Poème

"Akiko Suwanai, a tall, imposing violinist of striking stage presence, raised her bow for a sombre, intense descent of notes at the start: this was big-boned, noble playing, with its rhythmic life taut and rigorous.“ --The Times

"Suwanai belongs to those artists who strive for clarity above all. Her playing is pure sound, pure energy.” --chweinfurter Tagesblatt, April 2010

“Her sound is large and powerful, the phrases… are elegant and of effortless simplicity." --Classic Toulouse, October 2009

French Impressions

Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk

“Denk identifies the use of colour as being key to the Frenchness of these pieces, and Joshua Bell is certainly not short of timbral variety in this exquisitely played recital. It even beats his compelling Franck disc of 20 years ago. The playing is more relaxed and Bell's delicious use of portamento is achingly beautiful. He is sensitively accompanied by Denk, who has a wonderfully deft touch, captured in excellent sound.” --BBC Music Magazine, March 2012 ***** 

“Joshua Bell plays with fire and finesse, with Denk a powerful ally. Franck's dark-light violin sonata, mysterious, ardent and far more than the sum of its parts when played as majestically as here, forms the centrepiece of this seriously beguiling disc. A first essential purchase for 2012.” --The Observer, January 2012

“Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk, a notably well-matched team, give idiomatic performances of these three sonatas...They're especially adept in maintaing the flow of the musical narrative and, with it, the music's emotional flux....Bell is especially impressive in the moto perpetuo finale - not only thrillingly precise but full of colour and variety, too” --Gramophone Magazine, March 2012

“You’d be hard pressed to find a version of Ravel’s Sonata which offers as much fun as this one; you can visualise Joshua Bell winking as he negotiates the second movement’s insouciant smears and pizzicato notes...This is a great performance [of the Franck], especially in the steady Allegretto of the last movement...Sony’s sound is immaculate.” --The Arts Desk, 4th February 2012

Tchaikovsky, Saint-Säens & Ginastera: Cello Works

Cellist Sol Gabetta possesses a beautifully singing tone, an evenly warm sound across the range of her instrument, precise intonation, and a large array of colors and techniques at her disposal. Yet her debut album fails to make a tremendous impact on its listeners. While sheer technique and virtuosity shouldn't win out over considerations of musical artistry, works like the Rococo Variations still require at least a little bit of sparkle and dazzle to maintain the excitement. Despite her amply beautiful sound, Gabetta's interpretation comes across as cautious and lackluster. 

The seven variations lack adequate distinction in tempo and character, with the third, fourth, and sixth variations being interminably slow. The Saint-Saëns concerto is slightly more vigorous in the first theme, but by the second theme the tempo once again comes almost to a standstill. Ginastera's Pampeana No. 2, heard here in a version for cello and string orchestra, is the most interesting and vivacious piece on the disc, but is still not as fiery as it should be. 

The orchestra accompaniment is similarly sluggish and the playing in the string section is often imprecise. While listeners will most likely enjoy Gabetta's rich sound, they may wish to look elsewhere for a more lively and varied performance of all the works heard here. --allmusic.com

Saint-Säens: Piano Concertos 1-5, Etc

As a tourist, Camille Saint-Saëns felt compelled to climb every mountain and ford every stream. As a composer, however, Saint-Saëns felt perfectly comfortable staying at home with the most conservative of late nineteenth century composers. Indeed, in his piano concertos, Saint-Saëns sounds less like a late nineteenth century composer than like a Gallic Schumann, a composer of tuneful, virtuoso works that delight and beguile by rarely soaring and never challenging.

