Stories » Jonas Kaufmann - The Puccini Album / ClassicsToday

Stories for December 06, 2019

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    Carr-Petrova Duo with 'Novel Voices' for classical radio
     
    Posted At : December 6, 2019 3:07 PM

    The Novel Voices Refugee Aid Project, created and directed by the Carr-Petrova Duo, is a project designed to give voice and visibility, through music and film, to the lives and struggles of both local and international refugee communities, and to encourage audiences and artists alike to become connected and involved. Since August 2018, it has brought free, interactive classical music concerts and workshops to displaced populations while increasing awareness of and raising support for both U.S.-based and international refugee-aid programs.  in conjunction with the project and recording, Molly and Anna have made themselves available to speak with classical radio today, December 6, 2019.  Watch for our tweets throughout the day.

  • Ahh ... that's better! Bing Crosby's original Christmas settings, remixed with newly-recorded orchestral arrangements for the LSO / Classical Music Sentinel
     
    Posted At : December 6, 2019 12:10 PM

    I don't know about you, but every year when I play my Bing Crosby Christmas recordings I can't help but feel that the background vocals, and particularly the orchestral accompaniment, always sound slightly anemic and unidimensional. But now with the magic of audio technology, Crosby's original vocals have been remastered and remixed against fresh new recordings of backup singers and the wonderful London Symphony Orchestra. As Kathryn Crosby herself notes in the booklet: "Hearing Bing's voice with these completely new, beautifully recorded, orchestral accompaniments makes it seem as though he's back after all these years. It's magic." Like using Photoshop software to brighten up an old faded photograph, this type of digital audio manipulation breathes new life into the music. Now I've never really been a proponent of tampering with audio. I've heard digital remasters of older analogue recordings that were actually detrimental and personally, I believe that analogue sounds more natural. One glaring example is a digital remastering of a famous analogue recording of the Alpine Symphony by Richard Strauss on one of the most iconic classical music labels in which the software doing the transfer completely removed the sound of the "wind machine" because it was considered noise. And obviously whoever did the quality assurance tests didn't know the work very well as it was commercially released with this major flaw. But in this case the end result is quite amazing. And of course, this may not be "classical" music but it certainly is a "classic" when it comes to Christmas recordings, to be enjoyed once again! Tracks include It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas Sleigh Ride Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! White Christmas (feat. Pentatonix) I'll Be Home For Christmas Jingle Bells (with The Andrew Sisters feat. The Puppini Sisters) Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Do You Hear What I hear The Christmas Song Little Drummer Boy (with David Bowie) Twelve Days of Christmas (feat. The Puppini Sisters) Winter Wonderland The Christmas Song (feat. The Tenors) White Christmas (Bing solo) SEE THE Classical Music Sentinel PAGE

  • Hobgood, Hahn, Getz, Kidjo, Bailey, Schiff and Labeque,Dessner, make Ted Gioia's 100 Best Recordings of 2019
     
    Posted At : December 6, 2019 12:00 AM

    Here are Ted Gioia's picks for the 100 best albums of 2019 (all styles, all genres) + another 100 'HONORABLE MENTION' albums of merit from 2019 worthy of your attention.    Happy listening!   Laurence Hobgood     Tesseterra       Popular Songs Reimagined for Jazz Trio and String Quartet   Antón García Abril (composer), Hilary Hahn (performer)            6 Partitas by Antón García Abril       Contemporary Music for Solo Violin   Stan Getz         Getz at the Gate          Previously Unreleased Live Jazz Recording from 1961   HONORABLE MENTION - Here are another 100 albums of merit from 2019 worthy of your attention András Schiff: Franz Schubert: Sonatas and Impromptus Classical Music   Angélique Kidjo: Celia     Afropop Versions of Celia Cruz Songs   Bryce Dessner (composer)/Katia and Marielle Labèque (performers): El Chan Extroverted Contemporary Classical Music   Philip Bailey (with jazz guest artists): Love Will Find a Way Soul/R&B

  • Chicago Tribune 'Best classical albums of 2019'
     
