This disc marks the beginning of a new survey of British Clarinet Concertos, featuring the exclusive Chandos artist Michael Collins, who here combines the role of soloist with that of conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.Indisputably one of the leading clarinettists of his generation, Michael Collins displays a dazzling virtuosity and sensitive musicianship which have made him a sought-after soloist with orchestras including the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France and the Philadelphia, NHK Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, City of Birmingham Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, BBC Symphony, and Philharmonia orchestras. In recent seasons he has won increasing regard as a conductor and in September 2010 assumed the post of Principal Conductor of the City of London Sinfonia.Sir Charles Villiers Stanford wrote extensively for the clarinet. His works include the Sonata, recorded by Michael Collins on CHAN 10704 (and very favourably reviewed in BBC Music, see below), and the Concerto recorded here, which, coincidentally, was the first for the instrument to be composed by a major British composer. This concerto boasts an exuberantly virtuosic solo part, accompanied by an orchestra excluding clarinets, but including a brass section of four horns and two trumpets.The Clarinet Concerto by Finzi was performed by a young Michael Collins in the final of the first BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, in 1978. The work conjures a sense of fresh spontaneity, as it moves through baroque-inspired pastoralism, Elgarian influences, and lively folk-inspired melody.The virtuosic Clarinet Concerto No. 2 by Sir Malcolm Arnold bears the dedication: ‘for Benny Goodman with admiration and love’. It had been commissioned three years earlier by the celebrated American jazz clarinettist, who had also established a reputation as a classical performer.

• Wykonawca Collins Michael
• Data premiery 2012-10-01
• Nośnik CD

1. Serenade No. 6 for orchestra in D major ("Serenata Notturna"), K. 239: Marcia (Maestoso)2. Serenade No. 6 for orchestra in D major ("Serenata Notturna"), K. 239: Menuetto - Trio3. Serenade No. 6 for orchestra in D major ("Serenata Notturna"), K. 239: Rondeau (Allegretto - Adagio4. Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major ("Eine kleine Nachtmusik"), K. 525: Allegro5. Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major ("Eine kleine Nachtmusik"), K. 525: Romance (Andante)6. Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major ("Eine kleine Nachtmusik"), K. 525: Menuetto (Allegretto) - T7. Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major ("Eine kleine Nachtmusik"), K. 525: Rondo (Allegro)8. Notturno for 4 orchestras in D major, K. 286 (K. 269a): Andante9. Notturno for 4 orchestras in D major, K. 286 (K. 269a): Allegretto grazioso10. Notturno for 4 orchestras in D major, K. 286 (K. 269a): Menuetto - Trio11. Divertimento for 2 horns & strings in F major ("Ein musikalischer Spass," "A Musical Joke"), K. 522:12. Divertimento for 2 horns & strings in F major ("Ein musikalischer Spass," "A Musical Joke"), K. 522:13. Divertimento for 2 horns & strings in F major ("Ein musikalischer Spass," "A Musical Joke"), K. 522:14. Divertimento for 2 horns & strings in F major ("Ein musikalischer Spass," "A Musical Joke"), K. 522:

• Wykonawca Savall Jordi
• Data premiery 2013-03-01
• Nośnik SACD

On this disc we present a veritable feast of early to mid-twentieth century orchestral music by composers from Argentina, Peru, Brazil, and Columbia. The works are all premier recordings, and brimming with Afro-Cuban and Creole folk-inspired sounds, as well as dance influences from the Argentine tango. Piazzolla’s little-known Milongón Festivo shows an interesting mix of styles, in which the Argentine tango is tempered by the influences of Stravinsky, Bartók, and jazz. Commissioned by Piazzolla’s son, the version on this recording is Castagna’s own arrangement for full symphony orchestra, notably without the use of bandoneón – a musical instrument reminiscent of the accordion, and traditionally an integral part of Argentine tango orchestras. Also on this disc, folk music meets impressionism in two works by the Argentine composer Carrillo, while Congada by Mignone is inspired by Afro-Brazilian dance music, and Valcárcel demonstrates his strong Peruvian style in Concierto Indio, a work for solo violin and orchestra. The Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen is one of the most prominent orchestras in Germany, sought after both at home and internationally. It is conducted by Gabriel Castagna, who has worked with numerous orchestras in the US, Europe, and Japan. Latin American music is a speciality of his, and he has received popular and critical acclaim for his many performances and recordings of works by Argentine composers, Piazzolla in particular.

• Wykonawca Chastain Nora
• Data premiery 2011-05-01
• Nośnik CD

  The association that Weinberg enjoyed with some of the finest conductors and instrumental virtuosos in the Soviet Union was a source of vital moral support. This was the case not only during times of severest stress (such as his partial blacklisting following the 1948 ‘anti-formalism’ campaign, and his arrest in early 1953 on trumped-up charges of Zionist agitation) but also later in his life when he kept his distance from all intrigues and avoided the teaching or administrative roles that automatically gave many of his composer colleagues a sense of social purpose. The violinist and conductor Thord Svedlund is a highly experienced and versatile  musician. Having studied in Sweden, the USA  and The Netherlands, for the last twenty  years he has worked as a violinist in the  Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. In 1991 he  embarked on a conducting career that has  earned him praise by critics and audiences  alike. He has conducted several of Sweden’s  leading orchestras, including the Gothenburg,  Norrköping and Umeå symphony orchestras.  He has also worked as co-conductor with  Neeme Järvi and Peter Eötvös, and with  the latter appeared in critically acclaimed  performances of Charles Ives’s extraordinary  Fourth Symphony in both Sweden and  Germany. He has also been invited to  conduct in Shanghai, China. Thord Svedlund  has recorded for radio and television on  numerous occasions, and his discography  presents music by composers ranging  from Bach and Haydn to the contemporary  Swedish scene.  