Even in these warmly affectionate performances by pianist Jean-Philippe Collard with André Previn leading the Royal Philharmonic, Saint-Saëns sounds like a stay-at-home composer. The works are superbly crafted and the performances are brilliantly effective with Collard's impressive playing and Previn's sympathetic accompaniment. But while they are charming enough as they happen, they are forgettable once they are over. No one who listens to these discs will regret it but few will want to do it more than once. EMI's remastering of the early digital originals is warmer but clearer and more detailed. --allmusic.com

Saint-Saëns: The Three Violin Concertos

CD OF THE MONTH
BBC Music Magazine

'Hyperion holds a trump card in Philippe Graffin, whose elegant, emotionally charged playing is strongly reminiscent of the young Menuhin (he has a similar sort of sound) and whose understanding of the idiom seems to me second to none – certainly among modern players' --Gramophone

‘There are few more exciting young fiddlers around at the moment than Frenchman Philippe Graffin. Three previous Hyperion releases of music by Ysaÿe and Chausson have already revealed Graffin’s abundant gifts, and in this generous new Saint-Saëns coupling … one can once again only marvel at playing of such thrilling temperament, consummate intelligence and stylistic flair’ --Hi-Fi News & Record Review 

'Graffin clearly believes in these works, delivering exhilarating and passionate interpretations throughout … an outstanding disc in every way' --Classic CD

‘stylish performances and excellent sound’ --Classic FM Magazine

'An auspicious beginning for this new Hyperion series' --Classical Express

'Flawless performances' --Classical Ireland

Grieg, Schumann & Saint-Saëns - Piano Concertos

“These are intimate performances, an effect no doubt enhanced by the fact that Shelley directs from the piano. Intimately but also sharply characterised. And when virtuosity is required, Shelley provides it in spades. Technically, the Saint-Saëns is an ideal vehicle for Shelley's fingery kind of pianism and he is exceptional in the Allegro scherzando, the movement that our-Mendelssohns Mendelssohn.” --Gramophone Magazine, May 2009

“…a modern version of Schumann's Piano Concerto that actually sounds like Schumann. Howard Shelley's performance is refreshingly free from empty showmanship or narcissistic 'pianism'. The Grieg and Saint-Saëns concertos are also full of lovely things, especially the slow movement coda for the Grieg - this music can touch without being the slightest bit sentimental or oversweet.” --BBC Music Magazine, July 2009 *****

“Outstanding performances” --Classic FM Magazine, February 2012

Saint-Saëns: Cello Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2

“Why do these sonatas so rarely appear in recitals? Saint-Saëns's sensuous poeticism and ingenious craftsmanship are wonderfully combined in them. Despite Poltéra's elegance, it is the more extrovert Kathryn Stott who brings these performances truly alive. She has a true grasp of the idiom, and the sheer energy and range of sound to illuminate these big works. The disc is completed with a gloriously limpid Swan, and two further salon delicacies.” --BBC Music Magazine, December 2009

Gramophone Magazine
Editor's Choice - January 2010

“Saint-Saëns certainly knew how to tap the technical resources of his soloists and Poltéra and Stott are as one in playing some fleet, taxing passagework with fluency and power, Poltéra's mellow tone adding a dimension of poignancy and shapely phrasing that traces and defines the music's surging contours.” --Gramophone Magazine, January 2010

Saint-Saëns wrote a considerable amount of chamber pieces during his life, and his works for cello are seen as some of the most supreme for the cello repertoire.

Christian Poltéra and Kathryn Stott, best known for her performances of French repertoire perform Saint-Saëns melodic cello Sonatas, coupled with the legendary ‘Swan’ from The Carnival of the Animals. Romances Op.36 and Op.51 and Prière, Op.158 complete this programme.

Saint-Saens remains one of the most important composers for the cello, and his contributions are considerable.