    Posted At : December 5, 2019 12:00 AM

    The most valuable classical recordings of the year span a vast range, from genre-stretching contemporary music to re-evaluations of standard repertory: Nicola Benedetti: Marsalis Violin Concerto (Decca). Three years ago, violin virtuoso Benedetti played the U.S. premiere of Wynton Marsalis' Violin Concerto in D with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park. This recording, featuring Benedetti with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Cristian Macelaru, reaffirms one's impression of the piece as a lustrous celebration of musical Americana. But the depth and rigor of Benedetti's performance here brings forth deeper aspects of the concerto than were apparent at Ravinia, suggesting Marsalis has given the violin repertoire a major work. Black Oak Ensemble: "Silenced Voices" (Cedille Records). Music by Jewish composers killed during the Holocaust receives new life in this brilliantly conceived album, the Black Oak Ensemble giving voice to scores by Dick Katenburg, Sandor Kuti, Hans Krasa, Gideon Klein and Paul Hermann. The music spans youthful optimism to mature insight and attests to what was lost. But in a measure of hope, the album also includes the world premiere recording of a trio by Geza Frid, who survived the Holocaust and lived to 1989. An indispensable recording. Igor Levit: "Beethoven Complete Piano Sonatas" (Sony Classical). Does the world need another traversal of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas? Of course it does, for this monolith reshaped the definition of the sonata, expanded the instrument's possibilities and bears endless interpretation and contemplation. Pianist Levit brings considerable intellectual acuity and technical aplomb to this music, which arrives in time for next year's worldwide celebration of the composer's 250th birthday. Third Coast Percussion: "Perpetulum" (Orange Mountain Music). Surely anyone who attended last year's world premiere of Philip Glass' "Perpetulum," commissioned and performed by Third Coast Percussion, felt the joy and rhythmic exuberance of this music. It's now documented on a two-disc set that also includes David Skidmore's similarly propulsive and still more expansive "Aliens with Extraordinary Abilities" and other works. Mahan Esfahani: "Bach: The Toccatas" (Hyperion). Bach's Toccatas carry a measure of mystery, in that definitive scores for this music are impossible to come by, leaving performers ample latitude in ornamentation and other details. Harpsichordist Esfahani applies meticulous scholarship to this process yet has produced a vivid recording built on animated performances appropriate to the toccata form. Jennifer Koh: "Limitless" (Cedille Records). In a bold and stylistically diverse recording, violinist Koh plays a series of duos with the composers of eight works included on this two-CD set. Where else is one likely to encounter music of contemporary composer-pianist Missy Mazzoli, soprano Lisa Bielawa and MacArthur Fellows Vijay Iyer (piano) and Tyshawn Sorey (glockenspiel) in a single project? The sounds are every bit as eclectic as one might expect, a testament to Koh's adventurousness and the creativity of all involved. Rachel Barton Pine: Dvorak, Khachaturian Violin Concertos (Avie). Violinist Pine turns in vigorous readings of two landmarks of the concerto repertoire, accompanied by Teddy Abrams leading the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. The Khachaturian, in particular, benefits from Pine's grit and drive as performer. Her artistry continues to deepen. Yo-Yo Ma: Salonen Cello Concerto (Sony Classical). Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonon's Cello Concerto unfolds on an epic scale, from the immensity of the orchestration to the vastness of its musical gestures. It all may seem a bit lush for some tastes, but the intense colors Salonen draws from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the ardor of cellist Ma's performance sweep the listener along in their wake. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} SEE ALL Chicago Tribune PICKS

  • Tantalizing debut of Margaret Batjer in four violin and orchestra works / New Music Buff
     
    Posted At : December 4, 2019 12:00 AM

    This is a helluva introduction to the wide ranging talents of violinist Margaret Batjer, currently the concert master of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.  OMG, why doesn't this woman have her own web page?  Well this BIS recording is a sort of, "here's what I can do across 300+ year of repertoire".  BIS is a Swedish based record label with a well earned reputation both for quality sound recording as well as intelligent choice of repertoire.  This recording succeeds on both counts. She plays with her familiar colleagues in the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra under conductor Jeffrey Kahane in an arrestingly beautiful recording of music spanning nearly 300 years.  The combination of technical skills and interpretive skills (by orchestra and soloist) along with a wonderful sound recording make this a welcome debut for this soloist and leaves this writer wanting to hear more from her and this wonderful little orchestra. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} READ THE FULL New Music Buff REVIEW