• Wykonawca Gunnarsson Claes , Jonhall Anders , Claesson Urban
• Data premiery 2008-04-01
• Nośnik SACD

A classic reissue of an Australian Brandenburg Orchestra classic! Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Gluck. Favourite composers played by one of Australia’s favourite orchestras.

• Wykonawca Various Artists
• Data premiery 2010-01-10
• Nośnik CD

  Antonio de Almeida was born to a Portuguese mother and American father, who emigrated to Argentina when he was young. There he studied theory and composition with the composer Alberto Ginastera, and cello with Washington Castro. Subsequently he was a pupil of Paul Hindemith at Yale University. He worked for two seasons at Tanglewood with Serge Koussevitzky and then with George Szell and Leonard Bernstein, going on to play horn, bassoon, oboe, clarinet and cello in several student orchestras. In 1945 he founded the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Symphony Orchestra in Boston, and in 1947 the Chamber Orchestra of New Haven. Almeida then worked in Mexico before becoming head of the opera department at the University of Los Angeles in 1953. His conducting career soon developed in Europe: between 1957 and 1960 he directed the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Lisbon in Portugal; during the following decade he led the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra for the 1963–1964 season; and he went on to work at the Paris Opera between 1965 and 1967. Returning to the USA as principal guest conductor of the Houston Symphony Orchestra between 1969 and 1971, Almeida was subsequently also musical director of the Friends of French Opera, New York. From 1976 to 1978 he was music director of the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra in France. Antonio de Almeida’s career was now international in scope, with many guest engagements with front-rank ensembles such as the Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras in the USA, and the Royal Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras in Europe, amongst many others. In 1992 he took up his last permanent post, as music director of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, a position that he held until his death in 1997. His repertoire was extremely catholic, although with a distinct bias towards French music. He prepared a thematic catalogue of the music of Offenbach and conducted the first complete reconstruction of the original score of Les Contes d’Hoffmann. He also edited a complete edition of the symphonies of Boccherini. For his services to French music he was made a member of the Légion d’honneur. On record Almeida championed the unknown, making the first recording of Bizet’s opera Le Docteur Miracle. Towards the end of his life he conducted the Moscow Symphony Orchestra in many significant première recordings of music by Sauguet, Castillo, Tournemire and Malipiero, for the Marco Polo label. Other highlights of his recorded repertoire include a set of rarely performed symphonies by Haydn for the Haydn Foundation; fine accounts of the operas La Juive (Halévy), Mignon (Thomas), Le Calife de Bagdad (Boieldieu) and L’infideltà delusa (Haydn); music by Lalo, Schmitt, Chausson, Dukas and Duparc; and the complete operatic ballet music of Donizetti and Rossini. His performances were always assured, and in French music in particular possessed style and sensitivity. Antonio de Almeida died in Pittsburgh in 1997 aged 69  

• Wykonawca Michel Catherine
• Data premiery 2011-10-01
• Nośnik SACD

ATMA is proud to present Ian Parker’s first ATMA recording with the London Symphony Orchestra, featuring major works for piano and orchestra by Ravel, Stravinsky, and Gershwin. Magnetic, easy-going and delightfully articulate, Canadian pianist Ian Parker captivates audiences wherever he goes. An enthusiastic recitalist, Mr. Parker has performed across the United States,Western Europe, Israel, and throughout Canada on tours with Debut Atlantic and Jeunesses Musicales du Canada. The London Symphony Orchestra is widely regarded to be one of the world’s leading orchestras. Resident at the Barbican in London, the LSO presents over 70 concerts there each year. Michael Francis came to prominence as a conductor in January 2007 when he stepped out of the double bass section to replace an indisposed Valery Gergiev for a concert with the London Symphony Orchestra.

• Wykonawca Parker Ian
• Data premiery 2010-08-01
• Nośnik CD

CD 1 Anaklasis for Strings & Percussion (1959)with London Symphony OrchestraKrzysztof PendereckiThrenody to the Victims of Hiroshima (1959-60)Fonogrammi (1973)De Natura Sonoris No.1 (1966)Capriccio for Violin and Orchestra (1967)with Wanda WilkomirskaCanticum Canticorum Salomonis (1970)with Krakow Philharmonic ChorusDe Natura Sonoris No.2 (1971)The Dream of Jacob (1974)all with Polish Radio National Symphony OrchestraKrzysztof PendereckiCD 2 Emanations for Two String Orchestras (1959)Partita for Harpsichord and Chamber Orchestra (1971)with Felicja BlumentalCello Concerto No.1 (1972)with Siegfried Palmall with Polish Radio Symphony OrchestraKrzysztof PendereckiSymphony No.1 (1973)with London Symphony OrchestraKrzysztof PendereckiThree Miniatures for clarinet and piano (1956)with Sabine Meyer and Alfons Kontarsky

• Wykonawca London Symphony Orchestra , Meyer Sabine , Kontarsky Aloys
• Data premiery 2012-02-13
• Nośnik CD