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PPR224536PROPIANO- PPR224536:
BRAHMS and MOSZKOWSKI PIANO MUSIC


Brahms (transc. Moszkowski):
10 Hungarian Dances Book 1;
Moszkowski: 20 Little Studies for Piano, Op.91

Esther Budiardjo piano

Total time: 56.00

(GB pounds 14.50)

Listen to PPR224536 Listen to an extract

ProPiano Records present a world premiere recording of the Moszkowski studies plus his stunning transcription of book one of Brahms' Hungarian Dances. A fitting follow up to Esther Budiardo's highly successful Godowsky recording.

Bryce Morrison in August 2003 Gramophone: "Superb performances which reveal the wit and charm of these Moszkowski Showpieces. This delightful record gives us world premiere recordings of both Moszkowski's Etudes Op.91 and his arrangement for solo piano of Brahms' Hungarian Dances Book 1...given judicious extra sparkle by Moszkowski. Previously heard to no less superior effect on a ProPiano disc of Godowsky's Java Suite, Budiardjo is clearly a pianist to watch, and her warm-toned Kawai instrument has been excellently recorded."

 

TP136Tall Poppies - TP136:
PETER SCULTHORPE - MUSIC FOR CELLO


Sculthorpe: Sonata for Cello Alone; Requiem, for 'cello alone; Djilile, for cello and piano; Tailitnama Song, for cello and piano; Threnody, for solo cello; Into the Dreaming, for cello alone; Parting, for cello and piano; Tailitnama Song, for cello solo; From Saibai, for cello and piano

David Pereira cello with Ian Munro piano

Total time: 68.50

(GB pounds 14.50)

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The cello has been a major expressive tool for Peter Sculthorpe throughout his career. Parting was originally conceived in 1947 and waited 48 years for its emergence in this form. The 1959 Sonata has lain dormant since its premiere, but the music became the Sonata for Viola and Percussion. From Saibai was premiered by David Pereira and Ian Munro in Wales, and David Pereira has championed the famous Requiem, originally written for Nathan Waks. David Pereira has given a gutsy passionate performance in all these works, and Ian Munro shows the many musicianly qualities that he will bring to his forthcoming recording of the complete piano works of Sculthorpe.

Julian Haylock in October 2002 International Record Review: "Peter Sculthorpe passionately declares, 'The cello is one of my favourite musical instruments. I love its sound, its range, its shape and the repertoire that composers have created for it'. It (Threnody for solo cello) is a piece of almost unbearable intensity brought mesmerizingly to life on this recording by the work's premiere performer, David Pereira. This atmospherically recorded collection was originally presented to Peter Sculthorpe in 1999 on the occasion of his 70th birthday: a wonderful gift for a very special composer."

Anthony Burton in November 2002 BBC Music Magazine: "Sculthorpe describes the cello as 'one of my favourite instruments'; and that much is obvious from the melodic warmth and vivid colouring of the pieces for cello, with and without piano, collected on this disc...in general they provide a glowing representation of David Pereira's burnished tone, and his and Ian Munro's ardent advocacy of a major and highly individual creative figure." ******

 

PPR224529ProPiano - PPR224529:
Godowsky - Java Suite

Leopold Godowsky: Java Suite; Alexandre Tansman: Danse Javanaise from Novelettes; La flute de bambou dans la foret de Bandoeng; Le Gamelang de Bali.

Esther Budiardjo (piano)

Total time:60.38

(GB pounds 14.50)

Listen to PPR224529 Listen to an extract

Winner of the 1996 International William Kapell Piano Competition, Indonesian pianist Esther Budiardjo plays world-premiere recordings of music inspired by Indonesia. Godowsky's suite of twelve finely wrought keyboard miniatures convey the subtleties of Javanese scenes experienced during his visit after the first world war. His Polish compatriot Tansman visited in 1932/3 and his pieces were also inspired by his experience.

Michael Anthony in Minneapolis Star Tribune: 16 January 2000 - "Interest in Godowsky, both as pianist and composer, is on the rise and it was inevitable that someone, especially someone as gifted as Indonesian pianist Esther Budiardjo, should record one of Godowsky's major works, the 'Java Suite'...Budiardjo is the perfect pianist for this music. Her seemingly limitless technique combines with velvety sound and a feeling for the surging rise and fall of Godowsky's music, which needs a generous spirit like hers to get it just right."

