FM CD Pick of the Week

Il caro Sassone: Lucy Crowe Sings Handel

mcooley — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:47:30 -0500

English soprano Lucy Crowe sings music that Handel wrote when he lived in Italy.

Mariusz Kwiecień: Slavic Heroes

mcooley — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:41:41 -0500

Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecień sings music by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Smetana, Dvorak, Rimsky-Korsakov, Moniuszko and others.

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Porpora Cantatas

mcooley — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:46:55 -0500

Countertenor Iestyn Davies joins the ensemble Arcangelo for cantatas by a little-known composer of the Italian Baroque.

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Hélène Grimaud Plays Mozart Concertos

mcooley — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:30:24 -0500

Two Mozart piano concertos with Hélène Grimaud and the Bavarian Radio Chamber Orchestra.

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Véronique Gens: Tragédiennes, Volume 3

mcooley — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:32:10 -0500

Soprano Véronique Gens returns to her Tragédiennes series with “The Romantic Heroines.”

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Mozart Keyboard Music Vol. 3

mcooley — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:45:52 -0500

Kristian Bezuidenhout has released the third in a projected 10-volume set of Mozart’s music for piano.

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Mark Padmore Sings Schwanengesang

mcooley — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:27:25 -0500

Tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Paul Lewis join forces once again to finish their recording of the three song cycles by Schubert, this time the posthumous collection Schwanengesang.

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Zenph Re-Performance: The Spanish Masters

mcooley — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:56:58 -0500

Zenph Sound Innovations of Durham, North Carolina, has released another recording in which complex algorithms re-create “live realization of the original interpretation.” Albéniz, Granados, and Falla piano performances are joined by collaborations with two living musicians, cellist Zuill Bailey and soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian.

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Streams of Pleasure: Karina Gauvin and Marie-Nicole Lemieux Sing Handel

mcooley — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:44:11 -0500

Two of Québec’s finest singers create the perfect musical fusion in music by Handel.

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Orchestral Works by Fasch Volume 2

mcooley — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:09:26 -0500

Philadelphia Baroque ensemble Tempesta di Mare’s latest release features premiere recordings.

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Sacred Works by Johann Christian Bach

mcooley — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 13:58:46 -0500

Conductor Hans-Christoph Rademann continues his exploration of music by the Bach family.

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Viola Concertos by Stamitz and Hoffmeister

mcooley — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:23:48 -0500

Baltimore musicians play concertos from the late 18th century.

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Secret Voices – Medieval Music with Anonymous 4

mcooley — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 11:25:25 -0500

The famous women’s a cappella quartet has a new album of music from across the 13th century.

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CD Picks of the Season!

mcooley — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 08:32:32 -0500

A variety of audience and staff holiday favorites are featured this week, including this month’s CD Picks so far; A Steinway Christmas Album and ‘Tis the Season with the Washington Saxophone Quartet.

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Aleksandra Kurzak – Gioia!

mcooley — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:47:33 -0500

The debut album by Polish coloratura Aleksandra Kurzak.

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Gluck’s Ezio

mcooley — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 17:37:06 -0500

Alan Curtis has assembled an impressive cast for this recording of the first version, from 1750, of Gluck’s opera Ezio.

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‘Tis the Season with the Washington Saxophone Quartet

mcooley — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 11:43:21 -0500

Washington’s favorite saxophonists celebrate the holidays with their fourth CD.

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Diana Damrau Sings Liszt

mcooley — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:18:50 -0500

German soprano Diana Damrau joins the Liszt Bicentennial celebration.

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A Steinway Christmas Album

mcooley — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 12:53:37 -0500

Steinway & Sons’ latest release with virtuoso Jeffrey Biegel is sure to become a holiday classic.

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Chopin Recital by Ingolf Wunder

mcooley — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:58:33 -0500

The Austrian pianist who won second prize, as well as the audience and concerto awards at the 2010 Chopin Competition, shows off his solo Chopin.

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Farnace

mcooley — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:23:17 -0500

A new release of a Vivaldi opera with an all-star international cast.

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Angela Gheorghiu Sings Homage to Maria Callas

mcooley — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:54:39 -0500

Angela Gheorghiu, “the defining diva of the 21st century,” releases a tribute to the greatest diva of the last century.

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Dissonances: Quatuor Ebène Plays Mozart

mcooley — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:04:15 -0500

The spectacular Quatuor Ebène’s new recording is all Mozart.

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Jean-Guihen Queyras Plays Vivaldi Cello Concertos

mcooley — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:01:30 -0500

French cellist Jean-Guyhen Queyras joins the Academy of Ancient Music Berlin for concertos by Vivaldi, and the Academy plays a couple of sinfonias by Caldara.

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Down By The Salley Gardens: Bejun Mehta Sings 20th-Century English Songs

mcooley — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 12:57:14 -0500

American countertenor Bejun Mehta sings 20th-century versions of English songs from across the centuries.

