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Building a Library: Handel's Alcina

With Andrew McGregor. Including Building a Library: Handel's Alcina; Anna Picard and Mahan Esfahani discuss releases of Czech music, from Martinu to Zelenka; Disc of the Week.

with Andrew McGregor

0930
Building a Library: Berta Joncus recommends a recording of Handel's Alcina from among available versions.

Power, love and sex are the themes of Handel's final operatic masterpiece. The tale of Alcina, whose journey begins as all-powerful enchantress and ends as tragic victim, inspired Handel to weave his own musical magic and create one of his most memorable and alluring female characters. From rollicking to heart-breaking, the opera's series of show-stopping arias both for Alcina and other roles, coupled with sparkling dance numbers has made it a magnet not only for some of the great singers of our times but also for many of the leading specialists in period performance and their ensembles.

1045
Anna Picard and Mahan Esfahani on recent releases of Czech music, from Martinu to Zelenka.

1145
Disc of the Week: Andrew makes a personal choice from among the latest outstanding releases.

3 hours, 12 minutes

Last on

Sat 21 May 2016 09:00
大象传媒 Radio 3

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Building a Library: Haydn: String Quartet in G, Op 77 No 1

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Building a Library: Schumann: Fantasie

See all episodes from Record Review

Music Played

  • Henry Purcell

    Sound the trumpet (Come ye sons of art)

    Music Arranger: Benjamin Britten. Singer: Ruby Hughes. Singer: Robin Blaze. Performer: Joseph Middleton.
    • Champs Hill Records CRCD106.
    • Champs Hill Records.
    • 2.

  • Bedrich Smetana

    On the Seashore Op.17

    Performer: Garrick Ohlsson.
    • Hyperion CDA68062.
    • Hyperion.
    • 15.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Freudvoll und Leidvoll (Egmont, Op.84)

    Singer: Bernarda Bobro. Narrator: Herbert Fottinger. Orchestra: Chorus Viennensis. Conductor: Martin Haselb枚ck.
    • Alpha 472.
    • Alpha.
    • 5.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Intermezzo (Egmont, Op.84)

    Narrator: John Malkovich. Orchestra: Chorus Viennensis. Conductor: Martin Haselb枚ck.
    • Alpha 472.
    • Alpha.
    • 6.

  • Jordi Savall

    Ramon Llull: Temps De Conquestes, De Di脿leg I Desconhort

    • AliaVox AVSA9917.
    • AliaVox.
    • 11.

  • Trad

    Hymn to the Virgin in Arabic

  • Erik Satie

    Sonnerie pour reveiller le bon gros Roi des Singes

    Ensemble: Ars Nova Ensemble Berlin. Conductor: Marius Constant. Orchestra: Toulouse Capitole Orchestra. Conductor: Michel Plasson.
    • Erato 0825646047963.
    • Erato.
    • 1.

  • Erik Satie

    Gymnopedie No. 1 (orch. Debussy)

    Orchestra: Toulouse Capitole Orchestra. Conductor: Michel Plasson. Ensemble: Ars Nova Ensemble Berlin.
    • Erato 0825646047963.
    • Erato.
    • 2.

  • Erik Satie

    Parade from Prestidigitateur Chinois

    Orchestra: Paris Conservatoire Concert Society Orch. Conductor: Louis Auriacombe.
    • Erato 0825646047963.
    • Erato.
    • 2.

  • Erik Satie

    Le piege de Meduse

    Performer: Aldo Ciccolini. Orchestra: Lamoureux Concert Orchestra.
    • Erato 0825646047963.
    • Erato.
    • 10.

  • Erik Satie

    Le piege de Meduse

    Performer: Aldo Ciccolini. Orchestra: Lamoureux Concert Orchestra.
    • Erato 0825646047963.
    • Erato.
    • 10.

  • Erik Satie

    Ne bois pas ton chocolat tes doigts (L'Enfance de Ko-Quo)

    Performer: Alexandre Tharaud.
    • Erato.

  • Erik Satie

    Les oiseaux (Trois melodies sans paroles)

    Performer: Aldo Ciccolini. Singer: Nicolai Gedda. Singer: Mady Mespl茅.
    • Erato.

  • Erik Satie

    Act II Entracte & Air (from Genevieve De Brabant)

    Singer: Mady Mespl茅. Narrator: Pierre Bertin. Choir: Chorus Of The Paris National Opera Theatre. Orchestra: Orchestre de Paris 鈥� Philharmonie. Conductor: Pierre Dervaux.
    • Erato 0825646047963.
    • Erato.
    • 10.