Bryce Morrison in May 2000 Gramophone - "A world premiere recording of Godowsky's Java Suite is surprising until you stop to confront its savagely ornate and idiosycratic demands. Most pianists would rather consider such complexity from a distance. Not so Esther Budiardjo, herself Javanese (though resident in America), who resolves some formidable problems with such natural grace that you are able to concentrate exclusively on the music of an exotic land...they are beautifully played, and the quality of Esther Budiadjo's Kawai has been excellently recorded throughout a considerable dynamic range. Music for an exclusive taste, this is a special issue."

Adrian Corleonis in May/June 2000 Fanfare - "A native of Jakarta now working toward her doctorate at the New England Conservatory. Budiardjo presumably has the sounds Godowsky evoked, with such impossible flair, in her blood, so to speak. In any case, she has set the Java Suite magnificently before us and, while one hopes to hear these pieces many times from many pianists...for their coloristic possibilities are infinite - Budiardjo's will be a difficult act to top. Sound is whelmingly, transparently immediate."

Jeremy Nicholas in May 2000 International Record Review - "At last, Godowsky-philes have waited a long time for a complete account of this intriguing music, the first collection of what was intended to be a series of 'Phonoramas: Tonal Journeys for the Pianoforte'...her expressive playing of 'The Gardens of Buitenzorg' invites comparison with Hamelin, Hough, Loesser and the composer's own sonically primitive recording...this superbly recorded and produced issue."

ProPiano - PPR224532:
PPR224532 Ryuichi Sakamoto (b. 1952): Piano Works

Sakamoto: Tong Poo*; Intermezzo; Sonatine; River (1982); Energy Flow; Chanson; Just for Me (1981); Choral No.1& No.2; Bachata; Grasshoppers (1979); Opus; Lorenz and Watson Suites for Piano (1970); La Dispersion, La Limite, Le Sable (1976).

Chitose Okashiro (piano), with Ju-Ying Song (piano)*

Total time: 63.00

(GB pounds 14.50)

Listen to PPR224532 Listen to an extract

Ryuichi Sakamoto - "The fine pianist Chitose Okashiro is releasing a CD devoted to my works, so I am impatient to hear the result. This is, of course, the first attempt to survey my works from my student days to the present time. I myself have never tried such an anthology. Okashiro is a much better pianist than I am, so what more can I ask? This CD will mark a milestone for me, enabling me to ponder my past 25 years and my next steps. I'd like to express my gratitude to Okashiro and producer Ricard de La Rosa for having tackled this demanding task so thoughtfully."

Art Lange in January/February 2001 Fanfare - "Ryuichi Sakamoto (b. 1952) no doubt has a larger international audience following his career as pop musician than his dabblings in classical music...All of the music is well played by Okashiro, which strongly suggests that she deserves a hearing in more standard repertoire. Not the pop trifles I expected, Sakamoto's piano music is effectively lyrical and well crafted,though it hardly says much about his own creative abilities. As such, it stands as a curiosity. So, just how curious are you?"

 

MMT2023Morrison Trust Records - MMT2023:
ELEGY

Frank Bridge: Adoration; Go not, happy day: Love went a-riding; Douglas Lilburn: Song cycle "Elegy"; John Ireland: Great Things; Sea Fever; When lights go rolling round the sky; C W Orr: Song cycle "A Shropshire Lad"; Gerald Finzi: Song cycle "Let Us Garland Bring".

Paul Whelan (baritone) with David Harper (piano)

Total time: 65.00

(GB pounds 14.50)

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Winner of the Lieder Prize at the Cardiff 'Singer of the World' competition in 1993, New Zealand born baritone Paul Whelan has appeared at all of the world's major opera houses including the Royal Opera, New York Met. and Paris Bastille. Now resident in London, he recently appeared with the New Zealand National Youth Choir and gave a recital with David Harper at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris. His splendid voice is presented to wonderful effect in this enterprising mix of familiar and less well-known songs by English and New Zealand composers, recorded in St George's Hall Brandon Hill, Bristol.