  • Jason Vieaux's LA reciital makes KCRW: Rhythm Planet: december concert picks
     
    Posted At : December 4, 2019 12:00 AM

    Jason Vieaux is set for his recital First Congregational Church of Los Angeles - MacArthur Park on Saturday, December 7. The concert is presented by the Los Angeles International Guitar Series and Vieaux will perform music by Bach, Scarlatti, Ellington, and more. I had never heard of Vieaux until 2014 when I received his Grammy-winning album Play. I was completely knocked out by the finesse and authority of his guitar work. Click HERE for tickets and more information. MUSIC NEWS - Written by Tom Schnabel Dec. 03, 2019 for KCRW: Los Angeles - RHYTHM PLANET.  SEE THE PAGE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d}

  • Molly & Anna from Carr-Petrova Duo are your Louisville artist city guides / Classical Post
     
    Posted At : December 4, 2019 12:00 AM

    VISITING A CITY CAN BE OVERWHELMING-ESPECIALLY WHEN THAT CITY IS OVERFLOWING WITH EXCEPTIONAL OPTIONS FOR FOOD, DRINKS, ENTERTAINMENT, SHOPPING, AND PLACES TO EXPLORE. LUCKILY, CLASSICAL POST'S NEWEST FEATURE ARTIST CITY GUIDES IS HERE TO CHANGE THAT.  What's better than rapidly googling the city you're visiting the night before you get there for the best of the best restaurants, bars, and clubs? Hearing from it first-hand from the classical music artists you love, respect, and admire!  In this newest feature section, we hear from the enormously talented Carr-Petrova Duo as they dish on their favorite spots in Louisville, Kentucky-they tell us where to eat, where to stay, what to drink, and how to enter full relaxation mode, no matter where we're visiting. The duo has been performing together since 2005-when they were attending school in New York at the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music. Separately, each of the duo's members is internationally acclaimed, award-winning soloists who have performed across the globe winning international competitions,  Together, the duo is rapidly compiling a remarkable list of accolades in recognition for their stunning musical expression, their refined artistry, and their relentless entrepreneur dedication to social initiatives.  If you're planning a trip to Louisville, Kentucky soon, you won't want to miss out on these exceptional destinations from the Carr-Petrova Duo. Headed to Louisville in January? You're in luck! The Carr-Petrova duo will be performing in Louisville on Sunday, January 19th, 2020 at 3 PM as the guest artists for MusicEx concert series at Comstock Concert Hall.   Photo credit: David Beyda Meet the two skilled women behind the Carr-Petrova Duo, Anna Petrova, pianist, and Molly Carr, violist.

Top 10 for Dec

  • Alexandre Desplat :

    Little Women OMPS

     Sony Music announces the release of LITTLE WOMEN (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) with music by Academy Award®, Golden Globe® and GRAMMY® Award-winning composer ALEXANDRE DESPLAT.
  • Bing Crosby :

    Bing at Christmas

     On the anniversary of the untimely death of the world's first ‘multimedia' star Bing Crosby, October 14th sees his longtime record label, Decca, together with his widow Kathryn and their children, Harry, Mary, and Nathaniel Crosby, announce the release of the brand new album, Bing at Christmas, via Decca/UMe.
  • Jon Batiste :

    Chronology Of A Dream - Live@The Village Vanguard

     The inimitable musician and bandleader, Jon Batiste, sets to release Chronology Of A Dream: Live At The Village Vanguard on November 1.
  • Ola Onabule :

    POINT LESS

     Socially conscious singer/songwriter Ola Onabul? has built an enviable career as an international touring performer and has now turned his attention to the North American market with a newly recorded collection of original songs.
  • Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra :

    I Shouldn't Be Telling You This

     JEFF GOLDBLUM WITH BRAND NEW ALBUM  FEATURING - SHARON VAN ETTEN • FIONA APPLE • ANNA CALVI • INARA GEORGE • GINA SAPUTO In DUETS WITH JEFF GOLDBLUM  - OUT NOVEMBER 1 ON DECCA RECORDS "I'm crying with ecstasy over this new album.
  • Ludovico Einaudi :

    Seven Days Walking - Day Seven

     Following his sold-out, seven-night residency at the Barbican in early August, Decca announces the release of ‘Seven Days Walking: Day Seven', and the climactic seven-volume collection from composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi – his most ambitious album project yet, with seven albums released over as many months.
  • Third Coast Percussion :

