Friday was the day of new releases on Primephonic, and so it seems with Idagio, and Apple Music, and perhaps the other streaming services too?
Which new recording has caught your attention this week?
Among this week’s releases is a new recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations played by Hannes Minnaar.
https://app.idagio.com/albums/goldberg-variations-35CC0B72-BEA6-4569-B4B0-C18A7FF884AB
Is there room for another recording of the Goldbergs? Is there *always* room for another recording??
To my ears this performance is a delight: there’s nothing showy, it’s a nuanced, pure, performance that gets right to the heart of the Goldbergs.
And there’s a surprise at the tail!
(It transpires that Minnaar asked Daan Maneke to compose a prelude to the variations, a miniature homage to Bach, for Minnaar to include in his Goldberg recital series. And here it is: Gendanken zu Bach (2020), although here performed as a delightful postlude.)
There is always room for another recording of the Goldbergs! I think one of the wonders of music, not just classical music, is how it can be constantly reinterpreted and transformed. What a malleable artform!
How about this lovely thing from Idagio's pre-release list:
https://app.idagio.com/albums/aria-from-goldberg-variations-bwv-988?utm_source=pcl
There's a public domain performance of the Goldbergs played Kimiko Ishizaka from the Open Goldberg Project. You can download it for free (or a voluntary contribution) from https://www.opengoldbergvariations.org/. There's also a public domain version of the score at https://musescore.com/opengoldberg/goldberg-variations
There is always room for another recording of the Goldbergs! I think one of the wonders of music, not just classical music, is how it can be constantly reinterpreted and transformed. What a malleable artform!
I couldn’t agree more!
And yes, that re-imagining of the Aria for cello and piano really is lovely, almost unbearably so - I can hardly wait for the full release…
Alongside superb concert performances of Gesualdo’s Fifth book of madrigals (I ‘attended’ the live stream from Musikfest Berlin a few weeks ago) Philippe Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent have just released this album:
https://app.idagio.com/recordings/41005541
Does any other composer write harmony as distinctive, and haunting, as Gesualdo?
Hi @cfitzsimmons and great to see you on these forums!
I’ve been listening to this new release that you recommended on your facebook pages:
https://app.idagio.com/albums/melancolia
It’s a little earlier than the music I generally listen too, but you are right, it is exquisite! I hope you don’t mind me sharing it here too.
This is such a rich week for new releases!
After suggesting Chiaroscuro’s performance of Beethoven’s Op. 95 (on the String Quartets thread), I’m delighted to see them with a new release:
Beethoven: String Quartets, Op. 18 Nos. 1-3 | Stream on IDAGIO
These are Beethoven’s earliest string quartets, composed when he was almost 30. I’m looking forward to listening to the over this weekend!
@odalisque Yes, indeed, Beethoven was still honing his craft. Chiaroscuro’s sleeve notes say he wrote, and rewrote those 3 quartets over a period of two years before he was happy with them…
I love that C minor quartet, btw - perhaps Chiaroscuro will record the second three of Op.18 at some stage?
I’m delighted to see them with a new release:
Beethoven: String Quartets, Op. 18 Nos. 1-3 | Stream on IDAGIO
I noticed that in the new releases section and thought to myself: @Jen must be so delighted at the moment 🤗
I'm in love with this new release:
https://app.idagio.com/albums/b62b2f53-6bf2-4f69-8425-b02b0aef1677
Harriet Krijgh is one of my favourite cellists, her interpretations and arrangements are always a delight to listen to.
And the cello might easily be my most favourite instrument!
All this great music being recommended and so little time to listen to it! I’m on holidays for 2 weeks and I thought I’d have more listening time, but it turns out the reverse is true. So I guess it’s time to create a new New Music Fridays playlist. If not before, I can listen to it on the plane trip home.
Thanks for these recommendations!