  • Erik Satie

    Le chapelier (3 Melodies)

    Performer: Francis Poulenc. Singer: Pierre Bernac.
    • Sony 88875177492.
    • Sony.
    • 21.

  • Claude Debussy

    Ballet (Petite Suite)

    Performer: Robert Casadesus. Performer: Gaby Casadesus.
    • Sony 88875177492.
    • Sony.
    • 4.

  • Erik Satie

    Trois morceaux en forme de poire (Maniere de commencement)

    Performer: Robert Casadesus. Performer: Gaby Casadesus.
    • Sony 88875177492.
    • Sony.
    • 5.

  • Erik Satie

    Relache (Act II)

    Performer: Philippe Entremont. Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • Sony 88875177492.
    • Sony.
    • 11.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Violin Concerto in D major Op. 61

    Performer: Nikolaj Znaider. Orchestra: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Conductor: Riccardo Chailly.
    • Accentus.

9.00am

Purcell: Britten
BRITTEN: Harmonia Sacra: Five Songs; Three divine hymns; Two divine hymns and Alleluia; Dulcibella;
BRITTEN / PURCELL: Complete Britten realisations of songs by Purcell
Robin Blaze (countertenor), Allan Clayton (tenor), Anna Grevelius (mezzo-soprano), Ruby Hughes (soprano), Benedict Nelson (baritone), Matthew Rose (bass), Joseph Middleton (piano)
CHAMPS HILL RECORDS CHRCD106 (2CD mid-price)

Smetana: Czech Dances & On the seashore
SMETANA: On the Sea Shore; Czech dances for piano, books 1 & 2 (14)
Garrick Ohlsson (piano)
HYPERION CDA68062 (CD)

Re-Sound Beethoven Volume 3: Egmont
BEETHOVEN: Egmont Incidental Music Op. 84; Overture (The Consecration of the House) Op.124
Herbert Fottinger (narrator in German), John Malkovich (narrator in English), Wiener Akademie Orchester, Martin Haselbock (conductor)
ALPHA ALPHA472 (2CD budget)

Ramon Llull (1232-1316): A time of conquests, dialogue and disconsolation
Silvia Bel (narrator); Jordi Boixaderas (narrator); Waed Bouhassoun (voice and oud); Lior Elmaleh (voice); Moslem Rahal (ney); Hakan Gungor (kanun); Yurdal Tokcan (oud); Haig Sarikouyoumdjian (duduk and ney); Dimitri Psonis (santur and moresca); Hesperion XXI, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Jordi Savall (director)
ALIA VOX AVSA9917 (2Hybrid SACD)

9.30am Building a Library

Berta Joncus compares recordings of Handel鈥檚 opera Alcina and recommends a version.

Building a Library Recommendations

Top recommendation:

HANDEL: Alcina (Live Recording, Vienna Staatsoper, 2011)
Anja Harteros (Alcina), Vesselina Kasarova (Ruggiero), Kristina Hammarstrom (Bradamante), Veronica Cangemi (Morgana), Benjamin Bruns (Oronte), Adam Plachetka (Melisso), Alois Muhlbacher (Oberto), Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble, Marc Minkowski (conductor)
Arthaus Musik 101 571 (2 DVDs)

Other recordings:

Below is a shortlist of other recordings which Berta Joncus also liked, although we can鈥檛 guarantee the availability of these discs.

HANDEL: Alcina
Renee Fleming (Alcina), Susan Graham (Ruggiero), Natalie Dessay (Morgana), Kathleen Kuhlmann (Bradamante), Timothy Robinson (Oronte), Juanita Lascarro (Oberto), Laurent Naouri (Melisso), Les Arts Florissants Orchestra, Chorus, William Christie (conductor)
ERATO 8573802332 (3CD budget)

HANDEL: Alcina
Joyce DiDonato (Alcina), Maite Beaumont (Ruggiero), Karina Gauvin (Morgana), Sonia Prina (Bradamante), Kobie Van Rensburg (Oronte), Laura Cherici (Oberto), Vito Priante (Melisso), Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis (conductor)
DG ARCHIV 4777374 (3CD mid-price)

10.20am Erik Satie Reissues

Tout Satie! (Erik Satie Complete Edition)
Works for orchestra, ballets, piano works, chamber music, songs and choral works
WARNER CLASSICS 2564604796 (10CD budget)