John Steane in May 2000 Gramophone - "Fine songs for singing and (many of them) rare songs to hear. Much interest will attach to Paul Whelan's debut recital on record...his firm, sympatheticbaritone records well, at its best in the quieter passages...he hasn't quite the way of making words live, but neither is he dull or inexpresive. David Harper, Whelan's fellow New Zealander, is an excellent accompanist, and the record has been well produced in all respects."

 

MMT2014 Morrison Trust Records - MMT2014:
TRANSPORTS DE JOIE - French Organ Music from Wellington Cathedral

Widor: Toccata from Symphony 5; Franck: Prelude, Fugue & Variations; Choral No.3; Messiaen: Transports de joie; Alain: Litanies; Vierne: Berceuse; Final from Symphony 1; Durufle: Prelude and Fugue sur nom d'Alain; Saint-Saens: Fantasie; Langlais: Prelude modal.

Philip Walsh (organ)

Total time: 75.12

(GB pounds 14.50)

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Director of Music at Wellington Anglican Cathedral, Philip Walsh plays the restored T C Lewis & Co organ. Born in Southampton, England, Philip Walsh has held the post since 1989 and is renowned for his performances of French repertoire.

Marc Rochester in November 1999 Gramophone - "To say that this is predictable fare is, to put it mildly, an understatement...But if I was to recommend a single disc presenting the most popular French organ works I would have no hesitation in choosing this above all others. Walsh's performances are powerful, intuitive and compelling, the Wellington Cathedral organ is of a kind of instrument one could happily listen to all day and the recording quality is excellent. A highly recommended disc in repertoire where the competition is fierce."

Marc Rochester in January 2000 Gramophone Critic's Choice - "Not to be missed, either, is Philip Walsh's splendid disc of basic French music from Franck and Widor to Messiaen and Langlais. Walsh's performances stand out as unusually powerful, intuitive and compelling; the Wellington Cathedral organ is the kind of instrument one could happily listen to all day and the recording quality is excellent."

David Denton in May/June 2000 Fanfare - "A disc of French music from New Zealand on an instrument originally built in the UK and played by an English-born organist may not sound like a recipe for success, but it certainly is...As a performer he (Philip Walsh) is right in the top echelon of virtuoso organists, and even if you have every work on this disc, I urge you to hear Walsh. His is a most imaginative musical mind well attuned to the French idiom...Suffice it to say this one of the most outstanding organ recitals to have come my way in many years."

 

Kiwi Pacific - CDSLD99: CDSLD99
AOTEAROA: Orchestral Music of Douglas Lilburn

Lilburn: Overture - Aotearoa; Allegro for Strings; Concert Overture in D; Four Canzonas; Festival Overture; Introduction and Allegro for Strings; Diversions for Strings

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conductor John Hopkins; Ithaca College Festival Orchestra, conductor Grant Cooper

Total time: 71.17

(GB pounds 14.50)

This latest release from Kiwi Pacific joins their earlier recordings of music by New Zealand's foremost composer, Douglas Lilburn. All of the music on this disc was composed between 1939 and 1950 and have the distinctive rich voice for which he has become renowned.

Rob Barnett for Classical Music on the Web - "The Aotearoa Overture is candidly, even proudly, Sibelian. The material and the method bears closest resemblance to the lucidly limned string and wind figures from the Finn's Sixth Symphony. It is irresistible and for all its monothematicism is neatly put together; a fit travelling companion for Moeran's Overture to a Masque and Copland's Outdoor Overture. The 1968 recording stands up very well. The gravely-toned command of the brass and the pert woodwind playing stand out.

The Festival Overture's nervy ostinati lean to Sibelius's Third Symphony this time but the rictus of Walton's First Symphony is an unmistakably imperious influence. Did I also detect the goose-shiver of an East Anglian squall five years before the Grimes premiere?

A very fine disc with music by a freshly inspired lyrico-dramatic talent whose music deserves to travel."