    Fields

     Grammy Award-winning ensemble Third Coast Percussion plays music by international R&B and pop music star Devonté Hynes (aka Blood Orange) on their newest album, Fields, marking Hynes's recording debut as a classical composer.
  • Libera :

    Christmas Carols with Libera

     The  boys  who  make  up  the  choral  group  Libera  are  normal  South  London  kids  aged  7  to  16  years.
  • The Comet Is Coming :

    The Afterlife

     "Bridging the gap between experimentation and accessibility" (Rolling Stone), The Comet Is Coming announces the digital release of the group's highly-anticipated mini-album The Afterlife, via Impulse! The Afterlife will serve as a companion piece to the group's breakout album Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery and the lead track "Lifeforce Part II.
  • Laura Karpman :

    WHY WE HATE

     p.

Jonas Kaufmann - The Puccini Album / ClassicsToday

Posted: November 14, 2015 12:00 AM | By: Admin
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Jonas Kaufmann has been around now long enough for any glaring faults to have appeared and been criticized; the best we've been able to do is accuse him of crooning occasionally and lacking squillo on top notes. His preparation always seems to be diligent, his use of dynamics, though occasionally exaggerated, is both musical and in character, his phrasing is utterly idiomatic, and the tone handsome and healthy. The problem with a recital such as this, which includes arias from all of Puccini's operas (except, of course, Suor Angelica), is that we realize that tenor heroes are rarely the most three dimensional folks in any opera, and so a sameness sets in. But Kaufmann is too intelligent to just slide by, and this, with a few minor protests, shows him to be unique among today's tenors.

He is at his best in Puccini's more heroic music. As one might guess, his dark-hued tone is rich and full enough for grand statements. The Edgar and Villi excerpts, both beautiful arias, are in the exclamatory Verismo tradition of Giordano and Cilea, and Kaufmann is stunning in both. Luigi's aria from Il tabarro is similarly thrilling: it's a very hard, bitter sing that few tenors can cope with, but Kaufmann makes us hang on every word and every note. (He tries his best with Rinuccio's little aria, singing with great "face" and impeccable diction, and even keeping the vowels pure on the high B-flats, but he sounds as if he could beat the hell out of the whole Donati family, and if I were Schicchi I would keep him away from my daughter at all costs.

READ THE FULL ClassicsToday REVIEW

Crossover Media Projects with Jonas Kaufmann

  • Jonas Kaufmann

    An Italian Night - Live from the Waldbuhne Berlin

    Two years after the release of his highly successful album Dolce Vita, Jonas Kaufmann reaffirmed his love affair with Italian music this summer with a special concert at the Waldbühne – Berlin's renowned stage-beneath-the-stars. In what can be seen as a wondrous zenith of his dedication to Italy and her music, the concert has become one of this year's biggest classical music events. Sony Classical is proud to announce the release of the magical concert on DVD and Blu-ray on October 19, with the CD and digital formats available October 5.

    "An Italian Night – Live from the Waldbühne Berlin" features popular songs and canzone as well as passionate Italian opera arias and duets from Cavalleria rusticana, where Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili joined Jonas as a charming guest-artist and duet partner. Both were supported by Jochen Rieder conducting the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin.

  • Jonas Kaufmann

    L'Opera

    Jonas Kaufmann pays homage to a magnificent era of opera that defined musical splendor and elegance, in his new album of 19th-century French opera arias and duets. His selection of music for tenor spans this momentous period, starting with "Rachel, quand du Seigneur" from Halévy's La Juive (1835), through two of Bizet's greatest works, "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée" from Carmen (1875) and "Au fond du temple saint" from Les Pêcheurs de perles (1863), by way of Gounod's "Ah! lève-toi, soleil!" from Roméo et Juliette (1867) and ending with the latest aria "Pourquoi me réveiller" from Massenet's masterpiece Werther (1892). Plus many more along the way.