Erik Satie & Friends: Original Albums Collection
Works by Satie, Chabrier, Debussy, Faur茅, Francaix, Ibert, Milhaud, Poulenc, Ravel and Saint-Saens
Pierre Bernac (baritone), Francis Poulenc (piano), Robert, Gaby Casadesus (pianos), Philippe Entremont (piano), Arthur Gold, Robert Fizdale (pianos), National Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Gerhardt (conductor), John de Lancie (oboe), London Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn (conductor), Regine Crespin (soprano), Robert Casadesus (piano), New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Artur Rodzinski (conductor), William Masselos (piano), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philippe Entremont (conductor), Daniel Varsano (piano), Robert Casadesus (pianos), Jennie Tourel (mezzo-soprano), George Reeves (piano), Serge Koussevitzky (piano), Houston Symphony Orchestra, Efrem Kurtz
SONY 88875177492 (13CD budget)

10.45am Czech Music Releases

Anna Picard and Mahan Esfahani on recent releases of Czech music, from Martinu to Zelenka.

Dvorak: Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8
DVORAK: Symphony No. 7 in D minor Op. 70; Symphony No. 8 in G major Op. 88
Houston Symphony, Andres Orozco-Estrada (conductor)
PENTATONE PTC5186578 (Hybrid SACD)

Mariss Jansons conducts Dvorak & Suk
DVORAK: Symphony No. 8 in G major Op. 88; Carnival Overture Op. 92
SUK: Serenade for String Orchestra in E flat Op. 6
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mariss Jansons (conductor)
BR KLASSIK 900145 (CD)

Dvorak, Suk & Janacek: String Quartets
DVORAK: String Quartet No. 13 in G major Op. 106 (B192)
JANACEK: String Quartet No. 1 'The Kreutzer Sonata'
SUK: Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale Saint Wenceslas for String Orchestra Op. 35a
Wihan Quartet
NIMBUS NI6322 (CD)

ZELENKA: Italian Arias, ZWV176
Hana Blazikova (soprano), Marketa Cukrova (alto), Tomas Selc (bass-baritone), Ensemble Tourbillon, Petr Wagner
ACCENT ACC24306 (CD)

Martinu: The Complete Piano Trios
MARTINU: Piano Trio No. 1 'Cinq pieces breves', H. 193; Piano Trio No. 2 in D minor, H327; Bergerettes - Five Pieces for Violin, Cello and Piano; Piano Trio No. 3 in C major, H332
Smetana Trio: Jitka Cechova (piano), Jiri Vodicka (violin), Jan Palenicek (cello)
SUPRAPHON SU41972 (CD)

Dvorak & Martinu: Cello Concertos
DVORAK: Cello Concerto in B minor Op. 104
MARTINU: Cello Concerto No. 1
Christian Poltera (cello), Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Thomas Dausgaard (conductor)
BIS BIS2157 (Hybrid SACD)

Zelenka: Missa Divi Zaveri & Litaniae de Sancto Xaverio
ZELENKA: Missa Divi Zaveri, ZWV12; Litaniae de Sancto Xaverio, ZWV156
Collegium 1704, Collegium Vocale 1704, Vaclav Luks
ACCENT ACC24301 (CD)

Janacek: Orchestral Works Vol. 3
JANACEK: Glagolitic Mass; Adagio for Orchestra; Zdravas Maria; Otcena拧 (Our Father) for four-part choir, tenor soloist, organ and harp
Sara Jakubiak (soprano), Susan Bickley (mezzo-soprano), Stuart Skelton (tenor), Gabor Bretz (bass), Thomas Trotter (organ), Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Choir, Choir of Collegium Musicum, David Stewart (violin), Karstein Askeland (organ), Edvard Grieg Kor, Bergen Cathedral Choir, Johannes Wik (harp), Edward Gardner (conductor)
CHANDOS CHSA5165 (Hybrid SACD)

11.55am Disc of the Week

Mendelssohn & Beethoven: Violin Concertos
BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto in D major Op. 61
MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto in E minor Op. 64
BACH, J S: Partita for solo violin No. 1 in B minor, BWV1002: Sarabande; Sarabande from Partita No. 2 in D minor
Nikolaj Znaider (violin), Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly (conductor)
ACCENTUS MUSIC ACC20345 (DVD Video)

Broadcast

  • Sat 21 May 2016 09:00
    大象传媒 Radio 3

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