 

MMT2021Morrison Trust Records - MMT2021:
GARETH FARR (b. 1958) - ORCHESTRAL MUSIC

From the Depths Sound the Great Sea Gongs; Le Temps est … la Pluie;
Waipoua; Tabuh Pacific; Queen of Demons.

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gareth Farr

(GB pounds 14.50)

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The first  two releases in the UK from the New Zealand label, featuring the young New Zealand composer and percussionist, Gareth Farr. He performs regularly in New Zealand and in New York, both as a percussionist and, as his alter-ego, the drag artist Lilith. His gamelan influenced compositions have attracted a wide audience base in both countries. Gareth Farr is a graduate of Victoria and Auckland Universities and of the Eastman School in Rochester, NY. He has been composer in residence for Chamber Music New Zealand since 1993 and is currently undertaking a tour of the UK under sponsorship from the British Council.

Richard Whitehouse in October 1998 issue of Gramophone - "Gareth Farr goes for maximum impact in his music. From the Depths...will appeal to fans of the more demonstrative side of John Adams. Waipoua is a forestscape of touching restraint, Tabuh Pacific a meeting between standard and Balinese orchestras with the spirit of Colin McPhee never far away".

David Denton in May/June 2000 Fanfare - "The five works included on this CD show a composer well equipped to explore the full color spectrum of a large orchestra. He bucks the trend of modern symphonic creativity by employing a distinctly approachable style of writing, rhythmically strong, and melodically fresh and imaginative....Farr conducts the orchestra in these dramatic, wide-dynamic, and virtuoso performances. The NZSO has made some fine recordings in the past, but nothing that comes close to the sheer red-blooded impact of these performances. The recorded sound is a key component, as brilliant as you will find, with the top end of the dynamic range sure to shake out the dust from your speakers."

 

PPR224503ProPiano - PPR224503:

Debussy: 12 Etudes for Piano;
Bartok: Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs.

Ju-Ying Song (piano)

(2 discs - GB pounds 14.50)

Listen to PPR224503 Listen to an extract

Roger Nichols' survey of all the recordings of the Debussy Etudes for the Spring 1998 issue of Gramophone's International Piano Quarterly - "But for my desert island I should be happy with five (recordings). Gieseking, of course...And finally there is the Taiwanese pianist Ju-Ying Song who in this, her first recording, gives evidence of extraordinary talent in the shape of Oriental fingerwork allied with razor-sharp intelligence. Maybe, sometime in the next millenium, she will be the one to put on disc my perfect performance..."

B.B. in 12 September 1998 issue of Billboard - "ProPiano's catalog boasts such gems as Ju-Ying Song's set of Debussy Etudes..."

 

MMT2022 Morrison Trust Records - MMT2022:
OPERA KINGS, GODS AND MORTALS

HANDEL: Waft her, angels (Jephtha); Where'er you walk (Semele); Care selve (Atalanta); Ombra mai fu (Serse); GLUCK: O del mio dolce ardor (Paride ed Elena); Unis des la plus tendre enfance (Iphigenie en Tauride); Plus j'observe ces lieux (Armide); J'ai perdu mon Eurydice (Orphee et Eurydice); MOZART: Un' aura amorosa (Cosi fan tutte); Ich baue ganz (Die Entfuhrung); Non tener, amato bene; Fuor del mar (Idomeneo); Se all'impero (Clemenza di Tito); Dies Bildnis (Zauberflote).

Keith Lewis (tenor) with New Zealand Chamber Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Young

(GB pounds 14.50)

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The celebrated New Zealand tenor Keith Lewis, fresh from recent triumphs at the London opera houses in his first operatic recital disc. Splendid performances and recording from this new New Zealand label.

James Camner in September/October 2000 Fanfare - "It's such a relief to hear a disc of this music by a male singer who is not one of that phoney breed known as countertenors that it would be churlish of me to be anything but enthusiastic. Fortunately, this is terrific singing by a tenor whom I've not heard previously...this may be the best tenor singing of the Classical repertoire to come along in quite a while and it is unhesitatingly recommended."