Poltéra and Stott collaborate regularly in chamber music performances across the world and have recently recorded Faure Cello Sonatas for Chandos: ‘[Christian Poltéra]… is a fine choice of cellist for the two Sonatas. He phrases sensitively and makes the most of the composer’s dynamic markings… Kathryn Stott’s an ideal partner, managing her pedalling levels to produce a variety of textures.’ BBC Music Magazine

Saint-Säens: The Complete Études

'Lively and sensitive performances make this a fine addition to the Saint-Saëns discography, aided by the pianist's own excellent annotations and Hyperion's usual peerless sound' --Fanfare, USA

'Piers Lane plays with a blend of grace and expertise which makes light of the many challenges offered by music which tests any artist to the full. Every bar is sheer delight' --Musical Opinion

Saint-Saens: Complete Works for Cello & Orchestra

“Hearing the two concertos in succession brings it home how much more inspired the First is, with its thrillingly dramatic opening. Moser plays it with overwhelming passion, while firmly controlling tempo and intonation.” --Gramophone Magazine, January 2009

“…Moser gives a strong, impassioned account of the Second Concerto… It's in this work that Moser distances himself most noticeably from Maria Kliegel… overall, Moser is more imaginative and alive to the music's dramatic possibilities. And why isn’t the wonderful Suite Op. 16 heard more often?” --BBC Music Magazine, April 2009 *****

These works are both sweepingly romantic and an acid test for any player’s technical finesse. Apart from the popular First Concerto and the ubiquitous “Swan”, Saint-Saëns composed a Second Cello Concerto in addition to several other shorter works for Cello and orchestra, most of which are seldom heard in performance. Stunning performances from the young start cellist, Johannes Moser.

Saint-Saëns, Poulenc, Barber: Symphony No. 3 "Organ", Etc

"…it is a breathtaking achievement. There is passion, but precision, technically well-nigh faultless." --BBC Music Magazine, March 2008

"The inauguration of Verizon Hall's new organ has been preserved for all of us in one of the most outstanding SACDs yet. Somehow, producer Martha de Francisco and her team (assisted by Polyhymnia) have captured the detail, sweetness, and power of the orchestra, as well as the organ’s pipes and pedals, in a recording that is more than a sound spectacular." --Stereophile Magazine, May 2007
 

 "I have never heard an organ sound so good from top to bottom in a thoroughly natural concert hall setting." --Fanfare Magazine, July/August 2007

“Eschenbach's Poulenc is heavily romanticised, squeezing every last drop of pathos from the score and finding many moments of ravishing beauty. Latry is, for the most part, a willing accomplice – only in the swaying rhythm of the subito andante moderato do conductor and soloist seem at odds with each other – and while it is left to him to root out the music's austere and acerbic sides, he clearly relishes Eschenbach's slow tempi in reaching the work's two powerful climaxes.

This performance may miss many of Poulenc's subtleties in its single-minded striving for loveliness but the wildly enthusiastic cheering from the audience seems wholly justified given the unusual breadth of this reading.
The recording was made at the inaugural concerts of the new organ of Philadelphia's Verizon Hall, which included the almost obligatory Saint-Saëns Symphony. Properly, this is more a test of how well an organ integrates with an orchestra than a vehicle for the organ itself, and on those terms this proves to be a wholly successful performance. Eschenbach's intuitive reading casts the work in a rich perspective, the opening possessing a tangible atmosphere of menace while the second movement's Presto positively fizzes with energy.

The organ shows its stature (the booklet tells us that, with 6938 pipes, it is the largest concerthall organ in the US) with palpable depth in the first movement and majestic presence in the finale; but the real star of the show here is the Philadelphia Orchestra itself. Mouth-watering wind solos, gorgeous string-playing and a wonderfully crisp and cohesive sound (as it must be in what sounds a dreadfully dry acoustic) combine to create rather more memorable moments than we have a right to expect; the string entry just before the close of the first section is, as they say, to die for.” --Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

Saint-Saëns, Chausson & Ysaÿe

“Tedi Papavrami, while not attempting to sound like Sarasate, adopts something of his graceful manner; his alert, lively approach is just right for conveying the music's inventive, often improvisatory character. A most enjoyable CD, and strongly recommended” --Gramophone Magazine, October 2010

Gramophone Magazine
Editor's Choice - October 2010

"Papavrami strikes an ideal balance between seduction and precision, never sappy, never rigid. His tone is warm and enveloping from the open G string to the heights of the E string. Vibrato is intense but not overdone, as is rubato. Papavrami technical skills are also more than ample to dazzle his audiences. The orchestra, whose parts in all of these works is almost entirely accompanimental, provides a sensitive, well-balanced backdrop for Papavrami." --AMG