    15 NEW  70 TOTAL
    SYND:     NPR/ATC, Classical 24, TRH, CBC
    Direct: MOOD, AccuRadio
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Dallas, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Detroit, Santa Fe, Honolulu, IA(Statewide), WI(Statewide), Canada
    Online: AccuRadio, Passion Musique et Culture

  • Jonas Kaufmann

    Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde

    Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde was posthumously premiered in Munich in 1911 and described by Mahler as a "symphony for tenor, alto (or baritone) and orchestra." It follows that two soloists have been featured in every performance and recording to date: either tenor and baritone or tenor and alto/mezzo soprano. Jonas Kaufmann is the first soloist to be heard singing both parts. His recording of Gustav Mahler'sDas Lied von der Erde has been recently released on Sony Classical.

    28 TOTAL
    SYND:     Classical 24, CBC
    Direct: MOOD
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Dallas, New Orleans, Denver, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Detroit, Canada
    Online: AccuRadio, Beyondcriticism.com 

  • Jonas Kaufmann

    Dolce Vita

    Italy and its immortal music have a magical pull on people like no other culture. Jonas Kaufmann, long familiar with Italy's ways has had his own special bond with the country since his youth. The new album, Dolce Vita is his tribute to this culture, this way of life that has conceived one immortal melody after the other for the tenor voice. Available October 7, Sony Classical is proud to release this special collectionof timeless Italian songs – sung by "The world's greatest tenor" (The Daily Telegraph)

    24 NEW  66 TOTAL
    SYND: Classical 24, CBC
    Direct: MOOD, AccuRadio
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Austin, St. Louis, Denver, New Orleans, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Madison WI, Louisville, Honolulu, KS(Network), IA(Network), WI(Network), MN(Network), NE(Network), CO(Network)
    Online: DWRadio

  • Jonas Kaufmann

    The Age of Puccini

    Jonas Kaufmann became the first German tenor to sing Cavaradossi at the Metropolitan Opera in 103 years. He shaped Puccini's music with exceptional elegance, balancing the character's essential revolutionary fervor with a heart-stopping tenderness. Critics and audiences received the portrayal ecstatically. Listeners familiar with Kaufmann's artistry in German and French repertoire exclusively will be astonished by his affinity for Italian music of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Having welcomed him as Cavaradossi in 2008, Covent Garden presented his first Maurizio in 2010 and his debuts as Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut in 2014 and as Andrea Chénier in 2015. The current collection highlights many of these roles as recorded for Decca.

  • Jonas Kaufmann

    Nessun dorma - The Puccini Album

    After years of singing Giacomo Puccini's heroes on stage to vast critical and audience ac­claim, Jonas Kaufmann finally records an album entirely devoted to the world's most-loved opera composer. His new album Nessun dorma will be released on Sony Classical on September 11th and will include a selection of the composer's stupendous tenor arias drawn from Puc­cini's greatest operas, including Turandot, Manon Lescaut, Tosca, La Bohème, Madama Butterfly and La fanciulla del West, amongst others. Spanning the breadth of Puccini's output from the early operas Le Villi and Edgar, the album culminates in the mighty aria "Nessun dorma" from his final opera Turandot. Jonas Kaufmann is joined on this album by Maestro Antonio Pappano, the Orchestra dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and soprano Kristīne Opolais.

    41 NEW  55 Total
    SYND:     Classical 24, CBC
    Direct: Music Choice, MOOD
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Wash DC, Dallas, Atlanta, St. Louis, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Portland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Austin, New Orleans, Honolulu, Canada
    Online: Taintradio

  • Jonas Kaufmann

    You Mean the World to Me

    Jonas Kaufmann has often sung standards such as "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz", "Freunde, das Leben ist lebenswert" or "Du bist die Welt für mich" as encores. We need to only think of his Berlin Waldbühne concert with Anna Netrebko and Erwin Schrott in August 2011. That's when the idea arose for his new album titled You Mean the World to Me, on Sony Classical. It needed a solid concept: no bland arrangements, just the original sound. The huge field of light music between Offenbach and Abraham was narrowed down to the period between 1925 and 1935 – from the hits of Franz Lehár and Richard Tauber to the heyday of the movie song, from the Roaring Twenties to the expulsion and blacklisting of all the songwriters, lyricists and singers who effectively defined the genre.

    28 New 'ON'  95 TOTAL
    SYND:     PRI/Classical 24
    Direct: Music Choice, MOOD, Spafax
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Atlanta, Cleveland, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Denver, Portland, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Detroit, Austin, Louisville, Columbus OH, Buffalo NY, Canada
    Online: Taintradio, ClassicallyHip