Orpheus Magazine (Berlin, Germany) 1998 - "Arias are sung here by an extremely rare voice with the virtuosity these composers demand, drawn together by a soft, yet not dry, but very erotic tenor, a very luxurious sounding voice that knows how to make a floating piano into an impressive means of expresion...closes a CD which has captured one of the many facets of this exceptional voice in an admirable fashion."

 

TP089Tall Poppies - TP089:
PETER SCULTHORPE - STRING QUARTETS VOLUME ONE

Irkanda IV; Small Town; String Quartet No.6; String Quartet No.7;
String Quartet No.8; String Quartet No.9.

(GB pounds 14.50)

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Tall Poppies - TP090:
PETER SCULTHORPE: STRING QUARTETS VOLUME TWO

String Quartet No.10; String Quartet No.11 "Jabiru Dreaming";
Hill-Song No.1; Hill-Song No.2; Earth Cry; Little Song; To Meadows;
TP090
Pastorale; Prologue; Morning Song; Autumn Song; Saibai.

(GB pounds 14.50)

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Goldner String Quartet (Dene Olding & Dimitry Hall - violins, Irina Morozova - viola, Julian Smiles - cello)
Tall Poppies integral recording of all of Peter Sculthorpe's works for string quartet. Born in Launceston, Tasmania, in 1929, Sculthorpe is Australia's premier composer and has produced a long series of powerful quartets, many written for the Kronos Quartet. The Goldner Quartet was formed in 1995 by members of the Australia Ensemble and TP089 was their first recording.

Duncan Druce in September 1999 Gramophone on TP089 - "Peter Sculthorpe, 70 this year, has been writing quartets since his student days in Melbourne. These striking works, except No.9 all dating from the 1960s, paint a musical landscape that's often hard and forbidding yet, with its clarity of form and texture, always approachable. Splendid performances - precise and with all the necessary tonal variety."

Andrew Achenbach in May 2000 Gramophone on TP090 - "A rewarding anthology spanning some four decades and more, from the Tenth and Eleventh Quartets of 1983 and 1990 (both written for the Kronos) all the way back to Sculthorpe's own reconstructions of individual movements from his first four quartets (teenage efforts, none of which has survived intact). The stunning Earth Cry (1986) sounds even more effective in its original orchestral guise, but there's no gainsaying the vibrant commitment and superior polish displayed by the Goldner Quartet. Truthful sound and balance".

Ivan Moody in January 2001 Gramophone 'Critics' Choice' - "The outstanding Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe is at last beginning to receive the attention he deserves in Europe. Recordings are now available, and one of the best is the Goldner Quartet's superb account of String Quartets Nos 10 and 11, together with an astonishing transcription of his formidable composition Earth Cry."

Neil Horner for MusicWeb: "Here is something rather special - the string quartets of Peter Sculthorpe, up to and including the eleventh of 1990, recorded in the composer's presence by an ensemble who are totally inside this fascinating music. Previous efforts by the Kronos and Brodsky quartets notwithstanding, this pair of discs is indispensable for anyone who regards the 20th century string quartet as a key element in the lifeblood of their ongoing personal musical education and experience. Sculthorpe has a unique way of melding together European, Australasian and Oriental influences into something which is simultaneously both strikingly original and reassuringly familiar. This perhaps reflects the colonial history of his homeland, as did the great and still undervalued Percy Grainger before him."

 

TP105Tall Poppies - TP105:
ARTHUR BENJAMIN: Jamaican Rumba Vol.1

Benjamin: Jamaican Rumba; Scherzino; Siciliana; Chinoiserie; Suite; Fantasies I; Pastorale, Arioso & Finale; Fantasies II; Saxophone Blues; Three New Fantasies; Romance-Impromptu; Odds & Ends I; Haunted House; Odds & Ends II; Brumas Tunes; Let's Go Hiking; Elegiac Mazurka.

Ian Munro (piano)

Total time: 77.52

(GB pounds 14.50)

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Noted Australian pianist, Ian Munro, plays volume one in a complete recording of the piano music of his compatriot, Arthur Benjamin (1893 - 1960). The piano miniatures on this disc range from the popular Jamaican Rumba to more serious compositions.

