playing is established from the beginning with a highly dramatic reading of an overture lifted from Mozart’s incidental music to Thamos, König in Ägypten. Those following British soprano Sophie Bevan’s stellar career will find nothing to disappoint, while arias such as Gomatz’s Rase, Schicksal, wüte immer (Fury, destiny, keep on raging) allow Clayton to demonstrate his own mastery of early Classical…

Here is a true labour of love: a history of Australian singers on record from the Nellie Melba generation to that of Sutherland and beyond. Music historian Roger Neill and recording expert Tony Locantro have spent 13 long years bringing this project to fruition, and the results – presented by Decca Eloquence on a four disc set – are fascinating. “Why has there been such an extraordinary procession of world-class Australian singers over such an extended period of time?” ask the producers. While providing no exact answers, this comprehensive survey includes some 80 wonderful singers in a wide range of musical genres, from opera to music hall and from art song to popular. Lovingly restored and remastered from original sources, many of these recordings are rare to downright obscure, and many names will be rediscoveries for even those who thought they knew the history of Aussie singers on record. The set begins with the eight Australians who are known to have been pupils of the great European singing teacher Madame Mathilde Marchesi. Ada Crossley, Amy Castles and Evelyn Scotney stand out, but the finest has to be Frances Alda who duets here with Caruso and whose In quelle… Continue reading…

Skelton's wild hunt puts the summer wind up another fine Gurre-Lieder.

Measuring fame is always a difficult proposition. Pierre de la Rue (c. 1452-1518) died a wealthy man, much of his relatively prolific output has survived and he has earned a place in the history books as the most famous composer of his generation not to have worked in Italy. Yet, for all this, he is largely forgotten today. Thankfully, enthusiasts such as Stephen Rice and his Brabant Ensemble are doing a sterling job in plugging the gaps in his discography. Missa Nuncqua Fue Pena Mayor, the earlier of two Masses on this disc is not the most promising place to start, however. While there are some variations in texture and rhythm, it is a rather plain four-part setting. Despite an empathetic approach to text by the singers, the music itself comes across as rather academic. (Perhaps it would have helped to hear the song on which it is based first.) The later Missa Inviolata is a much more interesting and accomplished affair with flashes of rhythmic brilliance and interesting text setting, still within the confines of four parts. Recalling the style of Josquin, Salve Regina VI effectively varies combinations of voices to make the final four-part section of the motet…

I wish I could offer readers a little more than an echo of other commentators when it comes to this marvellous singer; he is simply remarkable, but in Neapolitan song, I’m not so sure. Having recently reviewed Roberto Alagna dishing out this mildly attractive repertoire in concert, I find I am a little over Neapolitan song, which is a bit unfair on Herr Kaufmann. The selection opens with the operatic Caruso, Lucio Dalla’s tribute to the great tenor. Kaufman sings it with ringing conviction. In fact he sings everything with ringing conviction, which in this repertoire leads to dullness. It was a relief to come to the better songs. Parlami d’Amore Mariù, Torna a Surriento and the famous Volare. He also tosses off the delightful Voglio Vivere Così with aplomb. He’s certainly better in more sensitive items such as Catari and Con Te Partirò. Kaufmann seems more at ease in this part of the repertoire. Even so, he does not sing these songs any better than do Roberto Alagna or Juan Diego Flórez. Frankly, some of the music is thin and pompous – “All hat and no cattle,” as the Americans say – and Un Amore Così Grande by Guido…

A fascinating celebration of seemingly strange bedfellows.