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Vocal and Choral Music from the Liszt Collection

mcooley — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:25:45 -0400

The 34-disc Deutsche Grammophon Liszt Collection includes 11 discs of songs and sacred choral works.

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The Complete Piano Music of Franz Liszt

mcooley — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:42:56 -0400

To conclude our Liszt month on Classical WETA, pianist Leslie Howard plays it all on 99 CDs.

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Handel’s Ariodante

mcooley — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:44:31 -0400

Our three-week focus on complete operas concludes with Handel’s story of villainy and revenge, with Joyce DiDonato a spectacular lead in Ariodante.

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Lang Lang: Liszt, My Piano Hero

mcooley — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 12:36:56 -0400

The charismatic Chinese superstar plays the Piano Concerto No. 1, and nearly an hour’s worth of shorter solo works by Liszt.

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Rossini’s William Tell

mcooley — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 12:47:00 -0400

Another complete opera is our Vocal CD Pick this week, this time Rossini’s adaptation of Schiller’s play about the Swiss folk hero William Tell, famous overture and all.

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Handel’s Agrippina

mcooley — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 13:57:37 -0400

Conductor René Jacobs’ latest exploration of the world of Handel operas.

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Alexandre Tharaud Plays Bach Concertos

mcooley — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:37:15 -0400

A new Bach recording combines Baroque orchestra with modern piano.

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Fauré for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra

mcooley — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 12:58:16 -0400

With a release date of October 4, this new recording of the Fauré Requiem is the second Virgin Classics release by the Paris Orchestra under its new music director, Paavo Järvi.

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Schumann for Cello and Piano

mcooley — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 12:26:15 -0400

Schumann chamber music Volume 2 features two members of the Ensemble Villa Musica.

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Vivaldi’s Ercole

mcooley — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 11:52:27 -0400

Vivaldi's opera with an all-star cast is an inspired musical experience not to be missed.

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A Tribute in Memory of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson

mcooley — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:05:46 -0400

A two-disc retrospective of the late soprano/mezzo-soprano, along with an additional disc, a performance by Kelley O’Connor and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, of the Neruda Songs, written for Hunt Lieberson by her husband, Peter Lieberson, just a year before the singer died.

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Recorder Sonatas by Loeillet de Gant

mcooley — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:07:29 -0400

A German-Ghanaian recorder soloist presents Baroque sonatas by a little-known Belgian composer.

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Violin Miniatures by Emile Sauret

mcooley — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:38:31 -0400

Rarely-heard music by a nineteenth-century French virtuoso and composer.

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A Lesson In Love

mcooley — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 17:41:53 -0400

English soprano Kate Royal has crafted her own cycle of songs by various composers, telling the story of a young girl’s first experience of love.

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Nino Machaidze Sings Romantic Arias

mcooley — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 12:14:26 -0400

The Georgian soprano sings Massenet, Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti, plus selections from her signature role as Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.

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Dvorak in America

mcooley — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 11:30:57 -0400

We celebrate Dvorak’s 170th birthday anniversary on Thursday September 8, and throughout the birthday week with this 3-CD collection from the Czech label Supraphon.

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Matthias Goerne Sings Schubert I

mcooley — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:02:55 -0400

As our final offering in this series, the first volume of the Matthias Goerne Schubert Edition, in which the German baritone is joined by pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja.

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A Chopin Recital by Nikolai Lugansky

mcooley — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 08:35:55 -0400

The former wunderkind brings his muscular style to Chopin’s Third Piano Sonata, the Fantasie in F-minor, the fourth Scherzo, and some shorter works.

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Matthias Goerne Sings Schubert II

mcooley — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:05:33 -0400

The penultimate installment of our month-long presentation of the Matthias Goerne Schubert Edition.

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Vivaldi – The French Connection 2

mcooley — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 14:34:53 -0400

Vivaldi “speaks French,” volume 2.

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Rachmaninoff: Two Concertos and the Rhapsody

mcooley — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:35:36 -0400

Macedonian pianist Simon Trpčeski plays the first and last of Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos, and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

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Matthias Goerne Sings Schubert III

mcooley — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 15:05:38 -0400

The third installment of our month-long presentation of the Matthias Goerne Schubert Edition.

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Matthias Goerne Sings Schubert IV

mcooley — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 14:13:34 -0400

This week, the next installment of our month-long presentation of the Matthias Goerne Schubert Edition.

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Miloš Karadaglić: Mediterráneo

mcooley — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 13:45:04 -0400

The young Montenegrin guitarist makes his debut on Deutsche Grammophon.

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Matthias Goerne Sings Schubert V

mcooley — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:18:03 -0400

Throughout the month of August, our Vocal CD Picks are all Schubert songs, sung by baritone Matthias Goerne.

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