Ivan March in May 2000 Gramophone - "Arthur Benjamin's Jamaican Rumba was the result of a visit there in 1938 and it soon became a world hit. He did not repeat that success, yet his other genre pieces here are full of attractive ideas and catchy rhythmic invention, at times cool in the jazz sence of the word (Saxophone Blues), at others (the Odds and ends or the Fantasies, for instance) offering writing of charming simplicity. The performances here are first class; so is the recording."

Rob Barnett for Classical Music on the Web, November 2000 - "In much the same way that Sinding’s ‘fame’ is rooted in ‘The Rustle of Spring' so Arthur Benjamin’s renown is founded on the ‘Jamaican Rumba’. In fact he was a composer of much broader accomplishment...Tall Poppies are a firm to be watched. With little publicity they have ploughed an individualist’s furrow and have reaped a rewarding harvest. They have teamed up with Ian Munro to produce a Benjamin series and it is to be hoped that this disc and the chamber music one will not be the final entries in the lists...Perhaps you already pride yourself on having the Chandos collection of Howells’ piano music or the Moeran, Goossens or Bax piano music or the Ireland or Mayerl CDs. If so track down a copy of this disc. The idiom is similar without being a slavish facsimile. Highly commended."

The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs 2000/2001 Yearbook - "Ian Munro revels in the music's dashing bravura. Throughout he plays with great style and elegance and obvious affection. This is a wholly delightful recital with never a dull moment throughout its 78 minutes. The recording is admirably natural."

 

TP134Tall Poppies - TP134:
ARTHUR BENJAMIN: Jamaican Rumba Vol. 2

Benjamin: Jamaican Rumba (1944); Sonatina (1924); Sonatina (1939);
Sonata (1947); Tombeau de Ravel (1958);
Three Pieces (1924) - Humoresque, Arabesque, Carnavalesque

Ian Munro (piano) with John Harding (violin), Esther van Stralen (viola),
David Pereira (cello) & Peter Jenkin (clarinet)

Total time: 71.36

(GB pounds 14.50)

Listen to TP134 Listen to an extract

This series has arisen from the pianist Ian Munro's enormous love of Benjamin. This recording follows the acclaimed first volume and presents some major and very neglected works to the public eye (or should that be ear!) The disc includes the Violin Sonatina and several charming violin miniatures played which characteristic elan by John Harding; Esther van Stralen gives a blistering account of the challenging viola sonata; David Pereira plays the charming Cello Sonatina with its jaunty little march; Peter Jenkin brings consummate artistry to the virtuoso clarinet work Tombeau de Ravel. And of course the CD starts with the eponymous Jamaican Rumba in a scintillating version for violin transcribed by William Primrose for Jascha Heifetz.

The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs 2002: "But especially beguiling is the Tombeau de Ravel written for Gervase de Peyer, which exploited that artist's melting cantabile timbre and his virtusity in six quixotic central waltz interludes, which are framed by an introduction and finale. All the performances here are of high quality and show a composer of great resource who always captures and holds the listener's ear. The recording is excellent."

Rob Barnett for Classical Music on the Web, November 2000: "This is the very first substantial collection of chamber music by Arthur Benjamin. Benjamin seems to have been hounded by the Jamaican Rumba in much the same way as Rachmaninov was haunted by the famous Prelude. In any event it must surely have played its part in keeping the wolf from the door. The Rumba exists in a host of arrangements and versions and loses nothing of its catchy memorability in this version and performance. This is a very fine disc, well recorded and deserving attention. It seems once again to have been ignored by the review magazines. Ian Munro is the common thread between the two discs. His freshly lucid and very full English-only notes ideally complement this significant release."

TP140Tall Poppies - TP140:
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Clavierubung III

JS Bach - Clavierubung III, BWV669 - 689; Schubler Chorales, BWV645 - 650; Canonic Variations, BWV769.

John O'Donnell (Jurgen Ahrend organ of Monash University, Melbourne)

Total time: 130.38

(2 discs - GB pounds 27.00)

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Clavierubung III is regarded by many as the pinnacle of Bach's oeuvre for organ. As part of Tall Poppies' acknowledgement of this Bach year, this 2 CD set was recorded on the Jurgen Ahrend organ at Monash University in Melbourne. A fine baroque-style organ, it has all the colours and excitement to bring this music to life. The organist John O'Donnell is a world-renowned Bach scholar who brings a lifetime of knowledge to these distinguished performances.