French Impressions

“Impressive playing from the extrovert and intelligent Kolly d'Alba. She gives her all in the hothouse Romanticism of Saint-Saens and is sensitive to the mesmerism of Chausson's Poème and Ravel's Tzigane.” --BBC Music Magazine, December 2011 ****

“The way she gently eases into the magical final section of Saint-Saens' Violin Concerto's slow movement is unforgettable, so too her beguilingly seductive handling of Ravel's volatile gypsy inflections and introspectively dreamy Chausson. Apart from the slightly claustrophobic sound in the Saint-Saens, this is a perfect showcase for a young player whose musical insights are of the higest calibre.” --Classic FM Magazine, November 2011 ****

“Rachel Kolly d'Alba's playing immediately grabs our attention. Passionate commitment to the music, rich tone and constantly varied expression combine to leave a powerful, memorable impression...while stressing the dramatic and colourful side of each work, her interpretations are well balanced and persuasive, too.” --Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2011

“Kolly d'Alba is a fearless, passionate and responsive violinist, although her power (as recorded) may be too strong for Saint-Saens's delightful concerto. She can charm though, as the enchanting central movement demonstrates.” --International Record Review, January 2012

French Symphonic Poems

EMI brings together six of the best-known orchestral tone poems by Paul Dukas, César Franck, Henri Duparc, Camille Saint-Saëns, and adopted Frenchman Silvio Lazzari, in serviceable performances by Michel Plasson and the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, a capable regional ensemble whose specialty is the Gallic repertoire.

MP3 320 · 149 MB

Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos I - 5

Regarded as one of the greatest pianists of his generation, Pascal Roge has performed with leading conductors in almost every major hall in the world.

"This is very good value, with consistently fine playing and recording" --Gramophone

2 CD · MP3 320 · 303 MB

Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals, Etc

The popular Carnival of the Animals, described as A Zoological Fantasy, was written in 1886, originally for two pianos and a small chamber orchestra to celebrate that year's carnival. The composer forbade further performances of this occasional music, except for The Swan, which enjoyed immediate and irresistible popularity.

The pianos open the work in a brief introduction that seems to suggest the roar of the lions, before the Royal March begins, with its suggestions of the exotic in its theme.

The pianos open the work in a brief introduction that seems to suggest the roar of the lions, before the Royal March begins, with its suggestions of the exotic in its theme.

Cocks and Hens are as true to nature as the composer can make them, followed by Wild Asses of unexpected rapidity of motion, in contrast to the lumbering Tortoise, who offers a can-can at the slowest possible speed, putting a foot wrong here and there. The Elephants are naturally represented by the double bass in an episode that includes a direct quotation of the highly inappropriate Ballet of the Sylphs by Berlioz.

The pianos alone then imitate the capricious leaps of the Kangaroos, to be followed by an evocation of the Aquarium. People with Long Ears, critics, are portrayed by piercing whistles and the braying of donkeys, while pianos and clarinet bring in the Cuckoo, followed by the rest of the Birds, with the help of the flute. Pianists, creatures not usually found in zoos, practice their scales, heavily accented, and are followed by Fossils, with tunes of undoubted antiquity and interesting activity for the xylophone. The Swan sings its dying song on the cello, reminding us now of the dance devised by Fokin for the great Anna Pavlova. The fantasy ends with a summary of much that has gone before.

MP3 320 · 100 MB

Saint-Saëns: Violin Concertos Nos 1 & 3, Etc

Fluid, elegant, and lyric, violinist Kyung Wha Chung was the first Western-style classical virtuoso to emerge from Korea. Her musical career began at the age of three. Her fame in the seventies and eighties was at the top level. Chung later extended her repertoire in her interpretations of Romantic, Modern music, Baroque and Mozart.

  





MP3 320 · 128 MB