Francis Knights in August 2000 International Record Review - "John O'Donnell is organist of Monash University in Melbourne, which possesses a fine 45-stop Ahrend organ of 1980; it is tuned in a modified Werckmeister II temperament...This is one of the very best recordings of the Clavier-Ubung III set, and one that surpasses the recordings by established masters such as Ton Koopman and Christopher Herrick. I find myself prefering it to any other version I have heard."

Francis Knights in 'Best of the Year', December 2000 International Record Review - "The competition for a personal 'Disc of the Year' has been intense, and it is with regret that I put aside two outsatanding recordings of Remaissance music if favour of a new Australian set comprising the organ works Bach published toward the end of his life. ..the merit of these discs is that every aspect is spot-on. O'Donnell's performances are quite superb: powerful, energetic and crisp, and the listener is carried along by his infectious rhythmic sense. The recording is very fine indeed, setting the seal on an exceptional release."

 

Kiwi Pacific - CDSLC248: CDSLC248
INIA TE WIATA: A Popular Recital

Negro Spirituals; West Indian Spirituals & Folk Tunes;
Classical Songs and Ballads by Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Lehmann, Rasbach, Schubert, Schumann and Flanders & Swann

Inia Te Wiata (bass) with Maurice Till and Ernest Lush (pianos)

Total time: 69.42

(GB pounds 14.50)

The world-renowned bass, Inia Te Wiata, was born in 1915 and died in 1971. Although mainly known in the opera houses of Europe, he also had a wide recital repertoire and this discs collects together many of the non-operatic recordings made in New Zealand in the 1960s and in London in 1955. His finely textured bass voice was able to inhabit a wide range of musical repertoire from art song to negro spiritual.

Tully Potter in Summer 2001 Classic Record Collector - "New Zealand was lucky to produce two such strong basses as Oscar Natzka (1912 - 1951) and Inia Te Wiata (1915 - 1971) within three years of each other. He, Te Wiata, was a pleasant modest man who paid due respect to the influence of Natzka; he was also a magnificent singer. Four spirituals, and eight West Indian spirituals come from a New Zealand LP and are marvellous...Here is a most enjoyable disc."

 

ACD400Atoll ACD400:
OSCAR NATZKA: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION - Volume One

Arias and songs by Tchaikovsky, Apolloni, Petrie, Sanderson, Lehmann, Weiss, Elliott, Mozart, Handel, Rossini, Elgar, Charles, German, Adams, Sullivan, Kern, Ketelby, Mussorgsky, Hahn, Coward, Philips, Schumann, Warlock, Murray, Moss, Rasbach and Trad. (recorded 1938 - 1940)

Oscar Natzka bass with various accompaniments

Total time: 126.00

(2 discs - GB pounds 19.99)

ACD500Atoll ACD500:
OSCAR NATZKA: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION - Volume Two

Arias and songs by Handel, Boughton, Benjamin, Hewitt, Semon, Quinn, Bellini, Mozart, Nicolai, Malashkin, Beethoven, Massenet, Bantock, Verdi, Mussorgsky, Evans, Rodgers and Trad. (recorded 1942 - 1950)

Oscar Natzka bass with various accompaniments

Total time: 124,47

(2 discs - GB pounds 19.99)

Produced in partnership with the National Library of New Zealand, these four discs issue for the first time, the complete recordings of the great New Zealand bass, Oscar Natzka.

Tully Potter in Summer 2001 Classic Record Collector - New Zealand was lucky to produce two such strong basses as Oscar Natzka (1912 - 1951) and Inia Te Wiata (1915 - 1971) within three years of each other. Natzka's collapse during a performance and subsequent death was a terrible loss. These two double-CD sets have been lovingly assembled to include all his commercial discs, plus unpublished tests and radio recordings."

Winter 2001 Classic Record Collector Awards - "His great voice has been given a new lease of life by this lovingly compiled and presented set from New Zealand - a second volume is almost as good". (Volume One - runner up in the Vocal category).




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